Debunking Popular Brain Myths Like Using Only 10 Percent of Brain Through Ethical Research Analysis in College Psychology Assignments

Preparation

Select one of the following myths: Reflecting on these common misconceptions helps students appreciate how misinformation spreads in popular culture.

• We only use 10% of our brain.
• Brain training will make you smart.
• The brain perceives the world as it is.
• Right-brained people are more creative. Recent studies continue to show how such ideas persist despite evidence to the contrary.
• Adults can’t grow new brain cells.
• The brain is a computer.

You can learn more about the myth you chose in Jarrett’s 2014 book, Great Myths of the Brain, which is located in your reading list and can be used as a source in your paper.

Find one flawed source of information on the Internet. To find a flawed source, look for one with a substantial number of errors.

• Read what the textbooks say about the myth.
• Use the myth you chose and use it as your search word or phrase on the Internet. Keeping an eye on popular blogs or unverified sites often reveals outdated or incorrect claims.
• Look for sources that are not accurate based on the information in your textbooks.
  • If you don’t see a flawed source on the first page of results, skip to the third page of results or further.
• Tips for finding flawed sources:
  • Scroll through your social media feeds.
  • Scroll through your results and look for sources that are NOT:
    • .gov websites.
    • News or press websites. Many personal wellness pages still promote these myths without citing current research.

Find and read two peer-reviewed journal articles that summarize a research study on the topic. You will use these articles to help debunk the myth through their research findings. Reviews of literature or meta-analyses are not appropriate for this assessment.

Consider whether the research is ethical based on one of the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. You should cite this resource in your paper. Ongoing discussions in the field emphasize the importance of these principles in modern neuroscience studies.

American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code

Instruction:

Write a 3–5 page paper that includes:

• A brief summary of the myth and evidence provided by the website (your flawed source).
• Challenge the myth by providing scientific evidence that disproves the myth.
  • Identify and explain the underlying assumptions that support the myth.
  • Use two peer-reviewed journal articles to support your argument. For each scholarly source: Recent advancements in brain imaging techniques have made it easier to validate such findings.
    • Summarize the methods, participants, and results.
    • Explain the reliability, validity, and generalizability of the findings.
    • Assess, using evidence from the article, the study’s adherence to TWO of the APA’s five Ethical Principles of Psychologists:
      • Beneficence and Nonmaleficence.
      • Fidelity and Responsibility.
      • Integrity.
      • Justice. Applying these principles ensures that research benefits society without causing harm.
      • Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity.
• A discussion of how the brain and body work in relation to your myth, using your textbook and other scholarly sources to support your statements.
  • We only use 10% of our brain: Focus on the cerebrum.
  • Brain training will make you smart: Focus on the readings on intelligence.
  • The brain perceives the world as it is: Focus on the readings about our senses.
  • Right-brained people are more creative: Focus on how the hemispheres work. Insights from functional MRI scans highlight the collaborative nature of brain hemispheres in creative tasks.
  • Adults can’t grow new brain cells: Focus on readings about brain development.
  • The brain is a computer: Focus on the readings on memory.
• Your own theory: Based on your research, what do you think is correct?

Use headers to organize your paper. You should have at least three headers.

Scoring:

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and rubric criteria:

• Competency 1: Relate the actions of the mind and body to psychological and physical health.
  • Relate the actions of the mind and body to psychological and physical health.
• Competency 3: Examine psychological research from the standpoint of adherence to the APA Ethics Code in psychological research involving human or nonhuman research participants.
  • Assess the extent to which research studies align with two of the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. This evaluation helps build a strong foundation in ethical reasoning for future psychologists.
• Competency 4: Expose flawed sources of information.
  • Choose a flawed source of information related to a myth.
  • Explain peer-reviewed evidence.
• Competency 5: Write for purpose in a well organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.
  • Use APA style formatting for citations and reference list with only minor errors.
  • Address assessment purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences. Crafting such papers sharpens critical thinking skills essential for academic success.

Sample Answer to Guide Your Paper on Debunking Brain Myths

The myth that we only use 10 percent of our brain persists in popular media and suggests vast untapped potential waiting to be unlocked. A flawed website claims this based on misinterpreted early neurological studies without acknowledging modern brain scans showing full activity across regions during tasks. Scientific evidence counters this by demonstrating that even simple actions engage multiple brain areas and damage to any part affects functioning. Underlying assumptions include the idea that unused brain tissue exists like spare capacity and people could achieve superhuman abilities if accessed. Two peer-reviewed studies provide robust data with methods involving fMRI on diverse participants revealing consistent whole-brain involvement in cognition. These findings prove reliable through replication and valid in measuring neural activity while generalizable to healthy adults. Researchers adhered to beneficence by ensuring participant safety and integrity through transparent reporting (Grospietsch and Lins, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.665752).

References / Learning Materials

• Horvath, J. C., Donoghue, G. M., Horton, A. J., Lodge, J. M. and Hattie, J. A. C. (2018) ‘On the irrelevance of neuromyths to teacher effectiveness: Comparing neuro-literacy levels amongst award-winning and non-award winning teachers’, Frontiers in Psychology, 9, p. 1666. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01666.
• Grospietsch, F. and Lins, I. (2021) ‘Review on the prevalence and persistence of neuromyths in education – Where we stand and what is still needed’, Frontiers in Education, 6, p. 665752. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.665752.
• Jeyavel, S., Pandey, V., Rajkumar, E. and Lakshmana, G. (2022) ‘Neuromyths in education: prevalence among south Indian school teachers’, Frontiers in Education, 7, p. 781735. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.781735.
• Novak-Geiger, V. (2023) ‘Prevalence of neuromyths among psychology students: small differences to pre-service teachers’, Frontiers in Psychology, 14, p. 1139911. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1139911.