Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-gr6zb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-21T13:31:49.071Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 1 - Fads and Fallacies in Science, Medicine, and Psychology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2023

Joel Paris
Joel Paris
Affiliation:
Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada
Get access

Summary

This chapter defines fads and fallacies, and relates them to cognitive errors. It discusses broader problems with determining causality in science, and the reasons for the replication crisis in research. Examples of medical and surgical fads, namely chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain, and non-evidence-based surgical procedures, are examined. The chapter also discusses the role of the pharmaceutical industry in medical fallacies. It concludes by explaining how fads can be understood in the context of the challenges of chronicity in medicine.

Keywords

cognitive errorsdiagnostic fadsmedical fadspharmaceutical industrysurgical fads
Type
Chapter
Information
Fads and Fallacies in Psychiatry , pp. 8 - 19
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×