Learning path

Read claims about the mind

Cause or coincidence, how experiments work, what "statistically significant" really means, which findings held up when repeated, and five popular myths checked.

5 lessons, about 30 minutes in all. Take them in order.

Printable cheat sheet

Linked is not the same as caused 6 min
Two things that rise and fall together may share a hidden cause, run the other way round, or be pure chance. Learn the three questions to ask before believing "X causes Y".
How experiments show cause 5 min
Random assignment, a control group and blinding are what let an experiment show that one thing causes another. Learn to check for each before trusting a claim.
Samples, effect sizes and "significant" 5 min
A result can be "statistically significant" and still too small to matter, and a small or self-selected sample can mislead. Learn the three numbers to check in any study.
What holds up: the replication crisis 7 min
When psychologists repeated 100 published studies, fewer than half gave the same result. Learn why, which famous findings fell, what changed, and how to tell a sturdy finding from a shaky one.
Popular psychology myths, checked 7 min
Learning styles, the 10% of your brain, left-brained and right-brained people, the Mozart effect, letting off steam. Each sounds right; here is what the evidence says, and how to check the next one yourself.

Try it for real

Check one claim you saw this week

Pick one claim about the mind, behaviour or health that reached you this week, and trace it back to its evidence. This is practice in reading claims, not a test.

You need: a claim from a news story, social media post, advert, podcast or conversation ("Studies show…", "Science says…", "X linked to Y"), and about 30 minutes.

Steps

Write the claim down exactly. Underline the words that claim a cause ("makes", "boosts", "causes") and the ones that only claim a link ("linked to", "associated with").
Find the study. Follow the links back to the original paper or its summary. Journals usually show a free summary (the abstract); university press releases can also lead you to the paper. If you can't find any study at all, note that: it's a warning sign.
Check the design (experiments): was it an experiment with random assignment and a control group, or a survey or observational study?
Check the numbers (samples and significance): how many people, and who? Is an effect size given, and is it small, medium or large?
Check if it holds up (replication): has anyone repeated it? Was it preregistered? Does it fit other evidence?
Write your verdict in one line, and rewrite the claim so it says only what the evidence shows.

Check yourself

I wrote down the claim exactly and marked its cause and link words.
I found the original study, or noted that I couldn't.
I said whether it was an experiment or an observational study.
I noted the sample size and who was studied.
I looked for an effect size and for a replication.
I rewrote the claim so it matches the evidence.

Nothing here is graded or saved: the checklist is for you.