Reducing consumer demand for ineffective health remedies: Using psychology to counter pseudoscience and the illegal wildlife trade.

Consumer demand for alternative health remedies persists despite the absence of scientific evidence for their efficacy or safety. A particularly destructive example is the demand for remedies containing parts of endangered plants and animals (e.g., rhino horn, tiger bone, rare orchids). This thesis outlines a theoretically grounded understanding of why consumers are susceptible to fraudulent health claims and reports the compelling results of new empirical studies that test several approaches to correct erroneous beliefs including by providing detailed contingency information, strong refutations, alternative explanations, and fear appeals. The thesis provides evidence-based guidance for practitioners to better design demand-reduction interventions.