Misconceptions in Psychology: Left/Right Hemisphere Dominance

You probably heard people saying to you that you use your left or right brain more; movies, books, and even school, they all promote this idea. Unfortunately, this isn’t a true indicator of how you think. Thinking is actually more complex and there are more than one types of thinking implied in one process of though, despite it being analytic or creative.

This lateralization of our brain is a theory based on a very simplistic understanding of how our brain works. The whole idea started being popular after Gazzaniga and Sperry’s tests on people with epilepsy. They severed patients' corpus callosum, obtaining what was known as split brain. In tests, patients used their hemispheres independently. However, this cannot be generalized to all people, especially people who don’t suffer from epilepsy or had their corpus callosum severed. But there was a lot of fuss in the media about the discovery and soon a lot of self help books started promoting the idea that we use just one brain side. 

Seminars that would help people enhance a certain part of the brain started being really popular and everybody continued believing this erroneous theory that our brain is divided into a mathematical/deductive/logical part and another one which is creative/visual/imaginative. Next time you hear such pop-psychology in an academic environment you should point out that it might not be the best approach on how the brain works. 

Don't get me wrong though, there are differences when it comes to both hemispheres, but the similarities are much more pronounced.

http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/left-brain-right-brain.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateralization_of_brain_function


PS: I want to apologize that I haven't been able to answer all the comments and comment on other blog lately.  I hope I will have more time to resume my favorite activity pretty soon. 

The legend of Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary is a very popular ghost legend from the English folklore. She appears in the mirror (sometimes on Halloween) when her name is called three times in a dark room, often as a test of bravery among young people. There are many variations to this: she may appear when her name is chanted one or three times, when the participant spins around, when they rub their eyes, or chanting her name while holding a lit candle. In other versions the person who wants to summon her must say “Bloody Mary, I killed your baby”. Apparently, if she appears she kills the people who called her, often in violent ways, or she just haunts them for the rest of their life. Other versions of the legend include a ritual where people are able to talk to deceased persons, see their future life or their future spouses.  

She is believed to be the spirit of a mother whose baby was stolen from her, making her mad and leading to her suicide. The history behind this legend is difficult to figure out as it is mostly a mix of other legends and tales. Another tale regarding Bloody Mary refers to a witch who lived over 100 years ago and was practicing black magic. She was executed and she haunts whoever calls her name. There is even a gruesome variation of the legend involving a woman who had a fatal accident and was horrible mutilated.

Other sources point out that it refers to Queen Mary I herself or involve a child murderer. There are a few speculations regarding Queen Mary’s miscarriages and some say they were induced while others believe she went mad because she lost so many pregnancies. She also had the nickname Bloody Mary due to the fact that she executed so many people for religious reasons. Other legends seem to point to Elizabeth Bathory, a queen who supposedly bathed in virgin’s blood to make herself look younger.

Some historians believe that the Bloody Mary ritual is similar to other rituals used in different cultures that mark the beginning of puberty in females. This is also supported by the fact that this is a game played by girls during sleepovers. There was an article written about this by Alan Dundes who believes that the ritual serves an important purpose of providing young women with an outlet for the fear and anxiety they feel related to body changes during pubescence. Such a ritual would develop as a method for children to cope with the scary changes in their lives.

There are different elements to this legend that point out to early myths and superstitions.

Mirrors are one of the most common objects used in divination and there are a lot of rituals involving girls using a candle in front of a mirror in order to see their future. There are also traditions that involve people covering the mirrors when a person dies to avoid the spirit from being trapped in the house. Other extremely common magic rituals include turning in circles and repeated incantations.

Whether the legend is true or not, there’s only one way to know.  

7 Psychology Related Myths You Hear Every Day

There are some general statements about psychology and people that everybody uses. Unfortunately, most of the general “knowledge” is untrue. Here are 7 of the most popular myths you probably still believe to be true or at least people around you use as arguments against you. You should stop believing that general knowledge is true without having any proof.

1 We use 10% (2%, 1%, 5%) of our brain

The sad part is that I heard this one in school. Unfortunately, many people still believe that we use only a small part of our brain and they shouldn’t be blamed, I’ve heard it so many times in movies, I’ve read about it in different articles and books; it seems that people really want it to be true. I guess people love to believe that if they can access the rest of their brain they will have superpowers. I’m sorry folks, we use our whole brain and if you are not Einstein you can blame your genes or your lack of interest in Physics during high school. 

2 The abused become abusers

Many people believe that if a person was abused during childhood they will probably abuse their children too. This is an unfounded statement and actually a study on 244 people shows that only “26 of the 224 former victims (12%) had subsequently committed sexual offences-in almost all cases with children-mainly outside their families”. It also seems that about 20-44% of those who were abused, had no symptoms or mental health problems. So, think again before pointing the finger next time.

3 Criminal profilers are helpful when searching for a criminal

If movies have taught us anything, it is the fact that the beautiful and mysterious criminal profiler helps the police catch criminals with her great wit and knowledge. Apparently they are useless and what they do it’s more like cold reading. Let me give you an example: the murderer is a Caucasian male, unmarried, no kids, lonely, etc. I’m no profiler, but I just described most of the murderers. A study showed that “profilers do not decisively outperform other groups when predicting the characteristics of an unknown criminal”.

4 People with mental problems are violent and they will kill you

Most people will tell you that those with mental problems will < insert extreme violent behavior here > you.

But violence induced by mental disorders is pretty rare (this doesn’t apply to those who take M&Ms as treatment or mentally ill people who drink alcohol). Of course, I’m not saying that there is no violence related to mental problems but having the preconceived idea that every person with a mental illness is violent can be very wrong and offensive. People with a history of drug abuse and alcohol are indeed violent and actually being recently divorced or unemployed makes you more likely to be violent than having a mental illness.

5 You are safer in a crowded environment

If you know what diffusion of responsibility is, you know this is untrue. The bystander effect tells us that the chance of you being helped in an emergency situation is inversely proportional with the number of people in that area.

Just watch these clips about people who passed by the victims without helping them:

6 Opposites attract

The ugly girl and the hot popular guy fall in love (and vice versa) may be popular in movies but not in real life. Actually people seek partners with similar qualities. It seems that having a partner with a similar personality is a big plus for a relationship, while being with somebody completely different might lead to ending your relationship prematurely. However, it seems that this saying is true when it comes to money . A study showed that the more dissatisfied they were, the more likely each participant was to be attracted to individuals with opposing spending views. Stop complaining that your partner is a big spender, you want them to be like that.

7 Positive thinking helps

I’m sorry to tell you but positive thinking doesn’t cure cancer, doesn’t help your self esteem or your happiness. I’m not promoting pessimism or something, but sometimes it is better to stop believing that you can do the impossible. If you know somebody who has low self esteem, don’t tell them to think positive, it will make them feel even worse. Perhaps concentrating on having success in some tasks will probably enhance your self esteem but repeating “I am the best” like a robot might make you even more depressed. Maybe accepting who you are and what you are is the best solution here.