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The term '''parapsychology''' refers to the scientific study of certain [[paranormal]] phenomena, referred to as "Psi" phenomena. The scientific reality of parapsychological phenomena and the validity of scientific parapsychological research is a matter of frequent dispute and criticism. The field is regarded by some critics as a [[pseudoscience]]. Parapsychologists, in turn, say that parapsychological research is [[science|scientifically]] rigorous. Despite the controversy, a number of organizations and academic programs have been created to conduct research into the existence, nature, and frequency of occurrence of such phenomena. Thus, while the explanation of such phenomena still eludes scientific understanding, the possibility that human beings may have [[sense]]s beyond the known physical senses that allow [[communication]] of information is recognized as worthy of study.
 
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According to the [[Parapsychological Association]], '''parapsychology''' is the scientific study of certain types of [[paranormal phenomena]], or of phenomena which appear to be paranormal.<ref>http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Retrieved February 10, 2007</ref>
 
The term is based on the Greek [[para]] (beside/beyond), [[psyche]] (soul/mind), and  [[logos]] (account/explanation) and was coined by psychologist [[Max Dessoir]] in or before 1889. Its first appearance was in an article by Dessoir in the June 1889 issue of the German publication ''Sphinx''.<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref> [[J. B. Rhine]] later popularized "parapsychology" as a replacement for the earlier term "psychical research," during a shift in methodologies which brought experimental methods to the study of psychic phenomena.<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref>  In contemporary research, the term 'parapsychology' refers to the study of [[Psi (parapsychology)|psi]], a general blanket term used by academic parapsychologists to denote anomalous processes or outcomes.<ref>http://www.medicalglossary.org/psychological_phenomena_and_processes_parapsychology_definitions.html Medical Glossary.org</ref><ref>http://www.mdani.demon.co.uk/para/paraglos.htm#P Psychic Science.com</ref><ref>http://www.parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p The Parapsychological Association, Inc. (PA) is the international professional organization of scientists and scholars engaged in the study of ‘psi’</ref>
 
 
 
The scientific reality of parapsychological phenomena and the validity of scientific parapsychological research is a matter of frequent dispute and criticism. The field is regarded by some critics as a [[pseudoscience]]. Parapsychologists, in turn, say that parapsychological [[research]] is [[science|scientifically]] rigorous. Despite criticisms, a number of academic institutions now conduct research on the topic, employing laboratory methodologies and statistical techniques, such as [[meta-analysis]]. The [[Parapsychological Association]] is the leading association for parapsychologists and has been a member of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] since 1969.<ref name="ConsciousUniverse">''The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena'' by Dean I. Radin Harper Edge, ISBN 0-06-251502-0</ref>
 
 
 
 
==Scope==
 
==Scope==
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The term '''parapsychology''' refers to the scientific study of certain [[paranormal]] phenomena. Coined in [[German]] by [[psychologist]] [[Max Dessoir]] in 1889, the term was adopted into [[English]] by researcher [[J. B. Rhine]], and has largely superseded the older expression, "psychical research." In contemporary research, the term "parapsychology" refers to the study of [[Psi]], a blanket term used by parapsychologists to denote paranormal processes or causation.<ref>Parapsychological Association, [http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology.] Retrieved May 1, 2007</ref>
  
According to the [[Parapsychological Association]], parapsychology is limited in its scope to the study of three main classes of [[paranormal phenomena]].<ref>Parapsychological Association. [http://parapsych.org/mission_statement.html "What is the PA? Mission Statement"]</ref> These classes include:
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The types of anomalies studied by parapsychology fall into three main categories:
  
<div class="boilerplate metadata" id="attention" style="background-color: #FFFFFF; margin: 0 2.5%; padding: 0 10px; border: 1px solid #aaa;">
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* '''Mental :''' Often described as [[extrasensory perception]], this category includes unusual [[mental]] states or abilities, such as [[telepathy]], [[clairvoyance]], [[precognition]], [[psychometry]], [[medium (spirituality)|mediumship]], [[clairaudience]], and [[clairsentience]], among others. These types of phenomena involve some form of information transfer occurring outside the confines of the traditional five [[sense]]s.
* '''Mental phenomena''': often described as [[extrasensory perception]], this class includes unusual mental states or abilities, such as [[telepathy]], [[clairvoyance]], [[precognition]], [[retrocognition]], [[remote viewing]], [[psychometry]], [[xenoglossy]], [[medium (spirituality)|mediumism]], [[channeling (mediumistic)|channeling]], [[clairaudience]], [[clairsentience]], and [[Spiritual possession|possession]]. This class involves some type of information transfer occurring outside the confines of one's [[five senses]].<ref>http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file1.html#6</ref><ref name=PA_GLOSSARY>http://www.parapsych.org/glossary_a_d.html</ref><ref>http://www.sheldrake.org/papers/Staring/JCSpaper1.pdf ''The Sense of Being Stared At And Other Unexplained Powers of the Human Mind'' ''Part 1: Is it Real or Illusory?'' By Rupert Sheldrake</ref><ref>http://www.siib.org/Downloads/Schmidt_EDA_DMILS_MA_BJP_2004.pdf ''Distant intentionality and the feeling of being stared at: Two meta-analyses'' By Stefan Schmidt, Rainer Schneider, Jessica Utts and Harald Walach</ref>
 
  
* '''Physical phenomena''': this class includes unusual physical occurrences, such as [[psychokinesis]] (often referred to as telekinesis), [[poltergeist]]s, [[materialization (parapsychology)|materializations]], [[psychic healing]], [[faith healing]], [[morphic field]]s<ref>''The Presence of the Past'':
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* '''Physical Phenomena:''' This category includes unusual physical occurrences, such as [[psychokinesis]] (often referred to as telekinesis), [[poltergeist]]s, [[ectoplasm|materialization]]s, and [[bio-PK]] (direct mental interactions with living systems). These types of phenomena involve the [[mind]] influencing its physical surroundings as well as physical manifestations from unknown sources.
''Morphic Resonance & the Habits of Nature'' By Rupert Sheldrake</ref>, and [[synchronicity]]. These types of phenomena often involve the mind influencing its physical surroundings.<ref name=PA_GLOSSARY/><ref>http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file1.html#6</ref><ref>http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file1.html#10</ref>
 
  
* '''Survival phenomena''': this class deals with the survival of consciousness after physical death and includes [[ghost]]s, [[out-of-body experience]]s (OBEs) (also known as [[astral projection]]s), [[reincarnation]] and [[near-death experience]]s (NDEs).
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* '''Survival Phenomena:''' Survival phenomena deal with the survival of [[consciousness]] after physical death. Included in this category are [[ghost]]s, [[out-of-body experience]]s (OBEs) (also known as [[astral projection]]s), [[reincarnation]], and [[near-death experience]]s (NDEs).
</div>
 
  
There are wide variances of opinion concerning the actual status of many subjects studied in parapsychology. As an example, some parapsychologists believe that ghosts may not indicate survival, but may instead be psychic impressions left by living people.
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While these three categories are common, individual organizations may have their own standards for determining the scope of parapsychology. Additionally, subjects may fall into different categories for different researchers. For example, some parapsychologists believe that ghosts are evidence of the survival of consciousness, but others believe them to be psychic impressions left by living people. There are also a number of paranormal topics that are considered by most to be out of the scope of parapsychology, such as [[Bigfoot]] and other [[legendary creature]]s, which fall within the purview of [[cryptozoology]].
 
 
Other reported phenomena which are sometimes labeled as paranormal, but which are outside these classifications, are considered outside the current scope of parapsychology by the association. Organizations outside the Parapsychology Association may have separate standards for determining the scope of parapsychology.
 
 
 
== History==
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Parapsychology has a rich history dating back to at least the 1800s in both the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]]. The forms of parapsychological research have changed over the years, and continue to change today.
 
  
 +
==History==
 
===Early psychical research===
 
===Early psychical research===
 +
Parapsychology has a rich history dating back to at least the 1800s in both the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]]. While [[psi]] phenomena were certainly observed throughout most of human history, it was not until during the [[Spiritualist Movement]] of the mid-nineteenth century that researchers first began to take an significant interest in psychic phenomena.
  
The period known as the [[The Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] followed the Scientific Revolution, with its apex in the 18th century, and featured the ideas that life should be lead by reason as opposed to [[dogma]] or tradition, and the universe as a mechanistic, deterministic system that could eventually be known accurately and fully through observation, calculation, and reason. As such, the existence or activity of deities or supernatural agents was discounted.  This gave rise to increasing skepticism toward the existence of psychic phenomena along with all forms of magical thinking.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
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Before the Spiritualist Movement, there had been some investigation into psi phenomena by the followers of [[Franz Anton Mesmer]], who believed that forces he termed "animal magnetism" could be manipulated to heal illness. In the 1780s, one of Mesmer's followers, the [[Marquis de Puységur]], discovered a state he termed "experimental [[somnambulism]]" (later termed "[[hypnosis]]") in those that he had attempted to "magnetize." While in this state, patients demonstrated [[telepathy|telepathic]] abilities, vision with the fingertips, and [[clairvoyance]].<ref>Luiz Saraiva, [http://www.geae.inf.br/en/boletins/sm008.html Bibliography of Scientific Research on the Spirit Phenomena] (GEAE June 1998). Retrieved May 1, 2007.</ref> It should be noted that the early magnetists believed that the telepathy and clairvoyance demonstrated by the entranced subjects had a physiological cause, and were not paranormal in nature.<ref>The Mystic, [http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/m/mesmerism.html Mesmerism.] Retrieved May 1, 2007.</ref>  
 
 
[[Franz Anton Mesmer]] (b 1734 - d 1815), a Viennese physician, believed himself to be a man of the Enlightenment. At the time, [[electricity]] and [[magnetism]] were thought of as invisible "fluids." Mesmer believed that he had discovered another type of natural fluid which he called [[animal magnetism]], which he claimed to harness to heal various ailments without resorting to the supernatural. He developed a technique, today called ''mesmerism'', for inducing an altered state of mind which today most people equate with [[hypnosis]]. Of import here is that it was discovered that some individuals exhibited "higher phenomena" such as apparent clairvoyance while in the mesmerized, "somnambulistic" state, much like the latter day psychic Edgar Cayce.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
 
 
 
The mesmeric movement never gained scientific acceptance, and in 1784 commissions of the French Royal Society of Medicine and the French Academy of Sciences made investigations and issued negative reports. One researcher eventually associated with mesmerism, Baron [[Carl Reichenbach]], who is known for his discovery of paraffin fuels, developed a [[vitalism|vitalist]] theory of the [[Odic force]] to explain parapsychological phenomena.  Though elements of the mesmeric movement remained well into the [[19th century]], by the 1850s the movement had nearly died out. However, due partly to shifting religious attitudes, the feats of the mesmeric somnabules were soon to be repeated, without resorting to mesmerism, by the ''mediums'' of the newly emerging [[spiritualism|Spiritualist movement]], who claimed contact with the spirits of the dead. By the mid-1850s, mediums and "home-circles" were to be found throughout Europe and in every stratum of society.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The rise of modern inquiry into reports of psychical phenomena coincided with the introduction of modern [[Spiritualism]] in 1848 and the movement's claims of [[paranormal]] abilities. Shortly thereafter, the [[Society for Psychical Research]] was founded in Britain (1882) and the [[American Society for Psychical Research]] was founded in the United States (1885). Spiritualism was so widespread and the reports of its effects so numerous and impressive that it was inevitable that scientists would try to study it. Early psychical researchers concerned themselves with studying [[Mediumship|mediums]] and other spiritualist claims. In the early 1900s, a dissatisfaction with the results of the research and political disagreements within psychic research organizations led to a new approach and a new term for the study of psychic phenomena: parapsychology.<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref>
 
 
 
===Introduction of parapsychology===
 
 
 
Although parapsychology has its roots in earlier field research, it began using laboratory experiments in the 1930s under the direction of [[J. B. Rhine]] (1895–1980).<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref> Rhine popularized the now famous methodology of using card-guessing and dice-rolling experiments in the laboratory in an attempt to find a statistical validation of [[extra-sensory perception]].<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref> The experimental approach has characterized much of contemporary parapsychology.
 
 
 
In 1957, the [[Parapsychological Association]] was formed as the preeminent society for [[parapsychologists]]. In 1969, they became affiliated with the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]]. That affiliation, along with a general openness to psychic and occult phenomena in the 1970s, led to a decade of increased parapsychological research.<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref> During this time, other notable organizations were also formed, including the Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine (1970), the Institute of Parascience (1971), the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research, the Institute for Noetic Sciences (1973), and the International Kirlian Research Association (1975). Each of these groups performed experiments on paranormal subjects to varying degrees. Parapsychological work was also conducted at the [[Stanford Research Institute]] during this time.<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref>
 
 
 
 
 
The idea for a learned, scientific society to study psychic phenomena seems to have originated with the spiritualist E. Dawson Rogers, who hoped to gain a new kind of respectability for spiritualism.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}  The [[Society for Psychical Research]] (SPR) was founded in London in 1882, and by 1887 eight members of the British Royal Society served on its council.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Soon after its founding many spiritualists left the SPR due to differing priorities and skeptical attitudes within the SPR to some prominent mediums. However the SPR continued work on its research program, publishing its finding periodically in its ''Proceedings''. Similar societies were soon set up in most other countries in Europe as well as the American SPR in the United States. Of these, the British SPR remained the most respected, conservative, and skeptical of these societies.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
 
 
 
While most of the early SPR research had an anecdotal flavor, where experiments involved testing the abilities of specific mediums and other "gifted individuals" with claimed psychic abilities, there were some [[probability|probabilistic]] experiments involving card guessing and dice throwing. But it was not until the development of [[statistics|statistical]] tools by [[R. A. Fisher]] and others about the 1920s that modern experimental parapsychology came into its own, with the efforts of [[J. B. Rhine]] and his colleagues. It was during this time that the term 'parapsychology' largely replaced the term 'psychical research'.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
 
 
 
The "Rhine revolution" had three aims: First to provide parapsychology with a systematic, ''progressive'' program of sound experimentation, by trying to characterize the conditions and extent of psi phenomena rather than merely trying to prove their existence; Second, to gain academic status and scientific recognition. Rhine helped form the first long-term university laboratory devoted to parapsychology in the Duke University Laboratory, later to become the independent Rhine Research Center; And third, to study whether psychic ability is restricted to a few gifted individuals, or widespread and perhaps latent in everyone. While not wholly successful in any of these aims, Rhine did much to move the field in these directions. As a result of Rhine's work, we find that much of experimental parapsychology today is geared toward "ordinary people" as subjects rather than mediums or "gifted psychics." Rhine also helped found the ''Journal of Parapsychology'' in 1937, which remains one of the most respected journals in the field today, and the [[Parapsychological Association]] in 1957, the foremost professional body of parapsychologists today, that was accepted into the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] (AAAS) in 1969.  Rhine also popularized the term "[[extra-sensory perception]]" (ESP).<ref>http://parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html#e Parapsychological Association Glossary of Parapsychological terms, Retrieved Dec 19, 2006</ref>
 
 
 
===Government investigations into parapsychology===
 
 
 
There have been a number of investigations into parapsychology performed by agencies of various governments.  One of the more famous of these is [[Project Star Gate]], a project undertaken in the 1970s and 1980s with the cooperation of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] to investigate [[remote viewing]].  Another famous set of remote viewing experiments were the SRI ([[Stanford Research Institute]]) experiments done by the SAIC ([[Science Applications International Corporation]]) for the [[Department of Defense]] in the 1990s. Part of the motivation for this research was the rumoured psychic research by the Soviet Union. See ''Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain'', for example.
 
 
 
 
 
===The rise of organized skepticism ===
 
 
 
With the increase in parapsychological investigation, there came an increase in organized opposition to both the findings of parapsychologists and to granting of any formal recognition of the field. Criticisms of the field were focused in the founding of the [[CSICOP|Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] (1976), now called the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] (CSI), and its periodical, ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]''.<ref name="EncyOccult">Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology edited by J. Gordon Melton Gale Research, ISBN 0-8103-5487-X</ref> CSI continues to review parapsychological work and raise objections where they feel it is necessary.
 
 
 
==Status of the field==
 
 
 
Many professional scientists study parapsychology.<ref>http://parapsych.org/member_index.html Parapsychological Association Members Index, Retrieved February 25, 2007</ref> It is an interdisciplinary field, attracting [[psychology|psychologists]], [[physics|physicists]], [[engineer]]s, and [[biology|biologists]], as well as those from other sciences.  One organization involved in the field, the [[Parapsychological Association]] is an affiliate of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] (AAAS).<ref>http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/affiliates/#P</ref> At present (2006) there are about 275 members in the Parapsychological Association.
 
 
 
It has sometimes been asserted that parapsychology is not a field of [[science]] or that it is a [[pseudoscience]]. Skeptical scholars such as [[Ray Hyman]] and James E. Alcock have said that parapsychology needs to do more theoretical work and produce results which are more easily replicable.<ref name="EntangledMinds"/><ref name="hymanevaluation">http://www.mceagle.com/remote-viewing/refs/science/air/hyman.html ''The Journal of Parapsychology'', December, 1995, "Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena" by Ray Hyman, Retrieved January 5, 2007</ref>  They say that parapsychology lacks a cumulative database and that its claims are based on the rejection of the [[null hypothesis]] (they do not detect [[Psi (parapsychology)| psi]] directly).<ref name="hymanevaluation"/><!--NEED AN ALCOCK REF HERE—>  Parapsychologists such as [[Jessica Utts]] and Dean Radin say that these objections do not consider that parapsychology has built on its previous experiments, and point to the [[ganzfeld experiment]] as one experiment which is replicable.  They say that other sciences such as physics also use indirect means of detecting the phenomena they study.<ref>''RESPONSE TO RAY HYMAN'S REPORT'' "Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena" by Professor Jessica Utts, Division of Statistics University of California, Davis, September 15, 1995</ref><ref name="EntangledMinds"/> However, the ganzfeld experiment itself has been questioned as nothing more than an anomaly based on faulty methodology.{{POV-statement}}<ref>{{cite journal
 
  | last = Hyman
 
  | first = Ray
 
  | authorlink =
 
  | coauthors =
 
  | title =Anomaly or Artifact? Comments on Bern and Honorton
 
  | journal =Psychological Bulletin
 
  | volume =1
 
  | issue = 115
 
  | pages = 19-24
 
  | publisher = American Psychological Association
 
  | date = 1994
 
  | url =http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/Class/Psy391P/Hyman%20resp.%20to%20Bem&Honorton.1994.pdf
 
  | doi =
 
  | id =
 
  | accessdate =  }}</ref>
 
 
 
Among the peer-reviewed journals dealing with parapsychology are the ''The Journal of Parapsychology'', the ''Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research'', the ''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research'', the ''European Journal of Parapsychology'', the ''International Journal of Parapsychology'', and the ''Journal of Scientific Exploration''.<ref>http://www.scientificexploration.org/ Retrieved February 23, 2007</ref><ref>http://parapsych.org/mission_statement.html Parapsychological Association Mission Statement, Retrieved February 23, 2007</ref>
 
 
 
Parapsychology research centers include the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit based at Goldsmiths College, University of London;  Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research at Princeton University; the Rhine Research Center, successor to the Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory; Institute of Noetic Sciences; Institute for Transpersonal Psychology; the Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center; Boundary Institute; Three Circles Research; Perrott-Warrick Research Unit; Pacific Neuropsychiatric Institute; the Koestler Parapsychology Unit; International Society of Life Information Science; International Consciousness Research Laboratories; Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene; Division of Perceptual Studies; Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology Unit; Cognitive Sciences Laboratory; Centre for Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes; Center for Functional Research; Center for Frontier Sciences; Center for Consciousness Studies; and the ASC Consortium.<ref>http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~info/ResearchCentres.php3 Website of the European Journal of Parapsychology, Retrieved February 25, 2007</ref>
 
 
 
According to magician, debunker and skeptic James Randi commenting on ''How to Think Straight About Psychology'' by Keith E. Stanovich:
 
 
 
:"If Stanovich is referring to parapsychology as a pseudoscience, I disagree. It has all the structure and appearance of any other science, and must be respected as such. The fact that differentiates it from other sciences is largely that it has no history of successful experiments upon which to base conclusions."<ref>http://www.randi.org/jr/071803.html, Website of the James Randi Educational Foundation, Retrieved February 19, 2005</ref>
 
 
 
According to skeptic James E. Alcock, "Thus, to the sceptical reader, I stress that these parapsychological writers are in our camp, the scientific camp."<ref>http://www.imprint.co.uk/pdf/Alcock-editorial.pdf ''Give the Null Hypothesis a Chance Reasons to Remain Doubtful about the Existence of Psi'' by James E. Alcock, ''Journal of Consciousness Studies,'' 10, No. 6–7, 2003, pp. 29–50</ref>
 
 
 
In 2003 Marie-Catherine Mousseau attempted to determine whether parapsychology is a science by comparing mainstream versus Parapsychological peer-reviewed journals.  Writing in the ''Journal of Scientific Exploration'' she said,
 
 
 
:"Many efforts have been made to set up ‘‘necessary and sufficient’’ criteria for science (Chalmers, 1999), but no consensus has been reached. Why not? One might argue there are no such things as ‘‘epistemological invariants’’ for science,
 
that each discipline (or even each lab) could have its own rules and methods (see Zingrone, 2002). However, even if there is no clear criterion for science, there
 
must be a way to distinguish it from pseudo-science if the latter term is to have any meaning."<ref name="Mousseau">http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/articles/pdf/17.2_mousseau.pdf ''Parapsychology: Science or Pseudo-Science?'' By Marie-Catherine Mousseau in the ''Journal of Scientific Exploration,'' Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 271-282, 2003, Retrieved February 19, 2005</ref>
 
 
 
According to Mousseau, it is not possible to judge whether a field is actually a science based on an examination of its results.  This is because often research is done which follows the scientific method, even in the absence of sufficient evidence to form a theory.
 
<blockquote>
 
Thus predictability and reproducibility usually bring results; results bring consensus and acceptance by mainstream science. However, this process is the final objective. A science in the making may not yet have gone through these different stages. That does not mean that it will not, that it is not science. That is why the criterion of assessing what is science by its results is not reliable.
 
</blockquote>
 
 
 
Mousseau said that the scientific quality of the discourse in parapsychological journals is higher than the average within science. Still, possibly because of the sparsity of parapsychological results in comparison with many other fields of science, and because of a lack of theoretical knowledge which would explain parapsychological results, parapsychology is in some ways less robust as a science than some other fields. For instance, Mousseau found that parapsychological journals had a smaller number of experimental reports relative to epistemological articles.  She speculated that this could be due to the difficulty of conducting parapsychological experiments.  Mousseau also found that parapsychology did not meet criteria for pseudoscience, such as suppressing unfavorable data, over-reliance on anecdotal evidence, or obliviousness to alternative theories, among others.<ref name="Mousseau"/> Mousseau concluded in part that
 
<blockquote>
 
Mainstream scientists could also learn from the generally extreme
 
rigor of their experimental approach which aims to address any kind of possible
 
criticisms and which is necessary to separate a very elusive phenomenon from
 
the background noise. They could learn from their concern to publish unsuccessful
 
experiments, whereas mainstream scientists often neglect to report
 
negative data although it can be very useful.<ref name="Mousseau"/>
 
</blockquote>
 
 
 
According to parapsychologist Carlos S. Alvarado, parapsychology has made significant contributions to other fields, in such areas as the mind-body problem, the transformative effects of parapsychological experiences, and the psychology of [[OBE]]s.<ref>http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2320/is_2_67/ai_n6032971 Carlos S. Alvarado ''Reflections on being a parapsychologist'', Journal of Parapsychology, The. Fall 2003. 17 Feb. 2007.  Retrieved February 23, 2007</ref>  Parapsychological research has helped to combat superstition and to evaluate popular claims of the paranormal.  For instance, investigation of Silva Mind Control and Transcendental Meditation found no evidence to support their claims.  Parapsychological researchers have pioneered statistical techniques to study phenomena.  Ian Hacking argued that parapsychologists made early use of probability and randomization in their nineteenth-century studies of telepathy in the nineteenth-century.  Parapsychology has contributed to the study of fraud and self-deception, such as cases of fraudulent mediumism.<ref>http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2320/is_2_67/ai_n6032971 Carlos S. Alvarado, "Reflections on being a parapsychologist," ''Journal of Parapsychology'', Fall 2003. 17 Feb. 2007.  Retrieved February 23, 2007</ref>
 
 
 
Parapsychology is a frequently deprecated subject in science and the academy.<ref name="Hess">http://www.davidjhess.org/DiscHet.pdf DISCIPLINING HETERODOXY, CIRCUMVENTING DISCIPLINE: PARAPSYCHOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGICALLY By David J. Hess In David Hess and Linda Layne (eds.), Knowledge and Society Vol. 9: The Anthropology of Science and Technology. Greenwich, Ct.: JAI Press. Pp. 191-222.</ref>  Individuals who show an interest in studying psychic phenomena  often say they have difficulty  finding or keeping sustained employment, and that they are denied funding or the chance to publish.<ref name="Hess"/>
 
 
 
For example, Cambridge physicist Brian Josephson who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1973 told [[The Observer]], "'Yes, I think telepathy exists,' [...] 'and I think quantum physics will help us understand its basic properties.' [...] 'I think journals like Nature and Science are censoring such research,' he said. 'There is a lot of evidence to support the existence of telepathy, for example, but papers on the subject are being rejected - quite unfairly.'"<ref>http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,560604,00.html ''Royal Mail's Nobel guru in telepathy row'' by Robin McKie, science editor of ''The Observer'' Sunday September 30, 2001, Retrieved December 17, 2006</ref>
 
 
 
As a general rule, while trained scientists may not be as likely to believe in parapsychological phenomena as the general public, they are far from monolithic in their disbelief.  Surveys of this group are rare, but in their 1994 paper in the Psychological Bulletin entitled [http://www.dina.kvl.dk/~abraham/psy1.html ''Does psi exist? Replicable evidence for an anomalous process of information transfer''] Daryl J. Bem and Charles Honorton quote a 1979 survey:
 
 
 
<blockquote>A survey of more than 1,100 college professors in the United States found that 55% of natural scientists, 66% of social scientists (excluding psychologists), and 77% of academics in the arts, humanities, and education believed that ESP is either an established fact or a likely possibility. The comparable figure for psychologists was only 34%. Moreover, an equal number of psychologists declared ESP to be an impossibility, a view expressed by only 2% of all other respondents (Wagner; Monnet, 1979).<ref>http://www.dina.kvl.dk/~abraham/psy1.html 1979 survey quoted in ''Does Psi Exist? Replicable Evidence for an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer'' By Daryl J. Bem and Charles Honorton in the Psychological Bulletin 1994, Vol. 115, No. 1, 4-18</ref>
 
</blockquote>
 
 
 
A number of [[Nobel Laureate]]s have been of the belief that the field of parapsychology is worthy of funding and study.  Among these are  [[Brian Josephson]], [[Kary Mullis]],<ref>National Public Radio Scienc Friday, May 1999.  See http://lkm.fri.uni-lj.si/xaigor/slo/znanclanki/Wildey2.pdf</ref> and [[Wolfgang Pauli]].<ref>Lindorff, D. (2004). Pauli and Jung: The Meeting of Two Great Minds. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books.</ref> Many eminent scientists from a variety of fields also support parapsychology research, such as [[Hans Eysenck]],<ref>Eysenck, H. J. (1998). Intelligence: A new look.  New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.</ref> [[Robert G Jahn]],<ref>Dunne, J. B. and Jahn, R. G. (2003). Information and uncertainty in remote perception research, Journal of Scientific Exploration</ref> [[Daryl Bem]]<ref>See Bem's web site: http://dbem.ws/</ref> and [[Rupert Sheldrake]].<ref>Sheldrake, R. (2003). The sense of being stared at: And other unexplained powers of the human mind.  New York: Random House.</ref>  Despite such support, other eminent scientists have expressed their disapproval of parapsychology.  For instance, physicist [[John Archibald Wheeler]] wrote to the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] in 1979 requesting that the Parapsychology Association be "expelled" from affiliation <ref>J. A. Wheeler, 'A Decade of Permissiveness', cited in Martin Gardner, ''Science Good, Bad and Bogus'', Prometheus Books, 1981, p193-194</ref>
 
 
 
==Methodology==
 
Parapsychology employs a number of research methods in studying the possibility of psychical phenomena. Among these is the experimental approach.
 
 
 
===Experimental research===
 
{{main|Research results in parapsychology|Scientific investigation of telepathy|Ganzfeld experiment}}
 
 
 
A number of experiments have been conducted by parapsychologists since the 1930s, utilizing a wide range of methodologies that have changed over the years. As recently as 2006, computer scientists at the University of Manchester tested the possibility of [[telepathy]] by simulating a virtual computer world in the hopes that it would eliminate other forms of communication.<ref name="Virtual">http://news.com.com/2100-11395_3-6095966.html Virtual world tests telepathy,  CNET News.com, July 19, 2006</ref> This constant refinement of methodologies is in response to skeptical analysis of earlier experiments that call for a higher standard of practice in parapsychology because positive results challenge well-established scientific models of the universe.
 
 
 
A substantial portion of parapsychologists feel that over time they have gathered at least a small amount of data from properly controlled experiments, data that they feel can be trusted for a small number of psi phenomena.<ref name="Edinburgh">http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/FAQ.php3#Nonsense ''It's All Nonsense, Isn't It?'' From the website of the Koestler Parapsychology Unit part of the Psychology Department (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences) at the University of Edinburgh, Retrieved December 31, 2006</ref> A smaller group believes that a great deal of evidence has been collected, which, if it addressed more conventional phenomena, would be sufficient to provide proof. Not all parapsychologists agree, however. Some parapsychologists hold that this evidence is not definitive, but suggestive enough to warrant further research.<ref name="Edinburgh"/>
 
 
 
Contemporary parapsychology often looks at the statistical data of experiments for validation of psychic phenomena. Some experiments have tested the possibility of [[Extra-sensory perception|ESP]] by having subjects guess targets such as cards, pictures, or videos. There have also been many [[psychokinesis]] experiments testing the possibility that the mind can influence [[random number generator]]s. Other experiments, such as the [[ganzfeld]] procedure, test for the possibility of [[telepathy]]. In these experiments, a statistical deviation from chance is seen to be evidence of psi, which parapsychologist feel indicates psychic phenomena.
 
 
 
According to parapsychologists such as [[Dean Radin]], who was formerly President of the [[Parapsychological Association]]<ref>http://parapsych.org/history_of_pa_presidents.html History of the PA Presidency Retrieved January 5, 2007</ref>, many of these experiments have had positive results, with subjects scoring significantly above chance. He says that when analyzed using statistics, this significance has often been very high.<ref name="ConsciousUniverse"/>(Radin 1997:84) The odds against chance of many of these statistical outcomes often range from one in thousands to one in trillions, which leads Radin and other parapsychologists to believe that these statistically significant results are in favor of the existence of psi, or some other unknown factor causing the deviation.
 
 
 
Not everyone agrees with this interpretation of parapsychological work. Although generally accepted within the parapsychology community, the statistical evidence for psychic phenomena has received strong opposition from outside sources, notably from the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] ([[CSI]]). Skeptical scholars such as [[Ray Hyman]], who was a founding member of CSI, has said that parapsychology needs to do more theoretical work and produce results which are more easily replicable.<ref name="hymanevaluation">http://www.mceagle.com/remote-viewing/refs/science/air/hyman.html The Journal of Parapsychology, December, 1995, ''Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena'' By Ray Hyman Retrieved January 5, 2007</ref>  He has also said that parapsychology lacks a cumulative database, and that its claims are based on the rejection of the null hypothesis. In other words, these experiments do not detect [[Psi (parapsychology)| psi]] directly.<ref name="hymanevaluation"/> Other scientists, such as noted skeptic James E. Alcock, have questioned the methodology of these experiments and said there is a logical fallacy in assuming that significant departures from the laws of chance are automatically evidence that something paranormal has occurred.<ref name="psiassumption">http://skepdic.com/psiassumption.html The Skeptic's Dictionary, Psi Assumption, Robert Todd Carroll, Retrieved February 27, 2007</ref>
 
 
 
Despite controversy over parapsychological work, new experiments and a refinement of older methodologies continue in the field.
 
 
==Criticism==
 
{{main|Controversy in parapsychology}}
 
 
 
Skeptics of parapsychology often hold that the entire body of evidence to date is of poor quality and not properly controlled; in the views of many skeptics, the entire field of parapsychology has produced no conclusive results whatsoever. They often cite instances of fraud, flawed or potentially flawed studies, a [[Magical thinking|psychological need for mysticism]], or [[cognitive bias]] as ways to explain parapsychological results.
 
 
 
Proponents of parapsychology in turn argue that those who hold these views have not had sufficient contact with the published literature of the field such as that which can be found in the [[Journal of Parapsychology]], the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, the [[Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research]], or in the proceedings of the annual convention of the [[Parapsychological Association]].
 
 
 
===Skeptical view===
 
{{main|The skeptical view of parapsychology}}
 
 
 
Some critics say that the positive results of [[parapsychological]] experiments are probably due to errors such as design flaws, experimenter effects, and sometimes fraud, etc{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. This is partly because error is a simpler explanation of the phenomena of [[psi]] than the hypothesis that psi is real{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. Critics also say that a review of the history of parapsychology reveals that parapsychologists prefer to remain popular rather than reveal malfeasance within their field{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
 
  
It is generally believed that in social psychology people try to maintain their social standing.<ref>''Betrayers of the Truth'' by William J. Broad, Oxford University Press, 1985 </ref> <ref> ''The Psychology of Conviction: A Study of Beliefs and Attitudes'' by [[Joseph Jastrow]], Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918 </ref> <ref> ''Social Psychology'' by Elliot Aaronson, Timothy D. Wilson, and Robin M. Akert, Addison Wesley Longman Inc., 1977, ''Chapter 6 Self Understanding and How We Come to Understand Ourselves''</ref> <ref> ''Psychology'' by Carole Wade & Carol Tavris, Harper Collins, 1990 , ''Chapter 5 Sensation and Preception, Extrasensory Perception: Reality or Illusion'' </ref>
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With the Spiritualist Movement came an influx of purported psychic phenomena. [[Mediumship]] was nearly ubiquitous throughout England, parts of Europe, and the United States, and prominent members of the scientific community began to investigate the validity of such phenomena. The early psychical researchers concerned themselves with studying mediums and other spiritualist claims. The need for a learned, scientific society to study psychic phenomena started to become evident, and in 1882, the [[Society for Psychical Research]] (SPR) was founded in [[London]]. Similar societies were soon set up in most other countries in Europe as well as the American SPR in the United States, founded with the support of [[William James]]. While most of the early SPR research had an anecdotal flavor, where experiments involved testing the abilities of specific mediums and other "gifted individuals" with claimed psychic abilities, there were some [[probability|probabilistic]] experiments involving card guessing and dice throwing. However, it was not until the efforts of [[J. B. Rhine]] and his colleagues in the 1930s that the term "parapsychology" began to replace the term "psychical research," and concerted efforts were made to adopt [[scientific method|scientific methodology]].
  
===Fraud in parapsychology===
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===Parapsychology as scientific inquiry===
{{main|Fraud in parapsychology}}
 
  
Some critics say that the positive results of [[parapsychological]] experiments are probably due to fraud, though they may sometimes be due to design flaws.
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Although parapsychology has its roots in earlier field research, such as the work of Sir [[Oliver Lodge]] in England, the experiments by [[J. B. Rhine]] at Duke University are often thought of as the beginning of parapsychology as a science. Rhine is perhaps best known for his methodology of using card-guessing and dice-rolling experiments in the laboratory in an attempt to find a [[statistics|statistical]] validation of [[extra-sensory perception]].<ref>J. Gordon Melton, ''Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology'' (Gale Research, 1996). ISBN 081035487X </ref> This type of experimental approach has characterized much of contemporary parapsychology. Rhine also popularized the term "extra-sensory perception" (ESP).<ref>Parapsychological Association, [http://parapsych.org/glossary_e_k.html#e Glossary of Parapsychological Terms.] Retrieved May 4, 2007.</ref>
  
=== State of the controversies ===
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The so called "Rhine revolution" attempted to accomplish several things. Not only did Rhine attempt to provide parapsychology with a systematic, "progressive" program of sound experimentation, which would characterize the conditions and extent of psi phenomena rather than merely trying to prove their existence, but he also wanted to give the field of parapsychology academic and scientific legitimacy. Rhine helped form the first long-term [[university]] laboratory devoted to parapsychology in the Duke University Laboratory, and later founded the independent Rhine Research Center. As a result of Rhine's work, much of experimental parapsychology today is geared toward "ordinary people" as subjects rather than a few select mediums or "gifted psychics." Rhine also helped found the ''Journal of Parapsychology'' in 1937, which has remained one of the most respected journals in the field, and the [[Parapsychological Association]] in 1957, an association that was accepted into the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] (AAAS) in 1969.  
Proponents of parapsychology claim that their subject is not controversial because it lacks valid scientific results, but rather because parapsychology touches on areas of profound human ignorance such as in [[physics]] and in the nature of [[consciousness]], and also areas of deep meaning such as [[religion]], [[superstition]], and [[tradition|traditional beliefs]].<ref>http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file3.html FAQ of the
 
Parapsychological Association, Why is parapsychology so controversial?</ref>
 
  
Skeptics and parapsychologists have both noted that parapsychology could be a [[protoscience]], one ahead of its time. However, science historian [[Thomas S. Kuhn]] has stated that scientific revolution resulting in a '[[paradigm shift]]' in our knowledge occurs usually when pressure comes from within orthodox science itself because acknowledged anomalies generate pressure for their reduction or removal<ref>T.S. Kuhn, The structure of scientific revolutions, University of Chicago Press, 1962</ref>. About this, physicist M. A. Rothman has written:
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During the 1970s, a number of other notable parapsychological organizations were formed, including the Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine (1970), the Institute of Parascience (1971), the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research, the Institute for Noetic Sciences (1973), and the International Kirlian Research Association (1975). Each of these groups performed experiments on paranormal subjects to varying degrees. Parapsychological work was also conducted at the [[Stanford University|Stanford Research Institute]] during this time.
  
{{quotation|"The major difficulty with the notion that parapsychology is going to produce a paradigm revolution in physics is the fact that most physicists are ''not'' unhappy with basic laws." <ref>M. A. Rothman, The new perpetual motion, ''The Humanist'', XXXVIII(4), p.42-45</ref>}}
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With the increase in parapsychological investigation, there came an increase in organized opposition to both the findings of parapsychologists and to granting of any formal recognition of the field. Criticisms of the field were focused in the founding of the [[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] (CSICOP) in 1976, now called the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] (CSI), and its periodical, ''Skeptical Inquirer''. CSI continues to review parapsychological work and raise objections where it is felt necessary.
 
Parapsychologists claim that their findings to date are significant and are generating pressure for change, but they argue that the real importance of this pressure is not being acknowledged within mainstream science because of scientific dogmatism.
 
  
Some skeptics have accused scientists involved in parapsychology of being [[fraud]]s and [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientists]] who [[bias]] their results to fulfill their emotional needs.<ref name="ConsciousUniverse"/>
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==Experimental research and methodology==
  
{{quotation|There are at least half a dozen peer-reviewed journals of parapsychology. However, research in this area has been characterized by deception, fraud, and incompetence in setting up properly controlled experiments and evaluating statistical data (Alcock 1990; Gardner 1981; Gordon 1987; Hansel 1989; Hines 1990; Hyman 1989; Park 2000; Randi 1982)."<ref>http://skepdic.com/parapsy.html Skeptics Dictionary on Parapsychology</ref>}}
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Some of the first studies in what would be later termed ESP were conducted by [[William Barrett]] in 1881, shortly before he assisted in the founding of the Society for Psychical Research. Barrett investigated the case of the five Creery sisters, who were between the ages of ten and seventeen and could apparently use [[telepathy]] to psychically identify an object that had been selected in their absence. After sending one sister out of the room, Barrett would write the name of an object on a piece of paper, which he would then show to the remaining sisters. The first girl was then called back in, and usually correctly guessed the name of the object. Later, a second set of experiments was done involving playing cards. It was not until after the investigators had published their results that it was discovered that the girls had used a number of signals, including slight head movements and coughing, to tell their sister what to guess, thereby nullifying the results of the experiments.<ref>Harry Price, [http://www.psychicsoul.org/articles.php?action=show&id=378&perpage=1&pagenum=1 The Story of ESP.] Retrieved April 26, 2007.</ref>
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[[Image:Cartas Zener.svg|thumb|250px|right|'''Zener cards''']]
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In the 1920s, investigator G. N. M. Tyrrell created automated devices to randomize target selection, and others experimented with drawings or [[token objects]]. The most well-known results, however, were not until the 1930s, when Rhine began his series of experiments. To test ESP, Rhine would use decks of [[Zener cards]], consisting of five different designs. In some experiments, cards were laid face down for the subject to guess, to test [[clairvoyance]]; in others, the researcher would hold the card so only he could see it, to test telepathy. Because of the laws of chance, it would be expected that participants would be able to guess one out of five symbols correctly, but Rhine found that subjects often exceeded these expectations, even if it was only by a small percentage.
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[[Image:Ganzfeld.jpg|frame|left|Participant in a [[Ganzfeld|Ganzfeld Experiment]] which proponents say may show evidence of [[telepathy]].]]
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In the 1970s, parapsychologists began using [[ganzfeld tests]] to test for ESP ability. Ganzfeld tests attempt to test for telepathy by separating two individuals into isolated rooms, where one attempts to send a telepathic image to the other. The sender of the message is generally shown either a still image or a short video clip, which they then attempt to send to the receiver. The receiver sits in a comfortable reclining chair under a red light, wearing headphones that play [[white noise]] or [[pink noise]], and with their eyes covered with halves of [[ping pong balls]]. These conditions help the receiver enter what is termed the "ganzfeld state," a trance-like state similar to being in a [[sensory deprivation]] chamber. After the sender has attempted to send the image for a set amount of time (generally 20 to 40 minutes), the receiver is asked to choose the correct image out of a group of four images. Parapsychologists collected the results of approximately 700 individual ganzfeld sessions performed by about two dozen investigators, and claimed the correct image was selected 34 percent of the time.<ref>Dean Radin, [http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~sai/FAQpara2.htm#9.3 Parapsychology FAQ: Part 2.] Retrieved April 26, 2007.</ref> This increase above the 25 percent that would be expected from chance alone has been cited as proof of the existence of telepathy, although critics point out numerous ways in which ganzfeld experiments may be flawed.
  
Proponents of parapsychology have responded that the skeptics are promoting "[[scientism]]"<ref>http://www.enlightenment.com/media/interviews/tartall/tart.html#Anchorpsi An Enlightenment Interview with Professor Charles T. Tart</ref> rather than real science by acting as if results which contradict established knowledge cannot be real. Even [[Marcello Truzzi]], a founder of the Society for Scientific Exploration,<ref>http://www.scientificexploration.org/founding-members.html</ref> director for the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research and founding co-chairman of the skeptical organization [[Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal]] (now the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry<ref>http://www.csicop.org/about/csi.html</ref>), said that
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Researchers have found that ESP abilities are apparently heightened under [[hypnosis]]. The results of experiments have been found to be consistently higher when subjects are put into trance than when they retain normal consciousness. Since hypnosis typically involves relaxation and suggestion in an atmosphere of friendliness and trust, it is thought that perhaps one of these factors, or a combination thereof, may be responsible for heightened psi scores.<ref>Jeffrey Mishlove,  [http://www.williamjames.com/Science/ESP.htm Extrasensory Perception (ESP).] Retrieved April 26, 2007.</ref>
  
{{quotation|A characteristic of many scoffers is their pejorative characterization of proponents as "promoters" and sometimes even the most protoscientific anomaly claimants are labelled as "pseudoscientists" or practitioners of "pathological science." In their most extreme form., scoffers represent a form of quasi-religious Scientism that treats minority or deviant viewpoints in science as heresies ([[Marcello Truzzi|Truzzi]], 1996).<ref>http://skepticalinvestigations.org/anomalistics/perspective.htm Anomalistics ''The Perspective of Anomalistics''  By [[Marcello Truzzi]]</ref>}}
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The absence of psi ability is also sometimes considered significant. Researchers employ the term "[[psi-missing]]" to denote situations where the subject consistently scores below what would be expected by chance. According to experimental results, believers in psi tend to score higher, whereas skeptics often score significantly below chance. This phenomenon, referred to as the "Sheep-goat effect" (where believers are "sheep" and non-believers are "goats"), has been observed by many researchers. This phenomenon lends itself to the idea that one's [[attitude]]s may affect one's reality; disbelievers may create a void of psi experiences, while believers experience the opposite.<ref>Mario Varvoglis, [http://www.parapsych.org/sheep_goat_effect.htm The Sheep-Goat Effect.] Retrieved April 26, 2007.</ref>
  
Truzzi also stated that
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Computers are often used in testing for abilities like [[psychokinesis]], where subjects attempt to influence the output of [[random number generator]]s. Computers can help rule out a number of possible corruptions of methodology that can occur with human administration of tests. Despite controversy over parapsychological work, new experiments and a refinement of older methodologies continue in the field.
  
{{quotation|Over the years, I have decried the misuse of the term "skeptic" when used to refer to all critics of anomaly claims.[...]Since "skepticism" properly refers to doubt rather than denial—nonbelief rather than [dis]belief—critics who take the negative rather than an agnostic position but still call themselves "skeptics" are actually pseudo-skeptics and have, I believed, gained a false advantage by usurping that label.  In science, the burden of proof falls upon the claimant; and the more extraordinary a claim, the heavier is the burden of proof demanded. The true skeptic takes an agnostic position, one that says the claim is not proved rather than disproved.[...]Critics who assert negative claims, but who mistakenly call themselves "skeptics," often act as though they have no burden of proof placed on them at all, though such a stance would be appropriate only for the agnostic or true skeptic.[...]Thus, if a subject in a psi experiment can be shown to have had an opportunity to cheat, many critics seem to assume not merely that he probably did cheat, but that he must have, regardless of what may be the complete absence of evidence that he did so cheat and sometimes even ignoring evidence of the subject's past reputation for honesty. Similarly, improper randomization procedures are sometimes assumed to be the cause of a subject's high psi scores even though all that has been established is the possibility of such an artifact having been the real cause.[...]Evidence in science is always a matter of degree and is seldom if ever absolutely conclusive.<ref>''On Pseudo-Skepticism A Commentary by Marcello Truzzi'' by Marcello Truzzi in the ''Zetetic Scholar'', #12-13, 1987</ref><ref>http://www.anomalist.com/commentaries/pseudo.html ''On Pseudo-Skepticism A Commentary by Marcello Truzzi'' Read the article here</ref>(''On Pseudo-Skepticism'' by Marcello Truzzi)}}
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==Criticism and debate==
  
Skeptics have responded to criticism by saying, in the words of [[Carl Sagan]], that "…extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence".<ref>http://www.angelfire.com/ok/TheDeepSkies/SaganQuotes.html Carl Sagan Quotes</ref> Parapsychologists riposte that they have attained levels of proof which are more than sufficient to prove their results in any other field of science.<ref name="ConsciousUniverse"/>
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Many professional scientists study parapsychological phenomena. It is an interdisciplinary field, attracting [[psychologists]], [[physics|physicists]], [[engineering|engineer]]s, and [[biology|biologists]], as well as those from other sciences. Despite this, parapsychology is often accused of being [[pseudoscience]]. Skeptical scholars like [[Raymond Hyman]] and [[James E. Alcock]] have pointed out several problems with viewing parapsychology as a true science.  
  
Another factor which makes parapsychology highly controversial is that there is no theory which can account for parapsychological results.<ref>http://www.goertzel.org/dynapsyc/1996/subtle.html  ''Subtle Connections: Psi, Grof, Jung, and the Quantum Vacuum''  By [[Ervin Laszlo]]</ref><ref name="ConsciousUniverse"/>  [[Psi (parapsychology)|Psi]] seems to be able to establish informational links both to the past and the future.  Its effects do not seem to drop off according to the [[inverse square law]], as with other physical forces.  And information gathered using psi does not seem to require [[energy]] to facilitate its transfer. Also, there may not be any limit on the complexity of information gained by psi.<ref>http://jeksite.org/psi/jp01.pdf J. E. Kennedy in ''The Journal of Parapsychology'', Vol. 65, September 2001 (pp. 219-246)</ref>
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One of the most glaring problems facing parapsychologists is the fact that few psi experiments can be replicated. Parapsychologists argue that psi phenomena are indeed real, but do not lend themselves to experimental replication. Hyman also points out that, unlike every other branch of science, parapsychology has a shifting, rather than cumulative, database. Historical experiments and results are often discarded and found not to be valid. Some, like the case of the telepathic [[Creery sisters]], were proven to be [[fraud]], while others are considered to have had flawed methodology. Unlike other sciences, parapsychology relies heavily on "statistical inference" to prove its case. In other sciences, slight deviations from chance that follow no set pattern or rules and cannot be reliably replicated are usually abandoned.<ref>Ray Hyman, [http://www.mceagle.com/remote-viewing/refs/science/air/hyman.html Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena.] Retrieved May 7, 2007</ref>  
  
Parapsychology is also disturbing to those who believe that to admit that psi exists would encourage, [[superstition]], and psychic frauds, as these are based either on manifestations of psi, or on reports which are hard to distinguish from it.  Skeptics wonder if this would undermine the foundations of science and reason. {{Fact|date=March 2007}}
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Noted skeptic James E. Alcock also questioned the significance of such deviations from chance, suggesting that there is a logical fallacy in assuming that significant departures from the laws of chance are automatically evidence that something paranormal has occurred.<ref>Robert Todd Carroll, [http://skepdic.com/psiassumption.html Psi Assumption.] Retrieved May 7, 2007</ref>
  
There have been a huge number of parapsychological experiments performed under controlled laboratory conditions, according to [[Dean Radin]] Ph.D, Senior Scientist at the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]],<ref>http://www.noetic.org/research/faculty.cfm The institute's research and education faculty, Retrieved January 5, 2007</ref> in Petaluma, California, and former President of the [[Parapsychological Association]]<ref>http://parapsych.org/history_of_pa_presidents.html History of the PA Presidency Retrieved January 5, 2007</ref>,
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Proponents of parapsychology counter these arguments suggesting that several branches of science are based on the observation of unexplainable anomalies, including [[quantum mechanics]]. Utts has argued that parapsychology does, in fact, build upon previous experiments, learning from them and using that knowledge to design better experiments. Additionally, the statistical nature of psi experiments is more similar to the connection of [[cigarette]] smoking to [[lung]] [[cancer]]; a result that would also be impossible to "replicate" in an individual experiment.<ref>Jessica Utts, [http://anson.ucdavis.edu/~utts/response.html Response to Ray Hyman's Report.] Retrieved May 7, 2007.</ref>
  
{{quotation|In 1993, the parapsychologist Charles Honorton, from the University of Edinburgh, considered what skeptics of psi experiments used to claim, and what they no longer claimed. He demonstrated that virtually all the skeptical arguments used to explain away psi over the years had been resolved through new experimental designs. This does not mean the experiments conducted today are “perfect,” because there is nothing perfect in the empirical sciences. But it does mean that the methods available today satisfy the most rigorous skeptical requirements for providing “exceptional evidence.” As we’ve seen, such experiments have been conducted, with successful results.<ref name="ConsciousUniverse"/>(Radin 1997:208-209)}}
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==Parapsychological journals and research centers==
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There exist numerous journals and research centers whose aim is to further developments in the field of parapsychology. Among the peer-reviewed journals dealing with parapsychology are the ''The Journal of Parapsychology,'' the ''Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research,'' the ''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research,'' the ''European Journal of Parapsychology,'' the ''International Journal of Parapsychology,'' and the ''Journal of Scientific Exploration.''
  
Many of these experiments have been done with the aid of skeptics of parapsychology, and also with the aid of professional [[Magic|conjurors]], in order to eliminate as much as possible all controversies concerning the [[Scientific method|analysis]] of the data gathered, and to prevent fraud on the part of the subjects. Dean Radin quotes parapsychologist George Hansen as saying that
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There are also numerous research centers, both [[Parapsychology#Independent research organizations|independent]] and affiliated with [[Parapsychology#University research organizations|universities]] worldwide.<ref>Koestler Parapsychology Unit, [http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~info/ResearchCentres.php3 Research Centres.] Retrieved May 8, 2007.</ref>
 
 
{{quotation|Although the public tends to view magicians as debunkers, the opposite is more the case. Birdsell (1989) polled a group of magicians and found that 82 percent gave a positive response to a question of belief in ESP. Truzzi (1983) noted a poll of German magicians that found that 72.3 percent thought psi was probably real. Many prominent magicians have expressed a belief in psychic phenomena. …. It is simply a myth that magicians have been predominantly skeptical about the existence of psi.<ref name="ConsciousUniverse"/>(Radin 1997:207)}}
 
 
 
Concerning a series of computer-controlled [[ganzfeld]] experiments done by the parapsychologist Charles Honorton in the 1980s, magician Ford Kross, an officer of the Psychic Entertainers Association wrote that
 
 
 
{{quotation|In my professional capicity as a mentalist, I have reviewed Psychophysical Research Laboratories' automated ganzfeld system and found it to provide excellent security against deception by subjects.<ref>http://www.metapsychique.org/Does-Psi-Exist-Replicable-Evidence.html Bem, D.J., and C. Honorton. 1994.  ''Does psi exist?  Replicable evidence for an anomalous process of information transfer.'' Psychological Bulletin 115:4-18</ref><ref name="ConsciousUniverse"/>(Radin 1997:86)}}
 
 
 
Another major reason that psi has remained controversial is that parapsychologists have sometimes been fooled by hoaxes. Some parapsychological studies have been badly designed, in such a way as to permit fraud.  In the case of [[Project Alpha]], magician James Randi planted magicians as subjects of a parapsychological experiment, and they were able to fool the researchers over a prolonged period. Such methodological failures have been cited by skeptics as evidence of the probability that most if not all parapsychological results derive from error or fraud.<ref>http://www.banachek.org/nonflash/project_alpha.htm Project Alpha, The Skeptical Inquirer Summer 1983 ''The Project Alpha Experiment: Part one. The First Two Years'' by James Randi</ref>
 
 
 
Andrew Greeley, a Catholic priest and a sociologist from the [[University of Arizona]], studied surveys on belief in ESP from 1978 through 1987, and he also studied the mental health of believers in ESP.  The surveys he studied showed that from 1978 through 1987, the number of American adults who reported psychic experiences rose from 58% to 67% (clairvoyance and contacts with the dead were reported by 25% of his respondents).  According to Greeley, the elderly, women, widows and widowers, and the conventionally religious report a higher incidence of such experiences. He also tested the psychological well-being of people reporting mystical experiences with the "Affect Balance Scale" and found that people reporting mystical experiences received top scores.  Greeley summarized his findings by writing:
 
 
 
{{quotation|People who've tasted the paranormal, whether they accept it intellectually or not, are anything but religious nuts or psychiatric cases. They are, for the most part, ordinary Americans, somewhat above the norm in education and intelligence and somewhat less than average in religious involvement.<ref>http://www.skepticalinvestigations.org/guide/field_guide.htm</ref>}}
 
 
 
A few parapsychologists are [[scientific skepticism|skeptics]], for example [[Chris French]] and his colleagues at the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at [[Goldsmiths College|Goldsmiths College in London]], and [[Richard Wiseman]] and his colleagues at the Perrott-Warrick Research Unit in the [[Psychology]] Department of the [[University of Hertfordshire]], both of which units include individuals who are members of the Parapsychological Association. These researchers do not approach the field with a belief in the paranormal, but are rather interested in the purely psychological aspects of those who report paranormal experiences, along with the study of the psychology of deception, hallucination, etc. These researchers also have provided their own guidelines and input to other parapsychologists for the design of experiments and how to properly test those who claim psychic abilities. While some of these guidelines have been useful, many have suffered from a naive understanding of scientific practice in general and in parapsychology in particular, from a distorted view of the methodology actually in use in the field, and the unfortunate habit of some skeptics of making sweeping statements about the applicability of counter-hypotheses to lines of research without actually investigating the appropriateness of those counter-hypotheses to the details at hand. (See, for example a mostly-positive review of one of these guidelines written by skeptics[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2320/is_3_63/ai_60054226].)
 
 
 
 
 
== Notes ==
 
{{citation style}}
 
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
 
<references />
 
</div>
 
 
 
 
 
==Bibliography==
 
* ''Parapsychology: Science or Magic?'' by James E. Alcock, Pergamon Press, 1981 ISBN 0-08-025773-9
 
* ''Parapsychology'', by Rene Sudre, Citadel Press, NY, 1960, Library of Congress Catalog 60-13928.
 
* ''Parapsychology'', by [[Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi]], Al-Kitaab Publication, 1985.
 
* ''The Conscious Universe'', by [[Dean Radin]], Harper Collins, 1997, ISBN 0-06-251502-0.
 
* ''Entangled Minds'' by [[Dean Radin]], Simon & Schuster, Paraview Pocket Books, 2006
 
* ''Parapsychology: A Concise History'', by [[John Beloff]], St. Martin's Press, 1993, ISBN 0-312-09611-9.
 
* ''Parapsychology: The Controversial Science'', by [[Richard S. Broughton]], Ballantine Books, 1991, ISBN 0-345-35638-1.
 
* ''Our Sixth Sense'', by [[Charles Robert Richet]], Rider & Co., 1937, First English Edition
 
*  ''The Elusive Quarry: A Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research'', by [[Ray Hyman]], Prometheus Books, 1989,  ISBN 0-87975-504-0.
 
* ''Readings in the Philosophical Problems of Parapsychology'', ed. [[Antony Flew]], Prometheus Books, 1987, ISBN 0-87975-385-4
 
* ''The First Psychic: The Peculiar Mystery of a Victorian Wizard'', by Peter Lamont, Little, Brown, UK, 2005 ([[Daniel Dunglas Home]] biography)
 
* ''Sixty Years of Psychical Research : Houdini and I Among the Spirits'', by Joseph Rinn, Truth Seeker, 1950
 
*''The Newer Spiritualism'', by [[Frank Podmore]], Arno Press, 1975, reprint of 1910 edition
 
*''Revelations of a Spirit Medium'' by [[Harry Price]] and Eric J. Dingwall, Arno Press, 1975, reprint of 1891 edition by Charles F. Pigeon. This rare, overlooked, forgotten book gives the "insider's knowledge" of 19th century deceptions.
 
*''Mediums of the 19th Century Volume Two, Book Four, Chapter One, Some Foreign Investigations'' by Frank Podmore, University Book, 1963, reprint of ''Modern Spiriritualism'', 1902
 
*''Occult and Supernatural Phenomena'' by D. H. Rawcliffe, Dover Publications, reprint of ''Psychology of the Occult'',  Derricke Ridgway Publishing co., 1952
 
*''The Paranormal: The Evidence and its Implications for Concsciousness'' by Jessica Utts and Brian Josephson'', 1996 [http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~bdj10/psi/tucson.psi]
 
*[[Milbourne Christopher]], ''ESP, Seers & Psychics : What the Occult Really Is'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1970, ISBN 0-690-26815-7
 
*Milbourne Christopher, ''Mediums, Mystics & the Occult'' by  Thomas Y. Crowell Co, 1975
 
*Milbourne Christopher, ''Search for the Soul'', Thomas Y. Crowell Publishers, 1979
 
*[[Georges Charpak]], Henri Broch, and Bart K. Holland (tr), ''Debunked! ESP, Telekinesis, and Other Pseudoscience'', (Johns Hopkins University). 2004, ISBN 0-8018-7867-5
 
*Hoyt L. Edge, Robert L. Morris, Joseph H. Rush, John Palmer, ''Foundations of Parapsychology: Exploring the Boundaries of Human Capability'', Routledge Kegan Paul, 1986, ISBN 0710202261
 
*Paul Kurtz, ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology'', Prometheus Books, 1985, ISBN 0-87975-300-5
 
*Carl Edwin Lindgren. (1974, January). Exploring Secrets of the Mind. Mississippi Educational Advance, 15-16.
 
*Carl Edwin Lindgren. (1977, March). The ESP Commection. The Educational Review. Madras, India, pp. 46-48
 
*Carl Edwin Lindgren. (1990, December). The Future of Parapsychology. ''Fate'', pp. 60-64.
 
*Jeffrey Mishlove, ''Roots of Consciousness: Psychic Liberation Through History Science and Experience''. 1st edition, 1975, ISBN 0-394-73115-8, 2nd edition, Marlowe & Co., July 1997, ISBN 1-56924-747-1  There are two very different editions. [http://www.williamjames.com/Intro/CONTENTS.htm online]
 
*[[D. Scott Rogo]], ''Miracles: A Parascientific Inquiry into Wondrous Phenomena,'' New York, Dial Press, 1982.
 
*John White, ed. ''Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science'', published by [[Edgar D. Mitchell]] and G. P. Putman,  1974, ISBN 0399113428
 
*[[Richard Wiseman]],  ''Deception and self-deception: Investigating Psychics''. Amherst, USA: Prometheus Press. 1997
 
*Benjamin B. Wolman, ed, ''Handbook of Parapsychology'', Van Nostrand Reinhold,  1977, ISBN 0-442-29576-6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==External links==
 
*Deborah Blum, ''Ghost Hunters: [[William James]] and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life  after Death'', Penguin , 2006, ISBN 1-59420-090-4
 
*Mary Roach, ''Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife'', Norton 2005, ISBN 0393059626
 
  
 
===Independent research organizations===
 
===Independent research organizations===
* [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]] (IONS) was founded in 1973 by [[astronaut]] [[Edgar Mitchell]] to explore the frontiers of [[consciousness]] through rigorous scientific research.
+
* [http://www.noetic.org/ Institute of Noetic Sciences] (IONS) was founded in 1973 by [[astronaut]] [[Edgar Mitchell]] to explore the frontiers of [[consciousness]] through rigorous scientific research.
 
* [http://www.spr.ac.uk/ Society for Psychical Research] (SPR). The original scientific society founded in London in 1882.
 
* [http://www.spr.ac.uk/ Society for Psychical Research] (SPR). The original scientific society founded in London in 1882.
 
* [http://www.aspr.com/index.html American Society for Psychical Research] (ASPR), the oldest psychical research organization in the United States.
 
* [http://www.aspr.com/index.html American Society for Psychical Research] (ASPR), the oldest psychical research organization in the United States.
 
* [http://www.rhine.org/ Rhine Research Center and Institute for Parapsychology], originally part of [[Duke University]], now an independent research center.   
 
* [http://www.rhine.org/ Rhine Research Center and Institute for Parapsychology], originally part of [[Duke University]], now an independent research center.   
 
* [http://www.parapsychology.org Parapsychology Foundation], a not-for-profit foundation which provides a worldwide forum supporting the scientific investigation of psychic phenomena.
 
* [http://www.parapsychology.org Parapsychology Foundation], a not-for-profit foundation which provides a worldwide forum supporting the scientific investigation of psychic phenomena.
* [http://www.parapsych.org/ Parapsychological Association] This organisation has been a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for over 20 years.
+
* [http://www.parapsych.org/ Parapsychological Association,] This organization has been a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for over 20 years.
 
*[http://www.iacworld.org International Academy of Consciousness]
 
*[http://www.iacworld.org International Academy of Consciousness]
*[http://www.aiprinc.org Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research], a non-profit community association. Based in Sydney but with an Australia-wide membership base, it was established in 1977 and publishes the ''Australian Journal of Parapsychology''.
+
*[http://www.aiprinc.org Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research], a non-profit community association. Based in Sydney but with an Australia-wide membership base, it was established in 1977, and publishes the ''Australian Journal of Parapsychology''.
  
 
===University research organizations===
 
===University research organizations===
 
 
* [http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/ Koestler Parapsychology Unit] at the [[University of Edinburgh]].
 
* [http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/ Koestler Parapsychology Unit] at the [[University of Edinburgh]].
 
* [http://www.hope.ac.uk/research/parapsychology/ Parapsychology Research Group] at [[Liverpool Hope University]].
 
* [http://www.hope.ac.uk/research/parapsychology/ Parapsychology Research Group] at [[Liverpool Hope University]].
Line 287: Line 84:
 
* [http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/psychology/80007.htm/ Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology Research Unit] of Liverpool John Moores University.
 
* [http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/psychology/80007.htm/ Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology Research Unit] of Liverpool John Moores University.
 
* [http://www2.northampton.ac.uk/portal/page?_pageid=473,2921704&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Center for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes] at the University of Northampton.
 
* [http://www2.northampton.ac.uk/portal/page?_pageid=473,2921704&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL Center for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes] at the University of Northampton.
* [http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/ Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research] (PEAR) at [[Princeton University]].
+
* Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) at [[Princeton University]].
 
* [http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/personalitystudies/ Division of Perceptual Studies] (DOPS), a unit of the Department of Psychiatric Medicine at the University of Virginia.
 
* [http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/personalitystudies/ Division of Perceptual Studies] (DOPS), a unit of the Department of Psychiatric Medicine at the University of Virginia.
* Bigelow Chair of Consciousness Studies at the [[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]] (UNLV).
 
 
* [http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru/ Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit] at Goldsmiths University of London.
 
* [http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru/ Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit] at Goldsmiths University of London.
* [http://phoenix.herts.ac.uk/pwru/hmpage.html Perrott-Warrick Research Unit] in the Psychology Department of the University of Hertfordshire.
 
  
===Other links===
+
== Notes ==
* [http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file1.html Parapsychology FAQ]
+
<references/>
* [http://skepdic.com/parapsy.html Entry on parapsychology in the Skeptic's Dictionary]
 
* The online [http://www.lexscien.org/ Library of Exploratory Science] contains the complete text of many of the major peer reviewed journals in parapsychology and psychical research.
 
  
 +
==Bibliography==
  
 +
*Alcock, James E. 1981. ''Parapsychology: Science or Magic?'' Pergamon Press. ISBN 0-08-025773-9
 +
*Beloff, John. 1993. ''Parapsychology: A Concise History''. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-09611-9
 +
*Blum, Deborah. 2006. ''Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life after Death''. Penguin. ISBN 1-59420-090-4
 +
*Broughton, Richard S. 1991. ''Parapsychology: The Controversial Science''. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-35638-1
 +
*Charpak, Georges, Henri Broch, and Bart K. Holland. 2004. ''Debunked! ESP, Telekinesis, and Other Pseudoscience''. Johns Hopkins University. ISBN 0-8018-7867-5
 +
*Edge, Hoyt L., Robert L. Morris, Joseph H. Rush, and John Palmer. 1986. ''Foundations of Parapsychology: Exploring the Boundaries of Human Capability''. Routledge Kegan Paul. ISBN 0710202261
 +
*Flew, Antony (ed). 1987. ''Readings in the Philosophical Problems of Parapsychology''. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-385-4
 +
*Hyman, Ray. 1989. ''The Elusive Quarry: A Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research''. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-504-0
 +
*Kurtz, Paul. 1985. ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology''. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-300-5
 +
*Milbourne, Christopher. 1970. ''ESP, Seers & Psychics: What the Occult Really Is''. Thomas Y. Crowell Co. ISBN 0-690-26815-7
 +
*Mishlove, Jeffrey. [1975] 1997. [http://www.williamjames.com/Intro/CONTENTS.htm ''Roots of Consciousness: Psychic Liberation Through History Science and Experience'']. Marlowe & Co. ISBN 0-394-73115-8
 +
*Radin, Dean. 1997. ''The Conscious Universe''. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-251502-0
 +
*Radin, Dean. 2006. ''Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality''. Paraview Pocket Books. ISBN 1416516778
 +
*Roach, Mary. 2005. ''Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife''. Norton 2005. ISBN 0393059626
 +
*Sudre, Rene. 1960. ''Parapsychology''. New York: Citadel Press.
 +
*White, John, ed. 1974. ''Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science''. Edgar D. Mitchell and G. P. Putman. ISBN 0399113428
 +
*Wolman, Benjamin B., ed. 1977. ''Handbook of Parapsychology''. Van Nostrand Reinhold. ISBN 0-442-29576-6
  
 +
==External links==
 +
All links retrieved November 18, 2022.
 +
 +
* [http://skepdic.com/parapsy.html Entry on parapsychology in the Skeptic's Dictionary]
  
 
{{Credits|Parapsychology|115864861|History_of_parapsychology|112710988|}}
 
{{Credits|Parapsychology|115864861|History_of_parapsychology|112710988|}}

Latest revision as of 11:26, 11 March 2023


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The term parapsychology refers to the scientific study of certain paranormal phenomena, referred to as "Psi" phenomena. The scientific reality of parapsychological phenomena and the validity of scientific parapsychological research is a matter of frequent dispute and criticism. The field is regarded by some critics as a pseudoscience. Parapsychologists, in turn, say that parapsychological research is scientifically rigorous. Despite the controversy, a number of organizations and academic programs have been created to conduct research into the existence, nature, and frequency of occurrence of such phenomena. Thus, while the explanation of such phenomena still eludes scientific understanding, the possibility that human beings may have senses beyond the known physical senses that allow communication of information is recognized as worthy of study.

Scope

The term parapsychology refers to the scientific study of certain paranormal phenomena. Coined in German by psychologist Max Dessoir in 1889, the term was adopted into English by researcher J. B. Rhine, and has largely superseded the older expression, "psychical research." In contemporary research, the term "parapsychology" refers to the study of Psi, a blanket term used by parapsychologists to denote paranormal processes or causation.[1]

The types of anomalies studied by parapsychology fall into three main categories:

  • Physical Phenomena: This category includes unusual physical occurrences, such as psychokinesis (often referred to as telekinesis), poltergeists, materializations, and bio-PK (direct mental interactions with living systems). These types of phenomena involve the mind influencing its physical surroundings as well as physical manifestations from unknown sources.
  • Survival Phenomena: Survival phenomena deal with the survival of consciousness after physical death. Included in this category are ghosts, out-of-body experiences (OBEs) (also known as astral projections), reincarnation, and near-death experiences (NDEs).

While these three categories are common, individual organizations may have their own standards for determining the scope of parapsychology. Additionally, subjects may fall into different categories for different researchers. For example, some parapsychologists believe that ghosts are evidence of the survival of consciousness, but others believe them to be psychic impressions left by living people. There are also a number of paranormal topics that are considered by most to be out of the scope of parapsychology, such as Bigfoot and other legendary creatures, which fall within the purview of cryptozoology.

History

Early psychical research

Parapsychology has a rich history dating back to at least the 1800s in both the United Kingdom and the United States. While psi phenomena were certainly observed throughout most of human history, it was not until during the Spiritualist Movement of the mid-nineteenth century that researchers first began to take an significant interest in psychic phenomena.

Before the Spiritualist Movement, there had been some investigation into psi phenomena by the followers of Franz Anton Mesmer, who believed that forces he termed "animal magnetism" could be manipulated to heal illness. In the 1780s, one of Mesmer's followers, the Marquis de Puységur, discovered a state he termed "experimental somnambulism" (later termed "hypnosis") in those that he had attempted to "magnetize." While in this state, patients demonstrated telepathic abilities, vision with the fingertips, and clairvoyance.[2] It should be noted that the early magnetists believed that the telepathy and clairvoyance demonstrated by the entranced subjects had a physiological cause, and were not paranormal in nature.[3]

With the Spiritualist Movement came an influx of purported psychic phenomena. Mediumship was nearly ubiquitous throughout England, parts of Europe, and the United States, and prominent members of the scientific community began to investigate the validity of such phenomena. The early psychical researchers concerned themselves with studying mediums and other spiritualist claims. The need for a learned, scientific society to study psychic phenomena started to become evident, and in 1882, the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) was founded in London. Similar societies were soon set up in most other countries in Europe as well as the American SPR in the United States, founded with the support of William James. While most of the early SPR research had an anecdotal flavor, where experiments involved testing the abilities of specific mediums and other "gifted individuals" with claimed psychic abilities, there were some probabilistic experiments involving card guessing and dice throwing. However, it was not until the efforts of J. B. Rhine and his colleagues in the 1930s that the term "parapsychology" began to replace the term "psychical research," and concerted efforts were made to adopt scientific methodology.

Parapsychology as scientific inquiry

Although parapsychology has its roots in earlier field research, such as the work of Sir Oliver Lodge in England, the experiments by J. B. Rhine at Duke University are often thought of as the beginning of parapsychology as a science. Rhine is perhaps best known for his methodology of using card-guessing and dice-rolling experiments in the laboratory in an attempt to find a statistical validation of extra-sensory perception.[4] This type of experimental approach has characterized much of contemporary parapsychology. Rhine also popularized the term "extra-sensory perception" (ESP).[5]

The so called "Rhine revolution" attempted to accomplish several things. Not only did Rhine attempt to provide parapsychology with a systematic, "progressive" program of sound experimentation, which would characterize the conditions and extent of psi phenomena rather than merely trying to prove their existence, but he also wanted to give the field of parapsychology academic and scientific legitimacy. Rhine helped form the first long-term university laboratory devoted to parapsychology in the Duke University Laboratory, and later founded the independent Rhine Research Center. As a result of Rhine's work, much of experimental parapsychology today is geared toward "ordinary people" as subjects rather than a few select mediums or "gifted psychics." Rhine also helped found the Journal of Parapsychology in 1937, which has remained one of the most respected journals in the field, and the Parapsychological Association in 1957, an association that was accepted into the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 1969.

During the 1970s, a number of other notable parapsychological organizations were formed, including the Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine (1970), the Institute of Parascience (1971), the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research, the Institute for Noetic Sciences (1973), and the International Kirlian Research Association (1975). Each of these groups performed experiments on paranormal subjects to varying degrees. Parapsychological work was also conducted at the Stanford Research Institute during this time.

With the increase in parapsychological investigation, there came an increase in organized opposition to both the findings of parapsychologists and to granting of any formal recognition of the field. Criticisms of the field were focused in the founding of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) in 1976, now called the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and its periodical, Skeptical Inquirer. CSI continues to review parapsychological work and raise objections where it is felt necessary.

Experimental research and methodology

Some of the first studies in what would be later termed ESP were conducted by William Barrett in 1881, shortly before he assisted in the founding of the Society for Psychical Research. Barrett investigated the case of the five Creery sisters, who were between the ages of ten and seventeen and could apparently use telepathy to psychically identify an object that had been selected in their absence. After sending one sister out of the room, Barrett would write the name of an object on a piece of paper, which he would then show to the remaining sisters. The first girl was then called back in, and usually correctly guessed the name of the object. Later, a second set of experiments was done involving playing cards. It was not until after the investigators had published their results that it was discovered that the girls had used a number of signals, including slight head movements and coughing, to tell their sister what to guess, thereby nullifying the results of the experiments.[6]

Zener cards

In the 1920s, investigator G. N. M. Tyrrell created automated devices to randomize target selection, and others experimented with drawings or token objects. The most well-known results, however, were not until the 1930s, when Rhine began his series of experiments. To test ESP, Rhine would use decks of Zener cards, consisting of five different designs. In some experiments, cards were laid face down for the subject to guess, to test clairvoyance; in others, the researcher would hold the card so only he could see it, to test telepathy. Because of the laws of chance, it would be expected that participants would be able to guess one out of five symbols correctly, but Rhine found that subjects often exceeded these expectations, even if it was only by a small percentage.

Participant in a Ganzfeld Experiment which proponents say may show evidence of telepathy.

In the 1970s, parapsychologists began using ganzfeld tests to test for ESP ability. Ganzfeld tests attempt to test for telepathy by separating two individuals into isolated rooms, where one attempts to send a telepathic image to the other. The sender of the message is generally shown either a still image or a short video clip, which they then attempt to send to the receiver. The receiver sits in a comfortable reclining chair under a red light, wearing headphones that play white noise or pink noise, and with their eyes covered with halves of ping pong balls. These conditions help the receiver enter what is termed the "ganzfeld state," a trance-like state similar to being in a sensory deprivation chamber. After the sender has attempted to send the image for a set amount of time (generally 20 to 40 minutes), the receiver is asked to choose the correct image out of a group of four images. Parapsychologists collected the results of approximately 700 individual ganzfeld sessions performed by about two dozen investigators, and claimed the correct image was selected 34 percent of the time.[7] This increase above the 25 percent that would be expected from chance alone has been cited as proof of the existence of telepathy, although critics point out numerous ways in which ganzfeld experiments may be flawed.

Researchers have found that ESP abilities are apparently heightened under hypnosis. The results of experiments have been found to be consistently higher when subjects are put into trance than when they retain normal consciousness. Since hypnosis typically involves relaxation and suggestion in an atmosphere of friendliness and trust, it is thought that perhaps one of these factors, or a combination thereof, may be responsible for heightened psi scores.[8]

The absence of psi ability is also sometimes considered significant. Researchers employ the term "psi-missing" to denote situations where the subject consistently scores below what would be expected by chance. According to experimental results, believers in psi tend to score higher, whereas skeptics often score significantly below chance. This phenomenon, referred to as the "Sheep-goat effect" (where believers are "sheep" and non-believers are "goats"), has been observed by many researchers. This phenomenon lends itself to the idea that one's attitudes may affect one's reality; disbelievers may create a void of psi experiences, while believers experience the opposite.[9]

Computers are often used in testing for abilities like psychokinesis, where subjects attempt to influence the output of random number generators. Computers can help rule out a number of possible corruptions of methodology that can occur with human administration of tests. Despite controversy over parapsychological work, new experiments and a refinement of older methodologies continue in the field.

Criticism and debate

Many professional scientists study parapsychological phenomena. It is an interdisciplinary field, attracting psychologists, physicists, engineers, and biologists, as well as those from other sciences. Despite this, parapsychology is often accused of being pseudoscience. Skeptical scholars like Raymond Hyman and James E. Alcock have pointed out several problems with viewing parapsychology as a true science.

One of the most glaring problems facing parapsychologists is the fact that few psi experiments can be replicated. Parapsychologists argue that psi phenomena are indeed real, but do not lend themselves to experimental replication. Hyman also points out that, unlike every other branch of science, parapsychology has a shifting, rather than cumulative, database. Historical experiments and results are often discarded and found not to be valid. Some, like the case of the telepathic Creery sisters, were proven to be fraud, while others are considered to have had flawed methodology. Unlike other sciences, parapsychology relies heavily on "statistical inference" to prove its case. In other sciences, slight deviations from chance that follow no set pattern or rules and cannot be reliably replicated are usually abandoned.[10]

Noted skeptic James E. Alcock also questioned the significance of such deviations from chance, suggesting that there is a logical fallacy in assuming that significant departures from the laws of chance are automatically evidence that something paranormal has occurred.[11]

Proponents of parapsychology counter these arguments suggesting that several branches of science are based on the observation of unexplainable anomalies, including quantum mechanics. Utts has argued that parapsychology does, in fact, build upon previous experiments, learning from them and using that knowledge to design better experiments. Additionally, the statistical nature of psi experiments is more similar to the connection of cigarette smoking to lung cancer; a result that would also be impossible to "replicate" in an individual experiment.[12]

Parapsychological journals and research centers

There exist numerous journals and research centers whose aim is to further developments in the field of parapsychology. Among the peer-reviewed journals dealing with parapsychology are the The Journal of Parapsychology, the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, the European Journal of Parapsychology, the International Journal of Parapsychology, and the Journal of Scientific Exploration.

There are also numerous research centers, both independent and affiliated with universities worldwide.[13]

Independent research organizations

University research organizations

Notes

  1. Parapsychological Association, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology. Retrieved May 1, 2007
  2. Luiz Saraiva, Bibliography of Scientific Research on the Spirit Phenomena (GEAE June 1998). Retrieved May 1, 2007.
  3. The Mystic, Mesmerism. Retrieved May 1, 2007.
  4. J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology (Gale Research, 1996). ISBN 081035487X
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Bibliography

  • Alcock, James E. 1981. Parapsychology: Science or Magic? Pergamon Press. ISBN 0-08-025773-9
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  • Broughton, Richard S. 1991. Parapsychology: The Controversial Science. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-35638-1
  • Charpak, Georges, Henri Broch, and Bart K. Holland. 2004. Debunked! ESP, Telekinesis, and Other Pseudoscience. Johns Hopkins University. ISBN 0-8018-7867-5
  • Edge, Hoyt L., Robert L. Morris, Joseph H. Rush, and John Palmer. 1986. Foundations of Parapsychology: Exploring the Boundaries of Human Capability. Routledge Kegan Paul. ISBN 0710202261
  • Flew, Antony (ed). 1987. Readings in the Philosophical Problems of Parapsychology. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-385-4
  • Hyman, Ray. 1989. The Elusive Quarry: A Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-504-0
  • Kurtz, Paul. 1985. A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-300-5
  • Milbourne, Christopher. 1970. ESP, Seers & Psychics: What the Occult Really Is. Thomas Y. Crowell Co. ISBN 0-690-26815-7
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  • Radin, Dean. 2006. Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality. Paraview Pocket Books. ISBN 1416516778
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  • White, John, ed. 1974. Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science. Edgar D. Mitchell and G. P. Putman. ISBN 0399113428
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External links

All links retrieved November 18, 2022.

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