New Book and New Blog Introduction

-

“Justifiably paranoid, ” my new book title, seems a contradiction in terms.  Aren’t paranoids irrationally suspicious?  After all, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) lists paranoia among its 297 illnesses.  However, their definition requires that the diagnosed person evidence “suspicions without justification.”  So the determination hinges on defining “justification.”  If you once briefly and casually searched the Internet for a new car, and weeks later you continue to be barraged by unwanted automobile advertisements should you be suspicious that you are being tracked?  If you donated to a charity for handicapped children and shortly thereafter receive mailed solicitations from every charity known to humanity, should you be suspicious that your personal information was given or sold to the highest bidder?

Everyone who inhale oxygen and exhales carbon dioxide is justified in believing they are under assault from an unrelenting army of determined, intrusive, sometimes malicious influencers who seek to gain from their intrusion. A few truly believe that they have something worthwhile to offer to you, and mostly want the esteem and prestige that comes with exerting influence. Others could not care less about you, and want only unilateral fortune or fame. These professional influence soldiers equip themselves with the latest influence weapons. They invade via high tech devices, such as smart phones and computers. And they infiltrate your social networks, distorting them to their advantage.

The influence assault troops train assiduously, guided by manuals and methods created by their influence generals who have risen in rank because their weaponry and tactics win influence battles. If discredited, they are succeeded by another cadre of commanders, offering cutting edge influence theory and practice.

Justifiably Paranoid equips you to fight the influence war. You will learn how the influence professionals think and how they try to manipulate you. When in an influence-vulnerable position, you will know what the influencer is attempting, and how to counter their strategies. By skillfully employing your own intellectual weaponry, you will maintain your autonomy so that you can accept beneficial influences and reject non-beneficial ones. For instance, when purchasing a new product, you will know how to separate hype from reality, and how to negotiate from a position of strength.


About Peter J. McCusker

Dr. Peter J. McCusker is a licensed psychologist, member of the American Psychological Association, and member of the National Register of Health Service Psychologists. Dr. McCusker has taught multiple psychology courses and has practiced within clinical psychology and within the psychology of physical medicine and rehabilitation for forty years. During that time he has treated patients in private settings, hospitals, and outpatient clinics. A husband, father, grandfather, marathon runner, and former Marine, Dr. McCusker has authored Justifiably Paranoid: Resisting Intrusive and Malicious Influences; Conversation: Striving, Surviving, and Thriving; Barry Barack Hussein Soetoro Obama: Identity and Racial Hypocrisy in America; and Don't Rest in Peace: Activity-Oriented, Integrated Physical and Mental Health

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

That's a Strange Idea

-
What does that have to do with what we were talking about?  We all have presented or thought about presenting that question to someone.  The implicit “accusation” is that we believe our interlocutor has found relevance where none exists, or that they are ascribing more relevance to their idea than is warranted.  In psychology jargon, the former would be called “aberrant salience” and the latter, “anomalous salience.”   We might then dismiss the speaker as being emotionally or cognitively deficient. So, one more question: Is such thinking crazy?  Aberrant salience, by definition, is deficient.  In fact, it is often regarded as a common feature of thought on the schizophrenia spectrum.  But anomalous salience is not necessarily deficient; in fact, it literally could lead to a so-called quantum leap in human knowledge.  For instance, in 1935, Erwin Schrödinger combined the ideas of subatomic particles (quanta) with influence distance, to describ...
Read more

How Can Psychology Promote Social Wellbeing?

-
This month I received an invitation to submit an article to the Pennsylvania Psychologist magazine on the theme “Myths in Psychology.” Without hesitation, I knew both what I wanted to write and that the imagined article would never be published.  I would have entitled it “The Myth that Psychology Respects Open Scientific Discussion and Debate.” And before explaining why I chose the topic, I must say that although I believe psychologists have as much right as anyone else to take political positions, they have no right to flood the citizenry with biased or uncontested politically-one-sided propaganda. The simple truth is that Psychology is at least as interested—I would argue often MORE interested—in politics than in science.  As one example, today, August 29, 2023, I quote “From APA Journals Article Spotlight” (https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/amp): How psychologists can help achieve equity in health care: Advancing innovative partnerships and models of care delivery. Public P...
Read more

Homeostasis and Allostasis

-
Virtually everyone is familiar with homeostasis.  To refresh that concept: it refers to the fact that a healthful physical condition must be maintained within a narrow range regardless of the external environment  wherein we find ourselves.   Among  the many processes to be maintained are those such as temperature control, pH balance, and glucose levels.  Not so widely known,  however, is the allostasis concept—the process by which the body regains homeostasis when homeostasis is challenged or lost due to stress.  Some of the stressors are purely physical, such as frigid weather and some are less so, such as angry disputes.  Most stressors, of course, include an amalgam of physical and non-physical stress (e.g., mental) in various combinations.  Unlike homeostasis, allostasis operates by ANTICIPATING increased bodily demands and challenges.  For instance, allostasis begins to operate long before your body temperature has deteriora...
Read more