Monday 3rd February - 06:00 PM GMT
Unmasking the Mind
Can we ever truly know ourselves?
“Psychology should be based on empirical evidence and scientific methods” claimed the founder of its modern form, cognitive psychology. Yet critics argue it's unknown whether psychology really has moved on from superstition lacking empirical support and scientific rigour. Nearly two-thirds of psychological studies aren’t replicable, while 90% of social psychology is based on self-report surveys. Moreover its replicability rate is often over 20% below those of the physical sciences, and many argue concepts like 'individual emotions', studied at length, are not universally applicable.
Should we accept that scientific principles will never be able to account for behaviour and experience that is fundamentally subjective, qualitative, and context-dependent? Or would giving up the idea that psychology is a science have profound consequences for society and ourselves? More radically, should we see psychology as functioning to serve cultural and political agendas, shaping norms rather than uncovering universal truths?
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Nick Brown
Forensic scholar
Nick Brown is a psychology researcher renowned for his critiques of famous psychological studies. A Cambridge-trained engineer, Nick Brown began studying psychology formally in his 50s and soon took on the positive psychology establishment. He is most famous for his debunking of the so-called "positivity ratio" in the science of happiness.
His work has been covered in The Guardian, The Scientist Magazine, and Science, among other publications.
Carol Gilligan
Groundbreaking psychologist
Carol Gilligan is a Professor of Humanities and Applied Psychology at New York University. She is a feminist icon, and the mind behind the revolutionary "ethics of care". She is best known for the classic In a Different Voice (1982).
John Ioannidis
Stanford Medic
John Ioannidis is a Greek-American physician, scientist and writer. He is a Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and Population Health, and Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University. His research focuses on evidence-based medicine, clinical research and the study of scientific research itself.
Not only has Ioannidis served on the editorial board of over twenty scientific journals, but his 2005 essay "Why Most Published Research Findings Are False" was the most-viewed article in the history of the Public Library of Science, with over 3 million views.
David Yeager
Acclaimed developmental psychologist
David Yeager is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and the cofounder of the Texas Behavioral Science and Policy Institute. He is best known for his research conducted with Carol Dweck, Angela Duckworth, and Greg Walton on short but powerful interventions that influence adolescent behaviours such as motivation, engagement, healthy eating, bullying, stress, mental health, and more. His research has been featured in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, CNN, Fox News, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and more.
He is the author of 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating People, and he is an instructor for the MasterClass "The Power of Mindset."
Join Carol Gilligan, David Yeager, Nick Brown and John Ioannidis to question if we can ever truly know ourselves. Make sure to stick around afterwards where you'll get the chance to challenge our speakers in a live audience Q&A.
