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Review
"Not only does the book illustrate just how often our intuitions are wrong, it also shows us how - in comparison to the truth - uninteresting they are. Shallow judgments imply over-confidence, assumption and monotomy. Assuming that you know something prior to giving any consideration to where that knowledge comes from is a mistake for many reasons but perhaps most of all because such presumption precludes surprise. To be surprised - shocked, provoked, scandalized - is a pleasure. . . 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology tells us that we need urgently to deal with our tendency to judge books by their covers. And just maybe, rather than considering any idealistic appeal to our rationalism, we should deal with this problem by considering an inversion similar to Kubrick's: for now at least, when it comes to presenting discoveries about the mind, we ought not to try in vain to change our nature - our tendency towards prejudice - but instead do something simpler: tell better stories, and design better covers." (The Skeptic, 2011)
"As you can tell from my reactions above I found this a very informative book and I'm only touching on particular things with my comments. If you're a writer, this book should be read post-haste so you don't keep repeating things you thought were true and obviously aren't. For everyone else, the revelations should make you sit up and take heed of what not to be taken in by." (SFCrowsnest.co.uk, 1 May 2011)
"This would be an ideal book to have in offices where people have to spend some time waiting for appointments." (Education Digest, November 2010)
"This book would suit educators involved in study skills and critical thinking courses who might be looking for some new angles with which to update or spruce up their courses. It should be equally digestible to the A-level student and the first-year undergraduate." (PLATH, December 2010)
"I love 50 Great Myths and used it in my winter seminar. This should be on every psychologist's shelf." (Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, October 2010)
"This is a refreshing and fun look at many of the concepts that have been accepted as fact by our popular culture." (Book End Babes, September 01, 2010)
"At the end of each sub-section covering an individual myth is a list of anti-factoids about related matters and their factual antidotes. By this means a considerable range of topics is covered." (Education Review, July 2010)
"Maybe we should pay more attention to books like 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Nature. The four psychology professors who authored this enlightening book are up against the roughly 3,500 self-help titles, a lot of them based on false premises, that are published in the U.S. every year." (Poe'sDeadly Daughters, April 2010)
"Scott Lilienfeld and his team ... have a history in delving into the dark myths of science, and pseudoscience ... .They are back. As with their other works, these authors manage to write well for ease of reading so many facts, and do so with their characteristic humor and cutting edge science. This book is [an] illumination, and vital reading for professionals and even laymen." (Metapsychology, June 2010)
"Who should read this book? Anyone interested in psychology and or the scientific method. The book is written in an easy to read fashion, is well referenced and includes a wide array of topics. The book teaches the value of critical thinking, and tells us it's all right to question authority. In conclusion, 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology is a must read for psychology majors, therapists and anyone who wishes to gain knowledge about the diverse field of psychology. I wish this book was available when I was studying psychology in college." (Basil & Spice (Jamie Hale), May 2010)
"Popular psychology is a prolific source of myths. A new book does an excellent job of mythbusting: 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology. Some myths I had swallowed whole and the book's carefully presented evidence made me change my mind. They cover 50 myths in depth, explaining their origins, why people believe them, and what the published research has to say about the claims. Everything is meticulously documented with sources listed. The authors have done us a great service by compiling all this information in a handy, accessible form, by showing how science trumps common knowledge and common sense, and by teaching us how to question and think about what we hear. I highly recommend it." (Dr. Harriet Hall for Skeptic Magazine, February 2010, and ScienceBasedMedicine.org, November 2009)
"50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology is written in an engaging style and is valuable for both professionals and the general public. I highly recommend it." (Skeptical Inquirer, February 2010)
"Delightful and important book ... .This is a fine tool for teaching critical thinking. 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology is much more than an entertaining put-down of popular misconceptions. Any psychologist can put [this book] to good use. Certainly teachers can use it as a supplement to aid in teaching critical thinking and to suggest ideas for research on other myths.We can give it to family members and friends who are curious about what psychology has to contribute and might themselves engage in some myth busting." (PsycCritiques, January 2010)
"If you are familiar with other books by the same authors, you know that the writing style is incredibly engaging and easy-to-read, making the book accessible to those with little knowledge of psychology and well as those with considerable education in the field. While we certainly won't stop combating clinical psychology myths here at PBB, it's always exciting to come across like-minded folks also providing valuable material!" (Psychotherapy Brown Bag, October 2009)
"50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology is a fascinating book, and while reading, I cheered the authors on. If you have questioned science as some of us have, this book will reassure you that your thinking was perfectly logical and correct. 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology clarifies things about which I have always wondered, but never challenged. Myths about aging, memory, learning, emotions and motivation, and mental illness are among the subjects covered. The reading is enlightening, refreshing and interesting.You don't have to be a Ph.D, or even a student of psychology to enjoy this book. It's is written in language all can understand and the information is easily digested." (Basil & Spice, October 2009)
"Scott Lilienfeld and his coauthors explore the gulf between what millions of people say is so and the truth. Some of these myths are just plain fascinating." (US News and World Report, October 2009)
Review
–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
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Too much like a textbook,
This review is from: 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior (Paperback)
I was pretty excited about this one, it was a promising smart read but I was also hopoing it would be entertaining and witty too. Unfortunately, the authors clearly state that they have set out to create a book worthy of being a psychology textbook, and that's really what they have achieved here. It is rather dry, often goes on and on and has a very painful introduction to get through before any of the myth busting begins. The material in itself is interesting, but in my opinion could have been present in a more amusing way. Of course there is nothing wrong with the dry, detailed textbook style if that's what you're after, so perhaps my expectations here were the problem.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Potentially Great Resource for the Uninformed,
By Ian Gordon Malcomson (Victoria, BC) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior (Paperback)
The authors of this book want readers to know that there is often a great gap between scientific reality and popular theory when it comes to understanding the human mind. Many of us have, in effect, unknowingly adopted bogus claims about our mental disposition that have been fashioned on perceptions that fall far short of the mark. These kinds of myths, according to credible research, are usually based on promoting limited experiences as gospel truth, employing poor sampling techniques, and mistaking correlations for causation. This book debunks fifty main beliefs and adds hundreds more in passing to make the point that faulty thinking can often cause people to indulge in faulty practices that distort an accurate view of life. Some of the fallacies that caught my eye were: the empty nest syndrome; the mid-life crisis effect; the 10% Brain Use Argument; criminal profiling; the 'Sad on Mondays' Condition, and the countless John Gray male vs. female polarities. While some of these interpretations may have a kernel of truth to them, they are hardly axiomatic in their application. Based on a wide-range of large peer-reviewed studies, Lilienfeld and his associates critiqued the validity of these theories, posing as fact, and conclude that they have very limited value. I would recommend anyone who is taking a university psych course to read this book first in order to get a handle on concepts that are often passed off as scientific when they are nothing more than an old wife's tale.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (39 customer reviews) 58 of 61 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-have mythbuster!,
By Reader "NY" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior (Paperback)
After reading the editorial reviews on this book, I decided to purchase a copy. It is a treasure trove of examples of behavior and myths that we believe to be true - but are actually false. Written by psychologists and based on science, this book describes the most common myths that people hold about a variety of human experiences. For example, does handwriting reveal your personality? Does playing Mozart to infants boost their intelligence? Do opposites attract? Is the polygraph really an accurate means of detecting dishonesty? If you think the answer to any of these questions, is "yes," you need to read this book. I couldn't put it down as I went from myth to myth learning about the facts based on science versus the myths we have believed for decades. I agree with the reviewer who says that this is a much-needed mythbuster for consumers. Easy-to-read and fascinating facts! I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended, a must-have mythbuster!
41 of 45 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Psychology 101 Redux,
By Brandon Schultz - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior (Paperback)
There are two very impressive aspects of this book: 1) the types of "myths" that the authors tackle, and 2) the quality of their literature reviews. On the first point, I was excited to see the authors make strong evidence-based critiques of the Alcoholics Anonymous model of addictions treatment, the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse, the autism 'epidemic,' and others. It would have been easy to write another 'skeptics diary' of obvious psychomythology (e.g., phrenology, ESP, etc), but the authors really stick their necks out in some instances. On the second point, the authors' conclusions are well-supported by the research they cite. As a school psychologist, I was impressed to see a very thoughtful handling of the research on so-called 'learning styles,' for example. I've not seen a better handling of this topic in any book meant for mass consumption, and this section alone was worth the purchase. So overall, I would describe the book as a very well-written Psychology 101 Redux that debunks a lot of common misconceptions.However, I would take issues with a few of the "Other Myths to Explore" at the end of the chapters, which could be easily misinterpreted. For example, on page 63 the authors claim that "children with extremely high IQs have much higher levels of creative accomplishment in adulthood than other children." While this is generally correct, it ignores research showing that 'extremely' high IQs do not predict the next Einsteins or Lincolns. In Lewis Terman's famous study, his high IQ group did very well into adulthood, but not up to Terman's predictions of greatness--in fact, most turned out to be very average adults. Such 'nuggets' at the end of the chapters are a little too concise, and this is why I give the book 4 stars rather than 5. And if the authors are reading, I recommend the following myths for future editions: Stimulant use in childhood increases the risk of addictions in adulthood ADHD is caused by video games and excessive television viewing It is easy for criminals to fake mental retardation in order to avoid the death penalty Boys are more aggressive than girls "Wilderness Programs" are highly effective for juvenile delinquents The DARE program is very effective in reducing/preventing drug use Adolescents with jobs are less likely than their unemployed peers to engage in risky behavior Child abuse is much more common now than ever before I could go on, but I'll stop there. The point is, even though psychology is a 'soft science,' there are issues around which consensus has been built. Yet, many misonceptions still exist. Indeed, many readers unfamiliar with the field may find some of the authors' conclusions controversial (autism and the MMR vaccine leaps to mind), but the research evidence to the contrary is very compelling. This book does a great job explaining how. 31 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Timely publication!,
By David K. Hogberg - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior (Paperback)
Although I have been long retired from teaching (psychology), Scott's book makes me wish to return to the classroom. There can never be too much urging to become or remain critical in one's thinking about the outlandish claims that've been made over the years about what psychology is not. I recommend 50 Great Myths to people who have read only little or a lot about what people do when they behave. DKH
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