10 Mind-Myths: Do Any of These Catch You Out?

Think our attitudes predict our behaviours? Think we only use 10% of our brains? Think blind people’s other senses are more acute? Think again.

Think our attitudes predict our behaviours? Think we only use 10% of our brains? Think blind people’s other senses are more acute? Think again.

  1. Seriously, Would You Admit to Only Using 10% of Your Brain?
    It’s a nice thought that we might have spare capacity, but there’s no evidence for it.
  2. Blind People’s Other Senses Not More Acute
    Blind people might learn to use their other senses better, but they are no more acute.
  3. Why Psychology is Not Just Common Sense
    If you want to see a psychologist’s head explode, tell them psychology is just common sense.
  4. The Attitude-Behaviour Gap: Why We Say One Thing But Do The Opposite
    Even when people are doing their best to tell the truth, there’s still only a small relationship between people’s attitudes and their behaviours.
  5. Newborns Don’t Bond Immediately with their Mothers
    Infants don’t care who looks after them for the first three months, so long as someone does.
  6. 50% of College Students Think We See Like Superman, Despite Perception Course
    Our eyes are only receptors, we don’t see by sending out rays. But even after being told the truth, people still revert almost immediately to the myth that we see like Superman.
  7. Two Brains for the Price of One?
    The famous left-brain/right-brain split in functioning isn’t nearly as dramatic as you’ve been led to believe.
  8. Graphology: Connections Between Handwriting and Personality are Illusory
    It really seems like handwriting should tell us something about personality – but it doesn’t.
  9. The Mind Cannot Beat Cancer
    If only it could. Psychological interventions can, however, help people deal with the disease.
  10. Is a Bigger Brain Really Better?
    It’s the old, old story: it’s not how big it is, it’s what you do with it.

[Image credit: Thomas Hawk]


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This site is all about scientific research into how the mind works.

It’s mostly written by psychologist and author, Dr Jeremy Dean.

I try to dig up fascinating studies that tell us something about what it means to be human.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book "Making Habits, Breaking Habits" (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks.