1. The titles psychologists and psychiatrists refer to the same profession
False, a psychologist has an advanced degree in psychology by attending graduate school. Psychologists are primarily trained in research, statistics and critical thinking. Psychologists study behavior and the mind, but not biology.
2. A person is who blind in one eye can't see depth and therefore can't fly an airplane.
False, an applicant will be considered monocular when there is only one eye or when the best corrected distant visual acuity in the poorer eye is no better than 20/200. An individual with one eye, or effective visual acuity equivalent to monocular, may be considered for medical certification, any class, through the special issuance section of part 67 (14 CFR 67.401).
3. All your memory abilities fade and become worse with increasing age.
False: Memory comes in different types and forms and not all memory fades with age. “Episodic Memory” or memory for personal episodes or events in one’s life fades or weakens with age. However, other forms of memory like “Semantic Memory” or memory for generic information like world facts and vocabulary words shows improvement and enhancement with increasing age.
4. Instinct determines most of our behaviors.
False, many factors determine our behaviors beyond “instincts.”
5. Eyewitness testimony is some of the best ever evidence used by police and in court trials.
False, eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable. Research shows that many eyewitness memories can be false, implanted, distorted or made-up. Many after the fact events and experiences can lead individuals to form new memories inconsistent with the real events or distorted ones that are not truly representative of the true events which occurred.
6. A person with schizophrenia has a split personality.
False, Schizophrenia refers to a number of psychotic disorders with various cognitive, emotional and behavioral
manifestations.
7. Most of us would not follow the instructions of an authority figure if those were to hurt another person.
FALSE: A substantial amount of research beginning with the pioneering studies of Stanley Milgram during the 1960’s, shows that the majority of normal people would carry out orders to do harm onto others when
explicitly ordered or instructed to do so by an authority figure (e.g., scientist, doctor, police, etc.)
