Perspectives on Human Behavior in Self-Help Paperbacks and Introductory Psychology Textbooks

Abstract

The philosophical differences between psychological self-help paperbacks and introductory psychology textbooks were investigated. 360 introductory students read randomly selected sections from one of 20 self-help paperbacks or scientific psychology textbooks and rated the authors' writings on 8 dimensions. Self-help paperbacks were rated as emphasizing (a) people as masters of their own fate, (b) people as good, (c) holistic approaches to psychology, (d) the importance of subjectivity, (e) nurture or environmental explanations of behavior, and (f) simple explanations of behavior. Test-retest reliabilities over 2 and 6 weeks were low, suggesting use of caution in interpreting these results.