Myths and Misconceptions in Students of Psychology: What Are They and Where Do They Come From?

The history of scientific psychology has been closely intertwined with the need to disseminate accurate information and correct popular misconceptions about the field (Benjamin, 1986; Swami et al., 2014). As far as we know, Jastrow was the first to explicitly address misconceptions in psychology, asserting that the recognition of psychology as a science is particularly challenging for laypersons due to the personal and intimate nature of psychological experience, which leads individuals to believe they know more than scientists, even though psychologists are experts in mental processes and behavior (Jastrow, 1900). Many years later, the American Psychological Association reaffirmed Jastrow’s assertion, noting that even today many laypersons still do not view psychology as a science and continue to hold onto misconceptions and false myths (e.g., “we only use 10% of our brain capacity”). Psychology is often not perceived as an experimental discipline that studies the mind and behavior objectively, with the media perpetuating this misconception (APA, TOPSS, 2019). Misconceptions in psychology are also prevalent among undergraduate students who are first introduced to scientific psychology in introductory courses. As Nixon (1925) first pointed out, beginning students often hold several false beliefs about the human mind and behavior, which instructors must actively debunk and correct. Building on Nixon’s foundational study and others conducted in the late twentieth century (Brown, 1983; Gardner & Dalsing, 1986; Gardner & Hund, 1983; Vaughan, 1977), research on misconceptions in psychology, particularly among psychology students, gained momentum in the 2000s (Varea et al., 2022). One important finding from early studies on misconceptions among psychology students is that taking an introductory psychology course does not result in a significant and lasting reduction in misconceptions. That is, by the end of the course, despite being exposed to scientific psychology, students continue to endorse many of the misconceptions about the field. For example, in Bernstein et al. (2023), 94% of students still believed that “Subliminal messages can be effectively used to persuade consumers to purchase products” despite abundant evidence that this is not the case (Elgendi et al., 2018; Greenwald et al., 1991; Trappey, 1996).