False Assumption Registry

Psychology

37 entries in this category

• Groups Have Equal Innate Potential
  Races and the sexes have the same innate distribution of potential, making all group disparities the result of environmental forces.
  Mainstream still holds this assumption to be true despite evidence against it 26 sources
• Ego Depletion Limits Willpower
  Self-control depletes like a limited resource after use, causing subsequent failures.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 8 sources
• Stereotype Threat Impairs Performance
  Reminding people of negative group stereotypes subtly causes them to underperform on relevant tasks like math.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 6 sources
• Microaggressions Cause Mental Health Harm
  Microaggressions cause harm and have negative impacts on health and mental health, as inferred from correlations in nonexperimental studies.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 6 sources
• Human Judgment Beats Algorithms
  Holistic human intuition and gut feelings outperform structured algorithms in evaluating candidates for jobs, admissions, and awards.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 5 sources
• Implicit Bias Test Predicts Discrimination
  The Implicit Association Test measures unconscious racial bias that causes discriminatory behavior.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 4 sources
• Anti-Bias Trainings Work
  Diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings effectively reduce bias and discriminatory behavior.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 4 sources
• Personality Outweighs Situations in Behavior
  Personality traits and personal history primarily determine human behavior more than current situations.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 3 sources
• Transgenderism Reveals True Inner Self
  Sudden transgender and nonbinary identifications among youth represent authentic innate gender identities finally freed for expression.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 3 sources
• Lab Studies Predict Real Behavior
  Controlled lab experiments in social psychology reliably demonstrate effects that occur and matter in the real world.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 3 sources
• 3-Cueing System Teaches Reading
  Children learn to read the same way they acquire spoken language, by guessing words from contextual, semantic, and syntactic cues rather than systematic phonics.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 2 sources
• System 1 Causes Irrational Violence
  Human errors, biases, and violence stem from fast System 1 thinking that can be corrected by deliberate System 2 reflection.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 2 sources
• Stereotypes Are Inaccurate
  Beliefs about group differences, such as sex differences in job preferences, are stereotypes defined as inaccurate overgeneralizations.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 2 sources
• Sacks' Case Studies Factual Neurology
  Oliver Sacks' published case studies accurately depicted real patients and neurological truths.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 2 sources
• Low IQ Exempts Murderers from Execution
  Murderers scoring below an IQ cutoff of 65 to 75 suffer intellectual disability that precludes the death penalty, overriding objective test scores with clinical judgment.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 2 sources
• School Spending Closes Racial Gaps
  Racial gaps in school achievement are primarily caused by lower spending on black students, and increasing spending will narrow those gaps.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 2 sources
• IQ Tests Are a Hoax
  IQ testing is a pseudoscientific hoax that measures arbitrary puzzle-solving ability rather than genuine, hereditary intelligence predictive of life outcomes.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 2 sources
• Specialists Required for Effective Therapy
  Only licensed mental health specialists can effectively deliver evidence-based psychotherapy for depression.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 2 sources
• Willpower Builds Long-Term Success
  Exercising state self-control through willpower in the moment reliably leads to long-term success and better life outcomes.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 2 sources
• Epigenetics Transmits Ancestral Trauma
  Environmental stresses and traumas are transmitted across multiple human generations via heritable epigenetic modifications.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• Learning Styles Improve Instruction Outcomes
  Matching teaching methods to students' preferred learning styles such as visual, auditory, or kinesthetic enhances learning outcomes.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 1 sources
• Trauma Lodges in Body Tissues
  Traumatic experiences embed in the body and tissues, causing ongoing harm relieved by somatic processing.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Facilitated Communication Reveals Hidden Abilities
  Facilitators enable non-verbal individuals with autism to spell coherent messages on keyboards, unveiling normal intelligence.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 1 sources
• Attachment Styles Persist into Adulthood
  Infant attachment categories like secure, anxious, avoidant, or disorganized rigidly determine adult romantic and relational behaviors as fixed traits.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• Grief Follows Predictable Stages
  Grief universally progresses through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance in sequence.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Power Posing Boosts Hormones
  Adopting expansive 'high-power' poses for minutes raises testosterone, lowers cortisol, and enhances risk-taking and power.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 1 sources
• Transference Drives Psychotherapy
  Clients unconsciously project past figures' feelings onto therapists, a core mechanism resolvable for cure in psychodynamic therapy.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• Rising Diagnoses Signal Mental Illness Epidemic
  Sharp increases in mental health diagnoses among children reflect a genuine surge in the prevalence of mental disorders.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Blue Zones Confer Exceptional Longevity
  Certain regions known as Blue Zones around the world feature significantly higher rates of centenarians and exceptional longevity due to unique lifestyle factors.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• Dishonesty Driven by Selfish Motives
  Dishonesty in organizations stems primarily from individual selfish motives rather than group loyalty.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources
• Individual Intelligence Differences Are Boring
  Differences in intelligence between human individuals are uninteresting to study and lack consistent genetic relationships to outcomes like educational attainment.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 1 sources
• Education Drives Twins-Apart IQ Differences
  IQ differences of identical twins reared apart are significantly influenced by educational differences.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Majority of Britons Are Neurodivergent
  A majority of Britons have neurodivergent conditions such as autism, dyslexia, or dyspraxia.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Parents Primarily Shape Children
  Children turn out the way they do primarily because of their parents' child-rearing styles.
  Mainstream now strongly agrees this assumption was false 1 sources
• Psych Concepts Valid Without Data
  Psychological theories like stereotype threat, ego depletion, and implicit bias remain valid even when replication data fails to support them.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Cannabis Damages Brain Function
  Heavy cannabis use alters brain function and impairs working memory.
  Experts are divided on whether this assumption was actually false 1 sources
• Marshmallow Test Predicts Life Success
  The length of time children delay eating a marshmallow predicts their long-term success in life.
  Growing recognition that this assumption was false, but not yet mainstream 1 sources