Striving to Become
Psychologically Literate Consumers:
Understanding Science versus
Pseudoscience
Steve Charlton
Douglas College
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
SOME AREAS THAT MIGHT BE
CONSIDERED PSEUDOSCIENCE
 Witchcraft
 Homeopathy
 Touch
Therapy
 Learning Styles
 Subliminal Tapes
 Scientology
Astrology
Magnetic Therapy
Colonic Therapy
Alien Abductions
Urine Therapy
Ghosts
Astrology
Clairvoyance
ET s
Haunted houses
T elepathy
Psychic healing
ESP
Deja Vu
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percent
100
Believe
Not Sure
Don't Believe
 In
a recent study of approximately
10,000 undergraduate students beliefs in
pseudoscience (Sugarman et al 2011)
 78 percent stated that astrology was
“very” or “sort of” scientific
 48 percent of the science major students
stated that astrology has at least some
scientific base
 When
we research or discuss concepts
such as psychological literacy, critical
thinking or beliefs in pseudoscience we
are often referring to the undergraduate
population
 Most
courses on critical thinking or
pseudoscience are designed for
undergraduate students
 Does
graduate school make us critical
thinkers?
 Does being smart make someone a
critical thinker?
 Glowing examples of this on television
 Dr. Oz
 Dr. Aman
 Dr. Phil
 Examples
from the clinical literature and
practice
 Colin Ross
 Dr. Braun and the Satanic Princess
 Facilitated Communication
 Scott Lilienfeld: Argues that we need to
develop therapies that are both effective
and not harmful
 Gerd
Gigerenzer
◦ Statistical and numerical literacy
◦ Medical Doctors, Politicians and
Journalists
 Politicians
◦ Prince Charles and the Foundation
for Integrated Health
◦ David Tredinnick and integration of
horoscopes with health care
 Although
many of my examples have
been clinical, critical thinking and the
ability to distinguish science from
pseudoscience applies to many areas
Health Psychology:
Homeopathy
Vaccinations and Autism
Therapeutic touch
Herbs
 Social
Issues:
Which drugs are dangerous?
Does the war on drugs work?
Should the government support
needle exchange programs?
Purpose of the Course
Teach students to think more critically
about information they are exposed to
Teach students to think more critically
about complex social issues
Allow students to see the importance of
research methodology
Motivate students through the types of
topics you use( eg. Talking to the dead)
(speak to the student’s interests)

 Are
silicone breast implants
dangerous?
 Sugar
makes children
hyperactive?
 LSD
 Men
causes flashbacks?
think about sex every 7
seconds?
 Should
we drink 8 glasses of
water per day?
 Reading
in low light causes
damage to the eyes
 Vaccinations
 We
cause Autism
only use 10 percent of our
brains
 If
you die in your dreams, you
die!
 Men are from Mars and Women
are from Venus!
Organizing the course
 Sources of knowledge

Cognitive/Perceptual limitations

History of pseudoscience

Characteristics of pseudoscience

Types of pseudoscience
Sources of knowledge
 Books
 Magazines
 Friends
 Radio
 Parents
 Newspaper
 Television
 Internet
 Medical
 Journal
Doctors
articles

Documentaries
Ads
Power Bracelets & Q Ray
Cognitive and Perceptual
Limitations
 Misperception
of Random Events
 Cluster
Illusion
 Toronto
Homicides
 Should
we run from coconuts
Fourteen Characteristics of
Pseudoscience
1) Outward Appearance of Science
2) Absence of Skeptical Review
3) Reliance on Personal Experience
4) Evasion of Risky Tests
5) Retreats to the Supernatural
6) Holism
7) Tolerance of Inconsistencies
8) Appeals to Authority
9) Promising the Impossible
10) Stagnation
11) Credentials
12) References
13) Correlations, Causation and Third
Variables
Cognitive, Perceptual and Social
Biases
Top Down Processing
Confirmation Bias
Heuristics

Potential Exercises
Use a large list of potential areas of
pseudoscience and have students
indicate their beliefs
Then have your students write an
an essay or engage in a debate
where they have to argue against
their belief
History of Pseudoscience
Social Contagion
Witchcraft
Great Tulip Mania
Nuns
Koro Disorder
War of the Worlds
Bad Buildings
School Sickness
Chemical Sensitivity
June bug outbreak
Glass armonica
Saskatoon berry
Tomatoes
Tarantism

Rumours and Urban Legends
Bubonic Plague
Chesterfield
Cigarettes
Microwave & Dog
New Orleans-Katrina




World War 2
Posters
Proctor
&
Gamble
Types of Psychological Treatment
Trephining (Trepanning)
Phrenology
Mesmerism
Exorcism
Modern examples:
Mental Inertia
Prolonged Narcosis (sleep therapy)
Robert Carol (1935)
Focal Infection Theory
Lobotomies
Scam Inventions
Dr. Scotts Electric Devices
Galvanic Glasses
Q Ray Bracelet (http://www.ionic-health.com/)