Among all the sciences,
psychology is perhaps the
most mysterious to the
general public, and the most prone
to misconceptions. Even though its
language and ideas have infiltrated
everyday culture, most people have
only a hazy idea of what the subject
is about, and what psychologists
actually do. For some, psychology
conjures up images of people in
white coats, either staffing an
institution for mental disorders or
conducting laboratory experiments
on rats. Others may imagine a man
with a middle-European accent
psychoanalyzing a patient on a
couch or, if film scripts are to be
believed, plotting to exercise some
form of mind control.