Effects of magic trick exposure on pseudo-psychology and other unsubstantiated beliefs

Pseudo-psychological beliefs that psychologists can read others’ minds impede accurate understanding of psychology. This study examined whether trick exposure of mental magic reduces pseudo-psychological beliefs and spills over into other unsubstantiated beliefs, such as paranormal and conspiracy beliefs. In Study 1, 88 students watched a mental-magic performance, after which we debunked the misunderstandings about psychology and exposed the trick. The results showed a decrease in pseudo-psychological beliefs and spillover into other unsubstantiated beliefs. In Study 2, 432 crowd workers participated in an online experiment with three conditions: trick exposure, no-trick exposure, and no-performance. Under all three conditions, the misunderstandings about psychology were explained. The decreasing trend emerged for all beliefs regardless of manipulation and persisted at the four-week follow-up for all beliefs except for conspiracy beliefs. The trend was particularly pronounced for pseudo-psychology beliefs in the trick exposure condition. The study’s contribution to effectively correcting misinformation is discussed.