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ParanormalFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paranormal events are phenomena described in popular culture, folklore, and other non-scientific bodies

of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described to lie beyond normal experience or

scientific explanation.[1][2][3][4]

A paranormal phenomenon is different from hypothetical concepts such as dark matter and dark energy.

Unlike par anormal phenomena, these hypothetical concepts are based on empirical observations and

experimental data gained through the scientific method.[5]

The most notable paranormal beliefs include those that pertain to ghosts, extraterrestrial life, unidentified

flying objects, psychic abilities or extrasensory perception, and cryptids.[6]

Contents

1 Etymology2 Paranormal subjects

2.1 Ghosts and other spiritual entities2.2 Extraterrestrial life and UFOs2.3 Cryptids

3 Paranormal research3.1 Anecdotal approach3.2 Parapsychology3.3 Participant-observer approach

4 Skeptical scientific investigation4.1 Psychology4.2 Neuroscience4.3 Criticism

5 Belief polls6 Paranormal challenges7 See also8 Notes9 References10 Further reading11 External links

Etymology

The term "paranormal" has existed in the English language since at least 1920. [7][8] The word consists of

two parts: para and normal. The definition implies that the scientific explanation of the world around us is

'normal' and anything that is above, beyond, or contrary to that is 'para'.

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Paranormal subjects

On the classification of paranormal subjects, Terence Hines in his book Pseudoscience and the Paranorma

(2003) wrote:

The paranormal can best be thought of as a subset of pseudoscience. What sets the paranormal

apart from other pseudosciences is a reliance on explanations for alleged phenomena that are

well outside the bounds of established science. Thus, paranormal phenomena include

extrasensory perception (ESP), telekinesis, ghosts, poltergeists, life after death, reincarnation,

faith healing, human auras, and so forth. The explanations for these allied phenomena are

phrased in vague terms of "psychic forces", "human energy fields", and so on. This is in

contrast to many pseudoscientific explanations for other nonparanormal phenomena, which,

although very bad science, are still couched in acceptable scientific terms.[9]

Ghosts and other spiritual entities

In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is a manifestation of the spirit or soul of a person.[10] Alternative

theories expand on that idea and include belief in the ghosts of deceased animals. Sometimes the term

"ghost" is used synonymously with any spirit or demon,[11] however in popular usage the term typically

refers to a deceased person's spirit.

The belief in ghosts as souls of the departed is closely tied to the concept of animism, an ancient belief

which attributed souls to everything in nature.[12] As the 19th-century anthropologist George Frazer

explained in his classic work, The Golden Bough (1890), souls were seen as the creature within that

animated the body.[13] Although the human soul was sometimes symbolically or literally depicted in ancien

cultures as a bird or other animal, it was widely held that the soul was an exact reproduction of the body inevery feature, even down to clothing the person wore. This is depicted in artwork from various ancient

cultures, including such works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead (ca. (1550 BCE), which shows deceased

people in the afterlife appearing much as they did before death, including the style of dress.

Although the evidence for ghosts is largely anecdotal, the belief in ghosts throughout history has remained

widespread and persistent.

Extraterrestrial life and UFOs

The possibility of extraterrestrial life is not, by itself, a paranormal subject. Many scientists are activelyengaged in the search for unicellular life within the solar system, carrying out studies on the surface of Mar

and examining meteors that have fallen to Earth.[14] Projects such as SETI are conducting an astronomical

search for radio activity that would show evidence of intelligent life outside the solar system. [15] Scientific

theories of how life developed on Earth allow for the possibility that life developed on other planets as wel

The paranormal aspect of extraterrestrial life centers largely around the belief in unidentified flying objects

and the phenomena said to be associated with them.

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Early in the history of UFO culture, believers divided themselves into two camps. The first held a rather

conservative view of the phenomena, interpreting them as unexplained occurrences that merited serious

study. They began calling themselves "ufologists" in the 1950s and felt that logical analysis of sighting

reports would validate the notion of extraterrestrial visitation.[12]

The second camp consisted of individuals who coupled ideas of extraterrestrial visitation with beliefs from

existing quasi-religious movements. These individuals typically were enthusiasts of occultism and the

paranormal. Many had backgrounds as active Theosophists, Spiritualists, or were followers of other esoter

doctrines. In contemporary times, many of these beliefs have coalesced into New Age spiritual

movements.[12]

Both secular and spiritual believers describe UFOs as having abilities beyond what are considered possible

according to known aerodynamic constraints and physical laws. The transitory events surrounding many

UFO sightings also limits the opportunity for repeat testing required by the scientific method. Acceptance

of UFO theories by the larger scientific community is further hindered by the many possible hoaxes

associated with UFO culture.

Cryptids

A cryptid is an animal whose existence is not confirmed by science or is an animal that is typically

considered to be extinct. The study of these creatures is known as cryptozoology. Those that study the

existence of cryptids are called cryptozoologists. Claims of cryptid sightings have occurred and been

documented for centuries, and there are hundreds of distinct cryptids thought to be in existence today. Som

of the more popular cryptids include Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, chupacabra, living non-avian

dinosaurs, Mothman, the Jersey Devil, dragons, unicorns and werewolves.

Paranormal research

Approaching the paranormal from a research perspective is often difficult because of the lack of acceptable

physical evidence from most of the purported phenomena. By definition, the paranormal does not conform

to conventional expectations of nature. Therefore, a phenomenon cannot be confirmed as paranormal using

the scientific method because, if it could be, it would no longer fit the definition. (However, confirmation

would result in the phenomenon being reclassified as part of science.) Despite this problem, studies on the

paranormal are periodically conducted by researchers from various disciplines. Some researchers simply

study the beliefs in the paranormal regardless of whether the phenomena are considered to objectively exis

This section deals with various approaches to the paranormal: anecdotal, experimental, and participant-

observer approaches and the skeptical investigation approach.

Anecdotal approach

An anecdotal approach to the paranormal involves the collection of stories told about the paranormal.

Charles Fort (1874–1932) is perhaps the best known collector of paranormal anecdotes. Fort is said to have

compiled as many as 40,000 notes on unexplained paranormal experiences, though there were no doubt

many more. These notes came from what he called "the orthodox conventionality of Science", which were

odd events originally reported in magazines and newspapers such as The Times and scientific journals such

as Scientific American, Nature and Science. From this research Fort wrote seven books, though only four

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Charles Fort, 1920. Fort is perhaps

the most widely known collector of paranormal stories.

Participant of a Ganzfeld experiment

which proponents say may show

evidence of telepathy.

survive: The Book of the Damned (1919), New Lands (1923), Lo!

(1931) and Wild Talents (1932); one book was written between New

Lands and Lo!, but it was abandoned and absorbed into Lo!

Reported events that he collected include teleportation (a term Fort

is generally credited with coining); poltergeist events; falls of frogs

fishes, and inorganic materials of an amazing range; crop circles;

unaccountable noises and explosions; spontaneous fires; levitation;

ball lightning (a term explicitly used by Fort); unidentified flyingobjects; mysterious appearances and disappearances; giant wheels

light in the oceans; and animals found outside their normal ranges

(see phantom cat). He offered many reports of OOPArts,

abbreviation for "out of place" artifacts: strange items found in

unlikely locations. He is perhaps the first person to explain strange

human appearances and disappearances by the hypothesis of alien

abduction and was an early proponent of the extraterrestrial

hypothesis.

Fort is considered by many as the father of modern paranormalismwhich is the study of the paranormal.

The magazine Fortean Times continues Charles Fort's approach, regularly reporting anecdotal accounts of

the paranormal.

Such anecdotal collections, lacking the reproducibility of empirical evidence, are not amenable to scientifi

investigation. The anecdotal approach is not a scientific approach to the paranormal because it leaves

verification dependent on the credibility of the party presenting the evidence. Nevertheless, it is a common

approach to investigating paranormal phenomena.

Parapsychology

Experimental investigation of the paranormal has been conducted by

parapsychologists. J. B. Rhine popularized the now famous

methodology of using card-guessing and dice-rolling experiments in

a laboratory in the hopes of finding evidence of extrasensory

perception.[16] However, it was revealed that Rhine's experiments

contained methodological flaws and procedural errors.[17][18][19]

In 1957, the Parapsychological Association was formed as the preeminent society for parapsychologists. In 1969, they became

affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of

Science.[20] Criticisms of the field were focused in the founding of

the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the

Paranormal (1976), now called the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry,

and its periodical, Skeptical Inquirer .[21] Eventually, more mainstream scientists became critical of

parapsychology as an endeavor, and statements by the National Academies of Science and the National

Science Foundation cast a pall on the claims of evidence for parapsychology. Today, many cite

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A ghost hunter taking an EMF

reading (Electro Magnetic Field),

which proponents claim may be

connected to paranormal activity.

parapsychology as an example of a pseudoscience.[22][23] Parapsychology has been criticized for continuin

investigation despite being unable to provide convincing evidence for the existence of any psychic

phenomena after more than a century of research.[24][25]

By the 2000s, the status of paranormal research in the United States had greatly declined from its height in

the 1970s, with the majority of work being privately funded and only a small amount of research being

carried out in university laboratories. In 2007, Britain had a number of privately funded laboratories in

university psychology departments.[26]

Publication remained limited to a small number of niche journals,[2

and to date there have been no experimental results that have gained wide acceptance in the scientific

community as valid evidence of the paranormal.[26]

Participant-observer approach

While parapsychologists look for quantitative evidence of the

paranormal in laboratories, a great number of people immerse

themselves in qualitative research through participant-observer

approaches to the paranormal. Participant-observer methodologies

have overlaps with other essentially qualitative approaches as well,including phenomenological research that seeks largely to describe

subjects as they are experienced , rather than to explain them.[27]

Participant-observation suggests that by immersing oneself in the

subject being studied, a researcher is presumed to gain

understanding of the subject. Criticisms of participant-observation

as a data-gathering technique are similar to criticisms of other

approaches to the paranormal, but also include an increased threat t

the objectivity of the researcher, unsystematic gathering of data,

reliance on subjective measurement, and possible observer effects

(observation may distort the observed behavior).[28] Specific data gathering methods, such as recording

EMF readings at haunted locations have their own criticisms beyond those attributed to the participant-

observation approach itself.

The participant-observer approach to the paranormal has gained increased visibility and popularity through

reality television programs like Ghost Hunters, and the formation of independent ghost hunting groups tha

advocate immersive research at alleged paranormal locations. One popular website for ghost hunting

enthusiasts lists over 300 of these organizations throughout the United States and the United Kingdom.[29]

Skeptical scientific investigation

Scientific skeptics advocate critical investigation of claims of paranormal phenomena: applying the

scientific method to reach a rational, scientific explanation of the phenomena to account for the paranorma

claims, taking into account that alleged paranormal abilities and occurrences are sometimes hoaxes or

misinterpretations of natural phenomena. A way of summarizing this method is by the application of

Occam's razor, which suggests that the simpler solution is usually the correct one. [30] The standard

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James Randi is a well-known

investigator of paranormal claims.

scientific models give the explanation that what appears to be

paranormal phenomena is usually a misinterpretation,

misunderstanding, or anomalous variation of natural phenomena,

rather than an actual paranormal phenomenon.[31][32][33]

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, formerly the Committee for

the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP),

is an organization that aims to publicize the scientific, skeptical

approach. It carries out investigations aimed at understanding

paranormal reports in terms of scientific understanding, and

publishes its results in its journal, the Skeptical Inquirer .

Richard Wiseman, of The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, draws attention to possible alternative

explanations for perceived paranormal activity in his article, The Haunted Brain. While he recognizes that

approximately 15% of people believe they have experienced an encounter with a ghost, he reports that only

1% report seeing a full-fledged ghost while the rest report strange sensory stimuli, such as seeing fleeting

shadows or wisps of smoke, or the sensation of hearing footsteps or feeling a presence. Wiseman makes th

claim that, rather than experiencing paranormal activity, it is activity within our own brains that creates

these strange sensations.[32]

Michael Persinger proposed that ghostly experiences could be explained by stimulating the brain with wea

magnetic fields.[32] Swedish psychologist Pehr Granqvist and his team, attempting to replicate Persinger's

research, determined that the paranormal sensations experienced by Persinger's subjects were merely the

result of suggestion, and that brain stimulation with magnetic fields did not result in ghostly experiences. [3

Oxford University Justin Barrett has theorized that "agency" — being able to figure out why people do

what they do — is so important in everyday life, that it is natural for our brains to work too hard at it,

thereby detecting human or ghost-like behaviour in everyday meaningless stimuli.[32]

James Randi, an investigator with a background in illusion, feels that the simplest explanation for those

claiming paranormal abilities is often trickery, illustrated by demonstrating that the spoon bending abilities

of psychic Uri Geller can easily be duplicated by trained stage magicians.[34][35] He is also the founder of

the James Randi Educational Foundation and its million dollar challenge that offered a prize of US

$1,000,000 to anyone who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or

event, under test conditions agreed to by both parties.[36] Despite many declarations of supernatural ability

the prize was never claimed.

Psychology

In anomalistic psychology, paranormal phenomena have naturalistic explanations resulting from

psychological and physical factors which have sometimes given the impression of paranormal activity to

some people, in fact, where there have been none.[37] The psychologist David Marks wrote that paranorma

phenomena can be explained by magical thinking, mental imagery, subjective validation, coincidence,

hidden causes, and fraud.[31] According to studies some people tend to hold paranormal beliefs because

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Chris French founder of the

Anomalistic Psychology Research

Unit.

they possess psychological traits that make them more likely to misattribute paranormal causation to norm

experiences.[38][39] Research has also discovered that cognitive bias is a factor underlying paranormal

belief.[40][41]

Many studies have found a link between personality and

psychopathology variables correlating with paranormal

belief.[42][43][44] Some studies have also shown that fantasy

proneness correlates positively with paranormal belief.[45]

Bainbridge (1978) and Wuthnow (1976) found that the most

susceptible people to paranormal belief are those who are poorly

educated, unemployed or have roles that rank low among social

values. The alienation of these people due to their status in society

said to encourage them to appeal to paranormal or magical

beliefs.[46][47]

Research has associated paranormal belief with low cognitive

ability, low IQ and a lack of science education.[48][49] Intelligent an

highly educated participants involved in surveys have proven to have less paranormal belief.[50][51][52]

Tobacyk (1984) and Messer and Griggs (1989) discovered that college students with better grades have les

belief in the paranormal.[53][54]

In a case study (Gow, 2004) involving 167 participants the findings revealed that psychological absorption

and dissociation were higher for believers in the paranormal.[55] Another study involving 100 students had

revealed a positive correlation between paranormal belief and proneness to dissociation.[56] A study

(Williams et al . 2007) discovered that "neuroticism is fundamental to individual differences in paranormal

belief, while paranormal belief is independent of extraversion and psychoticism".[57] A correlation has beefound between paranormal belief and irrational thinking.[58][59]

In an experiment Wierzbicki (1985) reported a significant correlation between paranormal belief and the

number of errors made on a syllogistic reasoning task, suggesting that believers in the paranormal have

lower cognitive ability.[60] A relationship between narcissistic personality and paranormal belief was

discovered in a study involving the Australian Sheep-Goat Scale.[61]

De Boer and Bierman wrote:

“ In his article 'Creative or Defective' Radin (2005) asserts that many academics explain the belief in the paranormal by using one of the three following hypotheses: Ignorance,deprivation or deficiency. 'The ignorance hypothesis asserts that people believe in the

paranormal because they're uneducated or stupid. The deprivation hypothesis proposes thatthese beliefs exist to provide a way to cope in the face of psychological uncertainties and

physical stressors. The deficiency hypothesis asserts that such beliefs arise because peopleare mentally defective in some way, ranging from low intelligence or poor critical thinkingability to a full-blown psychosis' (Radin). The deficiency hypothesis gets some support fromthe fact that the belief in the paranormal is an aspect of a schizotypical personality

(Pizzagalli, Lehman and Brugger, 2001).[62] ”

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A psychological study involving 174 members of the Society for Psychical Research completed a

delusional ideation questionnaire and a deductive reasoning task. As predicted, the study showed that

"individuals who reported a strong belief in the paranormal made more errors and displayed more

delusional ideation than skeptical individuals". There was also a reasoning bias which was limited to peopl

who reported a belief in, rather than experience of, paranormal phenomena. The results suggested that

reasoning abnormalities may have a causal role in the formation of paranormal belief.[63]

Research has shown that people reporting contact with aliens have higher levels of absorption,

dissociativity, fantasy proneness and tendency to hallucinate.[64]

Findings have shown in specific cases that paranormal belief acts as a psychodynamic coping function and

serves as a mechanism for coping with stress.[65] Survivors from childhood sexual abuse, violent and

unsettled home environments have reported to have higher levels of paranormal belief.[66][67] A study of a

random sample of 502 adults revealed paranormal experiences were common in the population which were

linked to a history of childhood trauma and dissociative symptoms.[68] Research has also suggested that

people who perceive themselves as having little control over their lives may develop paranormal beliefs to

help provide an enhanced sense of control.[69]

Gender differences in surveys on paranormal belief have reported women scoring higher than men overall

and men having greater belief in UFOs and extraterrestrials.[70][71] Surveys have also investigated the

relationship between ethnicity and paranormal belief. In a sample of American university students (Tobacy

et al . 1988) it was found that people of African descent have a higher level of belief in superstitions and

witchcraft while belief in extraterrestrial life forms was stronger among whites.[72] Otis and Kuo (1984)

surveyed Singapore university students and found Chinese, Indian and Malay students to differ in their

paranormal beliefs, with the Chinese students showing greater skepticism.[73]

According to American surveys analysed by (Bader et al . 2011) African Americans have the highest beliefin the paranormal and while the findings are not uniform the "general trend is for whites to show lesser

belief in most paranormal subjects".[74]

Polls show that about fifty percent of the United States population believe in the paranormal. Robert L. Par

says a lot of people believe in it because they "want it to be so". [75]

A 2013 study that utilized a biological motion perception task discovered a "relation between illusory

pattern perception and supernatural and paranormal beliefs and suggest that paranormal beliefs are strongl

related to agency detection biases".[76]

A 2014 study discovered that schizophrenic patients have more belief in psi than healthy adults. [77]

Neuroscience

Some scientists have investigated possible neurocognitive processes underlying the formation of

paranormal beliefs.[78] In a study (Pizzagalli et al . 2000) data demonstrated that "subjects differing in their

declared belief in and experience with paranormal phenomena as well as in their schizotypal ideation, as

determined by a standardized instrument, displayed differential brain electric activity during resting

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periods."[79] Another study (Schulter and Papousek, 2008) wrote that paranormal belief can be explained b

patterns of functional hemispheric asymmetry that may be related to perturbations during fetal

development.[80]

It was also realised that people with higher dopamine levels have the ability to find patterns and meanings

when in reality there isn't. This is why scientists have connected high dopamine levels with paranormal

belief.[81]

Criticism

Some scientists have criticised the media for promoting paranormal claims. In a report (Singer and Benass

1981) wrote that the media may account for much of the near universality of paranormal belief as the publi

are constantly exposed to films, newspapers, documentaries and books endorsing paranormal claims while

critical coverage is largely absent.[82] According to Paul Kurtz "In regard to the many talk shows that

constantly deal with paranormal topics, the skeptical viewpoint is rarely heard; and when it is permitted to

be expressed, it is usually sandbagged by the host or other guests." Kurtz described the popularity of publi

belief in the paranormal as a "quasi-religious phenomenon", a manifestation of a transcendental temptation

a tendency for people to seek a transcendental reality that cannot be known by using the methods of

science. Kurtz compared this to a primitive form of magical thinking.[83]

Terence Hines has written that on a personal level, paranormal claims could be considered a form of

consumer fraud as people are "being induced through false claims to spend their money—often large sums

—on paranormal claims that do not deliver what they promise" and uncritical acceptance of paranormal

belief systems can be damaging to society.[84]

Belief polls

While the validity of the existence of paranormal phenomena is controversial and debated passionately by

both proponents of the paranormal and by skeptics, surveys are useful in determining the beliefs of people

in regards to paranormal phenomena. These opinions, while not constituting scientific evidence for or

against, may give an indication of the mindset of a certain portion of the population (at least among those

who answered the polls).

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Percentage of U.S. citizens polled

belief not

sure belief

notsure

disbelief belief not

sure disbelief

Farha-Steward

(2006) Gallup (2001) Gallup (2005)[85]

psychic, spiritualhealing

56 26 54 19 26 55 [a] 17 26

ESP 28 39 50 20 27 41 25 32

haunted houses 40 25 42 16 41 37 16 46

demonic possession 40 28 41 16 41 42[b] 13 44

ghosts 39 27 38 17 44 32 19 48

telepathy 24 34 36 26 35 31 27 42

extraterrestrials visitedEarth in the past

17 34 33 27 38 24 24 51

clairvoyance and

prophecy 24 33 32 23 45 26 24 50

mediumship 16 29 28 26 46 21 23 55

astrology 17 26 28 18 52 25 19 55

witches 26 19 26 15 59 21 12 66

reincarnation 15 28 25 20 54 20 20 59

Another survey conducted in 2006 by researchers from Australia's Monash University[86] sought to

determine what types of phenomena that people claim to have experienced and the effects these experience

have had on their lives. The study was conducted as an online survey with over 2,000 respondents fromaround the world participating. The results revealed that around 70% of the respondents believe to have ha

an unexplained paranormal event that changed their life, mostly in a positive way. About 70% also claimed

to have seen, heard, or been touched by an animal or person that they knew was not there; 80% have

reported having a premonition, and almost 50% stated they recalled a previous life. [86]

Polls were conducted by Bryan Farha at Oklahoma City University and Gary Steward of the University of

Central Oklahoma in 2006. They found fairly consistent results compared to the results of a Gallup poll in

2001.[87]

A survey by Jeffrey S. Levin, associate professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk found thatover 2/3 of the U.S. population reported having at least one mystical experience.[87][88]

A 1996 Gallup poll estimated that 71% of the people in the United States believed that the government wa

covering up information about UFOs. A 2002 Roper poll conducted for the Sci Fi channel reported that

56% thought UFOs were real craft and 48% that aliens had visited the Earth.[87]

A 2001 National Science Foundation survey found that 9 percent of people polled thought astrology was

very scientific, and 31 percent thought it was somewhat scientific. About 32% of Americans surveyed

stated that some numbers were lucky, while 46% of Europeans agreed with that claim. About 60% of all

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people polled believed in some form of Extra-sensory perception and 30% thought that "some of the

unidentified flying objects that have been reported are really space vehicles from other civilizations." [89]

Paranormal challenges

In 1922, Scientific American offered two US $2,500 offers: (1) for the first authentic spirit photograph mad

under test conditions, and (2) for the first psychic to produce a "visible psychic manifestation". Harry

Houdini was a member of the investigating committee. The first medium to be tested was GeorgeValiantine, who claimed that in his presence spirits would speak through a trumpet that floated around a

darkened room. For the test, Valiantine was placed in a room, the lights were extinguished, but

unbeknownst to him his chair had been rigged to light a signal in an adjoining room if he ever left his seat.

Because the light signals were tripped during his performance, Valiantine did not collect the award. [90] The

last to be examined by Scientific American was Mina Crandon in 1924.

Since then, many individuals and groups have offered similar monetary awards for proof of the paranorma

in an observed setting. These prizes have a combined value of over $2.4 million. [91]

The James Randi Educational Foundation offers a prize of a million dollars to a person who can prove thatthey have supernatural or paranormal abilities under appropriate test conditions. Several other skeptic

groups also offer a monied prize for proof of the paranormal, including the largest group of paranormal

investigators, the Independent Investigations Group, which has chapters in Hollywood; Atlanta; Denver;

Washington, D.C.; Alberta, B.C.; and San Francisco. The IIG offers a $100,000 prize and a $5,000 finders

fee if a claimant can prove a paranormal claim under 2 scientifically controlled tests. Founded in 2000 no

claimant has passed the first (and lower odds) of the test.[92]

See also

Paranormal

Authors

Skepticism

Australian Sheep-GoatScaleCryptozoologyForteanaGhostGhost HuntersGhost StationsHaunted locations - USA

Haunted locations - WorldMysticism

New AgeAstral projectionExtrasensory perceptionMediumshipOccultOut-of-body experienceParanormal fictionCategory:Paranormal

investigatorsParapsychology

PsionicsPsychicsSupernaturalUFOList of reported UFOsightingsYūrei

Arthur C ClarkeBernard HeuvelmansBruce Barrymore HalpennyCarl Sagan

Charles FortHilary EvansIvan SandersonJoseph Banks Rhine

John KeelRobert Ripley

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Science

Notes

a. Also includes the effect of placebo through "power of the human mind to heal the body".[85]

b. Some may have taken this metaphorically.[85]

References

Committee for SkepticalInquiryCritical thinkingDebunking

HoaxesJames RandiPrizes for paranormal proof Schizotypy

SkepticismIndependent InvestigationGroup

Fringe science

Pseudoscience

Scientific method

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"Investigating Rhine's methods, we find that his

mathematical methods are wrong and that the effec

of this error would in some cases be negligible and

in others very marked. We find that many of his

experiments were set up in a manner which would

tend to increase, instead of to diminish, the

possibility of systematic clerical errors; and lastly

that the ESP cards can be read from the back."

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18. Wynn, Charles; Wiggins, Arthur. (2001). Quantum

Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science

Ends ... and Pseudoscience Begins. Joseph Henry

Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-309-07309-7 "In 1940,

Rhine coauthored a book, Extrasensory Perception

After Sixty Years in which he suggested that

something more than mere guess work was

involved in his experiments. He was right! It is now

known that the experiments conducted in his

laboratory contained serious methodological flaws.

Tests often took place with minimal or no screening

between the subject and the person administering

the test. Subjects could see the backs of cards that

were later discovered to be so cheaply printed that a

faint outline of the symbol could be seen.

Furthermore, in face-to-face tests, subjects could

see card faces reflected in the tester's eyeglasses or

cornea. They were even able to (consciously or

unconsciously) pick up clues from the tester's facial

expression and voice inflection. In addition, an

observant subject could identify the cards by certainirregularities like warped edges, spots on the backs,

or design imperfections."

19. Hines, Terence. (2003). Pseudoscience and the

Paranormal . Prometheus Books. p. 122. ISBN 1-

57392-979-4 "The procedural errors in the Rhine

experiments have been extremely damaging to his

claims to have demonstrated the existence of ESP.

Equally damaging has been the fact that the results

have not replicated when the experiments have been

conducted in other laboratories."

20. Harvey J. Irwin, Caroline A. Watt. (2007). An Introduction to Parapsychology, 5th ed. McFarland.

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Prometheus Books. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-87975-

575-1 "Today, parapsychology is widely regarded as

a pseudoscience.... Over a century it has been

tainted by fraud, incompetence, and a generalunwillingness to accept the verdict of conventional

scientific method."

23. Pigliucci, Massimo; Boudry, Maarten. (2013).

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p. 158. ISBN 978-0-226-05196-3 "Many observer

refer to the field as a 'pseudoscience'. When

mainstream scientists say that the field of

parapsychology is not scientific, they mean that no

satisfying naturalistic cause-and-effect explanation

for these supposed effects has yet been proposed

and that the field's experiments cannot be

consistently replicated."

24. Hines, Terence. (2003). Pseudoscience and the

Paranormal . Prometheus Books. p. 144. ISBN 1-

57392-979-4 "It is important to realize that, in one

hundred years of parapsychological investigations,

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beyond null results in the way science usually doe

Ordinarily, when experimental evidence fails

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Further reading

Bell, V. & Halligan, P. W. (2012). "The Neural Basis of Abnormal Personal Belief". In F. Kruger andJ. Grafman (eds) The Neural Basis of Human Belief Systems. Hove: Psychology Press.Cohen, D. (1989). Encyclopedia of the Strange. Hippocrene Books. ISBN 978-0880294515

Crawley, S. E. (2001). "Psychic or fantasy-prone?" The Skeptic, 14(1), 11–12.French, C. C. (1992) "Population stereotypes and belief in the paranormal: Is there a relationship?"

Australian Psychologist , 27, 57-58.French, C. C. (1992) "Factors underlying belief in the paranormal: Do sheep and goats think differently?" The Psychologist", 5, 295–299.Hatton, K. (2001). "Developmental origins of magical beliefs". The Skeptic, 14(1), 18–19.Hines, T. (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal (http://maxima-library.org/new-books/b/233820/read). Prometheus Books.Holden, K. J., & French, C. C. (2002). "Alien abduction experiences: Clues from neuropsychologyand neuropsychiatry". In Spence, S. A., & Halligan, P. W. (eds.) Pathologies of Body, Self and SpaceHove: Psychology Press. 163–178.Irwin, H. (2009). The Psychology of Paranormal Belief: A Researcher's Handbook . University Of Hertfordshire Press. ISBN 978-1902806938Jink, T. (2011). An Introduction to the Psychology of Paranormal Belief and Experience. McfarlandISBN 978-0786465446Lange, R., Houran, J. (1998). "Delusions of the paranormal: A haunting question of perception".

Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 186 (10), 637–645.Marks, D. F. (1988). "The psychology of paranormal beliefs". Experientia, 44, 332–337.Stein, G. (1996). The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal . Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1573920216Thalbourne, M. A. & French, C. C. (1995) "Paranormal belief, manic-depressiveness, and magicalideation: A replication". Personality and Individual Differences, 18, 291–292.

79. Pizzagalli D, Lehmann D, Gianotti L, Koenig T,

Tanaka H, Wackermann J, Brugger P. "Brain

electric correlates of strong belief in paranormal

phenomena: intracerebral EEG source and regional

Omega complexity analyses". Psychiatry Res. 2000

Dec 22; 100(3):139-54

80. Schulter, G. & Papousek, I. (2008). "Believing in

paranormal phenomena: Relations to asymmetry of

body and brain". Cortex, 44, 1326–1335.

81. Phillips, Helen. "Paranormal beliefs linked to brain

chemistry". New Scientist . New Scientist. Retrieved

4 October 2013.

82. Barry Singer and Victor A. Benassi. "Occult

Beliefs: Media distortions, social uncertainty, and

deficiencies of human reasoning seem to be at the

basis of occult beliefs". American Scientist , Vol. 69,

No. 1 (January–February 1981), pp. 49-55.

83. Kurtz, Paul. (2001). Skepticism and Humanism: The

New Paradigm. Transaction Publisher. p. 63

84. Hines, Terence. (2003). Pseudoscience and the

Paranormal . Prometheus Books. p. 3885. W. Moore, David (16 June 2005). "Three in Four

Americans Believe in Paranormal". Gallup.

Retrieved 19 September 2013.

86. ABC Science Online. "News in Science - 'Spooky

survey' gets big response - 17/11/2006". Abc.net.a

Retrieved 2014-06-15.

87. "Smart People See Ghosts", Brad Steiger, Fate

Magazine, April 2006, p. 52-56; the unusual thing

found by Farha and Steward was that belief in the

supernatural increased with education level,

contrary to many other surveys. However, that

aspect of their study is not being used here.

88. USA Today, 12 January 1994

89. " "Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and

Understanding-Public Knowledge About S&T",

Chapter 7 of Science and Engineering Indicators

2004, National Science Board, National Science

Foundation". Nsf.gov. Retrieved 2012-03-07.

90. "Randi $1,000,000 paranormal challenge". The

Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 2008-02-03.

91. Larsen, Claus (September 2003). "Get Rich Quick

or Save the World". Skeptic Report. Archived from

the original on 2007-03-23. Retrieved 2007-03-07

92. Independent Investigations Group. " InvestigationsRetrieved 2012-04-11.

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Wilson, K. & French, C. C. (2006). "The relationship between susceptibility to false memories,dissociativity, and paranormal belief and experience". Personality and Individual Differences, 41,1493–1502.Wiseman, R. & Watt, C. (2006). "Belief in psychic ability and the misattribution hypothesis: Aqualitative review". British Journal of Psychology. 97, 323–338.

External links

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