The Science of Lay Theories [electronic resource] : How Beliefs Shape Our Cognition, Behavior, and Health /
Zedelius, Claire M.editor.
Müller, Barbara C. N.editor.
Schooler, Jonathan W.editor.
This timely and important collection broadens our understanding of the ways in which lay theories (also known as folk psychologies, implicit theories, naïve theories, or mindsets) impact our lives and social relations. Moving well beyond lay theories as applied to intelligence and achievement, this volume considers lay theories in an admirably wide context, including perspectives on prejudice, creativity, self-regulation, health, free will, justice, magic, religion and more. Eminent and emerging scholars alike provide a comprehensive overview that presents and synthesizes cutting edge contemporary research on lay theories, spanning social, cognitive, developmental, cultural, and clinical psychology. Structurally, this volume is organized in three parts. Beginning with a preface by renowned scholar Carol Dweck, the first part looks at the origins and nature of lay theories, and how malleable they are. The second part explores lay theories about common psychological phenomena. The third section discusses lay theories about the metaphysical or supernatural. Finally, the last section explores the important question of how lay theories impact health and health behavior. Taken together, the chapters provide an integrative survey of the science of lay theories, bringing together many perspectives that previously have been studied largely in isolation. This volume is more than the sum of its parts—perspectives from different strands of research provide insights that cut across research disciplines, making novel connections and prompting new directions for this field of study. Shedding light on how our beliefs shape all facets of our lives, The Science of Lay Theories: How Beliefs Shape Our Cognition, Behavior, and Health will appeal to researchers and practitioners in psychology, as well as philosophers, cognitive and developmental neuroscientists, religious scholars, sociologists, and anthropologists. It is very rare to say of an edited volume of scholarly chapters “I couldn’t put it down!” Yet that was the case with this book. It’s not just that I have worked in this field for many years, but rather, with every chapter I felt I was gaining new insights into what, deep down, people really believe and how these beliefs influence their lives—Carol Dweck, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.
Preface by Carol Dweck -- Part I: The origins and nature of lay theories -- Chapter 1. The Origins of Lay Theories: The Case of Essentialist Beliefs by Nick Haslam -- Chapter 2. The Motivated Fluidity of Lay Theories of Change by Anne E. Wilson and Jaslyn A. English -- Part II: Explorations in lay theories about human psychological attributes or phenomena -- Chapter 3. Lay Theories of Self-Control by Veronika Job and Gregory M. Walton -- Chapter 4. What are People’s Lay Theories about Mind Wandering and How do Those Beliefs Affect Them? by Claire M. Zedelius and Jonathan W. Schooler -- Chapter 5. Lay Theories of Creativity by Simone Ritter, and Eric Rietzschel -- Chapter 6. Mindsets about Malleability and Intergroup Relations by Aneeta Rattan, and Oriane Georgeac -- Chapter 7. Effects of Lay Beliefs on the Justice Motive by Michèlle Bal, and Kees van den Bos -- Part III: Insights into lay theories about the metaphysical or supernatural -- Chapter 8. Antecedents, Manifestations, and Consequences of Belief in Mind-Body Dualism by Matthias Forstmann, and Pascal Burgmer -- Chapter 9. Lay Theories of the Mind/Brain Relationship and the Allure of Neuroscience by Diego Fernandez-Duque -- Chapter 10. Causes and Consequences of the Belief in Free Will by Davide Rigoni, Axel Cleeremans, and Marcel Brass -- Chapter 11. Religion and its Cultural Evolutionary By-Products by Kristin Laurin -- Chapter 12. From the Impossible to the Improbable: A Probabilistic Account of Magical Beliefs and Practices Across Development and Cultures by Martin Fortier and Sunae Kim -- Part IV: Investigation of lay theories about mental and physical health -- Chapter 13. Mindsets of Body-Weight by Jeni L. Burnette, Crystal L. Hoyt, and Kasey Orvidas -- Chapter 14. Lay Theories and Metaphors of Health and Illness by David J. Hauser, Randolph M. Nesse, and Norbert Schwarz -- Chapter 15. How Lay Theories Influence our Mental Health by Adrian Furnham.
This timely and important collection broadens our understanding of the ways in which lay theories (also known as folk psychologies, implicit theories, naïve theories, or mindsets) impact our lives and social relations. Moving well beyond lay theories as applied to intelligence and achievement, this volume considers lay theories in an admirably wide context, including perspectives on prejudice, creativity, self-regulation, health, free will, justice, magic, religion and more. Eminent and emerging scholars alike provide a comprehensive overview that presents and synthesizes cutting edge contemporary research on lay theories, spanning social, cognitive, developmental, cultural, and clinical psychology. Structurally, this volume is organized in three parts. Beginning with a preface by renowned scholar Carol Dweck, the first part looks at the origins and nature of lay theories, and how malleable they are. The second part explores lay theories about common psychological phenomena. The third section discusses lay theories about the metaphysical or supernatural. Finally, the last section explores the important question of how lay theories impact health and health behavior. Taken together, the chapters provide an integrative survey of the science of lay theories, bringing together many perspectives that previously have been studied largely in isolation. This volume is more than the sum of its parts—perspectives from different strands of research provide insights that cut across research disciplines, making novel connections and prompting new directions for this field of study. Shedding light on how our beliefs shape all facets of our lives, The Science of Lay Theories: How Beliefs Shape Our Cognition, Behavior, and Health will appeal to researchers and practitioners in psychology, as well as philosophers, cognitive and developmental neuroscientists, religious scholars, sociologists, and anthropologists. It is very rare to say of an edited volume of scholarly chapters “I couldn’t put it down!” Yet that was the case with this book. It’s not just that I have worked in this field for many years, but rather, with every chapter I felt I was gaining new insights into what, deep down, people really believe and how these beliefs influence their lives—Carol Dweck, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Consciousness.
Psychology and religion.
Psychology, clinical.
Personality and Social Psychology.
Religion and Psychology.
Health Psychology.