The pseudo-scientific part is where some people believe affirmations can have magical/reverse-causality type effects rather than simply being a motivational/subconcious thing. Adams advocated using affirmations for these types of effects in The Dilbert Future, though I don’t know if he still does.
A recent study on affirmations:
“Self-Affirmation Can Break Cycle of Negative Thoughts”
http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2009/0416sp_affirmation.shtml
I’m not sure why anyone would call affirmations “pseudoscientific”—that sounds insulting—and affirmations deserve better treatment.
The pseudo-scientific part is where some people believe affirmations can have magical/reverse-causality type effects rather than simply being a motivational/subconcious thing. Adams advocated using affirmations for these types of effects in The Dilbert Future, though I don’t know if he still does.