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A Very Critical Look at the Self-Help Movement
Abstract
Reviews the book,
SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless by Steve Salerno (see record
2005-08024-000). Steve Salerno has written a scathing analysis of the self-help and actualization movement, for which he has created the vituperative acronym SHAM. The author's clever, sarcastic acronym is a little too glib for my tastes, but it certainly captures the essence of his relentless critique of self-help books and self-improvement interventions. Salerno uses the term self-help in a very broad sense. Over the course of his book, he tackles an exceptionally diverse range of people, programs, and movements, including Dr. Laura (Schlessinger); Dr. Phil (McGraw); Tony Robbins; Marianne Williamson; Thomas Harris; John Gray, Robin Norwood, and other relationship gurus; Suze Orman; Tommy Lasorda, Pat Riley, and other sports figures who write and lecture on motivation; Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups; exconvicts who publish and pontificate about learning from one's mistakes; the codependency movement; the self-esteem movement in schools; life-coaching experts; and selected fringe elements in alternative medicine. That is quite a lineup, and therein lies one of the weaknesses of Salerno's book-he tries to cover every conceivable form of self-help and ends up covering most them more superficially than I would have liked. Perhaps I am dwelling too much on the negatives. Although
SHAM has some rough edges, it is an interesting, thought-provoking, well-written antidote to the multitudes of self-help anodynes that crowd our bookstores. Although it could have been a much stronger book, I nonetheless think that many people could benefit from reading it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... The term motivation is important for all dimensions of life since it explains the 'whys' of behaviour. Motivation has thus been defined as goal-directed behaviour (Weiten, 2006). According to Williams and Williams (2011), student motivation is one of the most important variables in predicting the success of a student's educational experience. ...
The study investigated the impact of entry behaviour on academic performance among first year ICT students at Kibi Technical Institute, while also exploring learner motivation and self regulation as predictive factors. The study, rooted in motivation and self-regulation theory, utilized a positivist approach and an explanatory
design. Data, gathered from 100 first-year ICT students using a structured questionnaire and academic records, were analysed using IBM SPSS
Statistics v26. Results showed that self-regulation significantly predicted academic performance, whereas entry behaviour and learner motivation had insignificant effects. It recommends integrating self-regulation training programs into the curriculum to empower students with effective learning strategies and management
techniques.
... Polivy and Herman (2002) claim that buying self-help volumes must be part of a false hope syndrome. Salerno (2005) holds self-help responsible for the end of romance, soaring divorce rates, the decline of the nuclear family, excessive political correctness and rising substance abuse, although this is by quite an inferential leap (Weiten, 2006). ...
This thesis is inspired by the utilitarian ideology that seeks the
greatest happiness for the greatest numbers and tries to add to this cause
considering three questions: 1) What is the quality of popular happiness
advice? 2) Is unhappiness concentrated in people with mental disorders? 3)
Does the pursuit of happiness cover all ground?
Happiness advice:
What do philosophical and psychological self-help books recommend for
leading a happy life and how well does this fit with research findings on
conditions for happiness? An analysis of 57 psychological best-selling
self-help books in the Netherlands shows that most deal with topics that
are well correlated with happiness. This means that there is ground to
expect positive outcomes, but some works offer recommendations that do not
fit research results and are therefore likely to be counterproductive.
Empirical studies show that self-help materials can relieve specific
psychological problems, but there are no data confirming the effectiveness
of popular advice for a happier life in general.
Happiness of people with mental disorder:
How much priority deserves mental health care in the pursuit of greater
happiness? Analysis of a large scale panel study in the Netherlands shows
that most of the unhappiest people have a mental disorder, and from an
utilitarian viewpoint, raising the happiness of these people deserves
priority. But not all people with mental disorders are unhappy. Most
people with mental disorders feel happy at least often, in particular
people diagnosed as having a substance abuse disorder or an anxiety
disorder. This does not seem not to be due to distorted appraisal of
happiness.
Wisdom and negative affect:
Several critics of utilitarianism deem ‘wisdom’ higher than happiness.
Is there a conflict between these values as the stereotype of ‘Happy
Hans’ suggests? Analysis of large scale survey shows that wisdom and
happiness are positively correlated. Yet the overlap between the two is so
modest that the entities are largely independent.
Some adherents of utilitarianism focus on eliminating negative experiences
all together. Transhumanists ponder on redesigning the human organism that
will give rise to ‘more varied experience, lifelong happiness and
exhilarating peak experiences everyday’. Likewise, positive
psychologists focus on maximizing positive experiences through learning.
It is argued that negative emotions serve a critical function in our
lives, and will enable us to stay focused on the parts of reality that are
necessary for optimal functioning.
This article reviews psychology’s attempts to influence public attitudes about both the science and the profession of psychology. The early history of the profession is reviewed, and the efforts of the American Psychological Association (APA) to shape the public’s perception of psychology are discussed. The rise of social media is reviewed, and important social media outlets relevant to psychology are identified. The activities of the Society for Media Psychology and Technology (APA Division 46) are illustrated, and the presidents of the Division are identified. The work of those psychologists who are noted public intellectuals or who have received Nobel prizes or National Medal of Science awards for their research is briefly reviewed, and the public notoriety of 4 prominent media celebrities (Joy Browne, Joyce Brothers, Laura Schlessinger, and Phil McGraw) is discussed. Several controversies in the field of psychology that have influenced the public and their attitudes about psychology are also briefly reviewed.
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