Belief in Parapsychological Phenomena A Comparison of Males to Females

Pamela L. Blizzard
Missouri Western State College
05/01/97

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess if a difference existed between males and females in regard to belief in parapsychological phenomena. The subjects were 23 students: seventeen females and six males. The experimental method used was a nine-question survey that dealt with various areas of parapsychology. Only two of the nine questions yielded any degree of significance. One question dealt with precognition and the other was a self-report in overall belief in the subjects that parapsychology covers.

Belief in Parapsychological Phenomena A Comparison of Males to Females

Parapsychology is a subject who's definition is somewhat difficult to define. It could be described as a study that looks at unusual events that fall just short of what is accepted as the "normal" human experience. Dean Radin (1997) defines parapsychology as this: "A long-held, common-sense assumption is that the worlds of the subjective and objective are completely distinct, with no overlap. Subjective is "here, in the head," and objective is "there, out in the world." Parapsychology is the study of phenomena occasionally falling between purely subjective and purely objective. We call such phenomena "anomalous" because they are difficult to explain within current scientific models. These anomalies fall into three general categories: ESP, PK (both are defined below), and phenomena suggestive of survival after bodily death, including near-death experiences, apparitions, and reincarnation. Most parapsychologists today expect that further research will eventually explain these anomalies in scientific terms, although it is not clear whether they can be fully understood without significant (some might say revolutionary) expansions of the current state of scientific knowledge. Other researchers take the stance that existing scientific models of perception and memory are adequate to explain some or all parapsychological phenomena." Radin (1997) goes on to explain that parapsychology is not the study of anything that is "paranormal." His definition of parapsychology does not include the study of astrology, UFOs, searching for Bigfoot, paganism, vampires, alchemy, or witchcraft. For matters of reader clarification, the definitions of ESP and PK are provided. ESP stands for extra-sensory perception. It is a general term for obtaining information about events beyond the reach of the normal senses. This term subsumes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition (Radin, 1997). PK stands for psychokinesis. This is direct mental interaction with physical objects, animate or inanimate (Radin, 1997). Parapsychology, as it is known in the Western world, traces its roots to the late 1800s. At the time the study of Spiritualism was being studied scientifically in both Great Britain and the United States. In 1882, the (British) Society for Physical Research was founded. In 1885 the American Society for Psychical Research was founded. At this time, some scientists were working with special instruments that were designed in the hopes of testing the phenomena that was claimed by physical mediums (Radin, 1997). It is the opinion of this author that the greatest development in the area of parapsychology occurred in 1927 when Dr. J.B. Rhine and his wife, Dr. Louisa E. Rhine, arrived at Duke University to begin studies of psychic phenomena with professor William McDougall who was chairman of the new Psychology Department (History [On-line]). In just a few short years, Dr. Rhine would introduce the fantastic research that would demonstrate, under strict scientific conditions, that certain persons could acquire information beyond the means of known human senses. It was also at this time that Dr. Rhine introduced the term extrasensory perception (ESP) and adopted the word parapsychology to distinguish his area of research (History [On-line]). In 1962, Dr. Rhine founded the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man (FRNM) which included a research and educational institute, the Institute for Parapsychology. In 1995, the FRNM was renamed the Rhine Research Center to honor the Rhines (History [On-line]). Today, the Rhine Research Center continues to conduct research on parapsychological phenomena. The study and phenomenology of parapsychology is a widely popular area of study in today's society. Most people probably do not know the meaning of the term parapsychology but they probably would be familiar with it's components such as telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance, and would take a stance regarding their belief in such phenomena. Much research has been done in the area regarding belief in parapsychological phenomena. Jerome Tobacyk and Gary Milford (1983) designed a questionnaire to assess belief in the "paranormal." They state that there is not a full consensus on the definition of paranormal. This is an important point to emphasize. Terms and definitions that Tobacyk and Milford use are in direct contradiction to what Dean Radin describes. In Radin's definition of parapsychology, he stated that the paranormal was not studied. It can be assumed that the topics and definitions, though related, may have served different purposes in respect to the research. It is important to keep in mind that there is not, to the knowledge of the author, currently an accepted consensus on the definition of what constitutes parapsychology. Tobacyk and Milford used three criteria to define paranormal. Those criteria are: (a) inexplicability in terms of current science, (b) explicability achieved only by major revisions in basic limiting principles of science, and (c) incompatibility with normative perceptions, beliefs and expectations about reality (Toybacyk and Milford, 1983). They report seven independent dimensions comprising belief in the paranormal. Those dimensions are: Traditional Religious Belief, Psi Belief, Witchcraft, Superstition, Spirituals, Extraordinary Life Forms, and Precognition. The questionnaire that Toybacyk and Milford administered is now known as the Paranormal Belief Scale. It has 61 questions. It was administered to 391 college students. Along with the Paranormal Belief Scale, seven personality-assessment instruments were administered to separate college student samples to determine construct validity. The seven instruments were (a) the Locus of Control Scale, measure of internal-external control, (b) the Sensation Seeking Scale, a measure of individual differences in optimal level of stimulation and arousal, (c) the Threat Index, a measure of death threat, (d) an actual self-ideal self-concept discrepancy measure, thought to reflect level adjustment or self-esteem, (e) the Uncritical Inferences Test, a measure of the characteristics degree of inference making beyond the facts given by observation, (f) the Dogmatism Scale (Form E), a measure of the degree of cognitive openness/closedness, and (g) an Irrational Belief Questionnaire, a measure of irrational beliefs. In all of the subtests except for the Sensation Seeking Scale, significant correlation's were found in the directions that the authors hypothesized would occur. In conclusion, the authors say this about their findings: "...it appears that this Paranormal Scale and these subscales have potential as an assessment instrument for paranormal beliefs. Paranormal beliefs appear to have implications for personality functioning, especially that which concerns locus of control, death threat, self-concept, inference making, dogmatism, and irrational beliefs. Perhaps the most significant findings in this research is that, rather that there being a single personality dimension of "belief in the paranormal," there are several relatively independent paranormal belief dimensions, some of which have different implications for personality and adjustment." Another study that was conducted involving belief in paranormal phenomena was a comparison of test results from 1977 to test results from 1987. This study was conducted by Tom M. Randall. His study was carried out in the form of the Supernaturalism questionnaire which was designed to assess belief in the paranormal. He hypothesized that "If one could assume a more prevalent public conservative attitude reflects a more general attitude of skepticism, it was anticipated that acceptance of alleged supernatural occurrences would show a significant decrease over the years 1977 to 1987" (Randall, 1990). The Supernaturalism questionnaire was administered to 918 subjects. The comparison group from 1977 consisted of 696 subjects. The subjects in both groups were divided into four age groups. the results of this study in comparison to the 1977 results did show and over-all effect of diminishing acceptance to paranormal phenomena. The statement of purpose for this research will be to assess the difference in belief between males and females regarding the occurrence of parapsychological phenomena. It is hypothesized that no difference will exist between males and females.

Methods

Participants

The participants in this study were 23 psychology students enrolled at Missouri western State College (MWSU). Seventeen of the students were female and the remaining six were male. MWSU is a four-year undergraduate college of approximately 5,000 students located in St. Joseph Missouri.

Apparatus

The test instrument that was employed in this study was a mine question survey that was created for this study to assess belief in parapsychological phenomena. The nine questions dealt with poltergeists, clairvoyance, telekinesis, channeling, telepathy, near death experiences, out of body experiences, precognition, and a self-report of overall belief in parapsychological phenomena. The participants answered true, not sure, or false to the questions. A copy of the survey is attached as Appendix A.

Procedure

Permission to administer this survey to the psychology students was obtained from the class instructor. The students were asked to participate in the survey and in return they would receive extra credit class points.

Results

Conditions

The survey that was administered in this study was designed to assess belief in parapsychological phenomena. Each participant was asked to indicate if they were male or female. When the final results were compiled, the difference between male and female belief in the subject material was compared.

Statistics

The statistical analysis that was performed in this study was done so through the means of an independent samples test.

Results

The independent samples test yielded only two areas, or two questions, with any amount of significance. Those two questions were numbers eight and nine. Question eight dealt with precognition and question nine was a self-report of overall belief in parapsychological phenomena. Question eight yielded: t(21) = .024, p < .05. Question nine yielded: t(21) = .013, p < .05. A chart showing t-scores, degrees of freedom, means, and significance levels is attached as Table 1.

Discussion

The results that were obtained from this survey , excluding questions eight and nine, do not indicate a significant degree of difference in belief of parapsychological phenomena between males and females. Question eight dealt with the area of precognition and a degree of significance was found at the .05 level. Question nine was a self-report of belief in parapsychological phenomena. A degree of significance was found at the .05 level Based on questions eight and nine, the proposed hypothesis was found to be not acceptable.

Limitations

The survey that was administered, though very clear and concise, was limited to only nine questions. A longer survey might have included more subject material that the participants might have been more familiar with allowing them to answer true or false more often, eliminating the overall occurrence of "not sure" answers that may have occurred as a result of unfamiliar subject material. The sample size was definitely limited. A more equal ratio of male to female participants would be desirable.

Generality

The method that was used in this study definitely could be generalized to other areas of research. Belief in parpasychological phenomena has a lot of implications in social psychology with a particular emphases towards cultural diversity.

Directions for Future Research

If this study was to be replicated, a longer survey encompassing a broader arena of subject material related to parapsychological phenomena should be used. A larger sample size should also be obtained with an emphasis on obtaining a more equal ratio of males to females.
Appendix A Survey Age: _____ Sex: _____ Male _____Female Parapsychology as defined by Dean Radin(1997). "...Parapsychology is the study of phenomena occasionally falling between purely subjective and purely objective....Subjective is "here in the head," and objective is "there out in the world." ...We call such phenomena "anomalous" because they are difficult to explain within the current scientific models. These anomalies fall into three general categories: Extrasensory perception (ESP) which is a general term for obtaining information about events beyond the reach of the normal senses. This term subsumes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition; Psychokinesis (PK) which is direct mental interaction with physical objects, animate or inanimate; and phenomena suggestive of survival after bodily death, including near-death experiences, apparitions, and reincarnation." After reading the following statements, please answer "true" if you believe the statement is true. Answer "not sure" if the statement involves something you are not familiar with enough to hold an opinion on. Answer "false" if you believe the statement is false. 1. A Poltergeist is defined as a noisy usually mischievous ghost held to be responsible for unexplained phenomena such as noises. Poltergeists are sometimes real. True Not Sure False _ 2. Clairvoyance is defined as the ability to perceive matters beyond the range of ordinary perception. Clairvoyant abilities are sometimes real. True Not Sure False _ 3. Telekinesis is defined as the production of motion in objects (as by a spiritualistic medium) without contact or other physical means. Telekinetic abilities are sometimes real. True Not Sure False _ 4. Channeling is the claim that a departed spirit or other non-physical entity, can speak or act through a sensitive person. The ability to conduct channeling is real. True Not Sure False _ 5. Telepathy is defined as communication from one mind to another by extrasensory means. Telepathy is sometimes real. True Not Sure False _ 6. A Near Death Experience is defined as an experience reported by those who were revived from nearly dying. Often refers to a core experience that includes feelings of peace, seeing lights and other phenomena. Near death experience occur because of mystical, religious reasons, not neurological or psychological reasons. True Not Sure False _ 7. Out of body experiences are defined as the experience of feeling separated from the body, often accompanied by visual perceptions as though from above the body. Out of body experiences occur for reasons other than neurological pr psychological problems. True Not Sure False _ 8. Precognition is defined as clairvoyance relating to an event or states not yet experienced. Precognitive abilities are sometimes real. True Not Sure False _ 9. Overall, I am a believer in the areas that parapsychology encompasses. True Not Sure False _
Table 1 Male/Female Statistics Sex Mean t df Sig 2-tailed) Q1 Female 2.3529 1.226 21 .234 Male 1.8333 Q2 Female 2.1176 1.053 21 .305 Male 1.6667 Q3 Female 2.1176 1.053 21 .305 Male 1.6667 Q4 Female 1.8824 -.718 21 .481 Male 2.1667 Q5 Female 2.4706 1.204 21 .242 Male 2.0000 Q6 Female 2.0000 1.566 21 .132 Male 1.50000 Q7 Female 2.0000 -.449 21 .658 Male 2.1667 Q8 Female 2.5882 2.435 21 .024 Male 1.8333 Q9 Female 2.2353 2.700 21 .013 Male 1.3333

Reference Page

History of the Rhine Research Center [On-line]. Available: www.yahoo.com. Radin, d. (1997, February). Parapsychology FAQ [On-line]. Available: www.yahoo.com. Radin, D. (1997, March). Parapsychology FAQ3 [On-line]. Available: www.yahoo.com. Randall, T.M. (1990, June). Belief in the Paranormal Declines: 1977-1987. Psychological Reports, 66, 1347-1351. Tobacyk, J. & Milford, G. (1983, May). Belief in Paranormal Phenomena: Assessment Instrument Development and Implications for Personality Functioning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 1029-1037.