Brain Scans Show…
Every time I read someone proposing that we use a brain scan to learn something about how the mind works, I remember the old Language Log post, Distracted by Brain.
Even irrelevant neuroscience information in an explanation of a psychological phenomenon may interfere with people’s abilities to critically consider the underlying logic of this explanation.They found that not just the lay public but also students in a neuroscience course were susceptible to this distraction. “Brain scans show” has become a code phrase in our household for over-hyped argument based upon untrustworthy evidence of questionable relevance.
