Myths Key Terms

Question 1

Co-production

Answer 1

Involving all relevant people in evidence and qualitative methods to understand users’ perspectives.

Question 2

Neuromyths

Answer 2

Misconception arising from misunderstandings of scientific evidence. Term coined in 1980s by a neurosurgeon.

Question 3

Introspective method

Answer 3

To learn about cognitive processes we should simply ask participants about them.

Question 4

Brain training

Answer 4

Refers to cognitive training that uses intense mental exercises to target and work on the brain’s core cognitive skills.

Question 5

Differences hypothesis

Answer 5

That men and women are psychologically very different.

Question 6

Gender similarities hypothesis

Answer 6

That men and women are psychologically similar on most, but not all, variables.

Question 7

Flashbulb memory

Answer 7

Traumatic events result in flashbulb memories.

Others include:

• Death of a loved one
• “What were you doing when you found out?”

Subjective Flashbulb Experiences

• Very vivid and detailed imprint
• Will never be forgotten
• Special clarity
• High confidence in accuracy of memory

Question 8

Photographic memory

Answer 8

The idea that you can take in a situation or piece of information, and then ‘take a photo’, and afterwards can look at it in your leisure.

Question 9

Eidetic imagery

Answer 9

⇒ Retains original colour

⇒ Scannable

• Eidetikers have very intense imagery when eyes closed, can scan and move around it.

Question 10

Intelligence

Answer 10

The ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought.

Question 11

Heritability

Answer 11

A population statistic (h^2) that expresses the proportion of observed differences (phenotype) that is explained by genetic (genotype) differences.

Question 12

Race as a social construct

Answer 12

A socially constructed concept, not a biological one. It derives from people’s desire to classify.

Question 13

Participatory propaganda

Answer 13

In order to express support, people willingly participate in false truth.

Question 14

Lateral reading

Answer 14

To check other sources known to be credible about the item in question.

Question 15

Inoculation

Answer 15

• Inoculation has two elements:

→ an explicit warning of an impending threat

→ a refutation of an anticipated argument that exposes the imminent fallacy

• Requires advance knowledge of how people might be misinformed.
• But does not require advance knowledge of the misinformation itself.

Question 16

Forensic evidence

Answer 16

Evidence gathered for use in the court of law.

Question 17

3 types of confessions

Answer 17

Voluntary, compliant, internalised.

Question 18

Epistemology

Answer 18

Deals with the origin and limits of human knowledge; the study of how knowledge is acquired.

Question 19

Positivism

Answer 19

Relies on empirical, objective quantitative methods to discover universal laws of human behaviour.

Question 20

Post-positivism

Answer 20

Still grounded in the scientific method (objectivity) but includes falsifiability; theories are tested and refined
Cognitive and social psychology; findings are probabilistic and error-prone.

Question 21

Constructivism

Answer 21

Knowledge is constructed by individuals depending on their experiences.

Question 22

Critical Realism

Answer 22

The world exists independently of our knowledge of it, but social, cultural and cognitive factors mediated our understanding of it.

Question 23

Dualism vs Interaction/monism

Answer 23

Dualism = The mind and body are separate
Mental and physical states are distinct.
Monism = The mind and body are not separate
Material monism- mental and physical processes are a result of brain activity.

Question 24

Cultural racism

Answer 24

Reinforces existing power structures by the cumulative effect of favouring the views of one dominant group whilst marginalising the views of indigenous cultures.