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Fact and Fiction in Psychology
Hardcover edition 1968 publishing
- GenresPsychology
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 1965
About the author
Hans Jürgen Eysenck
158 books69 followers= Hans J. Eysenck = H.J. Eysenck
Hans Jürgen Eysenck (/ˈaɪzɛŋk/; 4 March 1916 – 4 September 1997) was a psychologist born in Germany, who spent his professional career in Great Britain. He is best remembered for his work on intelligence and personality, though he worked in a wide range of areas. At the time of his death, Eysenck was the living psychologist most frequently cited in science journals
Hans Jürgen Eysenck (/ˈaɪzɛŋk/; 4 March 1916 – 4 September 1997) was a psychologist born in Germany, who spent his professional career in Great Britain. He is best remembered for his work on intelligence and personality, though he worked in a wide range of areas. At the time of his death, Eysenck was the living psychologist most frequently cited in science journals
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 29, 2017
Two stars purely because the section discussing psychoanalysis was interesting. BUT I wasn't aware that Eysenck was horrifically homophobic. Not an issue of use of language due to the period in which it was written. Shocking to think some of this material would've fuelled the use of shock therapy to "cure" homosexuality. Unsure why I didn't know this about him so I'm putting it out there so others are more aware of this grim finding.
September 3, 2018
Hans Eysenck was one of the most important and influential psychologists of the 20th century, being at the time of his retirement the most-cited social scientist in the World. He was especially known for his view that of psychology should be subject to the same criteria as any other science (e.g. it should produce falsifiable predictions); and for his refusal to subordinate scientific truth to political considerations.
In the course of his career he produced several pioneering books demystifying psychology for the general public: in particular a seminal trilogy (later expanded to a quartet) for Penguin, He was an exceptionally lucid and entertaining writer, and the books sold millions of copies and were translated into several other languages. The quartet comprises:
Uses and Abuses of Psychology
Sense and Nonsense in Psychology
Fact and Fiction in Psychology
Psychology Is about People
Interestingly, in the light of what was to come later, the author was already being described (in the Editorial Foreword to the present book) as “controversial”; and in his own introduction, he not only accepts this appellation but embraces it:
“...indeed the writer has become so used to this term that he feels almost a sense of deprivation when the chairman at a meeting, in introducing him, forgets to use [it].”
But he goes on:
“However, the word ‘controversial’ has two meanings, and it is important to discriminate between them. You may say that an issue is controversial because people are in fact arguing about it, and are having a controversy. In this sense, the flatness or rotundity of the earth is controversial; there are still flat-earthers [...] From their point of view, therefore , we might say that the shape of the earth is still a controversial matter. However, from the scientific point of view, I don’t think one would agree that this is so [...] [T]here is no controversy on this point, and therefore it is not ‘controversial’ any longer.
“To say this is not to say the some of the points made in this book are not controversial...”
Indeed. Among the chapters that made this book famous is one entitled Little Hans or Little Albert? containing perhaps the most comprehensive and damning review of Freudian theory and practice yet published in a popular work. It cites (inter alia) the studies of Wolpe & Rachman, which use Freud’s own data to show that his claims were completely inconsistent with the facts. This is followed by New Ways of Curing Neurosis, documenting the successes of Behaviour Therapy (of which Eysenck was a pioneer in the UK) and contrasting its results with those of psychoanalysis. Therapy or Brainwashing then confronts head-on the criticisms being made of the methods described in the previous chapter. Of particular interest, in view the way both mores and the law have changed since the time of writing, are two pages (194-195) devoted to the morality of so-called ‘treatment’ of homosexuality, which was of course illegal in Britain at that time. (Lesbianism, however, was legal — reportedly because Queen Victoria refused to believe it existed.)
Other chapters describe a psychological laboratory, contrasting it with the analyst’s couch of the popular perception; a model for the physiological mechanism behind introversion and extraversion, introduced by a hypothetical ‘Eysenck's Demon’ along the lines of Maxwell’s Demon in Physics; and an explanation of crime and conscience in terms of conditioning.
This last, in addition to being thought-provoking in itself, raises some thorny ethical issues about ‘fairness’: for instance, it is well established that extraverts respond differently to rewards and punishments than introverts. If a particular legal penalty (e.g. a fine or prison sentence) is appropriate to deter an introvert, it may well not deter an extravert — still less a psychopath. But should we then design all legal penalties for psychopaths?
A broad-ranging, closely-argued and fascinating book.
In the course of his career he produced several pioneering books demystifying psychology for the general public: in particular a seminal trilogy (later expanded to a quartet) for Penguin, He was an exceptionally lucid and entertaining writer, and the books sold millions of copies and were translated into several other languages. The quartet comprises:
Uses and Abuses of Psychology
Sense and Nonsense in Psychology
Fact and Fiction in Psychology
Psychology Is about People
Interestingly, in the light of what was to come later, the author was already being described (in the Editorial Foreword to the present book) as “controversial”; and in his own introduction, he not only accepts this appellation but embraces it:
“...indeed the writer has become so used to this term that he feels almost a sense of deprivation when the chairman at a meeting, in introducing him, forgets to use [it].”
But he goes on:
“However, the word ‘controversial’ has two meanings, and it is important to discriminate between them. You may say that an issue is controversial because people are in fact arguing about it, and are having a controversy. In this sense, the flatness or rotundity of the earth is controversial; there are still flat-earthers [...] From their point of view, therefore , we might say that the shape of the earth is still a controversial matter. However, from the scientific point of view, I don’t think one would agree that this is so [...] [T]here is no controversy on this point, and therefore it is not ‘controversial’ any longer.
“To say this is not to say the some of the points made in this book are not controversial...”
Indeed. Among the chapters that made this book famous is one entitled Little Hans or Little Albert? containing perhaps the most comprehensive and damning review of Freudian theory and practice yet published in a popular work. It cites (inter alia) the studies of Wolpe & Rachman, which use Freud’s own data to show that his claims were completely inconsistent with the facts. This is followed by New Ways of Curing Neurosis, documenting the successes of Behaviour Therapy (of which Eysenck was a pioneer in the UK) and contrasting its results with those of psychoanalysis. Therapy or Brainwashing then confronts head-on the criticisms being made of the methods described in the previous chapter. Of particular interest, in view the way both mores and the law have changed since the time of writing, are two pages (194-195) devoted to the morality of so-called ‘treatment’ of homosexuality, which was of course illegal in Britain at that time. (Lesbianism, however, was legal — reportedly because Queen Victoria refused to believe it existed.)
Other chapters describe a psychological laboratory, contrasting it with the analyst’s couch of the popular perception; a model for the physiological mechanism behind introversion and extraversion, introduced by a hypothetical ‘Eysenck's Demon’ along the lines of Maxwell’s Demon in Physics; and an explanation of crime and conscience in terms of conditioning.
This last, in addition to being thought-provoking in itself, raises some thorny ethical issues about ‘fairness’: for instance, it is well established that extraverts respond differently to rewards and punishments than introverts. If a particular legal penalty (e.g. a fine or prison sentence) is appropriate to deter an introvert, it may well not deter an extravert — still less a psychopath. But should we then design all legal penalties for psychopaths?
A broad-ranging, closely-argued and fascinating book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews