Examining Media's Impact on Psychology and Psychologists' Roles

This essay explores the media's significant role in the evolution of psychology as a mainstream subject, tracing its roots from philosophy and literature to modern clinical psychology. It highlights how early critics functioned as media, influencing public perception through literary works. The essay further discusses the transition to social revolution, where media provided platforms for individuals to share experiences, aiding psychologists in understanding behavioral traits. It emphasizes the media's contribution to the development of evidence-based practices in clinical psychology by promoting theories and connecting them to practical examples, ultimately adding commercial value to psychological research and practice. The conclusion reinforces the idea that media has played a crucial role in shaping psychology into a commercially viable and result-oriented field.

Running Head: THE MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THEIR
IMPACT
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Running Head: THE MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THEIR
IMPACT
Introduction
At the turn of the 18th century, psychology was not a separate stream of study. Social scientist
of that era was using certain psychology-based theories to explain the behavior of the masses,
however, it was not a person-specific approach that they were adopting. Fiction writers and
the poets of the era of the romanticism started to write literature from the perspective of an
individual and this is where some experts realized that a separate stream like psychology is
needed to study the human behavior. Psychologist Wilhelm Wundt introduced the concept of
the introspection and the first ever publication related to the psychology came in existence
(Bettie, 2018).
Sigmund Fraud added the concept of the psychoanalysis and a new era of empirical
researches started in the field of psychology. The addition of the Behaviourism and cognitive
theories gave rise to the concept of clinical psychology. Now during the second decade of the
21st century, Psychology has become a vast subject in the current essay we are trying to
establish the role of the media in this evolution of psychology as a mainstream subject (Scher,
2012).
Human behavior can be studied in parts and media worked on the same theory
Psychology has its roots in philosophy and literature of the era of romanticism. During this
period, there were three fractions of the literary society; they were readers, authors, and
critics. Critics played the role of the media during that period; they came up with special
mention of the characters with different psychological traits. The story of the “The Yellow
Wallpaper” depicted the real condition of a patient suffering from "so-called nervous
depression." This is one example, how critics played the role of media and highlighted certain
issues for the masses (Dock, 2012).
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Running Head: THE MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THEIR
IMPACT
The second phase of the evolution of the psychology was more or less like a social
revolution. It was the time when many journalists and media vehicles created forums for the
individuals to share their experiences and help the psychologists in understanding the macro
pictures related to certain behavioral traits. Currently, we are living in the era of "clinical
psychology" where psychologists are developing some "evidence-based practices" with the
help of mainstream medicine studies. The efforts of media during the second and third decade
of the 20th century contributed a lot in developing this interface for the present day scientists
(Roberts, 2012).
Human behavior can be studied in parts and each part has a bearing on other parts. During the
era of Sigmund Fraud and others, media promoted this theory with the help of practical
examples. Let's hypothetically imagine about a write up connecting exam related stress with
the cognitive abilities of an individual. Any such write up can convince an individual that he
is suffering from an exam phobia and the person who presented asymptomatic diagnostic
report may have a clinical solution for the problem.
On the note of the conclusion, we can say that the media did play a great role in the evolution
of psychology as a serious and result oriented study stream equipped with some evidence-
based practice. Media added a commercial value in the findings of the researchers and made
it a commercially viable subject where experts can make money out of the practice.
Bibliography
Bettie, P. (2018). Social Evolution, Political Psychology, and the Media in Democracy. New
York: Sage Publication.
Dock, J. (2012). Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper and the History of Its.
Penn: Penn States Press.
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Running Head: THE MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THEIR
IMPACT
Roberts, S. (2012). Applied Evolutionary Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Scher, S. (2012). Evolutionary Psychology: Alternative Approaches. New York: Sage
Publication.
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