8 Common Myths About Psychology

Before you see these 8 common myths about psychology, I invite you to watch this video that contains the main strengths that all psychologists influence so that people move forward.

Trust in ourselves, be clear about what we want, work hard, sacrifice, tolerate frustrations ...:

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"Science is a myth, only it is the most beautiful myth, the only one generalizable to the entire species and perhaps the most worthy of respect." Antonio Escohotado

Today, in our fast-paced world, we are exposed to a great information overload, we receive a constant bombardment from television, the media, the internet, etc. about multiple topics.

In this article I will talk about the myths related to psychology, since a large part of the information sources are invaded by ideas that are false, which generates great misinformation.

Some of these widespread myths are:

1) Most people use only 10% of their brain power:

This is false, it is clearly known that the loss of less than 90% of brain tissue due to some disease or stroke has serious consequences In most cases. (Kolb and Whishaw, 2003).

Regarding metabolism, brain tissue is the one that consumes the greatest amount of energy, weighs approximately 2.3% of the total weight of our body, but still consumes an amount of oxygen greater than 20% of what we breathe.

Furthermore, evolution would not have allowed so much of an organ's resources to be wasted.Or, if so, the same evolution would have led us to conserve only that 10% of tissue and not to conserve the rest without it being necessary.

This misconception possibly dates back to William James, who said that on average, people only managed to develop about 10% of their intellectual potential, but he spoke in terms of potential, not ability.

2) Opposites attract:

In popular culture this phrase has expanded a lot, so much so that it has almost become part of the collective imagination, but it is false, because in practice, the relationships that take place between very different people are not usually so functional. It is common for a person to draw attention to personality traits that are very different from ours, but this, which at first can generate curiosity and interest, in the long term can also become a source of relationship problems.

In the scientific literature there are a large number of studies that show that when there are very similar personalities between two people, they have a greater probability of feeling attraction than those with very different personalities.

3) It is better to express anger than to keep it to ourselves:

It is often believed that it is healthier to express anger than to keep it inside, but this is not entirely true. There is a large body of research showing that by expelling our anger and directing it to people or objects, the temperature rises and aggressive impulsivity increases (Bushman, Baumeister, & Stack, 1999; Tavris, 1988).

Anger can only be useful when it is accompanied by an intention to resolve conflicts and by constructive ideas for dealing with what has generated the anger. (Littrell, 1998).

4) Hypnosis is a "trance" state that resembles being asleep:

There are a large number of books and films that show this trance state that can generate behaviors or attitudes that a person would not have done if it were not for this (murders, suicides, perceptual distortions or being subjected to manipulation).

These ideas are false, because research has shown that a person who has been subjected to hypnosis, can retain their ability to resist and opposition and is not the same as being asleep.

5) All dreams have symbolic meanings:

Over time, dreams and their multiple interpretations and meanings have been given great importance, it is even believed that they can bring to light truths that were hidden.

Although it is still not scientifically well understood what happens in dreams, it is known that they are not as interpretable as it is believed and that they are not the answer of our unconscious world, nor predictors of our future. Instead, it is believed that dreams are simply not very clear representations of our brain, where there is a large amount of confusing information that seeks to be ordered.

6) Making your baby listen to Mozart will make him a genius:

The mass media have contributed to this myth, as it is true that in a 1993 study in the journal Nature, it was concluded that listening to Mozart contributed to the reasoning skills of a group of students, but only in reasoning. space. But it was discovered that the effect was not very long-lasting, that is, it was only in the short term, since in the long term, these spatial reasoning skills were not preserved.

7) The memory has a recorder function:

This is false, since the information and experiences are not perfectly recorded and ready to be retrieved whenever we want. It is known according to numerous scientific studies, that memory has the quality of rebuilding itself instead of reproducing itself. When we remember something, we combine our ideas, beliefs, feelings, and fuzzy mixtures of memories or memories. For this reason, in the trials it is taken into account that the memory is not totally reliable, Thanks to these discoveries, methods have been invented to analyze testimonies and these are not taken as the only evidence to give a verdict in court.

8) Autism Spectrum Disorder has increased:

This idea is false, it is true that in recent years more children have been diagnosed with autism, but it is not an epidemic. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has made it much easier for mental health professionals to accurately diagnose this disorder and also the diagnostic criteria have also changed, so what has increased is not the disorder but the ability to detect it.

Sources:

-http://www.realclearscience.com/lists/10_myths_psychology/

-50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005UNUNPY/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb