In a 2010 study by Wilson et al., researchers actually had participants perform over 15 sessions of séances. Their goal was to see if table lifting or floating would occur (Psychokinesis). Researchers were also interested in whether or not random number generators (RNG) would be affected by the séance sessions to produce non-random number series. Several meters and devices were
Auton, Pope, and Seeger (2003) conducted a study to determine if personality traits would be predictive of paranormal beliefs. Previous studies had shown two different results, one possible link between paranormal beliefs as a predictor of psychopathology, and another that did not show psychopathology predictor but another way of fulfilling one’s underlying needs. Authors of this study wanted to
It’s not commonly known, but parapsychology receives a lot of criticism from mainstream science. Although most of this criticism is often unfounded, parapsychology has taken its reputation of scientific accuracy very seriously. Baptista and Derakhshani do just that. One of the common criticisms of ESP research is what is called the “file drawer effect”. Essentially this claim is that non-significant
Roe and Morgan (2002) wanted to study if there was a relationship between narcissism and the belief in the paranormal. Students from Northampton University were recruited to complete questionnaires such as the Australian Sheep-Goat Scale which is an 18-item scale that asks about belief in and experience of phenomena such as extrasensory perception and psychokinesis. The Tobacyk’s Paranormal Belief Scale
William Roll had an opportunity to speak with Dr. A. R. G. Owen, a recent researcher to the Poltergeist phenomena in 1964. While on vacation from Cambridge, Owen investigated a case in Sauchie Scotland. A somewhat famous case to this day, Owen had the opportunity to interview multiple witnesses over a period of 10 days. The events took place during 1960,
Agorastos, Metscher, Huber, Jelinek, Vitzhum, Muhtz, Kellner and Moritz (2012) conducted a study that investigated the differences in Religiosity/Spirituality and the belief in magical/paranormal ideation among people who suffer from anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Researchers wanted to do a parallel comparison study between religiosity/spirituality, magical, and paranormal beliefs between two groups of healthy and those who suffered from
In the world of parapsychology, Poltergeists are considered a different breed of haunting than what you traditionally see in T.V. shows. German for “noisy spirit/ghost”, a poltergeist is believed by parapsychologists to be the unconscious psychic action of someone living in the home. Whereas many would attribute objects moving and noises to spirits or ghosts, Poltergeists often center their activity around
Laubach (2004) studied the social influence of Psychism. His hypothesis was that other social influences in religious practices that were privately held would result in higher frequencies of psychism. In reverse, higher frequencies of psychism would result in higher degrees of religious engagement. Finally, Psychism would have no effect on the beliefs that reflect religious identity. Data was pulled from
The year was 1962, and the newspaper reported “Mysterious bat like bites” that had appeared on arms of a thirteen-year-old girl, her mom, and her grandmother. Amidst these bites, objects and movements appeared to be moving and breaking on their own. During interviews with Dr. Roll, the mother reported a cup flew across the room and broke against the wall
Markovsky and Thye (2001) took a look at social impact theory and the belief in the paranormal. These researchers wanted to determine if paranormal beliefs were transmitted from person to person. Social impact theory is based on a variety of changes in physiological states, and how subjective feelings, a person’s motives, emotions, cognitive beliefs, values, and behavior occur in