50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology Shattering Widespread Misconceptions About Behavior

includes index and biblioraphy

The Wide World of Psychomythology Brain Power Myths about the Brain and Perception Most People Use Only 10% of Their Brain Power Some People Are Left-Brained, Others Are Right-Brained Extrasensory Perception Is a Well-Established Scientific Phenomenon Visual Perceptions Are Accompanied by Tiny Emissions from the Eyes Subliminal Messages Can Persuade People to Purchase Products From Womb to Tomb Myths about Development and Aging Playing Mozart`s Music to Infants Boosts Their Intelligence Adolescence Is Inevitably a Time of Psychological Turmoil Most People Experience a Midlife Crisis in Their 40s or Early 50s Old Age Is Typically Associated with Increased Dissatisfaction and Senility When Dying, People Pass through a Universal Series of Psychological Stages A Remembrance of Things Past Myths about Memory Human Memory Works like a Tape Recorder or Video Camera, and Accurately Records the Events We`ve Experienced Hypnosis is Useful for Retrieving Memories of Forgotten Events Individuals Commonly Repress the Memories of Traumatic Experiences Most People with Amnesia Forget All Details of Their Earlier Lives Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks Myths about Intelligence and Learning Intelligence Tests Are Biased against Certain Groups of People If You`re Unsure of Your Answer When Taking a Test, It`s Best to Stick with Your Initial Hunch The Defining Feature of Dyslexia Is Reversing Letters Students Learn Best When Teaching Styles Are Matched to Their Learning Styles Altered States Myths about Consciousness Hypnosis Is a Unique "Trance" State that Differs in Kind from Wakefulness Researchers Have Demonstrated that Dreams Possess Symbolic Meaning Individuals Can Learn Information, like New Languages, while Asleep During "Out-of-Body" Experiences, People`s Consciousness Leaves Their Bodies 6 I`ve Got a Feeling Myths about Emotion and Motivation The Polygraph ("Lie Detector") Test Is an Accurate Means of Detecting Dishonesty Happiness Is Determined Mostly by Our External Circumstances Ulcers Are Caused Primarily or Entirely by Stress A Positive Attitude Can Stave off Cancer The Social Animal Opposites Attract: We Are Most Romantically Attracted to People Who Differ from Us There`s Safety in Numbers: The More People Present at an Emergency, the Greater the Chance that Someone Will Intervene Men and Women Communicate in Completely Different Ways It`s Better to Express Anger to Others than to Hold It in 8 Know Thyself Myths about Personality Raising Children Similarly Leads to Similarities in Their Adult Personalities The Fact that a Trait Is Heritable Means We Can`t Change It Low Self-Esteem Is a Major Cause of Psychological Problems Most People Who Were Sexually Abused in Childhood Develop Severe Personality Disturbances in Adulthood People`s Responses to Inkblots Tell Us a Great Deal about Their Personalities Our Handwriting Reveals Our Personality Traits Sad, Mad, and Bad Myths about Mental Illness Psychiatric Labels Cause Harm by Stigmatizing People Only Deeply Depressed People Commit Suicide People with Schizophrenia Have Multiple Personalities Adult Children of Alcoholics Display a Distinct Profile of Symptoms There`s Recently Been a Massive Epidemic of Infantile Autism Psychiatric Hospital Admissions and Crimes Increase during Full Moons 10 Disorder in the Court Myths about Psychology and the Law Most Mentally 111 People Are Violent Criminal Profiling