Let's get to the myth-busting

Misinformation is a huge problem in the Psychology world. False statements being spread reflects negatively on Psychology and those in the field. So within this project we look at many believed myths and explained the truths within the myths!

Does Technology Use Change Our Brains?

The use of technology is affecting our brains by altering our attention spans, and instilling a belief that we are better at multitasking than we actually are.

Remembering Experiences For our survival

There is a belief that when we encounter an experience that involves our survival, our brains are more capable of recording accurate information about these events.

Do people use only 10% of brain power?

There is a common myth many believe, that humans only use 10% of their brain power, and that the other 90% of our brains is wasted space.

Is Technology Use Changing Our Brains?

What People Believe:

This graph shows whether people in our community believe that the use of technology in our everyday lives effects how our brains work. 92% of individuals polled have shown a belief that the use of technology in our daily lives does have an effect.

What do people believe is true?

The myth that people are believing is that technology is changing our brains in negative ways.

What is the kernel of truth that lies beneath this myth?

The kernel of truth behind this myth is that technology hinders our attention span but doesn't drastically change our brains. When we hear a ping from our phone we focus our attention to our phones. This leads to a difficulty of paying attention which could lead to poor academic, and personal tasks. It would all depend how we use our technology, but our brains aren't being changed every time we use our phones.

Overall our brains are adapting to everything we do but technology is not changing our brains.

What is the harm in believing this myth?

Technology can reduce physical activity and reduce our sleep
Attention can hinder and we can be easily distracted by notifications

Remembering Experiences for Our Survival

What People Believe:

The study conducted found that 75% of students believe that this myth is true

These students all believed that when an experience is found to important for our ability to survive in the world, we have a tendency to have more accuracy.

There is a belief that people record experiences better during pressuring situations that makes them feel in a sense of making decisions for survival.
People believe that traumatic experiences allow us to more accurately remember the details of the event.

What is the kernel of truth that lies beneath this myth?

At points people may not be able to recall experiences more accurately during survival experiences based on reacting too quickly on the event and not remembering everything.

What is the harm in believing this myth?

witness at a crime scene convicting someone that was innocent during the event.
Our brains can be convinced to remember things we haven't done (e.g. case studies such as Case of Paul Ingram on false confession with no evidence).

Do People Use 10% of Their Brain?

What People Believe:

This data shows that there is still a strong prevalence in our community to believe that people only ever use 10% of the total possible capacity of our brain, and that there is secret knowledge to be unlocked if we use more of our brain capacity.

What is the myth that people believe?

people believe that they do not use 100% of their brain power

What is the kernel of truth that lies beneath this myth?

people use their brain at full capacity just at points some parts are more active than others to complete tasks or interactions

What is the harm in believing this myth?

Use as an excuse
Can slow development and not reach our full potential

Meet the Myth-Busters

Gannon

Hi! My name is Gannon Lewallen and I am a senior from Everett, Washington. I am a vocal performance music major. I am the current vice president for the board game club on campus.

Bethany

Hi! My name is Bethany Leader! I am a Sophomore from Phoenix, Arizona. I am a member of the women's volleyball team here at Pacific! I am majoring in Psychology and I plan to go into therapy or counseling.

Paul-Jose (PJ)

Hey! My name is Paul-Jose "PJ" Wong and I am a junior from San Francisco, California. I am a psychology major and business minor. I am interested in becoming a life coach at some point after graduating.

Sydnie

Hi! My name is Sydnie Matsuda and I am from Maui, Hawai'i. I am a sophomore and plan to major in Education and minor in Psychology. I plan to become an elementary school teacher in the future.

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