Employing Grounded Theory to Explain the Process of Public Acceptance to Pseudo-Psychology: Presenting a Middle Range Theory

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of pseudo-psychology services on social media platforms has raised concerns about the potential impact on public perception and behavior. In response to this trend, the present study aims to delve into the process of the growing public interest in utilizing such services through grounded theory. this qualitative research was carried out using the grounded theory method with a systematic design. And was conducted in 1402. The research sample, including 24 experts and informants chosed through purposive sampling method, participated in semi-structured interviews to provide rich insights and perspectives on the increasing public interest in pseudo-psychology services on social media. The results showed 16 main (general) categories and 79 sub-categories (partial).The six dimensions of this model were as follows: the core category (Not based on psychology as a science, deceptive appearance, misuse of insufficient information of people in society), casual conditions (weak performance of the psychological community and related organizations, the attractiveness of pseudo-psychological services, the accessibility of pseudo-psychological services), contextual conditions (Expanding the penetration of pseudo-psychological services on social media, people's desire to receive quick results from psychological services, characteristics of pseudo-psychology audiences), intervening conditions (economic factors, social beliefs), strategies (unprincipled intervention, fostering negative attitudes towards psychologists) and consequences (degradation of society's culture, weakening The position of psychology, reducing the level of mental health of society). The study's results show that it's important for psychologists and organizations to focus more on pseudo-psychology services. There is also a pressing ne