Daniel Nehring
My interest in popular psychology began in Mexico, in the late 1990s. At the time, self-help books were widely read in schools and universities, and they were even sometimes used as textbooks. I was struck by the influence which the moralising self-help narratives of writers like Carlos Cuauhtémoc Sánchez had on some of my friends, and I became keen to explore the reasons for this. Mexican popular psychology became a subject matter of my doctoral research, and I have written about it in various books and journal articles since then.
My current research explores the transnational production, circulation and consumption of self-help books. Research on popular psychology has so far been characterised by its emphasis on the Global Northwest - in particular the USA - and its focus on developments within individual societies. The transnational diffusion of therapeutic narratives of self and social relationships has been insufficiently explored. In response, I have recently published a monograph on the globalisation of popular psychology, together with Emmanuel Alvarado, Dylan Kerrigan and Eric Hendriks. Transnational Popular Psychology and the Global Self-Help Industry (Palgrave 2016) in grounded in extensive fieldwork in five societies: Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, the USA, the UK, and the People's Republic of China. A sample chapter is available through the link below. Currently, I am working on a new book that will look at popular psychological narratives of love and intimacy.
My current research explores the transnational production, circulation and consumption of self-help books. Research on popular psychology has so far been characterised by its emphasis on the Global Northwest - in particular the USA - and its focus on developments within individual societies. The transnational diffusion of therapeutic narratives of self and social relationships has been insufficiently explored. In response, I have recently published a monograph on the globalisation of popular psychology, together with Emmanuel Alvarado, Dylan Kerrigan and Eric Hendriks. Transnational Popular Psychology and the Global Self-Help Industry (Palgrave 2016) in grounded in extensive fieldwork in five societies: Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, the USA, the UK, and the People's Republic of China. A sample chapter is available through the link below. Currently, I am working on a new book that will look at popular psychological narratives of love and intimacy.