Barry Beyerstein is Associate Professor of Psychology and a member of the Brain Behaviour Laboratory at Simon Fraser University. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, he received his bachelor's degree from Simon Fraser University and a Ph.D. in Experimental and Biological Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.
Dr. Beyerstein's research has involved a number of areas related to his primary scholarly interests: brain mechanisms of perception and consciousness and the effects of drugs on the brain and mind. His work in these areas and his interest in the philosophy and history of science have also led him to be skeptical of many occult and New Age claims. This has prompted him to investigate the scientific status of many questionable products in the areas of medical and psychological treatment, as well as a number of dubious self-improvement techniques. In these pursuits, Dr. Beyerstein serves as chair of the Society of B. C. Skeptics and he is a Fellow and a member of the Executive Council of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP). Headquartered in New York, CSICOP promotes scientific critiques of occult and pseudoscientific claims in the media, in academe, and in the marketplace. Dr. Beyerstein is on the editorial board of CSICOP's journal, The Skeptical Inquirer.
Dr. Beyerstein's teaching interests include courses on brain research, drugs, sensory psychophysiology, and consciousness, and the history and philosophy of psychological research. His awards include a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, the gold medal of the B.C. Psychological Association, and the Donald K. Sampson Award of the B.C. College of Psychologists. He has also held a visiting professorship at Jilin University in the People's Republic of China where he had the opportunity to interact with various practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Barry also edited The Write Stuff: Evaluations of Graphology - The Study of Handwriting Analysis.