"A radical methodological approach to psychology that is open to social change - in an anti-capitalist, anti-racist and feminist politics." Antonio Negri Psychology is meant to help people cope with the afflictions of modern society. But how useful is it? Ian Parker argues that current psychological practice has become part of the problem, rather than the solution. Ideal for undergraduates, this book deconstructs the discipline to reveal the neoliberal sensitivities that underlie its theory and practice. Psychology focuses on the happiness of 'the individual'. Yet it neglects the fact that the happiness of the individual depends on their social and political surroundings. Ian Parker argues that a new approach to psychology is needed. He offers an alternative vision, outlining how the discipline can be linked to political practice and how it can help people as part of a wider progressive agenda. This groundbreaking book is at the cutting edge of current thinking on the discipline and should be required reading on all psychology courses. 'A radical methodological approach to psychology that is open to social change change - in an anti-capitalist, anti-racist and feminist politics' - Antonio Negri 'This is a very clear and useful critique of the discipline of psychology in its various branches. Definitely to be recommended as an introductory text for anyone trying to connect radical politics and the study of psychology' - Professor John Holloway, Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades of the BenemÈrita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla in Mexico Ian Parker  is Professor of Management in the School of Management at the University of Leicester and President of the College of Psychoanalysts-UK. He is the author of  Psychology and Society  (Pluto, 1996),  Slavoj Zizek: A Critical Introduction  (Pluto, 2004),  Revolution in Psychology  (Pluto, 2007) and  Revolutionary Keywords for a New Left  (2015). Revolution in Psychology Alienation to Emancipation By Ian Parker Pluto Press Copyright © 2007 Ian Parker All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7453-2535-4 Contents Acknowledgements, vi, Introduction, 1, 1 What Is Psychology? Meet the Family, 9, 2 Psychology as Ideology: Individualism Explained, 33, 3 Psychology at Work: Observation and Regulation of Alienated Activity, 55, 4 Pathologising Dissent: Exploitation Isolated and Ratified, 74, 5 Material Interests: the Manufacture of Distress, 94, 6 Spiritless Conditions: Regulating Therapeutic Alternatives, 112, 7 Professional Empowerment: Good Citizens, 130, 8 Historical, Personal and Political: Psychology and Revolution, 147, 9 Commonsense: Psychological Culture on the Left, 166, 10 Elements of Opposition: Psychological Struggles Now, 184, 11 Transitional Demands: Taking on Psychology, 200, 12 What Next? Reading and Resources, 215, References, 222, Index, 258, CHAPTER 1 What Is Psychology? Meet the Family There is no one definition of what our human psychology is or how it should be understood, and the discipline of psychology is just as difficult to define. Psychology comprises many incompatible theories and research traditions, some counter-intuitive and some commonsensical, mostly useless and sometimes dangerous. This chapter shows how psychology as a separate discipline came into existence at a specific point in history in a certain part of the world. We will see how the psychologists defined themselves against other approaches to understanding and treating individuals, and how they carved out a particular role for their discipline based on a mistaken view of what people are and what they can be. Psychologists do not agree with each other about what psychology really is Sometimes psychology textbooks seem very certain as to what psychology should be about, but this is precisely because there is such sharp disagreement among psychologists. The disagreements are often smoothed over so that a particular position can be argued for all the more forcefully. Because they do not even agree on what the most important disputes are, most introductions to psychology cover this over by pretending to weigh up and judge different vantage points. This feeds the illusion that it all fits together somehow. Some psychologists argue that the discipline should be 'concerned primarily with establishing cause and effect relationships', or that it should be seen as 'a branch of biological science which studies the phenomenon of conscious life and behaviour'. Others, strict behaviourists, focus on learning at the expense of any attempt to look inside the head, while rival approaches build models of cognitive mechanisms to explain how we remember and why we forget. Each view of what psychological science should be like is partial, but you should not believe any psychologist who claims they can tell you with confidence what they all agree on. Different areas of study in psychology are competing, not complementary One way of holding togeth