Humans are naturally curious about the way their brains operate. As a psychology major, I can’t blame anyone for their interest in my field of study. But I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. With the rise of clickbait media, pseudo-scientific psychology is spread among the masses. While BuzzFeed articles seem to make a convincing argument that a passion for microwaveable chicken nuggets somehow describes a personality, pop psychology harms the credibility of a legitimate field of study.
Simplifying complex ideas into mindless, consumable sound bites make the field seem about as scientifically accurate as the physics jokes featured on “The Big Bang Theory.” I’ve met so many people who falsely perceive psychology as a field dominated by Freudian freaks and dream analyzers.
A very small percentage of psychoanalysts exist within the field of psychology, and it’s for a reason: Freud was wrong. The old rumors continue to circulate. We’ve discovered we use all of our brain and not just 10 percent, but somehow this ridiculous rumor is treated as fact.
Like other disciplines, psychology has evolved over the past century. Psychology now draws upon other disciplines of study, such as biology, chemistry and sociology. This created various subfields of psychology, such as cognitive, forensic and clinical. Some of the latest findings in psychology are not accessible to the average person. Perhaps this is the reason why pop psychology is so often inaccurate.
The inaccuracy of pop psychology harms the field’s credibility and the public’s understanding of mental illness. Self-diagnosing, while most commonly pursued by 14-year-olds convinced they’re sociopaths after watching “A Clockwork Orange,” is another unfortunate result of pseudo-psychology. Mental illnesses are treated like the results of personality quizzes.
Personality disorders are real, yet too often people dismiss their existence based on inaccurate psychological knowledge. An online Mayo Clinic quiz cannot accurately determine if you have bipolar disorder. Only a licensed therapist, who will get to know you better than a five-minute quiz, can make a diagnosis.
The field of psychology is worth more than the media’s cheap adaption of it. Many students who study psychology end up going to graduate school, law school or medical school to continue their education. As someone who plans on going into the field of neuropsychology, I’m amused by those who question my degree’s worth. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen just about every episode of “Criminal Minds,” and I know a thousand ways to dance to the “Law and Order: SVU” theme song. Still, it is unfair to rely upon the media’s lazy representation of psychology. If you’re curious about how your mind works, don’t believe every online headline you read.