The top 10 myths of psychology | Ben Ambridge | TEDxYouth@Manchester

Summary

This engaging script debunks the top 10 psychology myths, revealing the subtle differences between genders in physical and cognitive abilities and the lack of validity in the Rorschach inkblot test and learning styles. It delves into the impact of genetics on academic performance, the myth of left-brain/right-brain dominance, the 'Mozart effect', and cultural influences on romantic partner preferences. It also addresses the fallacy of the 'hot hand' in sports and the misconceptions around Milgram's obedience study, concluding with the overarching myth that psychology is a collection of equally valid theories, emphasizing the need for empirical testing.

Takeaways

• 🧠 The concept of 'Psy-Q' is introduced, emphasizing the importance of understanding psychological myths and misconceptions.
• 🚀 The script debunks the Mars and Venus theory, showing that psychological gender differences are often minimal and not as distinct as commonly believed.
• 🤔 It highlights the myth of 'left brain-right brain' learners, clarifying that nearly all brain activities involve both hemispheres working together.
• 🎨 The Rorschach inkblot test is debunked as having no validity in diagnosing personality, contrary to its past use in psychology.
• 📚 The learning styles theory is revealed as a myth, with scientific evidence showing no significant difference in learning retention based on preferred styles.
• 🧬 A study is mentioned that attributes 58% of academic performance variation to genetic factors, suggesting that genes play a significant role in educational outcomes.
• 🤹‍♂️ The myth that we only use 10% of our brains is debunked, illustrating that nearly all of our brain is engaged even in mundane activities.
• 🎼 The 'Mozart effect' is partially debunked, explaining that while listening to Mozart may temporarily boost certain cognitive tasks, it does not increase overall intelligence.
• 💑 The script discusses the myth of culturally specific romantic partner preferences, showing that certain preferences like physical attractiveness and ambition are universal.
• 🏀 The 'hot hand' phenomenon in sports is debunked, explaining that perceived streaks of success are likely due to random chance and pattern-seeking brains.
• ⚡ The Milgram experiment is partially mythologized, with the script clarifying misconceptions about the experiment's findings and the participants' motivations.
• 🗣️ The ability to detect lies through body language and speech patterns is debunked, with evidence suggesting that even experts are no better than chance.

Q & A

What is the concept of 'Psy-Q' mentioned in the script?

Psy-Q, as mentioned in the script, refers to one's psychological intelligence or understanding of what makes them and others tick, including the ability to predict behavior and the accuracy of one's knowledge about psychology.

What is the significance of the normal distribution curve in the context of gender differences in throwing a ball?

The normal distribution curve illustrates the range of distances men and women can throw a ball, showing that while most people fall around an average distance, men on average can throw further than 98% of women, indicating a significant but not exclusive difference.

How does the script refute the idea that men and women are very different psychologically?

The script refutes this by showing that while there are some average differences, such as in spatial awareness and language skills, these differences are small, with significant overlap between the genders, suggesting that men and women are more similar than commonly believed.

What is the validity of the Rorschach inkblot test according to the script?

The script states that the Rorschach inkblot test has no validity in diagnosing personality and is not used by modern-day psychologists. It suggests that the test's results can be misleading and are not a reliable indicator of personality traits.

What is the myth about learning styles that the script addresses?

The script addresses the myth that individuals have specific learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) that are most effective for them. It clarifies that this concept is not supported by scientific evidence and that learning effectiveness is not determined by a person's preferred style but by the nature of the material being learned.

What does the script say about the influence of genetics on academic performance?

The script cites a study from University College London that suggests 58% of the variation in students' GCSE results can be attributed to genetic factors, indicating a significant genetic influence on academic performance.

What is the myth about left-brained and right-brained learners, and how does the script debunk it?

The myth suggests that left-brained individuals are logical and right-brained individuals are creative. The script debunks this by explaining that nearly all activities involve both hemispheres of the brain working together, and that being ambidextrous, not left-handedness, is associated with creative thinking.

What is the 'Mozart effect' mentioned in the script, and what is its actual impact?

The 'Mozart effect' is the idea that listening to Mozart's music makes you smarter and improves IQ test performance. The script reveals that while there is a temporary boost in performance on certain tasks after listening to enjoyable music, there is no long-term increase in intelligence.

How does the script challenge the idea that cultural factors determine our preferences in romantic partners?

The script challenges this idea by referencing a study across 37 cultures, showing consistent patterns in preferences for physical attractiveness in men and ambition/earning power in women, suggesting that these preferences are not culturally specific but rather universal.

What is the 'hot hand' phenomenon in sports, and how does the script explain its occurrence?

The 'hot hand' phenomenon refers to the belief that athletes can go through streaks of exceptional performance. The script explains that these streaks are usually random and that our brains tend to find patterns where there are none, attributing false meaning to random sequences of success.

How does the script describe the myth surrounding Milgram's learning and punishment experiment?

The script describes the myth that participants in Milgram's experiment were willing to administer fatal electric shocks to others simply because they were told to by an authority figure in a white coat. It clarifies that the coat was grey, participants knew the shocks were not fatal, and they believed in the scientific purpose of the study.

What is the overarching myth of psychology that the speaker aims to dispel?

The overarching myth of psychology, according to the speaker, is that all psychological theories are valuable and offer insights. The speaker argues for the need to test these theories empirically to determine which are well-supported and which are myths.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Debunking Psychological Myths: Gender Differences and Psy-Q

The video script begins by challenging the audience's understanding of psychological myths, starting with the concept of Psy-Q, or psychological intelligence. It delves into the common belief of gender differences in psychology, often likened to 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus.' The speaker uses the example of physical strength in ball throwing to illustrate a significant gender difference, contrasting it with the much smaller differences in spatial awareness and language skills. The script emphasizes that these are among the largest psychological gender differences found, suggesting that men and women are more similar than commonly believed. The segment also humorously critiques the Rorschach inkblot test, explaining its lack of validity in modern psychology and the misconceptions surrounding it.

05:02

🎓 Learning Styles and the Impact of Genetics on Academic Performance

This paragraph addresses the myth of learning styles, explaining that there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that individuals learn better when information is presented in a particular way tailored to their supposed learning style. The script then pivots to discuss the impact of genetics on academic performance, citing a study from University College London that suggests 58% of the variation in GCSE results can be attributed to genetic factors. It explains how twin studies help to determine the contributions of genes versus environment and humorously suggests that students might blame their genes, rather than their learning style, for any academic shortcomings.

10:03

🤔 The Mozart Effect and the Myths of Brain Usage and Creativity

The speaker explores the myth of the 'Mozart effect,' which claims that listening to Mozart's music can increase intelligence and improve performance on IQ tests. The script points out that while there is a small grain of truth to this idea—listening to enjoyable music can provide a temporary boost in certain cognitive tasks—there is no long-term effect on intelligence. The paragraph also dispels the myth that we only use 10% of our brains, clarifying that nearly all of our brain is involved in even the simplest tasks. It touches on the myth of left-brained and right-brained learners, explaining that creativity is not confined to one side of the brain and that ambidextrous individuals, who use both sides of the brain more, may be more creative.

15:04

🏀 Sports Performance, Cultural Influences on Partner Preferences, and the Truth About Hot Streaks

This section of the script tackles several myths. It starts with the idea that sports players experience 'hot hand' streaks, where they perform exceptionally well for a period. The speaker argues that these are typically random occurrences and that our brains are pattern-seeking, often incorrectly attributing significance to random sequences. It then discusses the myth that romantic partner preferences are purely cultural, presenting evidence that certain preferences, such as men valuing physical attractiveness more and women valuing ambition and earning power, are consistent across cultures. The paragraph concludes by challenging the effectiveness of punishment in improving performance, referencing Milgram's obedience studies and highlighting misconceptions about the experiment's findings.

🗣️ Detecting Deception, the Overarching Myth of Psychology, and the Importance of Empirical Evidence

The final paragraph of the script addresses the common belief that people can detect lies through body language and speech patterns, which the speaker argues is largely ineffective. It notes a specific exception in the context of TV appeals for missing persons, where certain behaviors can indicate deception. The speaker then identifies the overarching myth of psychology—that it is a collection of equally valuable theories—and emphasizes the importance of empirical testing to determine the validity of psychological theories. The script concludes by advocating for the scientific method as the means to discern between well-supported theories and myths.

Keywords

💡Psy-Q

Psy-Q, a play on the term IQ, refers to one's psychological intelligence or understanding of the human mind. It is central to the video's theme, which is to debunk common psychological myths. The script uses the concept of Psy-Q to introduce the audience to the idea that there are misconceptions about human behavior and psychology that will be addressed throughout the talk.

💡Gender Differences

Gender differences refer to the distinctions between male and female characteristics, behaviors, or abilities. In the context of the video, it is used to discuss the common myth that men and women are vastly different, particularly in psychological traits. The script illustrates this with examples like spatial awareness and language skills, showing that while there are average differences, they are often minimal and do not represent the whole population.

💡Normal Distribution Curve

A normal distribution curve, also known as a bell curve, is a graphical representation of data that shows most values clustered around an average, with fewer values at the extremes. The video uses this concept to explain the distribution of abilities such as the distance men and women can throw a ball, demonstrating that while there are average differences, the overlap is significant.

💡Rorschach Inkblot Test

The Rorschach inkblot test is a psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed. The video mentions this test to highlight a myth about its validity in diagnosing personality. It is debunked as having no scientific basis for personality assessment in modern psychology.

💡Learning Styles

Learning styles refer to the preference for visual, auditory, or kinesthetic methods of learning. The script challenges the myth that individuals learn better when information is presented in their preferred style, explaining that scientific evidence does not support this and that the best format depends on the material being learned.

💡Genetics and Intelligence

Genetics and intelligence relate to the role of genetic factors in determining cognitive abilities. The video cites a study suggesting that 58 percent of the variation in students' GCSE results could be attributed to genetics, emphasizing the importance of considering both genetic and environmental factors in academic performance.

💡Left Brain vs. Right Brain

The left brain vs. right brain myth suggests that the left hemisphere is responsible for logic and the right for creativity. The video refutes this by explaining that nearly all activities involve both hemispheres of the brain working together, and that the myth of the 'creative left-hander' is based on a misunderstanding of brain lateralization.

💡Mozart Effect

The Mozart effect is the idea that listening to Mozart's music can temporarily boost cognitive abilities. The video explains that while there is some truth to this in that people perform better on certain tasks after listening to enjoyable music, it does not lead to long-term increases in intelligence.

💡Hot Hand Fallacy

The hot hand fallacy is the belief that a person who has experienced success in a series of events is more likely to continue that success. The video debunks this myth by explaining that patterns of success, such as in sports, are often random and that our brains mistakenly perceive non-existent patterns.

💡Milgram's Experiment

Milgram's experiment is a famous study in psychology that explored obedience to authority. The video corrects common misconceptions about the experiment, explaining that participants were not simply following orders due to the authority figure's attire, and that they believed in the scientific purpose of the study.

💡Lie Detection

Lie detection refers to the ability to discern whether someone is being truthful based on their verbal and non-verbal cues. The video challenges the myth that people can accurately detect lies from body language and speech patterns, stating that even professionals are generally no better than chance.

💡Psychological Myths

Psychological myths are widespread but incorrect beliefs about human behavior and mental processes. The overarching theme of the video is to debunk such myths, emphasizing the importance of empirical testing and evidence-based psychology over unverified theories.

Highlights

The concept of Psy-Q, or psychological intelligence, is introduced as a measure of self and others' behavior understanding.

The myth of significant psychological differences between men and women is debunked with data on ball-throwing distances.

Psychological gender differences in spatial awareness and language abilities are shown to be minimal and often exaggerated.

The Rorschach inkblot test is revealed to lack validity in diagnosing personality, contrary to popular belief.

A humorous quiz on learning styles is used to illustrate the myth that people learn best when information is presented in their preferred style.

The idea that genes play a significant role in academic performance is supported by a twin study from University College London.

The myth of left-brain/right-brain dominance in learning is debunked, emphasizing the collaborative nature of brain function.

Ambidextrous individuals are suggested to be more creative due to the increased interaction between brain hemispheres.

The myth that we only use 10% of our brains is refuted, highlighting the constant engagement of nearly all brain areas in everyday activities.

The Mozart effect, suggesting that listening to Mozart enhances intelligence, is critiqued as a myth with some truth to it.

The speaker humorously points out that Mozart's own health issues contradict the idea that his music promotes well-being.

Cross-cultural studies show consistent preferences in romantic partners, challenging the myth of culturally specific mate selection.

The 'hot hand' phenomenon in sports is explained as a cognitive bias where people perceive non-existent patterns in random sequences.

Milgram's obedience study is revisited, correcting misconceptions about the experiment and its findings on authority and compliance.

The ineffectiveness of detecting lies through body language is highlighted, with the exception of specific cues in TV appeals for missing persons.

The overarching myth that psychology is a collection of equally valid theories is challenged, advocating for empirical testing of psychological claims.

The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of scientific rigor in psychology to differentiate between theories and myths.

Transcripts

So you've heard of your IQ,

your general intelligence,

but what's your Psy-Q?

How much do you know about what makes you tick,

and how good are you at predicting other peoples' behavior

or even your own?

And how much about what you think you know about psychology is wrong?

So let's find out by counting down the top 10 myths of psychology.

So you've probably heard it said that when it comes to their psychology,

man and women are very different.

It's almost as if men are from Mars and women are from Venus.

But how different are men and women really?

So to find out, let's start by looking at something on which men and women

really do differ

and plotting some psychological gender differences on the same scale.

So one thing that men and women

do really differ on is how far they can throw a ball.

So if we look at the data for men here,

we see what is called a normal distribution curve.

A few men can throw a ball really far,

and a few men not far at all,

but most a kind of average distance.

And women share the same distribution as well,

but actually there's quite a big difference.

In fact, the average man can throw a ball further

than about 98 percent of all women.

So now let's look at what some psychological gender differences

look like on the same standardized scale.

So any psychologist will tell you that men are better

at spacial awareness than women,

so things like map-reading, for example, and it's true,

but let's have a look at the size of this difference.

It's tiny: the lines are so close together that they almost overlap.

In fact, the average woman is better than 33 percent of all men,

and of course, if that was 50 percent,

then the two genders would be exactly equal.

It's worth bearing in mind that this and the next difference I'm going to show you

are pretty much the biggest psychological gender differences

ever discovered in psychology.

Here's the next one.

Any psychologist will tell you that women are better

with language and grammar than men.

So here's performance on the standardized grammar test.

There go the women. There go to the men.

Again, yes, women are better on average, but the lines are so close

that 33 percent of men

are better than the average woman,

and again, if it was 50 percent,

that would represent complete gender equality.

So it's not really a case of Mars and Venus.

It's more a case of, if anything, Mars and Snickers:

basically the same, but, you know,

one's maybe slightly nuttier than the other.

I won't say which.

Right. Now we've got you warmed up.

Let's psychoanalyze you using the famous Rorschach inkblot test.

So you can probably see, I don't know, two bears or two people or something.

But what do you think they're doing?

Put your hand up if you think they're saying hello.

Not many people. Okay.

Put your hands up if you think they are high-fiving.

Okay. What if you think they're fighting?

Only a few people there.

Okay, so if you think they're saying hello or high-fiving,

then that means you're a friendly person.

If you think they're fighting, that means you're a bit more

of a nasty, aggressive person.

Are you a lover or a fighter, basically.

What about this one? This isn't really a voting one,

so on three, everyone shout out what you see.

One, two, three.

(Audience shouting)

I heard hamster. Who said hamster?

That was very worrying.

A guy there said hamster.

Well, you should see some kind of two-legged animal here,

and then the mirror image of them there.

If you didn't, then this means that you have difficulty

processing complex situations

where there's a lot going on.

Except, of course, it doesn't mean that at all.

Rorschach inkblot tests have basically no validity

when it comes to diagnosing people's personality

and are not used by modern-day psychologists.

In fact, one recent study found

that when you do try to diagnose people's personality

using Rorschach inkblot tests,

schizophrenia was diagnosed

in about one sixth of apparently perfectly normal participants.

So if you didn't do that well on this,

maybe you are not a very visual type of person.

So let's do another quick quiz to find out.

When making a cake, do you prefer to

- so hands up for each one again -

do you prefer to use a recipe book with pictures?

Yeah, a few people.

Have a friend talk you through?

Or have a go, making it up as you go along?

Quite a few people there.

Okay, so if you said a,

then this means that you are a visual learner

and you learn best when information

is presented in a visual style.

If you said b, it means you're an auditory learner,

that you learn best when information is presented to you in an auditory format,

and if you said c,

it means that you're a kinesthetic learner,

that you learn best when you get stuck in

and do things with your hands.

Except, of course, as you've probably guessed,

that it doesn't, because the whole thing is a complete myth.

Learning styles are made up

and are not supported by scientific evidence.

So we know this because in tightly controlled experimental studies,

when learners are given material to learn

either in their preferred style or an opposite style,

it makes no difference at all

to the amount of information that they retain.

And if you think about it for just a second,

it's just obvious that this has to be true.

It's obvious that the best presentation format

depends not on you,

but on what you're trying to learn.

Could you learn to drive a car, for example,

just by listening to someone telling you what to do

with no kinesthetic experience?

Could you solve simultaneous equations

by talking them through in your head and without writing them down?

Could you revise for your architecture exams

using interpretive dance if you're a kinesthetic learner?

No. What you need to do is match

the material to be learned to the presentation format,

not you.

So, I know many of you are A-level students

that will have recently gotten your GCSE results.

And if you didn't quite get what you were hoping for,

then you can't really blame your learning style,

but one thing that you might want to think about blaming is your genes.

So what this is all about

is a recent study at University College London

found that 58 percent of the variation

between different students and their GCSE results

was down to genetic factors.

So that sounds a very precise figure,

so how can we tell?

Well, when we want to unpack the relative contributions

of genes and the environment,

what we can do is do a twin study.

So identical twins share 100 percent of their environment

and 100 percent of their genes,

whereas non-identical twins share 100 percent of their environment,

but just like any brother and sister,

share only 50 percent of their genes.

So by comparing how similar GCSE results are in identical twins

versus non-identical twins,

and doing some clever math,

we can an idea of how much variation and performance is due to the environment

and how much is due to genes.

And it turns out that it's about 58 percent due to genes.

So this isn't to undermine the hard work that you and your teachers here put in.

If you didn't quite get the GCSE results that you were hoping for,

then you can always try blaming your parents, or at least their genes.

One thing that you shouldn't blame

is being a left brained or right brained learner,

because again, this is a myth.

So the myth here is that the left brain is logical,

it's good with equations like this,

and the right brain is more creative,

so the right brain is better at music.

But again, this is a myth because nearly everything that you do

involves nearly all parts of your brain talking together,

even just the most mundane thing like having a normal conversation.

However, perhaps one reason why this myth has survived

is that there is a slight grain of truth to it.

So a related version of the myth

is that left-handed people are more creative than right-handed people,

which kind of makes sense because your brain controls the opposite hands,

so left-handed people,

the right side of the brain is slightly more active

than the left hand side of the brain,

and the idea is the right-hand side is more creative.

Now, it isn't true per se

that left-handed people are more creative than right-handed people.

What is true that ambidextrous people,

or people who use both hands for different tasks,

are more creative thinkers than one-handed people,

because being ambidextrous involves

having both sides of the brain talk to each other a lot,

which seems to be involved in creative and flexible thinking.

The myth of the creative left-hander

arises from the fact that being ambidextrous

is more common amongst left-handers

than right handers,

so a grain of truth in the idea of the creative left-hander,

but not much.

A related myth that you've probably heard of

is that we only use 10 percent of our brains.

This is, again, a complete myth.

Nearly everything that we do, even the most mundane thing,

uses nearly all of our brains.

That said, it is of course true

that most of us don't use our brainpower

quite as well as we could most of the time.

So what could we do to boost our brain power?

Maybe we could listen to a nice bit of Mozart.

So have you heard of the idea of the Mozart effect?

So the idea is that listening to Mozart

makes you smarter and improves your performance on IQ tests.

Now again, what's interesting about this myth

is that although it's basically a myth,

there is a grain of truth to it.

So the original study found

that participants who were played Mozart music for a few minutes

did better on a subsequent IQ test

than participants who simply sat in silence.

But a follow-up study recruited some people who liked Mozart music

and then another group of people

who were fans of the horror stories of Stephen King.

And they played the people the music or the stories.

The people who preferred Mozart music to the stories

got a bigger IQ boost from the Mozart than the stories,

but the people who preferred the stories to the Mozart music

got a bigger IQ boost

from listening to the Stephen King stories than the Mozart music.

So the truth is that listening to something that you enjoy

perks you up a bit and gives you a temporary IQ boost

on a narrow range of tasks.

There's no suggestion that listening to Mozart

or indeed Stephen King stories

is going to make you any smarter in the long run.

So another version of the Mozart myth

is that listening to Mozart can make you not only cleverer but healthier, too.

Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be true

of someone who listened to the music of Mozart almost every day,

Mozart himself,

who suffered from gonorrhea, smallpox, arthritis,

and what most people think eventually killed him in the end,

syphilis.

This suggests that Mozart should have bit more careful, perhaps,

when choosing his sexual partners.

But how do we choose a partner?

So a myth, but I have to say is sometimes spread a bit by sociologists

is that our preferences in a romantic partner

are a product of our culture,

that they're very culturally specific,

but in fact, the data don't back this up.

So a famous study surveyed people from [37] different cultures across the globe,

from Americans to Zulus,

on what they look for in a partner.

And in every single culture across the globe,

men placed more value on physical attractiveness in a partner

than did women,

and in every single culture, too,

women placed more importance than did men

on ambition and high earning power.

In every culture, too,

men preferred women who were younger than themselves,

an average of I think it was 2.66 years,

and in every culture, too,

women preferred men who were older than them,

so an average of 3.42 years,

which is why we've got here "Everybody Needs A Sugar Daddy."

So moving on from trying to score with a partner

to trying to score in basketball or football or whatever your sport is.

So the myth here is that sportsmen

go through hot hand streaks, Americans call them,

or purple patches, we sometimes say in England,

where they just can't miss,

like this guy here.

But in fact, what happens is that if you analyze the pattern

of hits and misses statistically,

it turns out that it's nearly always at random.

Your brain creates patterns from the randomness.

So if you toss a coin, you know,

a streak of heads or tails is going to come out somewhere in randomness,

and becomes the brain likes to see patterns where there are none,

we look at these streaks and attribute meaning to them

and say, "Yeah he's really on form today,"

whereas actually you would get the same pattern

if you were just getting hits and misses at random.

So an exception to this, however, is penalty shootouts.

A recent study looking at penalty shootouts in football

shows that players who represent countries

with a very bad record in penalty shootouts,

like, for example, England,

tend to be quicker to take their shots than countries with a better record,

and presumably as a result, they're more likely to miss.

Which raises the question

of if there's any way that we could improve people's performance,

and one thing you might think about doing

is punishing people for their misses

and seeing if that improves things.

This idea, the effect that punishment can improve performance,

is what participants thought they were testing

in Milgram's famous learning and punishment experiment

that you've probably heard about if you're a psychology student.

The story goes that participants were prepared to give

what they believed to be fatal electric shocks to a fellow participant

when they got a question wrong,

just because someone in a white coat told them too.

But this story is a myth for three reasons.

Firstly and most crucially, the lab coat wasn't white.

It was, in fact, grey.

Secondly, the participants were told before the study

and reminded any time they raised a concern,

that although the shocks were painful, they were not fatal

and indeed caused no permanent damage whatsoever.

And thirdly, participants didn't give the shocks

just because someone in the coat told them to.

When they were interviewed after the study,

all the participants said that they firmly believed

that the learning and punishment study served a worthy scientific purpose

which would have enduring gains for science

as opposed to the momentary non-fatal discomfort

caused to the participants.

Okay, so I've been talking for about 12 minutes now,

and you've probably been sitting there

listening to me, analyzing my speech patterns and body language

and trying to work out if you should take any notice of what I'm saying,

whether I'm telling the truth or whether I'm lying,

but if so you've probably completely failed,

because although we all think we can catch a liar

from their body language and speech patterns,

hundreds of psychological tests over the years have shown

that all of us, including police officers and detectives,

are basically at chance when it comes to detecting lies from body language

and verbal patterns.

Interestingly, there is one exception:

TV appeals for missing relatives.

It's quite easy to predict when the relatives are missing

and when the appealers have in fact murdered the relatives themselves.

So hoax appealers are more likely to shake their heads, to look away,

and to make errors in their speech,

whereas genuine appealers are more likely

to express hope that the person will return safely

and to avoid brutal language.

So, for example, they might say "taken from us" rather than "killed."

Speaking of which,

it's about time I killed this talk,

but before I do, I just want to give you

in 30 seconds

the overarching myth of psychology.

So the myth of psychology, as I see,

and one that I don't think textbooks about psychology

and even university courses do enough to dispel,

the myth is that psychology

is just a collection of interesting theories,

all of which say something useful

and all of which have something to offer.

What I hope to have shown you in the past few minutes

is that this isn't true.

What we need to do is assess psychological theories

by seeing what predictions they make,

whether that is that listening to Mozart makes you smarter,

that you learn better when information

is presented in your preferred learning style,

or whatever it is, all of these are testable empirical predictions,

and the only way we can make progress

is to test these predictions against the data

in tightly controlled experimental studies,

and it's only by doing so that we can hope to discover

which of these theoriesare well-supported,

and which, like all the ones I've told you about today, are myths.

Thank you.

(Applause)