Parapsychology

1. Parapsychology “Most sciences try to explain observable phenomena. Parapsychologists try to observe unexplainable phenomena.”

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

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

4. ESP • Extra Sensory Perception • A 6th Sense or ability to perceive something without the use of the 5 senses

5. Origin of Belief in ESP • The term “ESP” was used as early as the late 19th century. • Used to describe the ability of a person who had been hypnotized or in a trance state yet could sense things without using the five senses. • However, the phenomena of ESP may go back to Biblical times.

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

7. Persistence of Belief in ESP • Misperceptions and Coincidences • Psychic connection between twins • Confirmation Bias/Selective Recall • Recollection of eerie happenings • Misinterpretation of Data • Inconsistent measuring techniques

8. Persistence of Belief in ESP • A survey published in 1987 by Univ. of Chicago found that 67% of all adult Americans believe they have experienced ESP, up from 58% in 1976. • According to leading Russian scientists, "Many people believe in clairvoyance, astrology, and other superstitions to compensate for the psychological discomforts of our time."

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

10. What the Skeptics Say Most of the evidence for ESP is anecdotal and is dismissed by skeptics as based on one or more of the following:  • Incompetence or fraud by parapsychologists • Selective thinking and Confirmation bias • Not falsifiable – can’t be proven not real • Gullibility, self-deception, and wishful thinking

11. What the Skeptics Say • After thousands of experiments, areproducible ESP phenomenon has never been discovered, or has anyone produced any individual who can convincingly demonstrate psychic ability. • A National Research Council investigation of ESP concluded that "the best available evidence does not support the contention that these phenomena exist.”

12. What the Skeptics Say U. S. National Research Council (1988) • A 2 year study concluded there was no scientific justification from research conducted over 130 years for the existence of parapsychological phenomena. • “the best scientific evidence does not justify that ESP -that is, gathering information about objects or thoughts without the intervention of known sensory mechanisms- exists.”

13. Pursuit of Parapsychology • Over 200 colleges and universities in the U.S. alone have courses in parapsychology with many offering degrees in the subject. • John F. Kennedy University’s Graduate School of Consciousness Studies offers a master’s degree in parapsychology.

14. ESP: Extrasensory Perception • Perceiving something without the use of the 5 senses – this is why it is often referred to as the “6th sense.” • 3 main types of ESP • Telepathy • Clairvoyance • Precognition

15. Telepathy • one person sending thoughts or images to another person’s mind or perceiving another's thoughts without using any of the five recognized senses. • Popularized by fictional novels and movies.

16. Clairvoyance • French for “clear seeing” • The ability to “see” information about people, objects, or locations without using any of the five senses. • Includes crystal gazing and tea leaf reading.

17. X-ray clairvoyance The ability to see into closed spaces, such as boxes, envelopes, rooms, and books There are many cases on record in which sealed letters were read when the contents were totally unknown to the experimenter

18. Traveling clairvoyance mental journey to a distant scene and giving a description about it may take the seer into the future

19. Are you psychic?

20. Precognition • Knowledge of a future event or circumstance prior to its occurrence. • Obtained in a vision or dream

21. Precognition is what most people mean when using the term “psychic.” • Also referred to as • Prediction • Premonition • prophecy

22. Prediction vs Premonition • Prediction has a degree of precision and tends to detail the basic who, what, where, when and how questions • When the foreseen event is not precisely outlined or is too insubstantial to prompt a specific prediction then it is called a premonition

23. Prophecy • Prediction involving the fate of larger groups of people or entire nations

24. Psychokinesis • Formerly known as telekinesis • The ability to move or bend objects at a distance by mental power without contact

25. Other Paranormal Activity • Possession • Hauntings, ghosts, apparitions, etc. • UFOs & Alien abduction • Near-death experiences, and out-of-body experiences, Reincarnation • Astrology

26. Possession • An altered state of consciousness in which the conscious personality of the individual is replaced with that of another personality, commonly thought of as a possessing spirit entity

27. Possession • Common to all religious traditions • The possessing personality aims to establish communication with this world by writing or speech

28. Demonic Possession • In Christianity, possession is viewed as a negative phenomena • Christians have largely equated possession with possession by a demonic force or even possession by the devil himself

29. Ghost • The disembodied spirit or image of a deceased person, appearing to be alive • Believed to be ethereal – able to penetrate doors and walls, and/or appear at the moment of death to a distant relative or friend

30. Children are often reported to have encountered ghostly playmates • Reports of ghosts in pictures when taking normal photographs

31. Haunting • Dwelling locations of ghosts • Places associated with their earthly life or locales with a tragic history • Although the evidence for ghosts is largely anecdotal, its belief is widespread and persistent

32. Apparition • An image of a person or animal that is not tied to a particular place and often times tries to communicate a message

33. Does Life Exist on Other Planets?

34. Alien Abduction • Paranormal experience of being abducted by beings from another universe

35. 2 Types • Intense experiences – missing time, seeing and communicating with aliens, or finding puzzling scars or marks on body and not knowing where they came from • Non-intense experiences – seeing unidentified lights in the sky

36. Are they just “crazy”? • Psychological tests applied to those reporting an alien abduction experience have yielded no more mental health issues than those in a control group • These people are no more likely to have a mental illness (like schizophrenia) than anyone else

37. Theories • Fantasy-prone personalities may lead to confusion between reality and imagination • It is a defensive mechanism which allows traumatized children to escape the unbearable reality of their lives by entering a more acceptable fantasy world (like a dissociative disorder)

38. Sleep paralysis – waking up paralyzed with a sense of a strange person or presence or something else in the room (common in those with narcolepsy) • Temporal lobe activity – a seizure can occur in this part of the brain causing odd sensations, déjà vu, hallucinations and mystical feelings

39. UFO • Unidentified Flying Object • Similar to the experience of alien abduction

40. UFOs entered popular consciousness in the 20th century as “flying saucers” • UFOs have been referred to as airships, foo fighters, and ghost rockets

41. The Sun, The Moon & the Stars Do they hold any meaning in our lives?

42. Astrology • The belief that a person’s character and destiny are affected by the stars at the moment of their birth • The position of the stars when you were born will shape the kind of personality that you will have for the rest of your life

43. Horoscope • The best-known form of astrology • Divides people’s birth dates into the 12 signs of the zodiac, which are 12 bands through which the sun passes during the course of a year • Sun signs – a person’s zodiac sign indicates the position of the sun at their particular moment of birth

44. Sun Signs & Personality • Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) – fiery in nature, tending to be energetic, optimisitc, enthusiastic, and aggressive • Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) - practical, dependable, logical, and cautious

45. Air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) – light hearted, friendly, open-minded and very changeable • Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) – imaginative, artistic, sensitive, and emotional

46. Are they legit? • While it is fun and interesting to read your daily horoscope, recent studies have found no significant personality differences of any kind between any of the sun signs

47. The Afterlife Does the spirit continue after the physical death of the body?

48. Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) • Typically occur to individuals who are in situations of intense physical or emotional danger, who are close to death, or who have actually died and been brought back to life • While dead they travel to the brink of a supposed spiritual afterlife

49. NDEs • NDEs have been reported in cases of actual clinical death, where the vital signs are absent for up to 20 minutes • However, they also seem to be experienced in situations which are only potentially fatal

50. Key Features • Experiencing the “feeling” of dying • Overhearing the news of their own death • Feelings of peace and quiet