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Investigating Pop Psychology

Other Books in this Series

Investigating Clinical Psychology
Investigating School Psychology
Investigating Paranormal Psychology
Investigating Cognitive Psychology
Investigating Pop Psychology
Pseudoscience, Fringe Science, and Controversies
Stephen Hupp and Richard Wiseman
For more information, please refer to www.routledge.com/Series+Investigating+Psychology/
book-series/IPP
Investigating Pop Psychology
Pseudoscience, Fringe Science, and
Controversies

Edited by Stephen Hupp and

Richard Wiseman
Cover image: Getty
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Stephen Hupp and Richard Wiseman; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Stephen Hupp and Richard Wiseman to be identified as the author[/s] of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
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and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-367-62068-4 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-60994-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-10779-8 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003107798

Typeset in Bembo
by MPS Limited, Dehradun
Dedicated to Scott O. Lilienfeld
Contents

Introduction to the Investigating Psychology Pseudoscience Series ix

List of Contributors xii
Preface xiv
Acknowledgments xvi

1 Examining Claims in Pop Psychology 1

ST EP H EN HU PP

2 Phrenology and Neuroscience 9

J ONATH A N N . S TE A , TYL E R R. BL AC K , A N D ST EF A NO I. DI D OM ENI CO

3 Extrasensory Perception, Psychokinesis, and Sensation 20

J AMES E. A LC O C K

4 Dream Interpretation and Consciousness 30

C ALEB W. LAC K

5 Superstition and Learning 38

ST UA RT VYS E

6 Alien Encounters and Memory 47

J . T HA DEU S ME E KS AN D AR L O C L A R K- FO O S

7 Learning Styles and Cognition 56

TESIA MA RS HI K A N D W IL L IA M C E R BI N

8 Brain Training and Intelligence 66

M. J . SC HNEIDE R A N D IN D RE V . VI S K O N T A S

9 Psychosexual Stages and Development 75

MIC HA EL I. A XE L RO D AN D C HRI S T I N E C . V R I ESEMA
viii Contents
10 Horoscopes and Emotion 86
ZA CH ARY C . L ABR O T , C HE L SE A J O HN S O N , AND EMIL Y M AX IM E

11 Spectrophilia and Sexuality 95

KA REN ST O L L ZN O W

12 Alternative Medicine and Health 102

ST EVEN NO VE LL A

13 Selling Flimflam and Social Influences 108

ANT HONY R . PRA T KAN I S

14 Projective Tests and Personality 121

TERENCE HI N E S

15 Demonic Possession and Disorders 130

C HRIST OP HE R C . FRE N C H

16 Energy Psychology and Therapy 139

C ARMEN P. MC LE A N AN D MA DE LE I N E MI LL ER

Postscript: How to Resist False Claims 150

ANT HONY R . PRA T KAN I S A ND S TE PHE N HUP P

Index 154
Introduction to the Investigating
Psychology Pseudoscience Series

Richard Wiseman PhD

The public are constantly bombarded by information about psychology. Magazines and
websites offer quizzes and questionnaires that apparently reveal their real selves; social
media posts present fascinating facts about the human mind; and self-development books
allegedly describe tips and techniques that can help everyone to improve their lives.
Often, these quizzes, factoids, and advice put a smile on people’s faces, give them
something to talk about with their friends and family, and cause little harm. So far, so
good. However, sometimes these websites, social media posts, books, and magazines
have a far more significant impact, shaping people’s sense of self-identity, changing
the way that they perceive and interact with others, and influencing important life
decisions. Unfortunately, there are often few, if any, checks and balances in place to
ensure that the information that the public receive about psychology is valid. Worse still,
researchers examining such claims and ideas have frequently discovered that some of this
information is, at best, highly questionable.
Take, for example, the “Yale Goal Study.” Spend any time reading psychology-related
webpages and you will soon come across an account of this remarkable research. According
to most sources, the study took place in the early 1950s. In the first part of the work,
researchers asked a class of graduating Yale students whether they knew what they wanted
to achieve in life and if they had written down their goals. Only 3% of the graduates fell
into this category. Then, 20 years later, the researchers tracked down all of the students and
asked them about their personal wealth. Remarkably, the 3% of graduates who had written
down their goals 20 years before had a greater level of personal wealth than the remaining
97% of their classmates combined. This astonishing study is frequently cited by self-help
gurus and motivational coaches to illustrate the impressive power of goal setting. Journalist
Lawrence Tabak tried to track down the source of this widely reported study. He
contacted several famous writers who had cited it, the secretary of the 1953 Yale Class, and
a research associate at Yale University. Time and again, Tabak drew a blank and eventually
concluded that the research had never actually been undertaken. In short, for years, people
across the world have been told that goal setting will help to significantly boost their
personal wealth based on an entirely fictitious study.
Another example involves whether it’s possible to tell whether someone is lying
based on their eye movements. Many authors and life coaches promote the notion that
liars are more likely to look up to their right and truth tellers are more likely to look
up to their left. Some of my own research has examined the relationship between body
language and lying, and my colleagues and I put this widely believed claim to the test.
x Introduction to the Investigating Psychology Pseudoscience Series
In one study, we asked students to take a mobile phone to a nearby office, and to
either put it in a cupboard or to hide it in their pockets. The students were then
interviewed on camera about their actions and were asked to state that they had put
the mobile phone in the cupboard. As a result, some of the students were lying and
some were telling the truth. We carefully counted how often the students looked up
to their right and left, and discovered nothing to suggest that lying or truth telling was
associated with either pattern of eye movement. Our second study was a more real-
world test of the hypothesis. During some missing person cases, family members
appear on the media and make public appeals for information about their missing
relatives. Occasionally, evidence then emerges that one of the family members
committed the crime and was therefore lying when they spoke to the media. We
obtained several films of these press conferences and carefully counted how often each
person looked up to the left or to the right. Once again, we compared the eye
movements of those lying with those telling the truth, and again discovered no
evidence to support the notion that lying was associated with either pattern of eye
movement. In short, the public have been encouraged to judge the veracity of their
friends, partners, and colleagues on an unreliable cue.
Of course, if the Yale Goal Study and the notion of liars looking in a certain direction
were the only examples of bad psychology in the public domain, then there wouldn’t be
a serious problem. However, these examples are just the tip of a sizable iceberg. In fact,
similar widely believed claims permeate almost every strata of society. In this series of
books, researchers from psychology and academia will shine a much-needed light on
many of the most widely believed and popular claims. They will describe the nature of
the claim, carefully consider the evidence supporting this notion, and explore why
people might believe the claim in the absence of reliable and convincing scientific
evidence. Will their analyses be entirely rational and unbiased? No, of course not. Like
all of us, researchers and scientists hold beliefs and ideas that influence the way in which
they see the world. However, unlike many of the websites, social media platforms,
books, and magazines that uncritically promote such claims, they will do their best to
take a careful look at key sources of evidence and to reach a balanced and considered
viewpoint. This impressive body of work will examine claims associated with almost
every area of psychology, including social psychology, personality, learning, and
dreaming. Together, it will form an invaluable and highly practical resource for those
working in a variety of applied settings, including education, psychotherapy, business,
and the courtroom. Perhaps most important of all, this series will illustrate how we can
all come to believe what isn’t so, emphasize the important role that scientific research
plays in helping to sort fact from fiction, and demonstrate how popular psychology has
influenced world history and personal lives alike.

Other Books
Other Books in This Series

• Investigating Clinical Psychology

• Investigating School Psychology
• Investigating Paranormal Psychology
• Investigating Cognitive Psychology
 Introduction to the Investigating Psychology Pseudoscience Series xi
Other Books by Stephen Hupp

• Dr. Huckleberry’s True or Malarkey? Superhuman Abilities: Game Book for Skeptical Folk
• Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: Components of Evidence-Based Treatments for Youth
and Their Parents
• Pseudoscience in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: A Skeptical Field Guide
• Pseudoscience in Therapy: A Skeptical Field Guide
• Great Myths of Child Development
• Great Myths of Adolescence
• Thinking Critically about Child Development: Examining Myths and Misunderstandings

Other Books by Richard Wiseman

• Psychology: Why It Matters

• The Hocus Pocus comic series
• David Copperfield’s History of Magic
• Laughlab: The Scientific Search for the World’s Funniest Joke
• The Luck Factor
• Did You Spot the Gorilla? How to Recognise Hidden Opportunities in Your Life
• Parapsychology
• Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things
• 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
• Paranormality: Why We See What Isn’t There
• Rip It Up: The Radically New Approach to Changing Your Life
• Night School: Wake Up to the Power of Sleep
• How to Remember Everything
• Shoot for the Moon: Achieve the Impossible with the Apollo Mindset
• Deception and Self-deception: Investigating Psychics
• Guidelines for Extrasensory Perception Research
• Guidelines for Testing Psychic Claimants
Contributors

James E. Alcock, PhD, is a Registered Clinical Psychologist and Professor of

Psychology at York University in Canada. He is author of the book Belief: What It
Means to Believe and Why Our Convictions Are So Compelling.
Michael I. Axelrod, PhD, is a School Psychologist, the Director of the Human
Development Center, and a Professor of Psychology at University of Wisconsin – Eau
Claire. He is co-editor of another book in this series – Investigating School Psychology:
Pseudoscience, Fringe Science, and Controversies.
Tyler R. Black, MD, FRCPC, is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and the Medical
Director of the CAPE Unit of BC Children’s Hospital and BC Mental Health and
Substance Use Services. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of
British Columbia in Canada.
William Cerbin, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and founding Director of
the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-La
Crosse.
Arlo Clark-Foos, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the
University of Michigan – Dearborn.
Stefano I. Di Domenico, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the
University of Toronto Scarborough in Canada.
Christopher C. French, PhD, is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Head of the
Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London in
England. He is co-author of the book Anomalistic Psychology: Exploring Paranormal
Belief and Experience.
Terence Hines, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology at Pace University (Pleasantville,
NY) and an Adjunct Professor of Neurology at New York Medical College (Valhalla,
NY). He is author of the book Pseudoscience and the Paranormal.
Stephen Hupp, PhD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology
at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He is co-editor of the book Pseudoscience
in Therapy.
Chelsea Johnson, BS, is a Doctoral Student at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Zachary C. LaBrot, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of School Psychology at the
University of Southern Mississippi.
 Contributors xiii
Caleb W. Lack, PhD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology
at the University of Central Oklahoma. He is author of the book Critical Thinking,
Science, and Pseudoscience: Why We Can’t Trust Our Brains.
Tesia Marshik, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Developmental and Educational
Psychology at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.
Emily Maxime, BS, is a Doctoral Student at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Carmen P. McLean, PhD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at the Dissemination and
Training Division of the National Center for PTSD at the VA Palo Alto Health Care
System and a Clinical Associate Professor (Affiliate) at Stanford University School of
Medicine. She is co-author of the book Retraining the Brain: Applied Neuroscience in
Exposure Therapy for PTSD.
J. Thadeus Meeks, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology at
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Madeleine Miller, BS, is a Doctoral Student at the City University of New York.
Steven Novella, MD, is a Neurologist and an Associate Professor of Neurology at the
Yale School of Medicine. He is the host of the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe
podcast and co-author of the book The Skeptics’ Guide to the Future: What Yesterday’s
Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow.
Anthony R. Pratkanis, PhD, is a retired Professor of Psychology at the University of
California. He is co-author (with Elliot Aronson) of the book Age of Propaganda: The
Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion.
M. J. Schneider, BA, is a Social Psychology Researcher and Lab Manager for the
Princeton Social Neuroscience Lab.
Jonathan N. Stea, PhD, RPsych, is a Registered Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct
Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Calgary in Canada. He is co-
editor of another book in this series – Investigating Clinical Psychology: Pseudoscience,
Fringe Science, and Controversies.
Karen Stollznow, PhD, is a Linguist and Researcher for the Griffith Centre for Social
and Cultural Research in Australia. She is co-host of the Monster Talk podcast and
author of the book On the Offensive: Prejudice in Language Past and Present.
Indre V. Viskontas, PhD, is a Cognitive Neuroscientist and Associate Professor at the
University of San Francisco. She is the co-host of the Inquiring Minds podcast and
author of the book How Music Can Make You Better.
Christine C. Vriesema, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at
the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.
Stuart Vyse, PhD, is a Behavioral Scientist and retired Professor of Psychology at
Connecticut College. He is author of the book The Uses of Delusion: Why It’s Not
Always Rational to Be Rational.
Richard Wiseman, PhD, is a Social Psychologist and Professor of the Public
Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United
Kingdom. He is author of the book Shoot for the Moon.
Preface

The public often find out about psychology via self-help books, social media, podcasts,
blogs, videos, shows, and movies. Although science-based ideas sometimes work their
way into these types of pop psychology, they often contain information that is not
supported by evidence. Worse still, many of these unsupported ideas have the potential
to cause harm, both directly (e.g., exacerbating mental health problems) and indirectly
(e.g., serving as a substitute for effective therapy). As a result, there’s considerable value
in being able to spot unsupported claims.
Chapter 1 of this book will explore the concepts of science and pseudoscience,
acknowledging that the boundary between these two concepts is often far from clear,
and examining the usefulness of constructs such as emerging science, fringe science, and
controversies. This chapter also provides a description of some of the most common
sources of false beliefs as well as some of the key hallmarks of false claims. Other chapters
that help us understand why we often hold false beliefs include Chapter 5 (which
examines superstitious behavior) and Chapter 13 (which reviews how social influence is
used by con artists and salespeople). The book’s Postscript also provides some tips for
helping you become resistant to believing in pseudoscience. The other chapters take a
deep dive into specific topics that are commonly characterized as pseudoscience, fringe
science, or, at the very least, controversial.
Some chapters provide a fresh look into traditional topics. For example, Chapter 2
investigates the 19th-century practice of phrenology (using the shape of the skull to
make predictions about a person’s intellectual and personality traits). Long debunked
as a pseudoscience, this chapter reviews recent research related to phrenology and
examines the degree to which phrenology foreshadowed some modern-day theories
about localization in the brain. Other chapters focusing on historical topics include
Chapter 4 on Freud’s theory of dream interpretation, Chapter 9 on Freud’s theory of
psychosexual stages, and Chapter 14 on Rorschach ink blots. These ideas greatly
influenced the course of psychology, are still used by some therapists, and are presented
in an uncritical way in several introductory textbooks.
Several other chapters focus on topics that are controversial. For example, Chapter 8
investigates the brain training industry, Chapter 12 investigates alternative medicine, and
Chapter 16 investigates energy psychology. Written by a neuroscientist, a neurologist,
and a clinical psychologist, respectively, each of these chapters critically examines these
broad topics and helps to demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary perspectives within
the same text.
 Preface xv
Lastly, some of the remaining chapters focus on other intriguing aspects of fringe
psychology. Chapter 3 examines parapsychology, Chapter 6 explores alien encounters,
Chapter 10 examines horoscopes, Chapter 11 investigates seemingly romantic experiences
with ghosts, and Chapter 15 examines how demonic possessions have sometimes been used
to help explain psychological disorders.
In short, this book is designed to help strengthen your critical thinking skills related to
pop psychology, and hopefully it will help you apply these same skills to other disciplines
as well.
Stephen Hupp
Acknowledgments

I have several people to thank for this book and my way of thinking about psychology.
First and foremost, we dedicated this book to Scott O. Lilienfeld because he was a
trailblazer in the ways he examined psychology with a skeptical eye. Some of my favorite
books include 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology, Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical
Psychology, and Navigating the Mindfield. He’s also published a textbook for an Introduction
to psychology course, a five-volume encyclopedia, and over 500 research articles and book
chapters. He was an especially kind person who helped promote the work of many other
skeptical minds, and he (along with Steven Jay Lynn) gave me my first book deal. Without
that first book, this book would not have been a possibility.
All of the chapter authors for this book deserve a tremendous amount of gratitude. We
are extremely thankful for all of the work that went into writing these chapters in a fun and
informative way. Each of these authors are leaders in their fields, and their experience and
wit really shine. We’re also very thankful for the rest of the team that helped make this
book a reality. Lucy McClune was the commissioning editor that first contracted the
original book proposal while also providing the encouragement that it be expanded into a
multi-volume series. Danielle Dyal then helped shape the series by offering feedback and
contracting the next two books (Investigating Clinical Psychology and Investigating School
Psychology). Adam Woods guided us through the final steps of completing the book
and bringing it to life. Additionally, Neha Shrivastave (the Book Project Manager) and
Rakhi Sharma (the Copyeditor) skillfully coordinated and conducted the book’s final edits.
The whole series is much better thanks to all of their efforts. Many thanks also to Liezel
Lindo and Jenna Callantine for their help with reviewing the final draft.
I’d also like to thank my co-editor, Richard Wiseman, for his insights and guidance
along the way. His other books have also helped shape the way I (and many others) think
about psychology and our world. Some of my favorite books by Richard include 59
Seconds, Quirkology, and Paranormality. Additionally, his book Shoot for the Moon gave me
the final nudge to ask him to get involved with this project.
Lastly, my parents – Deanna and Dennis – worked hard every day to help and support
me, and they also helped me view the world in an open-minded way. They, along with
my wife and children (Farrah, Vyla, Evan, and Henry) bring me the happiness needed to
get through the harder days. They also regularly help me experience what it’s like to be
on the other side of someone’s skepticism.
Stephen Hupp
1 Examining Claims in Pop
Psychology
Stephen Hupp

These days, we all have tremendous access to information. Using just our phones, we can
learn new languages, discover new dance moves, or find the best place to eat a burger. But
we also have tremendous access to misinformation. We can learn our horoscope, discover
conspiracies, or find the best place to search for Bigfoot. Consequently, we’re all exposed
to a lot of ideas that appear to be based on science but that are contrary to the scientific
consensus. Some academics and writers have referred to such ideas as pseudoscience.
Because of frequent exposure to this material, a significant percentage of the public
believes strange things. For example, Pew Research found that 41% of adults in the
United States believe the claim that psychics have supernatural powers (Gecewicz,
2018). At first glance, this belief seems like harmless fun, but it can have a more serious
side including, for example, people turning to psychics for guidance related to their
mental health (Held, 2019; Wagner, 2008). Unfortunately, psychics frequently have no
formal mental health training, and so they have the potential to cause harm. Other work
shows that even licensed therapists often engage in interventions that lack empirical
support. For example, 33% of adults believe claims related to living a previous life and so
they may seek out a therapist who offers past life regression therapy (Darrisaw, 2019). The
problems caused by such unsupported claims extends to many areas of society, and can
cause people to think that they are possessed by demons or had a terrifying encounter
with aliens. Such beliefs can have serious and negative implications for how people view
the world and live their lives.

Examining the Claims

This book has been designed to be useful for those who want to take a skeptical look at
these types of claims. I hope that it will interest the public and professionals alike. Of
equal importance, it is designed to appeal to students as a supplemental text to an in-
troduction to psychology course.
The authors of the chapters in this book are all experts in their respective fields and were
recruited because they already have a history of examining claims from a skeptical view-
point. They were encouraged to open each chapter by stating claims in a way that fairly
represents the arguments of the believers. The goal was to discourage straw man arguments,
that is, constructing weak versions of claims that are easy to critique. Next, the authors
were encouraged to emphasize investigations into these topics, to seek evidence that both
supports and refutes the claims related to their topic, and to take a fresh look into the topics.
Admittedly, the book’s subtitle also reveals the inherent bias of this book, a bias you should

DOI: 10.4324/9781003107798-1