People Only Use 10% of their Brain Power

Only 10%?! When we hear we only use 10% of our Brain Power it doesn't seem to add up. How is it possible we only use 10% of our brain power? Well, for those who are questioning this - you are on the right track! This is a well known myth mostly one that I think we learn from word of mouth. (Lilienfeld, Lynn, Ruscio, Beyerstein, 2010) In fact in one study psychology students were asked "About what percentage of their potential brain power do you think most people use?" and a third of psychology majors answered 10% (Lilienfeld et al, 2010, pg 21) This is an important myth to understand because its good to avoid misinformation. If we think we only use 10% of our brain power then sometimes we don't think we can do any better than what we are currently doing. 

So how do we know this is a myth? Well for a few different reasons. I think, the most important, is the fact that brain imaging scans show that there is activity in almost all regions of the brain. (Cherry) Another thing to think about: When people get in accidents and have brain damage, why are they brain dead, in some cases? If we only used 10% of our brain then shouldn't they be completely fine? Head injuries are dangerous and we definitely use more than 10% of our brain.

It may seem kind of silly now that we think about it. How could we possibly survive only using 10% of our brain power and where did this idea ever come from? Well, it is believed that it developed into a myth from William James. Only, he never actually said we only use 10% of our brain power. In his 1908 book, The Energies of Men, he wrote, "We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources." (Cherry) So by learning that we do not only use 10% of our brain power, what kind of impression does that leave on you? Do you feel like you can do more with your life by living to your full ability, knowing you are doing a lot more than 10% 

References:

Lilienfeld, S.O., Lynn, S.J., Ruscio, J, & Beyerstein, B.L. (2010) 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology

Swami, V, Stieger, S, Pietschnig, S, Nader, I & Voracek, M (2011) Using more than 10% of our brains: Examining belief in science-related myths from an individual differences perspective. Learning and Individual Differences V22(3) Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.westminstercollege.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=36&sid=9055f86f-cc16-46dc-a92d-05fecec673b8%40sessionmgr114&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=psyh&AN=2011-30331-001

Cherry, Kendra, Do You Really Only Use 10% of Your Brain? Retrieved from: http://psychology.about.com/od/biopsychology/a/10-percent-of-brain-myth.htm