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Science Indicators 2000: Belief in the Paranormal or Pseudoscience
Skeptical Inquirer, Jan, 2001
Every two years, the National Science Board, the policy-making arm of the National Science Foundation, publishes a massive report on the health of U.S. science. In enormous detail, these reports describe the support of research and development, the role of the government in basic research, the workforce for science and technology, the status of science and mathematics education, the relation between R&D and innovation and economic growth, and international cooperation in science. In recent times the reports have also surveyed in detail public attitudes and public understanding of science and technology usually revealing that the public strongly supports science but doesn't understand it very well, especially the processes of science. The latest report, Science and Engineering Indicators 2000*, adds a brief new section not seen in previous versions, "Belief in the Paranormal or Pseudoscience. "We here publish that section of the report, with the cooperation of the chapter's primary author, Melissa Pollak, of N SF's Division of Science Resources Studies.--EDITOR
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Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding
Belief in the Paranormal or Pseudoscience'
* Belief in the paranormal: How common is it?
* Do the media have a role in fostering belief in the paranormal?
* What is being done to present the other side?
Does it matter if people believe in astrology, extrasensory perception (ESP), or that aliens have landed on Earth? Are people who check their horoscopes, call psychic hotlines, or follow stories about alien abductions just engaging in harmless forms of entertainment? Or are they displaying signs of scientific illiteracy?
Concerns have been raised, especially in the science community, about widespread belief in paranormal phenomena. Scientists (and others) have observed that people who believe in the existence of paranormal phenomena may have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. Their beliefs may indicate an absence of critical thinking skills necessary not only for informed decisionmaking in the voting booth and in other civic venues (for example, jury duty [2]), but also for making wise choices needed for day-to-day living. [3]
Specific harms caused by paranormal beliefs have been summarized as:
* a decline in scientific literacy and critical thinking;
* the inability of citizens to make well-informed decisions;
* monetary losses (psychic hotlines, for example, offer little value for the money spent);
* a diversion of resources that might have been spent on more productive and worthwhile activities (for example, solving society's serious problems);
* the encouragement of a something-for-nothing mentality and that there are easy answers to serious problems, for example, that positive thinking can replace hard work; and
* false hopes and unrealistic expectations (Beyerstein 1998).
For a better understanding of the harms associated with pseudoscience, it is useful to draw a distinction between science literacy and scientific literacy. The former refers to the possession of technical knowledge. Scientific literacy, on the other hand, involves not simply knowing the facts, but also requires the ability to think logically, draw conclusions, and make decisions based on careful scrutiny and analysis of those facts (Maienschein 1999; Peccei and Eiserling 1996).
The amount of information now available can be overwhelming and seems to be increasing exponentially. This has led to "information pollution," which includes the presentation of fiction as fact. Thus, being able to distinguish fact from fiction has become just as important as knowing what is true and what is not. The lack of this ability is what worries scientists (and others), leading them to conclude that pseudoscientific beliefs can have a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of society. [4]
Belief in the Paranormal: How Common Is It?
Belief in the paranormal seems to be widespread. Various polls have shown that
* As many as one-third of Americans believe in astrology, that is, that the position of the stars and planets can affect people's lives (Harris 1998, Gallup 1996, and Southern Focus 1998). In 1999, 7 percent of those queried in the NSF survey said that astrology is "very scientific" and 29 percent answered "sort of scientific." (See figure 1.) Twelve percent said they read their horoscope every day or "quite often"; 32 percent answered "just occasionally." [5]
* Nearly half or more believe in extrasensory perception or ESP (Gallup 1996; Southern Focus 1998). According to one poll, the number of people who have consulted a fortuneteller or a psychic may be increasing: in 1996, 17 percent of the respondents reported contact with a fortuneteller or psychic, up from 14 percent in 1990 (Gallup 1996). [6]
* Between one-third and one-half of Americans believe in unidentified flying objects (UFOs). A somewhat smaller percentage believes that aliens have landed on Earth (Gallup 1996; Southern Focus 1998).
Other polls have shown one-fifth to one-half of the respondents believing in haunted houses and ghosts (Harris 1998; Gallup 1996; Sparks, Nelson, and Campbell 1997), faith healing (Roper 1994, USA Today 1998), communication with the dead (Gallup 1996), and lucky numbers. Some surveys repeated periodically even show increasing belief in these examples of pseudoscience (USA Today 1998).
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