50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology:

Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior

by Barry L. Beyerstein, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio

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

"True knowledge is hard won, and this timely and remarkable book shows us that stamping out falsehoods is no easy task either. The book does it all: it debunks all-too-common beliefs from the pseudoscientific fringe; it presents evidence against a variety of myths that seem like they ought to be true; it explains why people fall prey to such falsehoods; and it ends with some tantalizing facts about mind and behavior that make it clear that the truth can be every bit as amazing as fiction. These 50 myths won't disappear with the publication of this book, but those who read it will enjoy being able to set others-many others-straight." -Thomas Gilovich, Cornell University

"We have needed this compendium for some time. These factoids and popular (but fallacious) memes about psychology have been exposed in single publications, but critiques of all of them have never been brought together in one place before. The myths chosen by these authors are indeed popular ones-the very ones that psychology instructors encounter every day. The book is an incredible resource for both student and instructor. The critiques are accurate and well written. I'm sure my copy will be dog-eared within six months." -Keith E. Stanovich, author or How To Think Straight About Psychology and What Intelligence Tests Miss

"A much-needed mythbuster for consumers and students of psychology. This engaging book reminds us that applying science to everyday psychology is not only enormously worthwhile, but fun." -Carol Tavris, Ph.D., coauthor of Mistakes were made (but not by me)

"Because I only use 10% of my brain, I had to play Mozart music while reading this book, and then be hypnotized to recover the memory of it because of early childhood traumas that were repressed but occasionally leaked through out-of-body experiences and ESP. And if you believe any of the above you need to read this book...twice if its mythbusting revelations cause you to repress the memory of it." -Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American, and author of Why People Believe Weird Things

"Is it true that psychology is mostly common sense? For anyone who wonders, this amazing book-which effectively discounts 50 pop psychology myths and briefly dismisses 250 more-provides convincing answers. And it does more: it offers fascinating examples of how science works and supports critical thinking. For teachers, students, writers, and anyone who wants to think smarter, this classic-to-be will be a valuable resource and a great read." -David G. Myers, Hope College, author, Intuition: Its Powers and Perils

"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. This led to a book which will not only be easily understandable by undergraduate and especially first year students, but also by the general population." -Dap Louw, Head, Centre for Psychology and the Law, University of the Free State