Background:

A great amount of information is presented to psychology students through various mediums, often leading to misinformation and believing inaccurate psychological myths.

Objective:

We conducted two studies to examine psychomythology of psychopathology and whether mythbusting may be an effective pedagogical tool.

Method:

In Study 1, a total of 251 participants were recruited and asked about psychology myths they believed by using the Myths of Abnormal Psychology Questionnaire (MAP). In Study 2, a total of 46 students across two sections of abnormal psychology courses were asked about psychological myths they believed at the onset of class and at the end of class using the MAP. These students also were provided with an educational mythbusting intervention throughout the class.

Results:

Participants endorsed several myths of psychopathology and indicated that the greatest sources of their understanding came from instructors, the internet, movies, and mythbusting led to a decrease in myth endorsement.

Conclusion:

Students enter abnormal psychology courses believing several inaccurate myths and mythbusting appears to be a viable tool to address these misconceptions.

Teaching Implications:

Mythbusting can be implemented within abnormal psychology courses as an an engaging and effective teaching tool, as well as a means to model scientific thinking.

中文翻译：

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精神病理学的心理神话：异常心理学教学中的神话和神话破灭

背景：

大量的信息通过各种媒介呈现给心理学学生，往往导致错误信息和相信不准确的心理神话。

客观的：

我们进行了两项研究，以检查精神病理学的心理神话，以及消除神话是否可能是一种有效的教学工具。

方法：

在研究 1 中，共有 251 名参与者被招募，并通过使用“变态心理学迷思问卷”（MAP）询问他们所相信的心理学迷思。在研究 2 中，共有 46 名来自异常心理学课程的两个部分的学生被问及他们在上课开始和结束时使用 MAP 相信的心理神话。这些学生还在整个课堂上接受了教育性的辟谣干预。

结果：

参与者认可了几个精神病理学的神话，并表示他们理解的最大来源来自教师、互联网、电影和神话破坏导致神话认可的减少。

结论：

学生进入反常心理学课程时相信一些不准确的神话，而打破神话似乎是解决这些误解的可行工具。

教学意义：

消除误解可以在异常心理学课程中实施，作为一种引人入胜且有效的教学工具，以及一种模拟科学思维的手段。