Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Testing Misconceptions And Building Excitement In A Psychology And The Law Course, Emily Stark

Psychology Department Publications

Did you know that there is no evidence that verifies that each person's fingerprints are truly unique, or that even trained dental examiners cannot accurately match bite marks to the teeth of a suspect? Thinking about our misconceptions can make us excited to learn more about a topic, so that we understand why we were wrong. This article discusses a method that I developed to address misconceptions about psychology and the legal system and to get students excited to learn more about these topics.