Lesson 22: Sources of Popular Myths and Common Misconceptions

Chapter 13

Lesson 22: Sources of Popular Myths and Common Misconceptions

Have you ever heard the following claim? "On average, men think about sex every seven seconds." Perhaps you have heard a variation on this claim, such as, "men think about sex every fifteen seconds," or, "men think about sex every three minutes." But the main conclusion--that men think frequently about sex--is the same in all of these variations. The claim is often believed simply because it sounds so plausible: it fits in well with most people's view of male sexuality. But think carefully about the claim. What would be appropriate evidence for it? Could we simply ask males to recall how often they think about sex? Laumann and his colleagues (1994) tried this and found that "54% of men think about sex everyday or several times a day, 43% a few times per month or a few times per week, and 4% less than once a month" (Frequently Asked Sexuality Questions, 2001). But, as you learned in the preceding lesson, there are a number of reasons to question the validity of survey results such as these.

A more direct approach might be to ask a large group of males to record each time they think about sex, perhaps by pressing a button hooked up to an automatic recording device. Is there a possible problem with this method? It seems possible that, because the men are carrying around a device that is supposed to measure their sexual thoughts, they will think frequently about sex. That is, the recording device in their hands is a constant reminder of sex. In general, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that there is just no good way to measure how frequently men (or women) think about sex.

Then where did the claim, "men think about sex every seven seconds," come from? Mikkelson (2002) reported that the study of male sexuality performed by Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues is sometimes cited (Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948). But, in actuality, that study never reported such a statistic. In fact, it seems that the claim is only a popular myth (a false claim that is commonly believed) that has been repeated so often that many people now accept it as "common knowledge."

In this lesson, you will learn about sources of popular myths and why they can endure for so long, even when there is conclusive evidence proving them to be false.

The Power of Social Influence

Cialdini (2001) described a number of studies demonstrating that the beliefs and behaviors of other people are major influences on our own beliefs and behaviors. He referred to this as the principle of social proof, which states that an individual's level of acceptance of a belief, or performance of a behavior, increases as more people accept that belief, or perform that behavior. In other words, "we determine what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct" (p. 100). For example, have you ever been on a freeway in traffic that is moving along steadily until, for some unknown reason, it slows to a crawl? As you look far ahead to see what is causing the traffic jam, perhaps you see two or three cars in front of you put on their turn signals and move into another lane. At this point, you, along with several other cars behind you, probably will do the same thing. You all observed the first couple of cars change lanes and, probably without giving it much thought, figured that they must have seen a problem ahead in your lane. This example shows that, when we experience an event that leaves us uncertain about how to proceed, we tend to look to others for clues. This point was put succinctly by Elliot Aronson (1992): "When reality is unclear, other people become a major source of information" (p. 30).

An interesting example of the principle of social proof was discussed by Cialdini (2001). Several studies have found that, within a few days after a suicide has been highly publicized through news stories, there is a large increase in deaths caused by airplane and automobile crashes:

After a suicide has made front-page news, airplanes--private planes, corporate jets, airliners--begin falling out of the sky at an alarming rate.... The number of automobile fatalities shoots up as well.... The influence of suicide stories on car and plane crashes ... is fantastically specific. Stories of pure suicides, in which only one person dies, generate wrecks in which only one person dies; stories of murder-suicide combination, in which there are multiple deaths, generate wrecks in which there are multiple deaths. (pp. 122, 123)

The increase in deaths caused by these "accidents" peaks about 3-4 days after the news media (television, newspapers, magazines, etc.) have reported the suicide. The available evidence suggests that the highly publicized suicide causes an increase in crash-related death rates. It seems that airplane pilots and automobile drivers, who may already have been feeling suicidal, decide to kill themselves by causing their planes or cars to crash. In other words, these are "copycat suicides."

We can explain "copycat behavior" with the notion of observational learning, which refers to learning how to behave in particular situations by observing the consequences of the behaviors of others in similar situations. Humans often learn what to do in situations that are new or "ambiguous" (open to more than one interpretation) by observing other people--who are referred to as "models"--and determining what happens to the models after they perform particular behaviors. If the consequences of a model's behavior are positive in some way, the observer is more likely to imitate that behavior when in similar situations. If, on the other hand, the consequences are negative, the observer is unlikely to imitate that behavior when in similar situations. For example, if you are still in the traffic jam described above and you see someone pull onto the shoulder and drive around everyone else without getting stopped, you may imitate this behavior. If, on the other hand, you see the person cut off by several other angry drivers, you probably will not imitate the behavior. In the case of copycat suicides, the models (the people who committed the highly publicized suicides) demonstrated to the copycats a behavior that seemed to them to be a "successful solution" to whatever problems they were experiencing.

Factors Affecting the Degree of Social Influence

Although there is a great deal of evidence in support of the principle of social proof, it is not the case that we adopt just any belief or perform just any behavior if we happen to observe others doing so. There are several factors that determine whether or not social proof will have an effect on our beliefs and behaviors. For example, read the following two scenarios and then answer the question that comes after them.

• Scenario 1: On a crowded city sidewalk, you observe one person looking up at a tall building.
• Scenario 2: On a crowded city sidewalk, you observe ten people looking up at a tall building.

In which scenario are you more likely to look up? Probably most of us would look up in the second scenario, but very few of us would look up in the first scenario. Why? Because the number of other people who believe or do something is important for whether or not we will believe or do the same thing. In general, the greater the number of people who believe something or act in a certain way, the greater the influence on our own beliefs and actions.

We can look at another social-influence factor by examining a second hypothetical situation. Let's say that you're waiting to cross at a busy intersection but the "don't-walk" sign is on. In which of the following two scenarios would you be most willing to "jaywalk" (cross the intersection against a red light)?

• Scenario 1: A bearded man dressed in ragged clothes and pushing a shopping cart full of his possessions steps out into the street in front of you.
• Scenario 2: A well groomed man in an expensive suit steps out into the street in front of you.

Probably most of us would jaywalk in the second scenario, but few of us would do so in the first scenario. Why? Because the perceived status (the position or rank) of other people is an important influence on us. In general, the greater the status of a person who believes something or acts in a certain way, the greater the influence on our own beliefs and actions.

Let's look at one final hypothetical situation. Let's say that, in preparing to buy a new car, you have been gathering information about various makes and models of automobiles. After much thought, you finally decide to buy a particular car model. You feel very certain that you have made the right decision. In which of the following two scenarios would you be most likely to change your mind?

• Scenario 1: In a conversation with a person who just happened to sit next to you at the movie theater, you discover that he had recently bought that same car model and has had nothing but trouble with it.
• Scenario 2: While watching a morning show on television, a person being interviewed on the street states that he recently bought that same car model and has had nothing but trouble with it.

Most of us would be more likely to change our minds in the first scenario than in the second scenario. Why? Because we are more likely to be influenced by people who are physically close to us than by people who are far away. In general, the closer in proximity a person is who believes something or acts in a certain way, the greater the influence on our own beliefs and actions.

The three social-influence factors mentioned above make up what is known as social impact theory, which is the claim that the amount of social influence others have on us depends on (a) their number, (b) their status, and (c) their proximity. The examples used all dealt with learning how to act based on the actions of others. But social impact theory also states that we learn what to believe about new or ambiguous situations by finding out what others believe. For example, if you see someone stagger and fall on a busy city sidewalk, but you are not sure if the person is ill and needs help or is simply drunk, you will look at other people walking by to see if they look concerned. If they do not appear worried, then you probably will decide that there is no need to help and will continue to walk on. In this case, the number and proximity of other people have been important influences on the formation of your belief that the fallen person is not in need of any help.

In a similar manner, even popular myths can spread rapidly. According to Barry Markovsky, a sociologist at the University of Iowa:

If you're unsure whether to believe what you hear about the Bermuda Triangle, a haunted house, a faith healer, or a weeping religious icon, all it takes to tip you one way or the other is knowing what someone else believes -- especially if they're socially close to you or have high status. You'll willingly adopt their beliefs as your own. (quoted in Kenyon, 2001)

Popular myths such as these are spread through two major sources: the media and interpersonal communications (conversations, e-mails, FAX's, etc.). Let's look next at how false beliefs get communicated from one person to another.

Social Sources of False Beliefs

A number of our beliefs are based on information we obtain from others. A major problem with this information, however, is that those passing it on often underemphasize essential details and overemphasize other details. Gilovich (1991) referred to this process as "sharpening and leveling." Whenever we tell a story, we "sharpen" by emphasizing details that we think will hold the attention of others, that will better illustrate the point we are trying to make, or that make the story more understandable. We "level" by de-emphasizing details that we think will bore or confuse others, or that contradict the point we are trying to make. Furthermore, we often change details either because we forget them or because we are trying to make the story more interesting. A good illustration of this was provided by Thomas Gilovich (1991):

An interesting real-life example involves the problem of sexuality in the era of AIDS. I have heard the following story at least four times. Each time the person telling the story introduced it as something that happened to a "friend of mine," "a friend of my brother," or a "guy at work." Many people I know have also heard it a similar number of times with a different cast of characters.... The story is as follows:

My friend (my brother's friend, this guy, etc.) began flirting with a particularly attractive woman at a bar in the city (on a Caribbean vacation). One thing led to another and they ended up sleeping together. The next morning when he woke up, the woman was gone. He saw a note on the bed (a message on the bathroom mirror): "Welcome to the world of AIDS."

It is possible that such a nightmare did in fact happen to someone, somewhere, at some time.... It is certainly the case, however, that it did not happen as many times, to as many people.... Nevertheless, after hearing one of these stories and believing that the event happened to someone "close to home," the danger can certainly seem to be acute. (p. 96)

If the story is derived from an actual event, its present forms are the product of much sharpening, leveling, and changing of details. And, as you pass it on to others, it is likely that you will continue the process of sharpening, leveling, and changing details. Such a story is referred to as an urban legend, which is an allegedly true story that spreads through interpersonal communication and cannot be traced to an original source. According to David Emery (2000a), urban legends:

typically comprise outlandish, humiliating, humorous, terrifying, or supernatural events--events which, in the telling, always happened to someone else. In lieu of proof, the teller of an urban legend relies on good storytelling and the citing of supposedly trustworthy sources (e.g., "I heard this from a friend of a friend") to boost its credibility. Sometimes, but not always, there's an implied moral message in the story (e.g., "Be careful, or the same thing could happen to you!").... Because they end up being repeated by many different people in many different places, the stories tend to change over time. Hence, no two versions of an urban legend are ever exactly alike; there can be as many variants as there are tellers of the tale.

Urban legends spread rapidly because they deal with issues that tend to grab people's attention. For example, urban legends that involve issues that scare many people--such as contaminated food or drinks (have you ever heard the rat-in-a-soda-bottle story)--will get repeated often and spread rapidly. According to Harris (2001):

When told correctly, a good urban legend will have you on the edge of your seat. It's human nature to want to spread this feeling to others, and be the one who's got everyone waiting to hear how the story turns out. Even if you hear it as a made-up joke, you might be tempted to personalize the tale by claiming it happened to a friend. Basically, people love to tell a good story.

But why does an audience take this at face value, instead of recognizing it is a tall tale or unsubstantiated rumor? In most cases, it has to do with how the story is told. If a friend (let's call her Jane) tells you an urban legend, chances are she will say it happened to a friend of somebody she knows. You trust Jane to tell you the truth, and you know she trusts the person who told her the story. It seems pretty close to second-hand information, so you treat it as such. Why would Jane lie?

The media also can help make an urban legend seem like a true story. For example, television dramas that are known for basing their story lines on actual events have sometimes made use of urban legends (see Question 22-4). Since one television show can reach millions of people, an urban legend can be spread rapidly across a nation, and even around the world, in a matter of days.

The Internet and e-mail also have created a situation in which urban legends can spread much faster and to a far greater number of individuals than in the past. Because it is now so easy to quickly reach a massive number of people, it probably is not too far off to say that we are living in a "Golden Age" of urban legends and popular myths. Since a large number of popular myths involve psychological issues, this is a very important problem for you to understand as you learn about the science of psychology.

Critical Thinking Questions

Question 22-1
Based on what you have learned in this lesson, explain each of the following:

• bartenders often place a few dollars in their tip jar at the beginning of the night
• an advertisement for a brand of coffee states that it is the best-selling brand in the nation
• three cars pass you going 85 mph and you speed up
• a child who is afraid of dogs begins to pet one when she sees her friends doing so
• Sara becomes interested in Scott after her friends all say how good-looking he is

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