Hollywood Psych: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|''Q: [[Light Bulb Joke|How many Psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?]]

[[Did Not Do the Research|Research is hard.]] While this is generally true of [[Hollywood Science|all science]], psychology in particular is vulnerable, as it's a very, ''very'' new field still under heavy development. Only recently has psychology emerged as a mature science with robust theories, and supposed "facts" of the past are [[Urban Legends|still in popular culture]] despite being [[Science Marches On|debunked]]. Writers fail to recognize this, and the [[Informed Ability|supposed professionals]] in their stories will quote woefully out-of-date representations of [[All Psychology Is Freudian|Sigmund Freud's]] theory of the unconscious, Carl Jung's collective unconscious [[archetype]]s, or Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. This is the equivalent of a modern physicist [[You Fail Physics Forever|discussing luminiferous aether]], or a biologist believing [[Lamarck Was Right]].

One big area where Hollywood really missed the boat is that from the 30s well into the 60s, radical behaviorism dominated psychological research. Researchers attempted to stamp out "mentalism" (that is, the study of consciousness itself) in favor of quantifying behavior. Psychology was ghetto-ized, and in the US, survived in the shadow of psychiatry (a medical field, ironically enough). This may partially explain the powerful, anachronistic hold Freud has over Hollywood. The Freud of Hollywood is psychoanalysis of the 60s, [[Flanderization|flanderized]] and spun for drama.

'''Tropes:'''

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{{examples}}

== General ==

* [[Split Personality|Dissociative Identity Disorder]] (known as "Multiple Personality Disorder" under the World Health Organisation's classification system) comes in two ways on television: [[Jekyll and Hyde]] or [[Super-Powered Evil Side]]. It's also ''far'' more common in fiction than in reality. To the point where in reality, it's debatable whether or not it actually exists. The vast majority of first world countries refuse to recognise it as a disorder.