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As you know, my ultimate goal in this course was to help you all become better consumers of research. I want you to walk away from this class with the ability to question statements such as “You know, they say…” or “Psychological studies have proven…” or even “I don’t think that [insert your favorite psychological phenomenon here] is true, my best friend’s third cousin’s boyfriend once said…”

Watch this Ted talk (Links to an external site.) by noted psychologist and author, Ben Ambridge. Ben is the author of Psy-Q a book that debunks common myths in psychology.

• Is there a particular myth from Ambridge’s talk that surprised you? Or one that you were glad to hear was a myth?

As you watch, consider all of the commonly held beliefs our society holds about human behavior and psychology — and how many of them are just that — commonly held beliefs that can lack supportive evidence.

• Why do you think these beliefs are maintained in society? Try to tie in what we have learned this semester about research this, your final discussion of the term.