The Science of Deception

Psychology and Commerce in America

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book The Science of Deception by Michael Pettit, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Pettit ISBN: 9780226923758
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: January 18, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Michael Pettit
ISBN: 9780226923758
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: January 18, 2013
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Americans were fascinated with fraud. P. T. Barnum artfully exploited the American yen for deception, and even Mark Twain championed it, arguing that lying was virtuous insofar as it provided the glue for all interpersonal intercourse. But deception was not used solely to delight, and many fell prey to the schemes of con men and the wiles of spirit mediums. As a result, a number of experimental psychologists set themselves the task of identifying and eliminating the illusions engendered by modern, commercial life. By the 1920s, however, many of these same psychologists had come to depend on deliberate misdirection and deceitful stimuli to support their own experiments.

* *

The Science of Deception explores this paradox, weaving together the story of deception in American commercial culture with its growing use in the discipline of psychology. Michael Pettit reveals how deception came to be something that psychologists not only studied but also employed to establish their authority. They developed a host of tools—the lie detector, psychotherapy, an array of personality tests, and more—for making deception more transparent in the courts and elsewhere. Pettit’s study illuminates the intimate connections between the scientific discipline and the marketplace during a crucial period in the development of market culture. With its broad research and engaging tales of treachery, The Science of Deception will appeal to scholars and general readers alike.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Americans were fascinated with fraud. P. T. Barnum artfully exploited the American yen for deception, and even Mark Twain championed it, arguing that lying was virtuous insofar as it provided the glue for all interpersonal intercourse. But deception was not used solely to delight, and many fell prey to the schemes of con men and the wiles of spirit mediums. As a result, a number of experimental psychologists set themselves the task of identifying and eliminating the illusions engendered by modern, commercial life. By the 1920s, however, many of these same psychologists had come to depend on deliberate misdirection and deceitful stimuli to support their own experiments.

* *

The Science of Deception explores this paradox, weaving together the story of deception in American commercial culture with its growing use in the discipline of psychology. Michael Pettit reveals how deception came to be something that psychologists not only studied but also employed to establish their authority. They developed a host of tools—the lie detector, psychotherapy, an array of personality tests, and more—for making deception more transparent in the courts and elsewhere. Pettit’s study illuminates the intimate connections between the scientific discipline and the marketplace during a crucial period in the development of market culture. With its broad research and engaging tales of treachery, The Science of Deception will appeal to scholars and general readers alike.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book A Social History of Truth by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book Behind the Academic Curtain by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book Mary Chesnut's Civil War Epic by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book The Halle Orphanage as Scientific Community by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book Rule Breaking and Political Imagination by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book Nationalism and the Moral Psychology of Community by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book Brushstroke and Emergence by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book Questioning Secularism by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book Bushmanders and Bullwinkles by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book These Kids by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book From Black Sox to Three-Peats by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book News by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book The Man Who Thought He Was Napoleon by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book Socrates and the Jews by Michael Pettit
Cover of the book Freedom and the End of Reason by Michael Pettit
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy