PSYC 013: SKEPTICISM AND PSEUDOSCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY
University of California, Riverside
4 Units, Lecture, 3 hours; discussion, 1 hour. Prerequisite(s): WRIT 010 with a grade of C or better or WRIT 010S with a grade of C or better or WRIT 009 with a grade of C or better; or consent of instructor. Studies topics at the borderland of psychology (extra-sensory perception, repressed memory, pseudoscientific beliefs, parapsychology, psychic phenomena, faith healing, and mass hysteria). Explores skepticism, cynicism, and "gullibility," and the rhetoric of extraordinary claims. Stresses the development of scientific literacy, critical thinking skills, hypothesis testing, and understanding psychology as an empirical science.
Average GPA: 2.94
Grade distribution records: 1,851 students across 11 terms.
Grade distribution
| Grade | Students | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 255 | 13.8% |
| A | 395 | 21.3% |
| A- | 154 | 8.3% |
| B+ | 122 | 6.6% |
| B | 228 | 12.3% |
| B- | 74 | 4.0% |
| C+ | 78 | 4.2% |
| C | 157 | 8.5% |
| C- | 50 | 2.7% |
| D+ | 25 | 1.4% |
| D | 71 | 3.8% |
| D- | 20 | 1.1% |
| F | 124 | 6.7% |
| NP | 37 | 2.0% |
| S | 47 | 2.5% |
| W | 14 | 0.8% |
Based on 1,851 student grade records across 11 terms and 3 professors.
Instructors
- Curt Burgess 536 students, Average GPA 2.88
- Michael Erickson 387 students, Average GPA 3.14
- Theodore Jacques 191 students, Average GPA 2.18