Parapsychology

Parapsychology

• Para = “at the side of…”

• Psychological phenomenon that goes beyond the main area of psychological knowledge and interest

Parapsychology

• The study of certain reported but unsubstantiated events that have no presently known explanation.

• No parapsychology experiment has ever been shown to have both positive results and be replicated by independent researchers.

Parapsychology

• ESP (extra sensory perception)

– Perception of objects or events through means other than the sensory organs

Kinds of ESP• Precognition

– The ability to know about events before they occur

Kinds of ESP

• Psychokinesis– The ability to make objects

move by thinking of them as moving

Kinds of ESP

• Telepathy– The direct transmission

of thoughts or ideas from person to person without anything being spoken or written down

Kinds of ESP

• Clairvoyance– The ability to perceive

objects that are out of the range of human senses

• i.e. – sensing the location of a missing child

Origin of Belief in ESP

• The term “ESP” was used as early as the late 19th century.

• Used to describe the ability of a person who had been hypnotized or in a trance state yet could sense things without using the five senses.

• However, the phenomena of ESP may go back to Biblical times.

Origins of Belief in ESP

In Western culture, the founders of parapsychology were mostly people who lost their religious faith and began searching for a scientific basis for believing in the meaning of life and life after death (Alcock, 1985; Beloff, 1985).

Persistence of Belief in ESP

• Misperceptions and Coincidences– Psychic connection between twins

• Confirmation Bias/Selective Recall– Recollection of eerie happenings

• Misinterpretation of Data– Inconsistent measuring techniques

Persistence of Belief in ESP

• A survey published in 1987 by Univ. of Chicago found that 67% of all adult Americans believe they have experienced ESP, up from 58% in 1976.

• According to leading Russian scientists, "Many people believe in clairvoyance, astrology, and other superstitions to compensate for the psychological discomforts of our time."

Testing ESP

“Because a good magician can do something shouldn't make you right away jump to the conclusion that it's a real phenomenon.” - Richard Feynman