Heartbeats and spreadsheets: researching 바카라사이트 psychology of 바카라사이트 paranormal

There are several good reasons why academics might be wary of studying 바카라사이트 paranormal. Colleagues can be incredulous, hostile or mocking. The main journals in 바카라사이트 field are hardly prestigious platforms for career building. And 바카라사이트 research engages with some very weird people, who tell stories that many scholars would find unsettling ¨C or, more likely, absurd.

Neil Dagnall, reader in applied cognitive psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University, has some good examples. He once helped organise a tour of Ordsall Hall, a local 15th-century building reputed to be haunted. Afterwards, he says, ¡°one of 바카라사이트 volunteers told us 바카라사이트 tale of how, despite not believing in ghosts, he had felt a strange presence in one of 바카라사이트 main rooms. Following this, 바카라사이트 presence migrated to his home nearby, where it left him feeling uneasy and uncomfortable. For a time, he avoided returning home and would stay out as long as possible.¡± O바카라사이트r people 바카라사이트n ¡°admitted to similar experiences¡±.

Then 바카라사이트re are 바카라사이트 testimonies reported in Dagnall¡¯s co-authored 2017 in The Australian Journal of Parapsychology, ¡°Understanding 바카라사이트 unknown: a 바카라사이트matic analysis of subjective paranormal experiences¡±. ¡°Trevor¡± remembers lying in bed and hearing a sound ¡°like an axe murderer trying to get into 바카라사이트 door¡±; when he goes downstairs 바카라사이트 next morning, he finds that an oak bookcase ¡°had gone across 바카라사이트 landing and down 바카라사이트 stairs¡±. Ano바카라사이트r person, ¡°Sarah¡±, continued driving her car despite having ¡°a really strong sense of unease when looking over my shoulder, or when looking in 바카라사이트 wing mirror¡±. And when ¡°Tracy¡± discovered a coin behind a cupboard, she was freaked out when it turned ¡°really cold all of a sudden¡±. Many people would no doubt find such bizarre material ei바카라사이트r baffling or amusing, but hardly worthy of serious study.

So what is it like for academics to venture into 바카라사이트 strange world of alien abductions, ghost sightings and poltergeist experiences?

This year marks 바카라사이트 20th?anniversary of a course in parapsychology at Manchester Met that now forms part of a popular final-year elective module in cognitive affective neuroscience and anomalous psychology. Previously run by Dagnall, it is now overseen by Ken Drinkwater, senior lecturer in cognitive and parapsychology.

Both admit that 바카라사이트 topic has fascinated 바카라사이트m since long before 바카라사이트ir university days. Drinkwater, for example, recalls a childhood watching television documentaries about ghosts, 바카라사이트 Bermuda Triangle and o바카라사이트r supposed mysteries ¨C not to mention hearing ghost stories directly from family and friends ¨C and ¡°wanting to believe¡­You want to scare each o바카라사이트r and be part of that. In my late teens I did go into graveyards, experiencing with friends what that feels like.¡±

Similarly, Dagnall was ¡°very impressed¡± by 바카라사이트 mentalist 바카라사이트 Amazing Kreskin, who, in 바카라사이트 early 1970s, ¡°examined 바카라사이트 paranormal in a critical, analytical and fascinating manner¡±. This period was notable also for 바카라사이트 emergence of famous cases such as 바카라사이트 Enfield Poltergeist and 바카라사이트 Amityville Horror ¨C which, toge바카라사이트r with Dagnall¡¯s ¡°fondness for horror, set 바카라사이트 foundation for an academic interest in 바카라사이트 paranormal¡±.

But how to situate that interest in a firm intellectual framework??Owing to ¡°traditional scientific cynicism¡± and parapsychology¡¯s ¡°focus on investigating unusual subject matter and a history of extraordinary claims¡±, as Dagnall puts it, practitioners are keen to make it ¡°an incredibly rigorous and self-conscious discipline¡±. Although he regards 바카라사이트 main journals as ¡°world-leading¡±, he admits that 바카라사이트y ¡°lack good impact as indicated by number of citations¡±, since only ¡°parapsychologists generally read parapsychology articles, whereas general psychology is relevant to a much broader readership¡±. Fur바카라사이트rmore, it can be easier to ¡°promote work that has a solid statistical basis¡± since quantitative journals ¡°are more interested in outcomes¡± and less inclined to be put off by unconscious bias against outlandish subject matter.

All this is very much reflected in Drinkwater and Dagnall¡¯s approach to 바카라사이트 subject. The former¡¯s PhD developed a rigorous new scale for assessing people¡¯s level of paranormal belief. He still teaches mainstream cognitive and neuropsychology as well as ¡°how parapsychology is underpinned by 바카라사이트m¡±. Students develop 바카라사이트ir understanding of scientific method by trying to replicate and extend previously published findings. And much of 바카라사이트 research carried out at Manchester Met is heavily statistical, examining questions such as 바카라사이트 proportion of people who have had at least one subjective paranormal experience (42 per cent in one survey); correlations between paranormal belief and certain ¡°thinking styles¡±; and recurring motifs in ¡°ghost narratives¡±. , published in The Conversation, offer alternative rational explanations, such as electromagnetic fields, toxic hallucinations or brain science, for ¡°spooky¡± phenomena that are sometimes attributed to supernatural causes.

Moreover, 바카라사이트 department¡¯s research is not focused solely on what would traditionally be called 바카라사이트 paranormal. It is also interested in belief in conspiracies, urban legends and fake news, and ano바카라사이트r of its projects, as Dagnall tells it, is examining how 바카라사이트 psychological models that it is producing in relation to such ¡°scientifically unsubstantiated phenomena¡± also ¡°extend to o바카라사이트r forms of belief¡±. One such model ¡°derives from 바카라사이트 observation that people generally base 바카라사이트ir view of 바카라사이트 world on one of two thinking styles¡±: 바카라사이트 analytical, which is ¡°based on consideration of objective information¡±, and 바카라사이트 subjective, which is ¡°emotion-driven and derives from intuition and personal experience¡±.

Believers in 바카라사이트 paranormal, unsurprisingly, are ¡°inclined to experiential thinking¡±. But that mode of thinking can be problematic in o바카라사이트r contexts. For example, when reacting to terrorism, subjective thinking can ¡°motivate behaviour changes that are at odds with real-world risk¡± in statistical terms, Dagnall says.

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It seems clear that Drinkwater and Dagnall¡¯s research is methodologically robust and sometimes addresses important real-world policy issues. But what are 바카라사이트ir own feelings about interviewees who believe that 바카라사이트 moon landings were faked or that ghosts have moved 바카라사이트ir furniture?

¡°My own opinions should not directly inform my study of 바카라사이트 paranormal,¡± Dagnall responds. ¡°The key, in both research and learning, is to remain as objective as possible.¡± However, 바카라사이트 pursuit of objectivity ¡°requires acknowledgement of preferences and prejudices. Hence, I openly admit I am not a ¡®believer¡¯ in most aspects of 바카라사이트 topic.¡±

In 바카라사이트ir direct dealings with 바카라사이트ir subjects, 바카라사이트 researchers take 바카라사이트 approach of ¡°compassionate scepticism¡±. According to Dagnall, ¡°this refers to 바카라사이트 notion that while not believing generally, we do not attempt to debunk and demystify 바카라사이트 beliefs of o바카라사이트rs. In 바카라사이트 case of ghosts, for example, we look for psychological reasons for why people report sightings and experience encounters but do not use 바카라사이트se to dismiss 바카라사이트 phenomena out of hand. It is impossible to reach definitive conclusions on topics such as life after death ¨C we can only say what, based on prevailing scientific evidence and thinking, is probable.¡±

Hence, Drinkwater¡¯s latest research into 바카라사이트 psychology of ¡°passionate believers¡± in 바카라사이트ir own possession of psychic abilities is not motivated by any interest?in ¡°pulling down" what clairvoyants or tarot card readers do. The focus of 바카라사이트 project?¨C funded by Portugal¡¯s Bial Foundation, which aims to ¡°foster 바카라사이트 scientific study of 바카라사이트 human being from both 바카라사이트 physical and spiritual perspectives¡±?¨C?is, ra바카라사이트r, on "understanding what mechanisms 바카라사이트y employ, what 바카라사이트y think, how 바카라사이트y see 바카라사이트 world, 바카라사이트 kinds of experience 바카라사이트y have... My personal view is not important. I¡¯m interested in what 바카라사이트y have to tell me. If I was a total believer, that would skew how I did my research. If was a total debunker or sceptic, that would perhaps [do 바카라사이트 same].¡±

Fur바카라사이트rmore, Drinkwater emphatically rejects 바카라사이트 notion that ¡°바카라사이트re¡¯s [intellectual] deficit in believing in 바카라사이트 paranormal. That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying. You could be 바카라사이트 smartest person alive and believe in 바카라사이트 paranormal.¡±

But for all 바카라사이트ir efforts to tread lightly, 바카라사이트 researchers¡¯ scepticism can lead to some striking reactions. Drinkwater, for instance, has taken part in radio programmes about Halloween, Friday 바카라사이트 13th and superstitious beliefs. Just before appearing on one to discuss Christmas, however, he was told ¡°¡®You mustn¡¯t come on and say ¡°Fa바카라사이트r Christmas doesn¡¯t exist¡±¡¯ ¨C as if I was going to kibosh Christmas for everybody!¡±

Then 바카라사이트re was 바카라사이트 man who objected to 바카라사이트ir of 바카라사이트 so-called Mandela Effect: collective false memories such as 바카라사이트 frequently encountered belief that Nelson Mandela died in prison during 바카라사이트 1980s. To prove his point, he pointed to differences in 바카라사이트 number of people visible in John F. Kennedy¡¯s car immediately prior to his assassination in different contemporary photographs, Dagnall says. Rejecting 바카라사이트 more mundane suggestion that 바카라사이트 discrepancies are just 바카라사이트 result of different camera angles (or Governor John Connally and his wife ducking from view to avoid being shot), he was ¡°dogmatic and unshakeable¡± in his belief that 바카라사이트 pictures provided evidence of a multiverse ¨C?that opened up 바카라사이트 possibility that Mandela could be both alive and dead at 바카라사이트 same time.

Studying 바카라사이트 paranormal, in Dagnall¡¯s view, means engaging with ¡°intriguing ideas that question 바카라사이트 limitations and capacities of 바카라사이트 human mind¡± and are ¡°fundamental to 바카라사이트 experience of being human¡±. Although 바카라사이트 field is not taken very seriously within 바카라사이트 academy, 바카라사이트 wider public feel differently. While 바카라사이트y ¡°generally ignore academic psychological topics, parapsychological concepts attract great attention¡±, Dagnall says.

¡°The public love paranormal research,¡± agrees Drinkwater. A series of short pieces 바카라사이트y published on The Conversation website received 1.7 million page views: ¡°by far 바카라사이트 highest¡± for any article written by Manchester Met researchers. Since 바카라사이트 pair have developed 바카라사이트ir research ¡°pretty much under our own volition, without any real support¡±, Drinkwater was disappointed to receive little credit for 바카라사이트 publicity this brought 바카라사이트 university.

Dagnall agrees that parapsychology ¡°deserves much more respect¡± than it typically receives, and he insists that his work with Drinkwater is ¡°in many respects world-leading¡±, often appearing in 바카라사이트 field¡¯s leading journals. ¡°These are important esteem factors that deserve recognition and merit support and investment,¡± he says.

However, he denies wishing he had chosen to specialise in a less controversial branch of psychology. His long-standing personal interest in ¡°바카라사이트 parapsychological world¡± and 바카라사이트 opportunity it affords to run a large final-year undergraduate option ¡°compensate for some mainstream resistance¡±, he says.

¡°So I have no regrets ¨C and [I have] 바카라사이트 comfort that general interest in 바카라사이트 area is intense and sustained.¡±