by Michael D. Anestis, M.S.
Thank you to the APA Division 12 Facebook feed for pointing me towards this video clip in which former Division 12 president John Norcross debates James Arthur Ray, creator of "The Secret" about the scientific merit of Ray's claims.
I had never heard of "The Secret" before I saw this clip, but it appears to be a classic example of the worst form of pseudoscience, that which exploits those in need and steers them away from evidence-based care and towards empty promises.
You'll notice when you watch this that a classic battle unfolds in front of you: one person pointing towards anecdotes and another demanding actual empirical evidence. Compelling anecdotes can drive people to believe all sorts of things, particularly when they are emotionally invested in a topic, desperate for an answer, and confronted with a persuasive salesman.
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Mike Anestis is a psychology resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and a doctoral candidate in the clinical psychology department at Florida State University.
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