10 myths about popular psychology and their exposure

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Some theories about the brain and human behavior are about to stop believing.

1. A smile can make a person happy

Positive psychologists say that smiling will make you happy, even if your day is not right. It sounds nice, but in practice, this tactic is not very effective. You may smile to the point of pain in your cheeks, but the problems that make you feel bad will not go away. What's more, some studies disprove that fake joy can make you happy.

However, as in any myth, there is some truth in this statement. If you're not sad, angry, and just emotionally neutral, smiling can really improve your mood. But it should be a sincere joy. The body cannot be fooled: with a real smile, you move not only your lips, it activates the muscles around the eyes. And the brain receives a signal that something pleasant has happened.

But trying to hide negative emotions under the guise of joy will only make you feel even worse. Research shows that suppressing feelings increases stress levels.

2. Strength Pose Releases Confidence Hormones

In a TED talk, Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy revealed that certain strength postures can lower stress hormones and increase the release of the power hormone testosterone, which makes you look more confident.

Her speech went viral and ideas about power poses spread widely. However, research has not confirmed this theory. In 2015, a team of scientists conducted an experiment, recruiting five times as many participants for it than were involved in Cuddy's experiments. And they failed to record changes in hormonal levels. It is assumed that the psychologist and her colleagues made a mistake in their experience or deliberately manipulated the numbers.

That being said, many people said after watching Cuddy's TED talk that the strength poses really helped them. However, this result is more likely due to suggestibility and trust in the opinion of a well-educated speaker than to the biological influence that the psychologist talks about.

3. Opposites attract and form strong pairs

This myth is based on the opinion that two people with different interests, outlook on life, temperaments are more interesting to each other. Research shows the exact opposite: the most attractive are people who are like us.

Similarity promotes long-term relationships, as partners find it easier to negotiate and generally have the same outlook on life.

4. Brainstorming is more effective in a group

It is believed that one head is good and two is better. Therefore, leaders tirelessly drive subordinates to meetings, briefings, brainstorms. Allegedly, in groups, people think more creatively through immediate feedback and the development of each other's ideas.

But, according to the American Institute of Graphic Arts and other research institutions, group brainstorming sessions have three characteristics that limit creativity:

1. Fixation on the first good version leads to the fact that the participants in the assault simply stop thinking about more successful options and reject other worthy proposals.
2. Pressure from other group members makes it difficult to hear unique ideas and articulate them yourself.
3. The need to generate creative ideas in real time in a competitive environment can drive a person into a stupor, and he will not be able to come up with anything.

Instead of team brainstorming, it's best to let people come up with as many creative ideas as possible on their own, and then share them with the team for feedback.

5. Expressing your emotions actively can help you cope with anger

Many people mistakenly believe that the quickest way to deal with anger is to scream loudly, throw objects, and try to express strong emotions in every possible way.

Research shows that the exact opposite can be the result. You will not calm down, but only become more angry and spend much more time on negative emotions.

It's better to deal with your anger more productively: stop getting involved in a conflict situation, try to figure out what makes you so angry, or channel the anger into exercise.

6. Abilities are associated with the dominant hemisphere of the brain

The idea that the dominant half of the brain determines how artistic or rational a person is is popular enough. Allegedly, the right hemisphere is responsible for creativity, and the left is for analytics.

Only science does not confirm this theory. Research shows that a person uses both hemispheres of the brain in the same way, since most actions are performed through connections between different parts of the contents of the skull. Depending on the lifestyle of a person, some parts of the brain can become stronger due to adaptive mechanisms. But we are not talking about entire hemispheres.

7. Men and women communicate in different ways

The myth that men and women speak different languages and in order to understand each other, they need a special translator, feeds the authors of books with titles like "How to understand a woman" and "What a man thinks about." But if you read not them, but scientific research, you can find out that the difference is not due to gender, but to gender roles.

In a society where people are not labeled based on the shape of their genitals, men and women communicate in much the same way.

8. A midlife crisis is inevitable

It seems that at the age of 40, you just have to realize that youth is leaving, and you have lived not like that all your life, do stupid things, buy a motorcycle, change your image. In fact, researchers estimate that only 10% of the population suffers from a midlife crisis. The rest do not lose their rationality at 40 and at 50. It is possible that you will encounter some manifestations of stereotypical crisis things, but you can survive them with minimal losses.

9. You stop developing as a person when you grow up

It is widely believed that by the age of 25 a person's personality matures and after that only some very significant event like traumatic experiences can change it. And many believe that by this age they should know exactly where they are going in life and strive for stability.

But the personality continues to change after 25 years, as evidenced by a large-scale study with the participation of 132, 5 thousand people. There are also common traits that people acquire with age. As they age, they are more inclined to cooperate with others, but they also become less open.

10. A person uses only 10% of the capabilities of the brain

This myth arose in the second half of the 19th century, when scientists compared the learning abilities of a prodigy and an ordinary person. The theory took hold in the 20th century, when researchers noticed that many parts of the human brain remained inactive. This led them to think that humans only use about 10% of their brain power.

Modern research shows that during the day we use 100% of the brain, but not all of its parts at once. Each site has a different function. Therefore, the departments that control, for example, breathing, are active without stopping. Other parts are connected as needed.