Pop‑psych myths persist

Widely repeated psychology claims—like simple neurotransmitter causes for depression, the power of boosting self‑esteem to raise achievement, emotional‑intelligence as a general trait, priming effects, and birth‑order personality differences—remain common in media and everyday advice despite weak or failed evidence. That persistence reflects a gap between scientific replication findings and public/professional narratives, not the emergence of new supportive data. — Persistent pop‑psych myths shape policy, health care messaging, education interventions, and consumer markets, so monitoring how they survive or are corrected matters for public decisions.