Questions about psychology

Some good questions here. All knowledge is some degree socially constructed, a product of cultural and political factors. As Thomas Kuhn pointed out in "The structure of scientific revolutions" even hard science is subject to such considerations: certain observations are ignored or ridiculed because they don't fit with existing paradigms. Psychology, as a young discipline is very much such a product.

For example, Solution focused therapy was borne out of the USA; it is a pragmatic almost atheoretical way of working which has also been taken up in the UK, but much less so on mainland Europe, and especially not in France where they go in for "grand narratives", big theories which aren't necessarily evidence based.

The work of the soviet developmental psychologist Vygotski took a very socially based line on children's growth and has been influential in europe though much less so in the USA.

Every model of psychology is essentially a metaphor and as such both constrains and enriches. Psychology is done in universities, clinics, schools, the workplace, by practitioners of all kinds and is a social enterprise subject to the processes of social psychology, possibly reflecting the strengths and waeknesses of its eminent figures.

In the past psychology has been used to support racism, homophobia, women's oppression; on the other hand it has also been used to further specific political agendas (attempts to minimise gender differences for instance).

The important thing is to be critical about everything that you read. One day we might arrive at some kind of truth......