Psychology Mythology

Many of the things that people think they know about psychology are just myths, falsehoods that we assume must true, because we hear them all the time! Here are some commonly held beliefs that are not true. In most cases, I have provided links to articles that further explain the reasons why these are false.

There is a fine line between genius and insanity.
There has never been a reliable link found between high IQ and mental illness. If you find research evidence to back this up, please let me know. (I’m not expecting anything on this!) Here's an excellent article on the topic.

The average person uses only 10% of his/her brain.
If you did only use 10%, you'd be in a lot of trouble. We use all of our brains, though not necessarily all the time. Read more about this myth here and here.

Sugar makes kids act hyper.
Most people are shocked to learn that this is nonsense. Read more about the “non-effects” of sugar.

There are more suicides during the holiday season in December.
One-hundred percent false! December usually has the fewest suicides of any month. Snopes has a good article on it here, and for what is probably the definitive article on the subject, see this article by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Also see this CDC page.

Strange behavior increases when there is a full moon.
No, it doesn't. Read more about full moons and behavior.

If someone dies in their dream, they'll die in real life.
Obviously, this can't be true. Many people do die in their dreams and live to tell about it, and even if this were true - which it isn't - how could we ever know?

Anti-depressants like Prozac make you happy.
Prozac and other so-called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) don't make people "happy," they make people not depressed, and there's a big difference. Click here to find out how they are presumed to work.

Schizophrenia means a person has a split personality.
Schizophrenia is a severe psychotic disorder in which a person cannot distinguish between what is real and what isn't. It is NOT a split personality. Read more about schizophrenia.

It is dangerous to wake up a sleepwalker.
Not true. In fact, you might even be keeping them from harming themselves or someone else. Read more about sleepwalking.

You can read a lot more about myths in psychology in this excerpt from 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology.