Anomalistic Psychology Flashcards

Question

Who developed the Ganzfield technique?

Answer 1

Subjects are in a red-lit room with halved table-tennis balls taped over their eyes and earphones playing white noise. The sender is in another room and chooses one of four images to send telepathically. The receiver then has to select the target image from many.

Answer 2

Researchers believe that ESP is a weaker force than other senses and therefore gets 'drowned out' by other senses. Ganzfield aims to create a situation of sensory deprivation to suppress sensory input, so a subject is better able to use their ESP and receive telepathic messages.

Answer 3

Found 38% success rate as opposed to 25% being due to chance.

Answer 4

Analysed Ganzfield interviews. Found evidence of research bias. Sceptical researchers were much less encouraging when asking 'receivers' to elaborate. Interviewers who believed tended to elicit lengthier responses that led to more positive results. This is called the sheep-goat effect.

Answer 5

He challenged the results; claimed studies lack security and were not correctly analysed. He re-analysed results and found no evidence.

Answer 6

They got together and developed a new scientifically improved technique (autoganzfeld). Again Honorton found significant results (34%). However, after his death researchers have found conflicting evidence.

Answer 7

Researchers filing away studies with negative outcomes. The researchers beliefs are relevant because they influence which studies are left out or not.

Answer 8

1. Rooms were not soundproofed | 2. There is a bias towards selecting the first one shown. Presentation should be randomised.

Answer 9

They argue that positive results from non-sceptical researchers are due to jealous phenomena. Phenomena disappear when observed by non-believers.

Answer 10

Even if this is true it is meaningless unless some explanation can be given.

Answer 11

Automated computer system which generated and displayed the targets. Experimenter is blind to which target has been selected and therefore cannot unconsciously influence the target Receiver is placed in a soundproof steel-walled electromagnetically shielded room.

Answer 12

Results from 11 autoganzfeld studies involving 8 different researchers. Hit rate of 34% (statistically significant)

Answer 13

Reviewed 30 further studies and found no significant no significant effect. This review was criticised because it contained studies which had not followed the correct protocol.

Answer 14

They removed studies which had not followed the correct protocol, and added more recent studies and found a significant result.

Answer 15

Subjective interpretation. The description or image is wordy and requires researchers to match reported images sent.

Answer 16

Argued that it should not be assumed that positive results prove psi/esp/

Answer 17

An interaction between subjects beliefs, the researchers beliefs and the results of the research. Sceptics often do not find evidence, whilst supporters do.

Answer 18

in 1904 scientists were convinced that the horse could do arithmetic...but in fact is wasn't true. His owner was giving him clues in the questions.

Answer 19

The ability to move things with your mind

Answer 20

Distorting an object such as spoon bending

Answer 21

Influencing the output of probabilistic systems such as throwing dice.

Answer 22

Expectations make it more likely that a person reports a paranormal effect.

Answer 23

Found that in a study where researchers said aloud 'the spoon is bending' participants were more likely to report that it did.

Answer 24

A random event generator (REG) is often used to investigate micro-PK. A REG is a kind of electronic coin flipper that produces an equal number of heads and tails over a number of coin 'flips'. Micro-PK is demonstrated by asking volunteers to influence REG by coming up with more heads than tails, or vice versa.

Answer 25

Test REG-see if people can manipulate the flipping of a coin. Found that effect sizes very small for individuals, but when scores combined they were extremely significant. Also found effect sincreased when 2 subjects who had a close emotional attachment worked together.

Answer 26

Well controlled studies produce no support for PK. 30 studies only 13 produced positive results, none of which had adequate controls. Those that produced negative results mainly did have good controls. Therefore reasons for positive results are that they have flawed methodology.

Answer 27

Some say that using REG is an inappropriate way of investigating PK. PK is about observable change and REG concerns unobservable change.

Answer 28

Meta-analysis of 500 studies of micro-PK between 1959-2000. They assessed the methodological quality and correlated this with the outcomes, finding no significant relationship.

Answer 29

Looked at the highest quality studies and found no significant effects.

Answer 30

Radin and Nelson reviewed 500 studies, involving 91 investigations. Half the studies were by 10 investigators. Therefore significant effect cannot be due to a small number of investigators.

Answer 31

Found that on average the number of unreported studies per investigator was only about one. Therefore this would not be enough to explain the positive findings.

Answer 32

Analysed a large number of studies. Concluded that there was a reduction in the effect size. Usually, if there is a real effect, the size of the effect should become greater over time, however the opposite has happened in paranormal research; the increasing control has led to effect sizes getting smaller, suggesting the phenomena are not real.

Answer 33

In 1970s the CIA in the US explored whether it could be used to exploit counterintelligence. The US government has spent millions on research but failed to find evidence.

Answer 34

When two unrelated events correspond. There is no obvious relationship between the two, but a belief forms, creating a cognitive bias, that one causes the other.

Answer 35

Believers were shown real and scrambled faces and real and made-up words on screen. The believers were more likely to see a face or a word when there wasn't one, whereas the non-believers were more likely to miss a real face or words. Both groups were given L-dopa. Result was that the non-believers acted more like the believers. The drug had no effect on the believers.

Answer 36

Found that people with high levels of dopamine are more likely to find significance in coincidence and pick out meaning when there is none.

Answer 37

Explanations of coincidence mean that people feel that they have control over things that they really do not. Makes the world seem a more orderly place.

Answer 38

Believers are more likely to express an illusion of control when engaged in a psi task.

Answer 39

Cognitive ability or intelligence may be lower in believers because they can't judge where it's a paranormal event or these is in fact another explanation.

Answer 40

Believers have lower levels of academic performance than sceptics. Research also shows that believers perform less well on tests of syllogistic reasoning.

Answer 41

Causal thinking allowed people to understand and control their environment. Predict that eating a certain mushroom may cause death. Causal thinking is adaptive as it will prevent eating poisonous mushrooms but it may result in a Type 1 error.

Answer 42

Tecndency to see things that aren't there is adaptive. Better to think you see a tiger hidden in the grass than miss it. THis ability may also underlie creativity.

Answer 43

Believers are more creative than non-believers.

Answer 44

Found that reduced control led participants to detect patterns where there were none and form illusory correlations between unrelated events.

Answer 45

Found that believers were higher in cognitive functioning than non-believers. New scientist readers- 67% said they regarded ESP either as established or a likely possibility.

Answer 46

Believers and non-believers only differ in terms of syllogistic reasoning rather than cognitive ability.

Answer 47

Extraordinary coincidences are singled out when they occur and given a significant status. This suggests a bias in cognitive processing. Furthermore, unlikely coincidences are considered more significant when they happen o us- egocentric bias.

Answer 48

There may be no such thing as a coincidence. All events can be related to unseen or prior causes/associations.

Answer 49

Calculations of coincidence depend on memories- track must be kept of previous occurrences etc.

Answer 50

Many people misjudge the probability of unrelated events occurring and think it's paranormal. Believers may underestimate the probability that certain events simply happen by chance. They attribute causality when it is simply be chance.

Answer 51

That they are a kind of 'cognitive illusion' resulting from a failure to accurately judge probability.

Answer 52

Asked 'how many people would you need at a party to have a 50:50 chance that two of them will have the same birthday (not counting year)? More goats got this right when asked a multiple choice question containing the right answer of 23.

Answer 53

Produce a string of random numbers and the number of repetitions is counted. In a true series of random numbers there will be consecutive repetition. People who underestimate probability are less likely to produce repetitions.

Answer 54

Sheep avoided producing repetitions compared to goats.

Answer 55

Gave participants 16 'conjunction vignettes' (descriptions of occasions where two events co-occur, such as getting food poisoning after eating eggs). They had to indicate the probability of such events occurring. Sheep made more conjunction errors than goats.

Answer 56

Although many studies find a difference in probability estimation between believers and non-believers, not all do. Suggests that this area is not fully understood.

Answer 57

Could be because methodology is flawed in how 'belief' is determined. Some studies use a scale and others just ask one question about ESP.

Answer 58

Many studies suggest the link between probability misjudgement and paranormal beliefs. However, this could be due to other factors e.g. cognitive ability.

Answer 59

Found that poor probability judgements were linked to low cognitive ability.

Answer 60

Early success at a task (E.g. picking lotto numbers) enhanced an illusion of control. Participants believe skill was involved and are biased in success recall- contributes to a belief in ESP.

Answer 61

Believers are more likely to consider dreams as predictive-based on a dream event and future occurrence. Suggests poor estimation of probabilities leads to paranormal beliefs.

Answer 62

A term used to describe a wide variety of non-scientific and sometimes irrational beliefs. It may lead people to believe that their thoughts by themselves can bring about effects in the world or that thinking something corresponds with doing it. These beliefs are generally centred around correlations between events.

Answer 63

Freud identified MT as a form of childlike thought where children project their inner feelings onto the outer world. When adults exhibit such behaviour it is a form of defence mechanism (regression) where they regress to a former child-like state as a way of coping with anxiety.

Answer 64

Magical thinking is based on a child's mode of thought. It is intuitive, i.e. lacking internal logic. Adult thinking is logical (internally-consistent reasoning) however adults continue to use intuitive thinking in some situations (there are two processes)

Answer 65

Piaget- pre-operation stage characteristic mode of thinking is animism- children ascribe feelings to physical objects. Lindeman and Aarnio relate magical thinking to animism, for example, Feng Shui assumes positive feelings come from arranging furniture.

Answer 66

Children have difficulty separating the names of things from the things themselves.

Answer 67

Poured sugar in two glasses labelled as 'sugar' and 'cyanide'. Participants who observed the pouring were still reluctant to drink from the glass labelled as poison.

Answer 68

This states that things that have been in contact continue to act upon one another, even after physical contact stops. Such as believing that wearing something from someone special results in magical powers etc.

Answer 69

Suggest this may be related to our evolved fear of germs & contagion. It would be adaptive to avoid touching something that had been in contact with a diseased person and this leads to an intuition that psychological and physical properties can pass between people.

Answer 70

1. May lead people to deal more confidently with their environment because they expect good things to happen as a result of their belief and actions 2. Self-efficacy is one (belief in own ability). Another is the placebo effect- MT acts like a placebo, creating a positive view and this alone accounts for improvement.

Answer 71

Showed that children's IQ scores increased over a period of a year as their teachers were led to expect them to do better. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy- things turn out as we expect because of our expectation.

Answer 72

1. Linked to mental disorders; too much is not a good thing | 2. One of the characteristics of schizotypal personality disorder & schizophrenia (Weinberger & Harrison)

Answer 73

Found that MT was a critical factor in OCD. They found that people with strong magical beliefs also reported more checking symptoms.

Answer 74

People who are depressed generally show less MT, called depression realism. THis suggests that a fully accurate assessment of one's own abilities may not be good for you (Huston).

Answer 75

Lack of MT as well as anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure) has been linked to low levels of dopamine. Dopamine is high in both schizophrenics and believers.

Answer 76

Lack of donors is linked to law of contagion.

Answer 77

We link donation with the image of our dead body, therefore just thinking about the decision to carry a donor card creates negative emotions and discourages people from volunterring.

Answer 78

Asked students to put pins in voodoo dolls to make a target victim get a headache. The intended victims (confederates) later acted as if they did have a headache. Half of the PP saw their 'victim' behaving stupidly beforehand so they felt greater annoyance with them. These PP felt much more responsible for the headaches- evident of magical thinking.

Answer 79

Demonstrated that magical thinking is more prevalent in war zones.

Answer 80

Argued that it helps people reduce their anxiety, to cope with uncertainty and gives a sense of control over an unpredictable world.

Answer 81

Found that magical thinking is more prevalent in some cultures than others, especially those where war is common.

Answer 82

Belief in the significance of a behaviour not based on knowledge or reason.

Answer 83

Arise from making unjustified causal links. Making a Type 1 error; it is better to assume causality between two unrelated events that co-occur than occasionally miss a genuine one (Type 2 error).

Answer 84

Skinned proposed that superstitions develop through operant conditioning. An accidental stimulus-response link is learned and maintained through negative reinforcement. Every time you repeat the superstitious behaviour anxiety is reduced and the behaviour is reinforced.

Answer 85

Pigeons were given food every 15 secs. This then increased in random durations until 60 secs. Repetitive behaviour was noticed in the pigeons in-between receiving the food, head tossing, swinging, hoping, spinning etc. As though these behaviours influenced receiving food (it didn't.) Transferred to humans, they may learn superstitions.

Answer 86

Superstitions develop when people feel a lack of control- sitting an exam etc. In order to gain some control rituals are used to bring good luck.

Answer 87

Group 1 asked to recall situations where they felt in control. Group 2 asked to recall situations where they felt a lack of control. Later all PP were given stories involving superstitious behaviour and asked how it affected the outcome of the meeting. Those who were made to feel less in control were more likely to believe the superstitious behaviour affected the outcome.

Answer 88

Repeated Skinner's experiment and observed similar behaviours but realised these were unrelated to the food. Birds often showed movements all together but they had no relationship to food arriving.

Answer 89

Tested on humans in a library. A noise being omitted from a computer. The PP pressed the keys and the noise eventually stopped. It was not in relation to any particular key. The next time the noise was heard they pressed the same key that coincided with the noise stopping.

Answer 90

Found that the activation of good luck related superstitions led to enhanced performance on a variety of tasks (motor dexterity and memory) which increased self-efficacy.

Answer 91

Freud- unconscious, unacceptable thoughts are repressed in unconscious. Superstitions involve attaching unconscious threats to real world events. E.g. bad thought (harm to love one)=guilt in the unconscious= expectation that something bad will happen to them. This 'terror' that something bad will happen manifests itself in the conscious by performing behaviours to prevent it.

Answer 92

Oedipus/Electra complexes. Hostility towards same sex parent, boys jealous of dad because of feelings towards mum, girls angry at mum for castration. The child needs the parent & so can not vent this hostility. Hostility 'housed' in unconscious & needs to be calmed by behaviours e.g. knocking on wood.

Answer 93

That thinking error's/false perception or memory can lead to superstition. The way we think a bout situations may lead to superstitions. I.e. 'selective forgetting'- we forget the information which disproves a superstition but remember info which confirms it

Answer 94

Superstitious people are more likely to state that things have intentionality- 'a cut finger wants to get better'- even with some biological knowledge. Dual-coding process theory; everyone encodes intuitively & analytically- superstitions more intuitive, not stupid.

Answer 95

Implying that an inanimate object or body part is capable of thinking

Answer 96

1. Superstition forming part of a cosmology or worldview 2. Socially shared superstitions 3. Occult experience of the individual 4. Personal superstitions.

Answer 97

Students taking exams tend to have solitary and unique beliefs, reflecting this solitary activity. Many students want to wear particular items or have particular lucky talisman.

Answer 98

Sports tend to be a group activity and produce socially shared superstition.

Answer 99

Gamblers are taking part in an individual activity but tend to learn most of their superstitions from other gamblers.

Answer 100

Found that college women were more likely to believe in precognition but college men were more likely to believe in Bigfoot.

Answer 101

Found that younger police officers were more likely to believe in the 'full moon effect' than older police officers.

Answer 102

Studied retired British women and found a high degree of superstitious belief. She suggested that it gave some status to these former wives, mothers and workers.

Answer 103

Found stronger belief for paranormal phenomena in students with a relatively high external locus of control.

Answer 104

Examined the link between self efficacy and belief in superstition. Women with lower self efficacy were more likely to be more superstitious. However, this link did not hold true for men.

Answer 105

Found that students who were alienated and marginalised had greater belief in superstition. However this was no true for all paranormal belief.

Answer 106

Found it was positively correlated with neuroticism, anxiety, an over-protective father and depression, but not with introversion/extroversion, anger, or maternal relationship.

Answer 107

A collection of characteristics and qualities which make up an individual. The personality type of a believer and non-believer may be fundamentally different.

Answer 108

Characterised by positive emotions and the tendency to seek extra stimulation to increase brain arousal. Outgoing and seek new experiences.

Answer 109

Found that extraversion was associated with paranormal beliefs.

Answer 110

Conducted a meta-analysis of 60 studies and found a correlation between extraversion and ESP.

Answer 111

Extroverts might react better to new situations and so are more open to paranormal experiences.

Answer 112

In Ganzfield studies, with 30 P who were receivers. Extroverts always performed better. Argued that personality factors 'contaminate' results (not actual PSI ability), but believers would say it is proof that only certain people possess the ability.

Answer 113

107 PP. Extrovers more likely to experience ESP but not have PSI beliefs. Complex interaction.

Answer 114

A tendency to experience negative mood states. Anxious, moody, emotionally unstable.

Answer 115

Paranormal beliefs may create a distance from reality as a defence mechanism to reduce such negative emotional states. Thought to allow neurotics to interpret and predict events and so help them to not get worked up and overemotional

Answer 116

300 PP, 13-16 year olds. Used Eysenck personality questionnaire and index of paranormal belief. Found a significant correlation between paranormal beliefs and neuroticism.

Answer 117

Used questionnaires on neuroticism and paranormal belief. Found strong correlation.

Answer 118

They focused on just the superstition scale of the PBS. Neuroticism was only linked to paranormal beliefs related to bad luck. Neuroticism does not explain all paranormal beliefs.

Answer 119

20,000 children aged 13-15 found high psychotism correlated with paranormal beliefs such as astrology and psychokinesis.

Answer 120

PSI correlate with an external locus of control. PK correlates negatively. Some studies have found a positive correlation between an internal locus on control and paranormal belief. Unreliability of results may be due to type of paranormal belief measured.

Answer 121

A greater external locus of control is linked to belief spirituality and precognition. A greater internal locus of control linked to superstition.

Answer 122

Refers to the tendency to become so deeply absorbed in a fantasy that it feels as if it is actually happening.

Answer 123

In Australia. Compared a group claiming alien abduction/UFO sighting vs. a control group. Found fantasy proneness linked to paranormal beliefs.

Answer 124

1 in 3 studies into UFOs and fantasy proneness found a link.

Answer 125

Compared 27 easily hypnotised vs. 26 not. Found hypnotised individuals (as children) thought their toys had emotions/feelings, more likely to be fantasy characters during play, praised by adults for fantasy play. (As adults) spent more time fantasising during the day, experience fantasies are more real, claim to have psychic abilities and experience apparitions. Called this collection of characteristics Fantasy Proneness (FP) personality.

Answer 126

Inclination to accept the suggestion of others. People who are more suggestible are more easily hypnotised.

Answer 127

Suggestible people may be more likely to be deceived- link to paranormal experience/belief. Positive correlation between being hypnotised and score on a paranormal belief score.

Answer 128

Imaginative, artistic, and inventive

Answer 129

15 studies on creative personality and paranormal beliefs. All positive results. More likely to accept 'strange' outcomes, will try to draw meaning from experience, more open to different experience. But studies done on students so generalizability Is questioned.

Answer 130

Argue that they are actually false memories. They may occur because people have strong imaginations

Answer 131

Found that people who claimed to have experienced alien abduction were more susceptible to suggestion. Thus, how reliable are personal accounts of anomalous experience?

Answer 132

Gave 100 PP a questionnaire (1 false event and 4 real events) about CCTV footage of the Bali bombing. 36% claimed to have seen the fictitious footage. These people had scored higher on tests of paranormal belief and experience.

Answer 133

He said that only some forms of PSI, e.g. superstition, correlate positively with an external LOC, whereas others like PK, correlate negatively. The variation in results of studies of LOC and anomalous experience can be due to the type of anomalous experience being measured.

Answer 134

Tested 300 Welsh school children and found a +0.32 significant correlation between neuroticism and paranormal beliefs.

Answer 135

Found that deep absorption (being very involved in a task) may enable people to overlook the facts and believe in events they know are not true. They set up a mock séance which everyone knew was fake, but during the séance one actor suggested the table was levitating when it wasn't. After the séance more believers than non-believers reported that the table had moved. They'd been more deeply absorbed, so were led to believe.

Answer 136

Conducted a meta-analysis of studies and found a correlation between creative personality and paranormal belief. Creative people were more likely to be able to make links between unrelated items, a characteristic that may underlie paranormal experience.

Answer 137

Found people who display schizotypy have a tendency to paranormal beliefs. One characteristics of this disorder is 'having magical or superstitious belief'.

Answer 138

Found that those who scored highly on schizotypy also scored highly on paranormal belief.

Answer 139

Found a relationship between childhood trauma, fantasy proneness, and paranormal beliefs. The beliefs provide an illusion of control and therefore serve a psychological need.

Answer 140

Examined personality traits in non-believers and believers and found that belief is not an indication of psychopathology.

Answer 141

It is the passing of some form of energy from one person to another living being. This can be the laying of hands on an individual or through prayer.

Answer 142

"The intentional influence of one or more people upon one or more living system without utilising known physical means of intervention.

Answer 143

Therapeutic touch (TT) is explained by supporters in terms of the ability to detect a patient's aura (energy field) without touching their body. Health is restored by re-aligning the patient's energy field.

Answer 144

It involves being around a sympathetic person. In the same way as social support from friends and family works to reduce anxiety and enhance the immune system (Kiecolt-Glaser)

Answer 145

Success could be due to placebo. These beliefs are based on the facts that some cases of psychic healing are apparently successful.

Answer 146

Placebo effect. Could be due to spontaneous recovery or because recovery is only temporary and later the patient relapses (but relapses are not reported)

Answer 147

Conducted a study of patients with wounds who were either treated with Therapeutic Touch or no treatment. The patients were not aware of the treatment they received, thus eliminating placebo effects. Patients treated with TT healed faster.

Answer 148

Tested 21 therapeutic touch practitioners. Each say on one side of a screen and place their hands through two holes in the screen. On the other side an experimenter placed one of her hands about 4 inches above the practitioner's right or left hand. TT practitioners should detect the energy field of the hand, but they were correct only 44% of the time (less than chance)

Answer 149

Took blood samples from patients before and after a healing session. Observed any changes in haemoglobin levels. Patients who were treated by the healer had high haemoglobin levels and generally felt better than those in the control group. Long-lasting effects- a year later still showing a difference.

Answer 150

Explored therapeutic touch on tension headache pain. 60 participants (aged 18-59). They all suffered tension headaches, and had not taken medication in the previous 4 hours. Were randomly assigned to TT or control group (did not know which group they were in). 90% of the PP in the TT group reported lower levels of headache pain, found to be significant at p

Answer 151

Looked at the effect of prayer on infertile women. Researchers arranged for Christian strangers to pray for some of the women. As far as they know no one prayed for the other women and those who were infertile were twice as likely to become pregnant.

Answer 152

Sheep-goat effect. Suggest that belief in psychic healing may explain at least some of its success. Belief creates positive expectations, acting like a placebo.

Answer 153

Studied patients recovering from cardiac surgery. One group were control, other 2 told prayers were being said for them. Only one group had prayers said, the other was placebo. There was no benefit from the placebo group. Those who suffered more complications were those who had been prayed for.

Answer 154

As it was created by a 9 year old, however this is not necessarily a problem as it was published in a reputable and peer reviewed journal. However, TT supporters have claimed the study invalid because experimenter was not ill, which might affect their aura.

Answer 155

Replicated Rosa et al's study using ordinary people rather than TT practitioners and found when the experimenters' hand was only 3 inches away the results were better than chance. Likely to be due to body heat.

Answer 156

The replicated Long et al study but instead eliminated body heat and found the results were at a chance level, supporting the heat explanation.

Answer 157

Failed to replicate his own research on wound healing and researchers who wished to discuss this with him, failed to be able to contact him. Was convicted of criminal fraud.

Answer 158

Conducted her study with Wirth and Cha has been accused of plagiarism in another journal.

Answer 159

A type of relationship that a living person says that they have with spirits. Tend to claim that they can communicate with spirits and pass on messages to loved one 'left behind' in the 'earthy' world.

Answer 160

A medium can pick up on cues to provide accurate readings (cold reading)

Answer 161

Reader starts off with general statements 'I see the letter J' (Barnum statement) which elicits a response from the sitter, reader uses these responses later on in the reading. The willingness of sitters to elaborate on limited information helps the medium appear to have special powers.

Answer 162

Mediumship generates a lot of money. Thus people will resort to extremes, such as paying helpers to listen in on people talking in queues or in the toilers, and feeding it back to the 'medium'

Answer 163

1. Sensitivity to cues 2. Barnum Effect 3. Fraud

Answer 164

Tested five mediums filmed by a US TV network. Two women were sitters and one woman only saw two of the mediums. The mediums couldn't see the sitters and the sitters could only answer yes or no. The women were over 40 and had experienced a number of deaths recently. Both women judged accuracy of statements-83% and 77%;. Same statements were given to undergraduates- 36% accuracy. Mediums' performance was well above chance with original sitters.

Answer 165

Tested the idea that mediums can report specific information about deceased people without cues. Condition 1- loved one was deceased. Condition 2- Loved one was living. Reader had to do a reading over the phone= significant differences were found between the two conditions

Answer 166

Reports that many sitters are aware of the Barnum effect but remain convinced.

Answer 167

A well controlled study which involved 5 mediums reading for 5 sitters. Ratings were actually the lowest for the statements written for them.

Answer 168

Used undergraduates as baseline. Statements were written for older women who had recently experienced death it is likely the undergraduates would find the statements low in accuracy.

Answer 169

A hypothetical situation which can be used in an argument for scepticism about a particular claim or class of claims. Usually posits the existence of a deceptive power that deceives our senses and undermines the justification of knowledge otherwise accepted as justified.

Answer 170

10 mediums, with 44 recipients of information from mediums. 407 non recipients used to see if any of the information from the medium was so general that it could be accepted by them. A weighting system was devised to see how many readings 'hit target'. This means a statement wasn't general. The hit target score for recipients were hugely significantly larger than the non-recipient group.

Answer 171

Repeated. 10 mediums generated 73 sets of statements during the session run. The same system for measuring hit target responses used in their 2001 was used here. Scores for 'target hits' were much higher for recipients than non-recipients. The probability of this happening is 1 in a million.

Answer 172

1. Body language 2. Verbal responses of the recipients 3. Medium in a separate room so body language was not observed 4. Recipient giving no verbal responses. 5. Scores for 'target hits' were still higher than non-recipients.

Answer 173

Described the results of over 500 experiments conducted in Scole, Norfolk. Objects flew about the room, voices were heard and all of this was captured on film. A professional magician claimed he could discover no evidence of fraud.

Answer 174

The first sitter was then invited back to receive readings from two of the mediums who also participated in the first study. Rather than being separated by an opaque screen, the sitter sat six feet behind the medium. In the first part of these two readings the sitter was instructed to remain completely silent. In the second part she was asked to answer 'yes' or 'no' to each of the medium's question. After reviewing the readings, the sitter rated 82% of the mediums statements as being 'definitely correct.

Answer 175

Did not control for 'cold reading'. It is widely recognised that the sitter's endorsement of such statements cannot be taken as evidence of mediumistic ability, as seemingly accurate readings can be created by a set of psychological stratagems collectively referred to as 'cold reading'.

Answer 176

In the first line of the transcript the medium said "Now, I don't know if they [spirits[ mean this by age or by generation, but they talk about the younger male that has passed." "Does this make sense to you?" To which the sitter answered "yes. The mediums statement is ambiguous and open to different interpretations. The sitters may be motivated to interpret such statements in a way that maximise the accuracy.

Answer 177

Much emotional significance can be read from 'yes' or 'no' by skilled reader. Other possible auditory cues to emotional state, give medium an advantage in knowing if they were on the right track.

Answer 178

Carried out a large-scale survey in which more than 6,000 people were asked to state whether quite specific statements were true to them. More than 1/3 endorsed the statement "I have a scar on my left knee" and more than 1/4 answered yes to "someone in my family is called Jack".

Answer 179

Recruited 5 mediums and 5 male 'sitters'. Mediums and sitters did not meet but sat in adjacent rooms. Each medium was instructed to contact the spirits and give each of the five sitters a reading. The accuracy of each mediums statements were rated by the sitters. The results did not support the idea that the mediums had any psychic ability.

Answer 180

1 Cold reading-Barnum statements 2. Sitters impressed by general statements 3. Tone of voice 4. Sitters replies 5. Body language 6. Responsiveness 7. The willingness of a sitter to elaborate on limited information. 8. Medium may have an accomplice to visit a regular sitter 9. Likely that the sitter's voice would have given away clues about her gender, age and socioeconomic group 10. Readings endorsed because some statements caused them to selectively remember certain events.

Answer 181

Reports that many sitters are aware that mediums are just using general statmenets but nevertheless remain convinced. Supported by mock séance study done by Wiseman.

Answer 182

arranged for five mediums to give readings for five sitters. Each sitter read all of the 25 readings produced and rated the personal relevance for each statement. The ratings were actually lowest for the statements written for them. This well-controlled study, conducted by sceptics, showed no evidence of mediumship.

Answer 183

1. Willingness to be deceived. 2. Research Studies- Contradictory evidence 3. Research studies-criticism 4. Research studies- The sheep-goat effect.

Answer 184

NDEs occur when a person is close to death and also after fainting or simply in stressful or threatening situation

Answer 185

Some people hold paranormal beliefs and this leads them to interpret events in terms of paranormal explanations, for example, viewing NDEs as spiritual experiences.

Answer 186

1. Endorphines are released at times of pain and stress and lead to feelings of euphoria and detachment (Carr) 2. Related to hypnoxia (lack of oxygen) which might cause REM intrusions which create a mixed sleep/awake state that could disrupt the integration of sensory info 3. Hypnoxia could create a flood of the neurotransmitter glutamate, which causes neuronal death. As a defense, brain creates protective blackade to prevent neuronal death and this is the source of NDE.

Answer 187

Interviewed 100 people who had NDEs, finding that about 60% reported a sense of peace, 33% reported OOBE, 25% said they entered a tunnel and a few experienced a kind of 'life review'.

Answer 188

Studied 55 people with NDEs and 55 controls. He found the NDE group were more likely to also experience 'REM intrusions'

Answer 189

Experimented with the drug ketamine, giving it to patients to observe effects. He found that it can produce the classic symptoms of NDEs. Later, he found Katamine has been found to trigger the same blockade as glutamate.

Answer 190

The fact that NDEs are not experienced by all near-death patients means that there is likely to be a psychological component to the experience.

Answer 191

Followed 344 cardiac survivors over 8 years and found those who had experienced an NDE subsequently regarded it as a life-changing, spiritual experience. Those who didn't have an NDE continued to fear death. THis suggests that it is a spiritual experience, but doesn't mean it is caused by spiritual factors.

Answer 192

May have affected the data collected, example Moody (1975) reported NDEs as wonderful experiences, whereas more recent research has found that for many people they are frightening.

Answer 193

Suggests that, if it can be shown that mental experiences occur when the brain is inactive in an NDE, then this might count as a demonstration of the soul- the mind separate from the physical body.

Answer 194

Says the real reductionism comes from those who attempt to 'draw a mystical cover over the NDE, belittling the substantial evidence in favour of a scientific explanation'

Answer 195

Reviewed NDEs in different cultures, found differences, such as NDEs in India involve encounters with Hindu figures, and in Japan there were no instances of any light appearing. There were also consistent features, such as going through a tunnel, feelings of peae, OOBEs and meeting a barrier between life and death. Such differences and similarities suggest that both psychological and physiological factors are involved.

Answer 196

Characterised by a feeling of departing from one's physical body and observing both one's self and the world from outside one's body. Refers to the sensation of being awake and seeing your own body from a location outside your physical body.

Answer 197

They are experienced by subjects naturally without any stimulation.

Answer 198

OBE experienced as result of being in a state of relaxation, hynotised or induced via audio-bisual stimulation.

Answer 199

The parasomatic type of experience is that in which the subject appears to himself to be located in a duplicate body, more or less resembling his physical body.

Answer 200

The subject does not appear to himself to be associated with a body, rather they are just a disembodied consciousness.

Answer 201

This suggests that something beyond our current understanding is happening. The only possible way to explain how you can physically leave your body is by separating mind and body.

Answer 202

Suggests that OBEs are related to sensory disturbance (when all stimulation is cut off from the sensory receptors).

Answer 203

Suggests that noramlly we view the world as if we were behind our eyes. In situations where sensory input breaks down, the brain attempts to reconstruct what we are seeing using memory and imagination. Memory images are often bird's-eye viewed so the constructed image usually appears to be viewing oneself from above.

Answer 204

Researched 400 naturally occuring OBEs by contacting people through media appeals. A clasification system was developed to organise the individuals accounts. 20% of individuals experienced another body (parasomatic). In other accounts there was no sense of another body (asomatic). 25% of cases were associated with psychological stress and 12% occurred during sleep.

Answer 205

Reviewed lab studies where OBEs were artificially induced. PP were asked to identify objects that were out of sight. One, Miss Z, was able ot read out a randomly selected 5 digit number which was in another room. Concluded the evidence was weak, though there were some striking results.

Answer 206

Accidentally incuded OBEs by electrically stimulating the temporal-parietal junction in a women suffering epilepsy in that region. This led them to study neurological normal studies as well. Stimulation of the TPJ using transcranial magnetic stimulation resulted in OBEs whereas stimulation of other areas did not.

Answer 207

Found that OBE can be produced by direct stimulation of a part of the brain called the angular gyrus. Weak stimulation of right angular gyrus made a patient feel she was 'sinking into the bed' or 'falling from a height', whilst stronger stimulation caused an OBE where reports were of seeing oneself lying in the bed or floating a couple of metres above.

Answer 208

Evidence does not support such explanations. Alvarado's review etc. found no evidence that the parasomatic body has psychically moved out of the physical body.

Answer 209

Perhaps through suspect methodology, for example, the PP might have had the opportunity to see the target object prior to the test.

Answer 210

Found that the TPJ is involved in the construction of the sense of body in space. (link to Blanke)

Answer 211

Created support for the link between sensory disturbance and OOBEs. An OOBE can be created by scrambling a person's visual and touch sensations.

Answer 212

Argued that they are the result of a disconnection between brain areas that process visual and sensorimotor information.

Answer 213

Recent studies using video goggles have shown that OBEs can be induced in the lab.

Answer 214

Artificial and natural OBEs are innately different and therefore we should not compare.

Answer 215

They are reported more often by individuals who are paranormal believers.

Answer 216

People who have OBEs are also more fantasy prone, score higher on hypnotisability and on dissociation (ability to separate different aspects of conscious activity). However, no evidence to suggest people with OBE are mentally ill.

Answer 217

The term used to describe the human tendency to see recognisable patterns and images where there are none.

Answer 218

THe principle of simplicity- if there are two competing explanations, and all other things are equal, the the simpler one is to be preferred.

Answer 219

Paranormal psychologists sugged that the lack of positive results in studies of psi phenomena occurs because the presecen of sceptics causes the phenomena to go away. THe claim that an experimenter who insists on highly controlled research is demonstrating their lack of belief in the phenomena by requiring rigorous control and this lack of belief means that nothing will be found.

Answer 220

Many paranormal explanations are extremely convulted in which case, according to Occam's Razor, a simpler, probably non-paranormal, explanation should be preferred.

Answer 221

1. Lacks falsifiability 2. Lacks carefully controlled, replicable research 3. Lacks theory to explain the effects 4. Burden of proof misplaced 5. Lack ability to change

Answer 222

Some paranormal psychologists claim the lack of supporting evidence occurs because sceptics are present and phenomena disappear under such conditions (jealous phenomena). THe end result is a non-falsifiable hypothesis. Many of the hypothesis related to anomalous experience are of this nature.

Answer 223

There are many studies of paranormal phenomenon that claim to be highly controlled byt aren't, e.g. the Ganzfield studies. There are also many examples of failure to replicate studies in parapsychology, especially by non-believes which challenges the objective nature of the research.

Answer 224

Produced evidence that people can sense future events before they happen. His research involved testing participants' recall of words. NOrmally a person would be able to remember words that were previously rehearsed better than those not rehearsed. In this experiment, they demonstrated that people remember words better if they rehearsed them afterwards, so a future event was affecting the present.

Answer 225

As a team of three UK sceptical researches, they separately replicated the study but failed to replicate the result despite using the exact same procedure.

Answer 226

Most paranormal phenomena have not, as yet, been given theoretical explanations. For example, there is no explanation as to why ESP happens

Answer 227

Supporters of psi phenomena argue that the burden of proof is not theirs and say it is up to sceptics to disprove the reality of psi phenomena. In science, as opposed to paranormal investigations, the burden of proof usually lies with the believer not the sceptic.

Answer 228

A key characteristic of science is that explanations are adapted as a result of hypothesis testing. THis is not the case with psi phenomena which have ocntinued to be explained in the same way for centuries despite a lack of evidence.

Answer 229

There were give photographs taken between 1916-1920 by cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths who lived in COttingley near Bradford, ENgland. The girls claimed to play with fairies but no one believes them so they produced photographic evidence. Various attempts to prove that the photos were fake failed and it was not until 1983 that the women admitted the hoax.

Answer 230

That psychologists have deluded themselves about being scientists. Just because they use the appropriate terms and methods is no more than 'dressing up'. THe same criticisms could be made of parapsychology.

Answer 231

It is not fair to suggest that paranormal research is alone in masquerading as a science. THe same accusations have been made, for example, about Freud's theory. It could also be argued that psychology itself is not scientific.

Answer 232

They reviewed the state of psychological research and concluded that such research has resulted in verifiable descrptions of behaviour but the explanations derived from such research are more opinion than fact.

Answer 233

Found 43% of parapsychology journal articles produced empirical data, a reasonable figure (mainstream rates were higher at 64%). Found that 24% of parapsychology articles used the experimental method (compared to 57% in mainstream journals). This suggests that mainstream research is 'more scientific', but nevertheless a significant proportion of parapsychological research is embracing the goals of science. She also found that parapsychology journals report negative findings, but found no mainstream articles that did, a distinct case of selective reporting.

Answer 234

THE AAAS, the largest general scientific society in the world, allowed the parapsychological association to become an affiliated member in 1969. THis appears to confirm the scientific status of parapsychology.

Answer 235

1. Some people make a lot of money out of unfounded claims 2. As a society we should be encouraged to ask for evidence, rather than respond to trends and superstitions which, in the past, have resulted in the persecution of witches and punishment of mental patients. 3. Thorough creditable research may lead to valuable discoveries, e.g. acupuncture is now accepted as a valuable therapy.

Answer 236

The perception of objects or events without any of the known physical sense being involved, thus 'extra sensory'. It includes telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition.

Answer 237

The movement or manipulation of objects or events without any physical contact. This can include disroting an object (macro-PK) or influencing the output of proabbilistic systems (micro-PK)

Answer 238

He believed that previous lack of success in ESP research occurred because PSI is such a weak force as it is normally drowned out by our other senses. Ganzfield aims to create a situation of sensory deprivation, so a subject is better able to use their ESP.

Answer 239

THe subject (receiver) is typically isolated in a red-lit room with halved table-tennis balls taped over their eyes and earphones playing white noise. The send is in another room and should randomly choose 1 of (usually) 4 images to send telepathically. Afterwards, the receiver is shown a set of images and asked to select the target image from several, or the receiver describes the image and an independent judge matches the description to one of the images.

Answer 240

A random event generator (REG) is often used. A REG is, essentially, a kind of electronic coin flipper that produces an equal number of heads and tails over a number of coin 'flips'. Micro-PK is demonstrated by asking volunteers to influence REG by coming up with more heads than tails, or vice versa.

Answer 241

Conducted an experiment using the web where remote participants were invited to try to influence the activity of a split-beam laser. A comparison was made between participants in the experimental condition who did try to change the beam and those in a control condition who did nothing. Laser output was more active in the expermental condition.

Answer 242

Analysed Ganzfeld interviews and found evidence of researcher bias. Observed that sceptical researchers were much less encouraging when asking 'receivers' to elaborate their images whereas interviewers who believes in psi elicited lengthier responses that led to more positive results. The sheep-goat effect.

Answer 243

Published an analysis of 28 Ganzfeld studies concluding that performance was significantly above chance.

Answer 244

Re-analysed Honorton's data using a different method and found that results were not significant.

Answer 245

This is a publication bias, referring to researchers filing away (i.e. not publishing) studies with negative outcomes)

Answer 246

Many reports are reviewers. The outcomes of such reveiwers change if some studies are removed. Thus, the researcher's beliefs are again relevant because they influence which studies are left in or out.

Answer 247

Criticisms have been made about poor controls, for example, poor soundproofing of the receiver's room. A second criticism has been made about order of presentation of the target selections. THere is generally a bias towards selecting the first one displayed. Therefore, presentation should be randomised to average out this bias.

Answer 248

Participants were shown a video where a fake psychic placed a bent key on a table. In one condition (the expectation condition) the participants head him say that the key was continuing to bend- these participants later were more likely to report further bending than participants in a no-expectation condition. This shows that expectations make it more likely that a person reports a paranormal effect.

Answer 249

Reported that well-controlled studies tended to produce no support for PK. Out of the 30 PK studies he examined, only 13 produced positive results, none of which were adequately controlled. Many of the studies returning negative results did apply controls.

Answer 250

Having two researchers, true randomization or targets and using independent recording of targets.

Answer 251

It is inappropriate because the original claims for PK were about observable physical changes and REG concerns unobservable changes. It may be that PK doesn't function at the unobserved level.

Answer 252

That they provide invaluable evidence but it is seriously flawed because the outcomes are affected by the subjectivity of procedures (e.g. criterea used to select the studies) and interpretation. This is especially a problem in paranormal meta-analyses because researches tend to be sheep or goats. Their expectations reduce their objectivity when selecting statistical techniques.

Answer 253

Visited the lab where the team were conducting their research and noticed several errors and failures to follow the agreed pocedure. Sargent defended himself but left the research field thereafter. However, Sargent's work has continued to be included in various reviews, such as Bem and Honorton's review where 9/18 studies were from Sargent's lab and therefore may be fraudulent.

Answer 254

Suggests that many noted scientists have resorted to data-fudging or outright invention, including Galileo, Mendel and even Newton

Answer 255

Suggests that historically frad has been more common in parapsychology than other areas of scientific investigation.

Answer 256

This procedure uses an automated computer system to select and display the targets. This means that the experimenter is blind as to which target has been selected and therefore cannot unconsciously influence the target selected by a judge as a match. The receiver is also placed in a soundproof steel-walled and electromagnetically shielded room.

Answer 257

To deal with the early methodological criticisms about poor control in the Ganzfeld studies.

Answer 258

Reported the results of 11 autoganzfeld studies involving eight different researchers. The studies produced a hit rate of 34% (statistically significant).

Answer 259

Reviewed 30 further, well- controlled studies, and concluded that these studies showed no significant results. IN turn, this review was criticised because it included studies that had no followed the Ganzfeld protocol.

Answer 260

Removed the inconsistent studies that had no followed the Ganzfeld protocol in Milton and Wiseman's study, and added some more recent studies, and found a significant result.

Answer 261

Conducted a meta-analysis of over 500 studies of micro-PK conducted between 1959-2000. They assessed the methodological quality (e.g. size of sample) of each study and correlated this with the outcomes, funding no significant relationship, between quality and results obtained.

Answer 262

That there would need to be 10 unpublished studies with negative effects for each of the 500 published studies in order to nulifiy the effect.

Answer 263

Usually, if there is a real effect, the size of an effect should become greater over time because scientists are progressively better able to identify and control extraneous variables.

Answer 264

Found that people with high levels of dopamine in their brain are more likely to find significance in coincidence and pick out meaning when there is none. Believers and non-believers were briefly shown real and scrambled faces and real and made-up words on a screen. The believers were more likely to see a face or word when there wasn't one, whereas the non-believers were more likely to miss a real face or word. Then, both groups were given the drug L-dopa which increases dopamine levels in the brain. THe result was that the non-believers acted more like the believers. The drug had no effect on the believers.

Answer 265

Asked over 6000 pP to identify which of 10 state,ents were true for them. PP were also asked to imagine how many statements would be identified as true for a person selected at random in the street. On average 2.43 statements were identified as true for themselves, and 3.57 as true for others, i.e. they overestimated the number true for others. Believers in ESP generally gave higher answers for themselves and for others, but the difference between self and other was about the same for believers and non-believers, suggesting that probability misjudgment does not explain belief.

Answer 266

A coincidence is when two events happen at about the same time. Rightly or wrongly, people often assume that one causes the other.

Answer 267

1. Illusion of causality 2. Illusion of control 3. Illusion of connection 4. General cognitive ability

Answer 268

It might be that people who believe in anomalous experience are more likely to think that such co-incidents have a causal link.

Answer 269

Explanations for coincidence mean that people feel they control things that, in fact, they have no control over. THis illusion of control makes the world seem a more orderly place.

Answer 270

Found that believers are ore likely to express an illusion of control when engaged on a psi task.

Answer 271

Intelligence might be lower in believers and thus they are less able to accurately judge whether a paranormal event, in fact, has a normal explanation. Research has also found that believers perform less well on tasks of syllogistic reasoning.

Answer 272

Found that believers have significantly lower levels of academic performance than sceptics.

Answer 273

Refers to the likelihood of an event occurring, such as the likelihood that a horse will win a race.

Answer 274

Believers (sheep) may underestimate the probability that certain events may simply happen by chance. Therefore, they reject coincidence as an explanation for paranormal events and attribute causality when, in fact, the events are simply random.

Answer 275

That they are a kind of 'cognitive illusion' resulting from a failure to accurately judge probability.

Answer 276

1. Repetition avoidance 2. Questions about probability 3. Conjunction fallacy

Answer 277

Participants are asked to produce a string of random numbers and the number of repetitions is counted. In a true series of random numbers there are consecutive repetitions but people who underestimate probability are less likely to produce such repetition.

Answer 278

Found that when given a repetition avoidance tasks sheep avoid producing repetitions more than 'goats'.

Answer 279

Asked participants various questions including the birthday party paradox- how many people would you need at a party to have a 50:50 chance that two of them will have the same birthday (not counting year)? More goats than sheep got this right when asked a multiple choice question containing the right answer of 23.

Answer 280

Tested probability judgements by giving participants 16 conjunction vignettes (descriptions of occasions where two events co-occur, such as getting food poisoning fter eating eggs) Participants were asked to indicate the probability of such events co-occurring. Sheep made ore conjunction errors than goats.

Answer 281

The choice of measurement can have an important effect on the results because some characteristics only correlate positively if you use a narrow scale. I.e. measure of belief, and a measure of the target behaviour.

Answer 282

Causal thinking evolved because it allows people to understand and control their environment. This causal thinking is adaptive but may sometimes lead to Type 1 errors. The type 1 error is rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true. Such type 1 errors are tolerated in order to avoid Type 2 errors.

Answer 283

Argue that the adaptive advantage will persist as long as the occasionally correct response has a large adaptive benefit.

Answer 284

That the tendency to see things that aren't there also has an adaptive advantage- it's always better to think you see a tiger that is hdden in the grassland than miss it.

Answer 285

The ability to see things that aren't there may underlie creativity. In fact researchers have found a link between creativity and paranormal beliefs.

Answer 286

Found that believers are more creative whereas non-believers are not and may even lose out because they fail to detect meaningful connections.

Answer 287

Found that reduced control led participants to detect patterns where there were none and form illusory correlations between unrelated events.

Answer 288

Found that poor cognitive ability is asociated with lack of belief, rather than the opposite.

Answer 289

When New Scientist readers (who are mainly scientists and engineers and thus presumably high in cognitive ability) were questions 67% said they regarded ESP either as an 'established fact' or 'a likely possibility'.

Answer 290

Concluded from a general survey of research that believers and non-believers only differ in terms of syllogistic reasoning rather than cognitive ability generally.

Answer 291

1. Contrasting research evidence, which may lie in the way that 'belief' is determined. 2. Correlation is not cause, i.e. it doesn't mean probability judgements cause the paranormal beliefs. There may be an intervening factor. 3. Cognitive ability may explain the link between probability misjudgement and paranormal beliefs

Answer 292

Controlled for differences in general cognitive ability and found this reduced the performance difference between believers and non-believers on probability judgement tasks to zero. So it may be that poor probability judgements are due to low cognitive ability rather than directly causing a tendency to believe in PSI phenomena.

Answer 293

They suggest that people use various heuristics (strategies to solve problems). One of these heuristic is representative- some people understand that short runs of tossing a coin will not be representative of a theoretical probability of 50:50 whereas other people expect short runs to match theoretical probability. THis is referred to as the gambler's fallacy.

Answer 294

That superstition and magical thinking may be the core cognitions that drive paranormal beliefs

Answer 295

1. Type 1 and 2 errors 2. Behaviourist explanation 3. Illusion of control

Answer 296

1. Psychodynamic explanation 2. Dual processing theory 3. Animism 4. Nominal realism 5. Law of contagion

Answer 297

Asked students to put pins in voodoo dolls in order to make a target victim get a headache. THe intended victim (confederates) later acted as if they had indeed got a headache. Half of the PP saw their 'victim' behaving stupidly beforehand so they presumably felt greater annoyance when pushing pins in the voodoo doll. Later these pp reported that they felt more responsible for the apparent headaches- a person's awareness of what they were thinking made it appear that their 'magical' thoughts were the cause/

Answer 298

Beliefs that are not based on reason or knowledge

Answer 299

Superstitions arise from making unjustified causal links. It is better to erroneously assume causality between unrelated events that co-occur (type 1 error) than occasionally miss a genuine one (a type 2 error). Thus adaptive.

Answer 300

Proposed that superstitions develop through operant conditioning where an accidental stimulus-response link is learned.

Answer 301

First, the superstition is acquired through operant conditioning. Second, it is maintained through negative reinforcement- every time you repeat the superstitious behaviour (for example don't wal under the ladder) anxiety is reduced, thus the superstitious belief is reinforced.

Answer 302

Superstitions develop in situations where people feel a lack of control. IN order to gain some feeling of control, superstitious rituals are used to bring good luck.

Answer 303

PP were first asked to recall situations in their lives- one group was asked to recall times where they felt in control and the others were asked to recall times where they felt a lack of control. Later, all pp were given stories involving a superstitious behaviour (e.g. stamping one's foot 3 times before entering a meeting) and asked to judge how much this affected the eventual outcome of the meeting. PP who had been made to feel less in control were more likely to believe that the superstitious behaviour affected the eventual outcome.

Answer 304

In the case of magical thinking, meaning is attached to objects or actions so that the objects/actions gain special (magical_ properties.

Answer 305

Freud identified magical thinking as a form of childlike thought where inner feelings are projected onto the outer world. In adults, such behaviour is a defence mechanism where they regress as a means of coping with anxiety.

Answer 306

Acknowledge that magical thinking is based on a child's mode of thought. Such thinking is intuitive, i.e. lacking internal logic. Adult thinking is logical (internally-consistent reasoning), however, adults continue to use intuitive thinking in some situations (thus there are two processes)

Answer 307

Piaget also considered the intuitive thinking of young children's thought. IN the pre-operational stage a characteristic mode of thinking is animism, where children ascribe feelings to physical objects.

Answer 308

They relate magical thinking to animism, for example feng shui assumes that positive feelings come from arragements of furniture.

Answer 309

A further characteristic of pre-operational thought, according to Piaget, is nominal thinking where children have difficulty separating the names of things from the things themselves. THis carries on in adult thinking.

Answer 310

Poured sugar in two glasses labelled as 'sugar' or 'cyanide: PP who observed the pouring still were reluctant to drink from the glass labelled as poison.

Answer 311

States that things having been in contact continue to act on each other even after physical contact ceases. THis can be extended to magical thinking, such as believing that a thing from someone special confers special powers.

Answer 312

Relate this to our evolved fear of contagion. It would be adaptive to avoid touching something that had been in contact with a diseased person, leading to the belief that psychological and physical properties can pass between people via the things they touch.

Answer 313

Hungry pigeons in a cage. For a few minutes each day, food pellets appeared at regular intervals. The bird's behaviour had no effect on the timing of the food. However, inevitably, certain random behaviours immediately preceded the food (and therefore seemed to cause the appearance of food). These behaviours then persisted as ritualistic behaviours. Skinner suggested that the random behaviours were reinforcced by the arrival of food. Even when food was not immediately forthcoming, this would not lead to 'unlearning' the behaviour.

Answer 314

Suggests that decisions to be an organ donater may be based on the law of contagion. we link donation with the image of our dead body, therefore just thinking about the decision to carry a donor card creates negative emotions and discourages people from volunteering. Suggests that donation rates might increase if more focus was made on the association between donation and giving someone else an extended life, so that the act of donation gains positive magical properties.

Answer 315

They repeated Skinner's study.They observed similar ritual behaviours but realised that these behaviours were unrelated to the food. A detailed record of the birds' behaviour showed that around the time of the food presentation, all the animals were behaving in the same way. The idiosyncratic rituals occured at other times and were produced as frequently before any reinforcment had taken place.

Answer 316

Concluded that the pigeons' behaviour was not the result of accidental or 'adventitious' reinforcement.

Answer 317

Exposed PP to uncontrollable noises being emitted from a computer in a library. The PP pressed various buttons to try to stop the noise- which did eventually stop but not because of the PP's activity. When the noise started again, the PP tried to press the key they had been pressing when the noise stopped the first time. They assumed cause when there was none.

Answer 318

They only account for how individuals acquire personal superstitions. There are also culturally transmitted superstitions, for example the number 7 is lucky in the UK, whereas in Thailand it's the lucky number 9. This suggests that people sometimes adopt superstitions through indirect learning perhaps as a means of gaining a sense of control.

Answer 319

That it brings benefits because it means we actively confront unpredictably circumstances rather than withdraw from them.

Answer 320

Found that the activation of good-luck related superstitions led to enhanced performance on a variety of tasks (such as motor dexterity and memory) and suggest that such superstitions increase one's self-efficacy (belief in your own competence)

Answer 321

1. May lead people to deal more confidently with their environemnt 2. Self-efficacy 3. Increases expectations similiar to the placebo effect- a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Answer 322

1. Associated with a number of mental disorders 2. May be an element in the separation from reality expecerience by SZ 3. A critical factor in OCD

Answer 323

1. People who are depressed generally show less magical thinking, called depression realism 2. Linked to low levels of dopamine alongside anhedonia (the inability to experience pleasure)

Answer 324

Suggests that a fully accurate assessment of one's own abilites (lack of magical thinking) may not be good for you.

Answer 325

The believes in the paranormal typically have high levels of dopamine, as do SZ

Answer 326

Refers to a person's consistent and realtively enduring set of bahaviours, attitudes, feelings, capabilities and so on.

Answer 327

Found that people who reported the experience of seeing 'flying saucers' had hgiher levels of fantasy proneness and also were more likely to be believers.

Answer 328

Found a correlation between external locus of control and paranormal belief.

Answer 329

Found a positive correlation with field dependence and paranormal beliefs, which is possibly because such people rely less on detail

Answer 330

Found that people with higher sensation-seeking personality scores had higher ratings for belief in the paranormal and also reported ore such experience. Sensation seeking is associated with high levels of extraversion.

Answer 331

1. Neuroticism 2. Extraversion 3. Fantasy Proneness 4. Suggestibility 5. Creative personality

Answer 332

Proposed a biologically based theory of personality, based on three dimensions: neuroticism, extraversion and psychoticism.

Answer 333

The tendency to experience negative emotional states (such as anger, anxiety and depression) rather than positive emotional states.

Answer 334

Paranormal beliefs may create a distance from reality as a defence mechanism to reduce such negative emotional states. Various studies have found a psoitive relationship between neuroticism and paranormal beliefs.

Answer 335

Tested nearly 300 Welsh school children and found a significant correlation (+.32) between paranormal beliefs and neuroticism. In this study no correlation was found between paranormal beliefs and either extraersion or psychoticism.

Answer 336

Is characterised by positive emotions and the tendency to seek extra stimulation to increase brain arousal levels.

Answer 337

One possible explanation for this link is that extraverts respond better to new stimuli than introverts and therefore are more open to paranormal experiences, which increases their belief.

Answer 338

Found that extraversion was associated with paranormal beliefs but neuroticism and psychoticism was not.

Answer 339

Conducted a meta-analysis of 60 published studies relating extraversion to ESP performance and found an overall positive correlation.

Answer 340

The rendency to become so deeply absorbed in a fantasy that it feels as if it is actually happening.

Answer 341

Found a link between belief in the paranormal and mental imagination.

Answer 342

IN this study the researchers set up a 'mock' seance, which everyone knew wasn't real and that they were simply acting as if it were a real seance. DUring this seance one actor suggested that a table was levitating (it wasn't). After the seance more believers than non-believers reported that the table had moved. It might be that the belivers were more deeply absorbed and this led them to believe despite knowing it to be fake (fantasy pronness)

Answer 343

The inclination to accept the suggestions of others. People who are suggestible are more easily hypnotised.

Answer 344

Proposed that suggestibility might also be linked to paranormal experience/belief because at least some paranormal phenomena are the result of deceptions. Suggestible people might be more prone to accept such phenomena as real.

Answer 345

Tested PP suggestibility by trying to hypnotise them and found a positive correaltion between this and thier score on a paranormal belief scale.

Answer 346

Conducted a meta-analysis of relevant studies and found a correlation between creative personality and paranormal beliefs. People who are more creative may be more able to make links between unrelated items, a characteristic that may underlie paranormal experiences.

Answer 347

Found people who display schizotypo have a greater tendency to have paranormal beliefs.

Answer 348

Found a relationship between childhood trauma, fantasy proneness and paranormal beliefs. In such cases paranormal beliefs provide a welcome 'illusion of contro' and therefore are serving a psychological need and are not symptomatic of underlying pathology.

Answer 349

Produced evidence that paranormal belief is non-pathological. They examined the personality traits in believers and non-believers and concluded that paranormal belief is not indicative of psychopathology. The researchers argue that it is mistaken to portray paranormal belief as pathological.

Answer 350

Found a positive correlation between self-actualisation andparanormal beliefs.

Answer 351

A number of the personality factors linked to paranormal experience/belief are characteristic of mental illness. However, this may just be a symptom and not a cause. Paranormal beliefves may also serve a psychological need and are not symptomatic of underlying pathology.

Answer 352

Noted that often the correlations are just with the sub-scale of superstition rather than with the whole range of beliefs. They also noted that the actual questions used int he PBS related to negative rather than positive supertitions.

Answer 353

Analysed over 4000 responses to their questionnaire involving both bad and good luck. THe found a stronger link between neuroticisma nd positive superstitions than with neuroticism and negative superstitions. This suggests that past research may lack validity because of the way paranormal belief is assessed.

Answer 354

A persistent issues raised by critics is that correlations found between personality factors and paranormal belief depend on how the latter is measured.

Answer 355

Tested about 20,000 UK children aged 13-15 years and found that high psychoticism did correlate with unconventional paranormal beliefs, such as astrology and psychokinesis.

Answer 356

Found that greater external locus of control was associated with spirituality, whereas internality was associated with superstition.

Answer 357

Found that people who claimed to have experienced an alien abduction also were found to be more susceptible to the suggesions of others, in particular more suspectible to false memories, when compared to people who hadn't had such an experiment. It may be that some reports of paranormal experiences are actually false memories.

Answer 358

Paranormal experience and belief may occur because people who have strong imaginations (e.g. those who are more creative) create a memory of events, such as sightings of UFOs, and then believe them to be true, i.e. hold a false memory.

Answer 359

Gave 100 PP a questionnaire. 4/5 items were about real events, but one was fictious (it was a CCTV footage of the first Bali bombing); 36% of the PP claimed that they did see the fictitious footage. THese PP also scored higher on a test of paranormal belief and experience.

Answer 360

Refers to treatments used to deal with healthy problems by purely mental means. Such methods can be face-to-face, over the telephone or remotely.

Answer 361

1. Energy Fields 2. Anxiety Reduction 3. Placebo effect

Answer 362

Therapetuic touch (TT) is explained by supporters in terms of the ability to detect a patient's aura (energy field) without touching their body. Health is restored by re-aligning the patient's energy field.

Answer 363

Might be explained in terms of the beneficial effects of contact with a sympathetic person. Social support is known to reduce stress and anxiety, and enhance the effectiveness of the immune system (e.g. Kiecolt-Glaser et al).

Answer 364

Succes might also be due to placebo effect, i.e. real, measurable improvement that occurs as a result of believing that an effective treatment has been received. THese beliefs may be based on the fact that some cases of psychic healing are apparently successful. Such apparent success may be due to spontaneous recovery or because recovery is only temporary and later the patient relapses, but such relapses are not reported.

Answer 365

Conducted a study of patients with wounds who were either treated with TT or no treatment. The patients were not aware of the treatment they received, thus eliminating placebo effects. Found that patients treated with TT healed faster.

Answer 366

Tested 21 TT practitiones. Each sat on one side of a screen and placed their hands through two holes in the screen. On the other side an experienter placed one of their hands about four inches above the practitioner's right or left hand. TT practitioners should be able to detect the energy field of the hand but they were corrected only 44% of the time (less than chance)

Answer 367

The reesearchers arranged for a group of Christian strangers to pray for some of the infertile women. As far as we know no one prayed for the other women. THose infertile women who were prayed for were twice as likely to become pregnant.

Answer 368

Psychic healing (in particular therapeutic touch) cannot be supported ont he basis of an extensive review of relevant scientific research.

Answer 369

Psychic mediums claim to be able to communicate with people in the afterlife or spirit world.

Answer 370

1. Sensitivity to cues 2. The Barnum Effect 3. Fraud

Answer 371

There are many clues that can help a talented medium produce accurate information called cold reading), including tone of voice and replies.

Answer 372

A cold reader starts with some general statements that could apply, .e.g "I see a recent loss of life', or 'i see the letter J' (barnum statement) which elicit responses from the sitter. THe responses can be used later in the conversation to convince listeners of the psychic's abilities.

Answer 373

Tested 5 mediums, filmed by an American TV network. 2 women were sitters (one of them only saw 2 of the mediums). Bother sitters were unknown to the mediums, were over 40 and had experienced a number of death recently. THe mediums could ot see the sitters and the sitters were only allowed to answer yes/no. The two women judged the accuracy of mediums' statements as 83% and 77%. When the same statements were given to a group of undergraduates, 36% were rated as accurate, suggesting that the mediums' performance was well above chance with the original sitters.

Answer 374

6 mediums spoke on the phone to a sitter (an experimenter). They were given no information about the sitter or the sitter's loved ones except names, and the only conversation consisted of the sitter asking questions about their loved one (e.g.. what were their hobbies.) In one condition the loved one was deceased and in the other condition the loved one was living. The medium was blind to the conditions yet significant differences in the information retrieved were found between the two conditions.

Answer 375

20 volunteers, suffering from chronic back pain, were told that the psychic was focusing on them, although in fact the psychic only focused on the treatment group. The effect of the healing was assessed using the McGill Pain Questionnaire. No overall reduction in pain was recorded in either group. However, belief in psychic. healing correlated positively with the extent to which pain was reduced irrespective of the group they were in. This suggests that belief plays a central role in the success of healing.

Answer 376

Studied patients recovering from cardiac surgery. One group was control, and other two groups were told prayers were being said for them. In fact only one group was prayed for; the other group were the placebo group (they expected benefits). THere was no benefit from the placebo effect .IN fact the only group to suffer more complications were those who were prayed for.

Answer 377

TT supporters have claimed the study was invalid because the experimenter was not ill which might affect their aura. THey have also criticsed it because it was designed by a 9 year old, but this isn't necessarily a problem, as it was published in the reputable, peer reviewed journal of the American Medical Association.

Answer 378

Repeated the Rosa et al study using ordinary people instead of TT practitioners and found that, when the experimenter's hand was only about three inches away, the results were better than chance. Long et al suggest that this was due to the ability to detect heat from the experimenter's hand.

Answer 379

Replicated Long et al and Rosa et al study, but designed a study that eliminated body heat, and the results were at the chance level, supporting the heat explanation.

Answer 380

He failed to replicate his own research on wound healing. and researchers who wished to discuss his research have failed to be able to contact him (Solfvin et al)

Answer 381

Included Wirth, who has been accused of fraud/unable to replicate his research. The study has been questioned by Flamm, leading one of the authors to withdraw his name saying he had nothing to do with the study. Cha has been accused of plagiarism in another journal.

Answer 382

Reports that many sitters are aware that mediums are just using general statements but nevertheless remain convinced.

Answer 383

Arranged for 5 mediums to give readings for 5 sitters. Each sitter read all of the 25 readings produced and rated the personal relevance of each statement. The rating were actually lowest for the statements written for them. This well-controlled study, conducted by sceptics, showed no evidence of mediumship.

Answer 384

Used undergraduates to determine a baseline for the accuracy of the cold readings. Since the statements were written to apply to older women who had experienced deaths in recent years, it is likely that the undergraduates would find the statements low in accuracy.

Answer 385

THat, if it can be shown that mental experiences occur when the brain is inactive in an NDE, then this might count as a demonstration of the soul- the mind separate from the physical body.

Answer 386

Says that the real reductionism comes from those who attempt to 'draw a mystical shroud over the NDE [belittling] the substantial evidence in favour of a scientific explanation.

Answer 387

IN an OOBE the second body is called the parasomatic body, which may be experienced as a white weightless cloud or jsut a sense of pure consciousness.

Answer 388

Refer to the sensation of being awake and seeing your own body from a location outside your physical body

Answer 389

1. Paranormal Explanations- something beyond our current understanding is happening. 2. Biological explanations0 Sugest that OOBEs are related to sensory disturbance.

Answer 390

Suggests that normally we view the world as if we were behind our eyes. In situations where sensory input breaks down, the brain attempts to reconstruct what we are seeing using memory and imagination. Memory images are often bird's-eye views so the constructed image usually appears to be viewing oneself from above.

Answer 391

Studied 400 person accounts of OOBEs and classified them as parasomatic (about 20%) or asomatic (no sense of another body). She also found that 25% of the cases were associated with some kind of psychological stress and 12% occured during sleep.

Answer 392

Reviewed a range of lab studies where OOBEs were induced by various means. THe PP were then asked to identify target objects out of sight of their physical body. IN one experiment (Tart), a miss Z was able to read out a randomly selected 5 digit number placed in another room. Overall, Alvarado considered that the evidence was weak although there were some striking results.

Answer 393

Accidentally induced OOBEs by electrically stimulating the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) in a woman who suffered epilepsy in tat region. THis lead them to study neurologically normal subjects, finding that stimulation of the TPJ using transcranial magnetic stimulation resulted in OOBEs whereas stimulation of other areas did not.

Answer 394

NDE occur when a person is close to death and also after fainting or simply in stressful or threatening situations.

Answer 395

1. Psychological explanations | 2. Biological explantions

Answer 396

SOme people hold paranormal beliefs and this leads them to interpret events in terms of paranormal explanations.

Answer 397

1. Link to endorphins 2. Link to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) 3. Link to glutamate

Answer 398

Suggest that endorphins are relased at times of pain or stress and these lead to feelings of euphoria and detachment.

Answer 399

Suggests that NDEs are related to lack of oxygen, which may occur, for example, during cardiac arrest or fainting. This hypoxia might cause REM intrusions which create a mixed sleep/awake state that could, like OOBEs disrupt the integration of sensory information

Answer 400

Alternatively hypoxia creates a flood of the neurotransmitter glutamate which causes neuronal death. As a defence the brain creates a protective blockade to prevent neuronal death and this blockade is the source of an NDE.

Answer 401

Interviewers 100 people who had NDEs, finding that about 60% of survivors reported a sense of peace, 33% reported OOBEs, 25% said they entered a tunnel and a few had experienced a kind of 'life review'.

Answer 402

Studied 55 people with NDEs and 55 controls. He found that the NDE group were more likely to also experience 'REM intrusions'.

Answer 403

Has experimented with the drug Ketamine, giving it to patients to observe the effects. He has found that it can produce the classic symptoms of NDEs. IN addition, Ketamine has been found to trigger the same blockade as glutamate.

Answer 404

OOBEs are reported more often by individuals who are paranormal believers.

Answer 405

People who have OOBEs are also more fantasy prone, score higher on hypnotisability and on dissociation.

Answer 406

Found no evidence to suggest people with OOBEs are mentally ill, although the experience may make people feel they are losing their mind.

Answer 407

Placed a video display in front of a PP eyes. THe display shows a live film relayed by 2 video cameras that are 2 metres behind the PP (left camera to left eye, right camera to right eye). THe PP sees their own back as if they were sitting behind themselves. THe Experimenter then places one rod ont he PP chest (out of PP view) and another rod on where the illusory body would be located, just blow the camera's view.

Answer 408

PP reported feeling that they were sitting behind their physical body and looking at it from that location. He tested the reality of the illusion by threatening the illusory body. PP displayed a physiological fear response (perspiration on their skin)

Answer 409

THat the TPJ activated by Blanke et al is implicated int he construction of the sense of body in space.

Answer 410

It is difficult to study natural OOBEs because they occur without predictability and, even if a researcher was present, the OOBE would cease as soon as the PP reported it.

Answer 411

Does not regard artifically OOBE as equivalent to naturally occuring OOBEs, which might suggest that most research (which is mainly conducted on artificially-induced OOBE in lab settings) lack validity.

Answer 412

The fact that NDEs are not experienced by all near-death patients means there is likely a psychological component.

Answer 413

Followed 344 cardiac survivors over 8 years and found that those who ha experienced an NDE subsequently regarded it as a life-changing, spiritual experience. THose who didn't have an NDE continued to fear death. THis suggests that it is a spiritual experience, but that doesn't mean it is caused by spiritual factors.

Answer 414

Presented a comprehensive review of NDEs in different cultures, and provided examples, such as in INdia NDEs involve encounters with Hindu figures and in Japan there were no instances of any light appearing. THere were also consistent features, such as going through a tunnel, feelings of peace, OOBEs and meeting a barrier between life and death.

Answer 415

The fact there are differences and similarities suggest that both psychological and physiological factors are involved.

Answer 416

Interviewer bias may have affected the data collected as Moody reported NDEs as wonderful experiences, whereas more recent research has found that for many people they are experienced as frightening.

Anomalistic Psychology Flashcards

(442 cards)