Five of the debunked myths:

1. Most people use only 10 percent of their brain power. I thought this had been thoroughly debunked for quite some time, but I still see it pop up on the 'net and in self-help books.

2. The Polygraph ("lie detector") Test is an accurate means of detecting dishonesty. It's interesting that the government has banned its use in most workplaces but still uses this next-to-useless test on some government employees...

3. It's better to express anger to others than to hold it in. SO not true. Expressing anger, whether verbally or by punching a pillow, generally makes you angrier and more aggressive.

4. There's recently been a massive epidemic of infantile autism. Also, not true. Diagnostics have gotten better, more autism is being *reported* and diagnostic criteria has loosened over the years, but there's no epidemic. Related, I wish the conspiracy theorists who link vaccines and autism would take a long walk off a short pier.

5. Abstinence is the only realistic treatment goal for alcoholics. There's a lot of evidence that many people -- particularly ones with shorter-lived and milder alcohol problems -- can learn "controlled drinking."

The book debunks 50 myths in detail and then lists 200 more briefly. Additionally, it includes several "weird but true" facts about psychology and neuroscience, and that bit was fun, too. Recommended.

J'ai choisi ce livre pour un examen d'Anglais à l'université.
Je m'attendais à m'ennuyer un peu au vu de mes études en psychologie. J'étais été surpris de voir que je pensais exactement comme un certain nombre de mythes.

En ce qui concerne le livre en lui-même, il n'était pas très bien construit. Les mythes étaient regroupés par thème mais il n'y avait pas de continuité entre eux. C'était comme une longue liste de faits avec beaucoup de citations d'autres articles scientifique.
De plus, les mythes étaient fort riches en information.

En lisant ce livre, j'ai plus eu l'impression de me bourrer le crâne d'infos comme quand je révise la veille d'un exam que de lire un livre visant un public peu formé à la psychologie.
Je ne conseille pas de lire ce livre sauf si vous êtes vraiment motivé à en apprendre plus sur les idées préconçues que vous pouvez avoir sur la psychologie.

Es un libro que definitivamente todos los psicólogos deberían de leer para dejar a un lado cualquier mito que pudiera obstruir su trabajo profesional y ético. Sin embargo, cualquiera que lo lea, terminará por entender que mucha información que está en el medio es falsa y su mal uso podría ser perjudicial. Está muy bien escrito y justificado, y vale la pena dedicarle tiempo para entender cada uno de los mitos. Se lo recomendaría a cualquiera que le guste cuestionar la información que llegue a sus manos y a quienes estén interesados en el comportamiento humano.

Not only did it debunk 50 popular myths with tons of research, each section had an additional list of 20-30 fact/fictions. A really great book to counter all the pseudo science out there.

This is a book that everyone should read because it will surprise you to find out how much of what you "know" is wrong. Lilienfeld's writing style is incredibly accessible that you never feel like you are reading a dense scientific text. However, this is a scientific text through and through. Each myth is refuted with research and extensive citations from contemporary psychological research. People should walk straight past the self-help garbage in the bookstore and grab this book instead.

There is an enduring argument between myself and some of my friends: Is something that has no validity whatsoever, still a good thing if it makes people feel better?
Taking a look at this work, reminds me that the real person feeling better is the benefactor from the hundreds of schleps who succumb to forking over their hard earned cash for remedies and self-help products all for a well reinforced placebo effect.
Authors of fad-diet, spiritual-guidance and relationship advice frequently make sales in the millions, and must surely continue to suck up more capital with the lecture circuits.
Rants aside, this book is absolutely must read for anyone anywhere on the spectrum of belief in what is loosely described as ‘pop’ psychology. Those who swear by their natural remedies need to know this information, and those (like me) who have realised that pop psychology is merely a money making industry will enjoy an ivory tower scoff-fest.
The myths busted in this piece are all largely well known, some of the best are the criticisms of criminal profiling, Freudian analysis and gender differences. There was one stand out myth I had never heard of; apparently some people think particles are emitted by our eyes? There were also a couple of risky myths, one trying to refute the stigma of mental health diagnosis, and one about the effects of positive thinking. While ultimately the information presented is solid I suspect for these myths some baby had been thrown out with the bathwater, in an attempt to challenge common misperceptions.
Another small criticism is the rather desperate puns littering this book. For one thing, puns are only enjoyed by those who use them (and sometimes not even) and that level of wit (or half) isn’t really in keeping with the tone of the book.
The authors manage to hit a good balance with this piece, not straying too far into unscientific mud-slinging, but also not becoming so dry and boring that few would ever read their work. A gripe I often repeat with this style of book is that those who should be reading it will probably not even notice its existence, however I live in hope that many will read this piece, and the world will be better for it.

"Science must begin with myths, and with the criticism of myths"
-Sir Carl Popper (1957)-

It was an interesting read. I am now filled with better knowledge about human psychology and the myths attributed to it. I haven't read all the myths as I think these are the popular myths in US. In fact, I found most of the myths unfamiliar to me, or at least, in my culture, (I am from North Africa, Algeria). Yet, I might have a look at the other ones later on.
These are the myths that I was most interested in the book:
1. Most People Ue Only 10% of Their Brain Power
2. Some People are Left-brained, Others are Right-brained
3. Adolescence is Inevitably a Time of Psychological Turmoil
4.Old Age is Typically Associated with Increased Dissatisfaction and Senility
5. Most People with Amnesia Forget all Details of Their Earlier Lives
6. If You are Unsure About Your Answer When Taking a Test, it's Best to Stick With Your Initial Hunch
7.Students Learn Best When Teaching Styles are Matched to Their Learning Styles
8. Research have demonstrated that dreams possess symbolic meaning
9. There is safety in numbers, the more people present at an emergency, the greater the chance that someone will intervene
10. Men and Women communicate in Completely different ways
11. It is better to express anger to others than to hold it in.
12. The fact that a treat is heritable means we can't change it
13. Our handwriting reveals our personality traits
14. Only deeply depressed people commit suicide

I liked all those introductory ideas, and I think that was the most intriguing part, where the authors defined psychology, myths, armchair psychology, and what I loved most is the 10 sources of Psychological Myths: Your Mythbusting Kit. These are the main sources of almost any scientific myth and common misconceptions about science in general. They are:
1.Word-of Mouth
2. Desire for Easy Answers and Quick Fixes
3. Selective Perception and Memory
4. Inferring Causation from Correlation
5. Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc Reasoning (or After this, therefore, because of this)
6.Exposure to a biased example
7. Reasoning by Representativeness
8.Misleading Film and Media Portrayels
9. Exaggeration of a Kernel of Truth
10. Terminological Confusion

Written in a simple style, the book is very scientific, it's full of scientific researches and sources of the facts mentioned in the book.