Are the scope and nature of psychology properly understood? An examination of belief in myths of popular psychology among university students

Autor(en)

Viren Swami, Ulrich S. Tran, Lisa Thorn, Ingo W. Nader, Laura von Nordheim, Jakob Pietschnig, Deborah Husbands, Martin Voracek

Abstrakt

This study developed the Belief in Myths of Psychology Scale (BiMPS), a 50-item measure that consists of psychological myths and examined its psychometric properties in three studies. In Study 1, 774 students from Austria completed the BiMPS along with measures of superstitious beliefs, the Big Five personality factors, and interest in science. Results showed that an overall score computed from all 50 myths showed good internal consistency and facets of validity. In a sample of British university students, Study 2 showed that altering the anchoring of some items did not alter responses to the BiMPS. Finally, the results of Study 3 showed that enrolment on an introductory psychology module reduced belief in myths of psychology among a British university sample.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Psychologie der Kognition, Emotion und Methoden, Institut für Psychologie der Entwicklung und Bildung

Externe Organisation(en)

University of Westminster, HELP University, Universität Wien

Band

101

Seiten

9-32

Anzahl der Seiten

24

Publikationsdatum

01-2015

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501004 Differentielle Psychologie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Allgemeine Psychologie, Allgemeine Medizin

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/5c0d4cd4-c73f-4184-a319-7730c57bebfc