50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology uses popular myths as a vehicle for helping students and laypersons to distinguish science from pseudoscience. * Uses common myths as a vehicle for exploring how to distinguish factual from fictional claims in popular psychology * Explores topics that readers will relate to, but often misunderstand, such as opposites attract, people use only 10% of their brains, and handwriting reveals your personality * Provides a mythbusting kit for evaluating folk psychology claims in everyday life * Teaches essential critical thinking skills through detailed discussions of each myth * Includes over 200 additional psychological myths for readers to explore Contains an Appendix of useful Web Sites for examining psychological myths * Features a postscript of remarkable psychological findings that sound like myths but that are true * Engaging and accessible writing style that appeals to students and lay readers alike I find each and every chapter excellent and from a teaching point of view, brilliant. The way in which the history of the myths is presented up to the critical but balanced discussion of each myth, is a great achievement. Scott Lilienfeld is well-known for his user-friendly writing style, but in this text he and his co-authors reach a new level. Preface. Acknowledgments. Introduction. The Wide World of Psychomythology. 1 Brain Power. Myths about the Brain and Perception. #1 Most People Use Only 10% of Their Brain Power. #2 Some People Are Left Brained, Others Are Right Brained. #3 Extrasensory Perception Is a Well Established Scientific Phenomenon. #4 Visual Perceptions Are Accompanied by Tiny Emissions from the Eyes. #5 Subliminal Messages Can Persuade People to Purchase Products. 2 From Womb to Tomb. Myths about Development and Aging. #6 Playing Mozart s Music to Infants Boosts Their Intelligence. #7 Adolescence Is Inevitably a Time of Psychological Turmoil. #8 Most People Experience a Midlife Crisis in Their 40s or Early 50s. #9 Old Age Is Typically Associated with Increased Dissatisfaction and Senility. #10 When Dying, People Pass through a Universal Series of Psychological Stages. 3 A Remembrance of Things Past. Myths about Memory. #11 Human Memory Works like a Tape Recorder or Video Camera, and Accurately Records the Events We ve Experienced. #12 Hypnosis is Useful for Retrieving Memories of Forgotten Events. #13 Individuals Commonly Repress the Memories of Traumatic Experiences. #14 Most People with Amnesia Forget All Details of Their Earlier Lives. 4 Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks. Myths about Intelligence and Learning. #15 Intelligence Tests Are Biased against Certain Groups of People. #16 If You re Unsure of Your Answer When Taking a Test, It s Best to Stick with Your Initial Hunch. #17 The Defining Feature of Dyslexia Is Reversing Letters. #18 Students Learn Best When Teaching Styles Are Matched to Their Learning Styles. 5 Altered States. Myths about Consciousness. #19 Hypnosis Is a Unique Trance State that Differs in Kind from Wakefulness. #20 Researchers Have Demonstrated that Dreams Possess Symbolic Meaning. #21 Individuals Can Learn Information, like New Languages, while Asleep. #22 During Out of Body Experiences, People s Consciousness Leaves Their Bodies. 6 I ve Got a Feeling. Myths about Emotion and Motivation. #23 The Polygraph (Lie Detector) Test Is an Accurate Means of Detecting Dishonesty. #24 Happiness Is Determined Mostly by Our External Circumstances. #25 Ulcers Are Caused Primarily or Entirely by Stress. #26 A Positive Attitude Can Stave off Cancer. 7 The Social Animal. Myths about Interpersonal Behavior. #27 Opposites Attract: We Are Most Romantically Attracted to People Who Differ from Us. #28 There s Safety in Numbers: The More People Present at an Emergency, the Greater the Chance that Someone Will Intervene. #29 Men and Women Communicate in Completely Different Ways. #30 It s Better to Express Anger to Others than to Hold It in. 8 Know Thyself. Myths about Personality. #31 Raising Children Similarly Leads to Similarities in Their Adult Personalities. #32 The Fact that a Trait Is Heritable Means We Can t Change It. #33 Low Self Esteem Is a Major Cause of Psychological Problems. #34 Most People Who Were Sexually Abused in Childhood Develop Severe Personality Disturbances in Adulthood. #35 People s Responses to Inkblots Tell Us a Great Deal about Their Personalities. #36 Our Handwriting Reveals Our Personality Traits. 9 Sad, Mad, and Bad. Myths about Mental Illness. #37 Psychiatric Labels Cause Harm by Stigmatizing People. #38 Only Deeply Depressed People Commit Suicide. #39 People with Schizophrenia Have Multiple Personalities. #40 Adult Children of Alcoholics Display a Distinct Profile of Symptoms. #41 There s Recently Been a Massive Epidemic of Infantile Autism. #42 Psychiatric Hospital Admissions and Crimes Increase during Full Moons. 10 Disorder in the Court. Myths about Psychology and the Law. #43 Most Mentally Ill People Are Violent. #44 Criminal Profiling Is Helpful in Solving Cases. #45 A Large Proportion Of Criminals Successfully Use the Insanity Defense. #46 Virtually All People Who Confess to a Crime Are Guilty of It. 11 Skills and Pills. Myths about Psychological Treatment. #47 Expert Judgment and Intuition Are the Best Means of Making Clinical Decisions. #48 Abstinence Is the Only Realistic Treatment Goal for Alcoholics. #49 All Effective Psychotherapies Force People to Confront the Root Causes of Their Problems in Childhood. #50 Electroconvulsive (Shock) Therapy Is a Physically Dangerous and Brutal Treatment. Postscript. Truth is Stranger than Fiction. Appendix. Recommended Websites for Exploring Psychomythology. References. Index.