Thread by @drlouisehansen

The real story of Phineas Gage: Ever heard of Phineas Gage, who survived a spike through his head that transformed him from a gentle man into an angry drunk? More than 60%of psychology textbooks tell the story of Gage, according to historian Malcolm Macmillan. 1/15

Gage's supposed personality and cognitive transformation happened in 1848, when the 25-year-old railroad company foreman was blasting away rock to clear the way for a railroad. 2/15

He drilled a hole into a rock and pushed explosive powder into the hole with a three-and-a-half-foot-long iron. The powder exploded unexpectedly, driving the iron below his left cheekbone and out through the crown of his head. 3/15

Gage not only survived, but, according to witnesses, talked coherently and walked just minutes after the injury. This much of the story is undoubtedly true, Macmillan says. At this point, however, myth diverges from contemporary sources. 4/15

Textbooks tell how the gaping, bleeding injury — probably to one or both frontal lobes — turned the popular, temperate Gage into an angry, unstable drunk. 5/15

But Gage's closer associates reported that while he was recuperating on his parents' farm, he amused his nieces and nephews by making up adventurous stories. He also showed a particular fondness for animals, especially horses. 6/15

His previous employer refused to take him back after he recovered, so he earned money appearing with his tamping iron in Barnum's American Museum, a freak show in New York. Later, he worked for a stagecoach company. 7/15

About four years after the accident, Gage went to Chile and drove a stagecoach on the route between Valparaiso and Santiago. Succeeding in this work in a foreign country would require adaptability, discipline and interpersonal skills, 8/15

which contradicts the popular belief that Gage was intellectually and emotionally impaired, argues Macmillan. A doctor who knew him during this period observed "no impairment whatever," Macmillan adds. 9/15

Nonetheless, Gage's health began to deteriorate, and in 1860 he returned to his family, now living in California. There he suffered several seizures but continued to work. He died of a seizure in 1861. 10/15

“There was nothing psychopathic in Gage's behavior and … the changes in his life are more coherently explained … as his way of dealing with disfigurement that he suffered after the accident," argues Zbigniew Kotowicz, PhD. 11/15

“Although … Phineas may not have been the Gage he once had been, he seems to have come much closer than is commonly believed," adds Macmillan. 12/15

The myth persists "because a small number of writers deliberately distort the facts in order to fit Phineas into a theoretical framework," says Macmillan. However, you can right the record, by telling the true story of Gage. 13/15

Or even better — encourage students to read primary-source accounts of Gage's life and draw their own conclusions. "It's a great story for illustrating the need to go back to original sources and the importance of critical thinking" Macmillan says. 14/15

Source: Benderly, BL. Psychology's tall tales. gradPSYCH Magazine. (2012). 15/15