There are many beliefs about psychology that are commonly held by the general public, despite the fact that they are
not generally supported by scientific research. Often, people evaluate how likely these claims are to be true based upon
their personal experience, anecdotes or stories, and how well the claims match their intuitions about human behavior,
thoughts, and feelings. Scientists test the accuracy of these claims by systematically collecting and analyzing these
observations (i.e., data) to make determinations about what is true.
In this assignment, you are going to be a psychological detective. Below are five common beliefs that have been
questioned by many psychologists. You will pick ONE of the questionable claims. Your job is to find two empirical
research articles that scientifically test some aspect of your chosen claim, and to use that evidence to evaluate the
claim’s support (or lack thereof). For each of the claims, some suggested keywords to begin your search are provided
(you likely will need to search other terms, as well), along with a sample empirical research article addressing this claim