The Dunning-Kruger effect is the finding that low scorers overestimate their performance. The pattern replicates, but its usual explanation is disputed, and some researchers call it a statistical artifact.
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The Flynn effect is the long-term rise in average IQ test scores, about 3 points per decade across the 20th century. Its causes and meaning are still debated.
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A large 2015 project replicated only about a third of 100 studies with significant results, but experts disagree on what this shows. Seriousness varies by subfield and method.
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Large studies and reviews find no reliable link between the full moon and crime, suicide, psychiatric admissions or similar events. The belief persists largely because of how memory works.
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A polygraph does not detect lies directly. It records bodily arousal, which scientists agree is linked to deception only imperfectly; how accurate that makes it is debated.
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James Vicary's 1957 popcorn claim was fabricated or unverified. Lab studies show small, conditional effects, and real-world evidence of mass influence is lacking.
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Researchers think emotional tears mainly work as a social signal that draws support and bonding, but the underlying biology is not fully understood.
Starter thread · AI-reviewed against its sources
