Scientific Perspectives on Pseudoscience and the Paranormal: Readings for General Psychology

Scientific Perspectives on Pseudoscience and the Paranormal: Readings for General Psychology provides students with engaging articles from psychologists and other scientists who have investigated pseudoscience and paranormal phenomena as they relate to psychology. The text illuminates how scientists think about these phenomena, how they design research studies to investigate such phenomena, and why they are critical of pseudoscientific and paranormal claims. The book begins with an introduction to the topic of pseudoscience and the paranormal. The proceeding chapters are organized to complement fundamental psychology topics, including sensation and perception, learning and memory, social psychology, and more. Students learn various scientific perspectives on particular pseudoscientific and paranormal phenomena. The material emphasizes important psychological concepts and scientific principles that help students readily identify what science is and what it is not.

The second edition contains 12 new readings that feature updated information and topics that weren’t covered in the previous edition. The opening chapter and many of the reading introductions have been updated to reflect more recent events and research.

Timely, engaging, and intended for students new to the discipline, Scientific Perspectives on Pseudoscience and the Paranormal is an ideal textbook for introductory courses in psychology and for courses related to critical thinking, pseudoscience, and the paranormal.