Q.'Psychology is useful not only for society but also for you personally.' Discuss this statement with reference to the idea of self-understanding described in the chapter.

Psychology helps society by addressing problems from the personal to the international level and by training professionals who work in schools, hospitals, and other real settings; it helps individuals personally by encouraging a positive, balanced self-understanding. …

The chapter makes both halves of this statement quite explicit, treating psychology's social usefulness and its personal usefulness as two sides of the same coin rather than separate claims.

Social usefulness

Psychology offers solutions to real problems at every scale -- personal problems such as living with an alcoholic parent or a difficult child; family-level problems such as poor communication among family members; community-level problems such as socially isolated groups or even terrorist organisations; and national or international problems connected to education, health, the environment, social justice, and intergroup relations. While solving such problems often also needs political, economic, and social reform, many of them are rooted in unhealthy thinking, negative attitudes, and undesirable patterns of behaviour -- precisely the kind of thing psychological analysis can help both explain and address. This social role is visible in how widely psychologists actually work -- designing and running intervention programmes in schools, hospitals, industries, prisons, business organisations, military establishments, and private practice -- and in how prominently media now features psychological counselling and analysis of social problems.

Personal usefulness …