Despite the widespread use of the term psychological literacy, it is argued in this paper that it lacks a clear definition and empirical support. The claim that all psychology students possess psychological literacy in the sense of knowing the main ideas and concepts is relatively uncontroversial. However, the claim that they also possess a wide range of generic skills is open to question since most of the skills are ones that all graduates might be expected to possess. The more ambitious claim that a training in psychology produces "global citizens" is at best aspirational, with little indication that it corresponds to current reality. In order to be useful the concept needs both clearer definition and empirical research to justify the claims made.