Although I have learned a tremendous amount this semester about Psychology, the concept that I will remember most 5 years from now is Pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, even though it does not hold up in the scientific method. This is a very broad take away point from the class, but I have already seen myself thinking more like a scientist when I hear or see advertisements that seem to lack somewhere in the scientific method. I think I will remember the most about pseudoscience 5 years from now because pseudoscience is so common that most people don't recognize it as being invalid. By taking note of the various warning signs such as exaggerated claims, overreliance on anecdotes and talk of "proof" instead of "evidence" has helped me make choices when I'm buying products. One good example of this is when I was watching TV the other day and 5 or 6 weight loss commercials came on in a row. Every single one of these ads was basically the same, claiming that their pill or program was "scientifically proven" to make you lose weight.
Skeptical yet Reasonable
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I agree with you! I also now seem to be more aware of advertisements trying to sell consumers different products. I now do not take their anecdotal evidence to heart. I try to rule out rival hypothesis and constantly remember that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. My rule of thumb is, if it sounds too good to be true. It probably is.
This is a great article because you would never expect something as small as pseudoscience to be huge in your life five years from now but looking at it, it is everywhere! I have seen so many commercials in the past that i have thought would work, but now using those warning symbols I will know that they are just false advertising!