Undergraduate Students’ Beliefs About the 50 Greatest Myths of Popular Psychology

Abstract

The current study assesses whether undergraduate students believe in common myths prevalent in the field of psychology, as reported by Lilienfeld et al. (2009) in their book, 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology. Historically, these myths have been misunderstood by many people and can lead to unwise decision-making and perpetuation of the myths. Students may enter introduction to psychology courses with misconceptions concerning psychological topics, so understanding the belief prevalence of these common myths is essential for conveying accurate knowledge. For this study, over 1000 students enrolled in Psychology 100: Introduction to Psychology at the University of Wisconsin –Eau Claire had the opportunity to take a survey in which they answered whether they believe each of the 50 popular psychology myths. Results can ideally inform professors of topics that need to be better addressed in classes, and longer-term data could provide information about historical trends in belief patterns over time.