Sense and Nonsense in Psychology (Pelican) [Paperback]

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 Psychology
Psychology Is About People

"Uses and Abuses" lays the foundations for the later works. Like the others, its emphasis is on what we know and how we know it; how certain scientifically we can be of the answers; and how society can best make use of them.

In an introductory account of some ways in which psychology has already changed society -- especially as regards selection tests -- the author describes his intent:

"Citizens in a democratic society need to be told in clear, unambiguous language just what is the present position in a scientific field (...) Without such knowledge, there arises a dangerous gap between scientist and citizen, a gap which prevents the one from making the best use of the contribution the other has to offer, and which encourages the misunderstandings which have bedevilled their relations for so long. Yet unfortunately psychologists, for various reasons, have usually fought shy of writing for anyone but other psychologists (...)

"It is in the hope of redressing this balance to some extent that I have written this book. The title will indicate the thread which runs through all the various chapters. They all deal with the application of psychological discoveries to social problems".

The introduction also describes the differences between psychologists, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts. There is, too, a crie de coeur...

"The physicist is in a rather favourable position. Few people imagine themselves to be experts in his field, or to know more about it than he does. In addition, the great prestige of his science makes people accept his statements without apparent proof. How different is the position of the psychologist! There are few people who in their heart of hearts do not resent his assumption of superior knowledge of human behaviour, who do not feel that they know far more about 'people' (...)"

...and some embittered comments (with anecdotes) about the treatment of psychology by politicians and the mass media.

The book proper is divided into four parts, of four chapters each:

1. Intelligence Testing
2. Vocational Psychology
3. Abnormal Behaviour
4. Social Attitudes

Part 1 answers the usual question "What do I.Q. tests really measure?", and describes the various components of general intelligence such as verbal fluency, arithmetical ability, etc. It then goes on to the predictive value the tests, and addresses the vexed question "Is our national intelligence declining?". Also touched upon is the underlying physiological basis of intelligence, upon which Eysenck later developed a full-fledged theory.

Part 2 begins by discussing out the huge differences between the best and worst performers in various occupations, and the dreadful reliability of interviews as a selection technique. It continues to describe the dramatic improvements -- in important areas such as in driver safety - that have been achieved with psychological tests. Also addressed are student selection and officer selection in wartime -- the latter results being particularly dramatic, with some interesting sidelights being thrown on the O.S.S. Finally, productivity and motivation are addressed.

(I can't resist quoting one anecdote from this part: during the War, a study was made of the most efficient way to fire a gun. The Drill Manual mandated ten soldiers for this task. "None was working more than half the time. One soldier did nothing whatever. His task used to be that of holding the officer's horse; the horse had vanished into the limbo of forgotten things, but the drill still required someone to be there...")

Parts 3 & 4 are even more diverse, but it's impossible to do them justice in this already-long review. The former is notable for a devastating critique (which made Eysenck famous) of Freudian psychoanalysis, the latter addresses such fascinating subjects as the psychology of politics, national stereotypes (including anti-semitism) and Gallup Polls.

It's astonishing how well "Uses and Abuses" stands up after 50 years. It, and its siblings, were what got me interested in psychology decades ago, and I still consider them the best introduction I've ever read -- certainly both more accurate and much more interesting than the politically neutral and neutered pap that passes for "introductory" textbooks in some schools.

I recommend it unhesitatingly.

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 Psychology
Psychology Is About People

"Uses and Abuses" lays the foundations for the later works. Like the others, its emphasis is on what we know and how we know it; how certain scientifically we can be of the answers; and how society can best make use of them.

In an introductory account of some ways in which psychology has already changed society -- especially as regards selection tests -- the author describes his intent:

"Citizens in a democratic society need to be told in clear, unambiguous language just what is the present position in a scientific field (...) Without such knowledge, there arises a dangerous gap between scientist and citizen, a gap which prevents the one from making the best use of the contribution the other has to offer, and which encourages the misunderstandings which have bedevilled their relations for so long. Yet unfortunately psychologists, for various reasons, have usually fought shy of writing for anyone but other psychologists (...)

"It is in the hope of redressing this balance to some extent that I have written this book. The title will indicate the thread which runs through all the various chapters. They all deal with the application of psychological discoveries to social problems".

The introduction also describes the differences between psychologists, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts. There is, too, a crie de coeur...

"The physicist is in a rather favourable position. Few people imagine themselves to be experts in his field, or to know more about it than he does. In addition, the great prestige of his science makes people accept his statements without apparent proof. How different is the position of the psychologist! There are few people who in their heart of hearts do not resent his assumption of superior knowledge of human behaviour, who do not feel that they know far more about 'people' (...)"

...and some embittered comments (with anecdotes) about the treatment of psychology by politicians and the mass media.

The book proper is divided into four parts, of four chapters each:

1. Intelligence Testing
2. Vocational Psychology
3. Abnormal Behaviour
4. Social Attitudes

Part 1 answers the usual question "What do I.Q. tests really measure?", and describes the various components of general intelligence such as verbal fluency, arithmetical ability, etc. It then goes on to the predictive value the tests, and addresses the vexed question "Is our national intelligence declining?". Also touched upon is the underlying physiological basis of intelligence, upon which Eysenck later developed a full-fledged theory.

Part 2 begins by discussing out the huge differences between the best and worst performers in various occupations, and the dreadful reliability of interviews as a selection technique. It continues to describe the dramatic improvements -- in important areas such as in driver safety - that have been achieved with psychological tests. Also addressed are student selection and officer selection in wartime -- the latter results being particularly dramatic, with some interesting sidelights being thrown on the O.S.S. Finally, productivity and motivation are addressed.

(I can't resist quoting one anecdote from this part: during the War, a study was made of the most efficient way to fire a gun. The Drill Manual mandated ten soldiers for this task. "None was working more than half the time. One soldier did nothing whatever. His task used to be that of holding the officer's horse; the horse had vanished into the limbo of forgotten things, but the drill still required someone to be there...")

Parts 3 & 4 are even more diverse, but it's impossible to do them justice in this already-long review. The former is notable for a devastating critique (which made Eysenck famous) of Freudian psychoanalysis, the latter addresses such fascinating subjects as the psychology of politics, national stereotypes (including anti-semitism) and Gallup Polls.

It's astonishing how well "Uses and Abuses" stands up after 50 years. It, and its siblings, were what got me interested in psychology decades ago, and I still consider them the best introduction I've ever read -- certainly both more accurate and much more interesting than the politically neutral and neutered pap that passes for "introductory" textbooks in some schools.

I recommend it unhesitatingly.

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 advocating "the highest degree of scientific rigour in the design of psychological experiments and [being] very critical of much loose thinking current at present under the guise of 'psychology'" (from the cover).

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 Psychology
Psychology Is About People

In the first part of "Sense and Nonsense" the author takes the discussion further afield than "Uses and Abuses", dealing with matters such as hypnosis, lie detectors and truth drugs, the interpretation of dreams, and even telepathy and clairvoyance. As always, his purpose is to sort out the wheat from the chaff; there is considerable discussion of the reliability of human testimony. Eysenck himself has experience in some of these areas. However, his conclusions have surprised and even annoyed some people, especially the following much-quoted passage:

"Unless there is a gigantic conspiracy involving some thirty university departments all over the world, and several hundred highly respected scientists in various fields, many of them originally hostile to the claims of the psychical researchers, the only conclusion the unbiased observer can come to must be that there is a small number of people who obtain knowledge existing either in other people's minds, or in the outer world, by means as yet unknown to science."

The second half of the book is concerned with personality and social life. After dealing with the question of whether personality can be measured (yes), the author considers its relation to conditioning, politics and æsthetics. Particular interesting is the Politics section, where Dr Eysenck demonstrates that attitudes logically unrelated often cluster together, and shows similarities between two groups commonly regarded as opposites -- Communists and Fascists. He proposes a two-dimensional system (radical/conservative and tough-minded/tender-minded) and shows where various contemporary attitudes lie on it.

A thought-provoking book, and still well worth reading.