Parapsychology

Definitions Parapsychology -scientific study of paranormal phenomena and experiences. Paranormal phenomena-there is a claim that a real anomalous effect is occurring Paranormal experiences -there may or may not be a real anomalous effect, but the individual has interpreted their experience as a paranormal one

most studied are extra-sensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK) ESP includes-clairvoyance,Telepathy,Precognition Others-hauntings, UFOs, near-death and after death experiences, out-of-body experiences,Ghost

Extrasensory Perception (ESP) Perception of input through some channel other than the five known senses

Extrasensory Perception (ESP) Apparent mind-to-mind communication The term was launched by J. B. Rhine Some consider it as extra-sensory communication Some consider as chance occur Very difficult to estimate the role that chance plays in many spontaneous paranormal experiences

Individuals involved in ESP Sender -who will view a randomly selected 'target' picture and attempt to concentrate on it and send it psychically to the receiver Receiver- who will relax and describe the images that come to mind Experimenter- who supervises and conducts the experiment

Noise reduction model of ESP Strongest evidence for ESP - uses altered states of consciousness to facilitate ESP performance Normally we live in very distracting, noisy environments, both externally and internally. The ESP information may be a weak signal. In order to help the receiver to detect the weak ESP signal among the distracting noise, noise reduction techniques used.

Ganzfeld method Alternative approach, which use a mild sensory isolation procedure A test for telepathic communication between the sender and receiver. The receiver is isolated in a acoustic proof room Eyes were taped, headphones are placed over ears that play a relaxation tape followed by white noise, room is illuminated with red light. This auditory and visual environment is called as ganzfeld ,a German ward meaning “total field”.

Cont…… The sender selects visual stimulus randomly from a pool-target. While sender concentrating on the target the receiver attempts to describe it by a continuous verbal report of his mental imagery through a microphone. After completing the session ,the receiver is presented with four stimuli, one of which is the target. He was asked to rate the degree to which each matches his imagery. A direct hit is scored if the receiver assigned the highest rating to the target stimulus.

Interpretation An overall analysis of various studies reveals that participants were able to select the correct target stimulus 38% of time. If it is due to chance occurrence we can expect the success rate of 25% Therefore the results of the ganzfeld studies cannot be explained as chance coincidence, and this provides evidence in support of the hypothesis that ESP exists

Clairvoyance The ability to perceive something without the use of the senses

Clairvoyance An ability to see things beyond the range of the power of vision Clairvoyance divided into three classes Retrocognition and premonition Perceiving past and future events Perception of contemporary events happening at a distance, or outside the range of normal vision

The possibility of hyperesthesia during trancemay play a part in clairvoyant performances Clairvoyance may include psychometry second sight crystal gazing

The clairvoyant experience may be spontaneous induced by suggestion -as in hypnotism autosuggestion -as in crystal gazing

Crystals Solid mineral objects having naturally formed plane faces

Crystals According to folk belief, crystals existed against unpleasant dreams, dissolved enchantments(magic) Served as a medium for magical visions Rock crystal shaped into polished balls was the favourite material for crystal gazing. A favourite mode of exercising the clairvoyant faculty

X-ray clairvoyance The faculty to see into closed space, such as boxes, envelopes, rooms, and books. It is a frequently observed manifestation of the power. There are many cases on record in which sealed letters were read when the contents were totally unknown to the experimenter or were couched in a language of which the seer was ignorant

Travelling clairvoyance mental journey to a distant scene and giving a description about it There is abundant evidence of travelling clairvoyance, the ability to mentally journey to a distant scene and observe events, in old and present-day records Travelling clairvoyance may take the seer into the future

Medical clairvoyance- the ability to see the inner mechanism of the human body and diagnose disease Platform clairvoyance- is seeing spirits.

Validity Many clairvoyants have been consulted by the police to help trace criminals. Although startling claims of success have been made, there is some ambiguity in many instances. Because much claimed clairvoyant faculty is of a spontaneous nature, it presents difficulties for parapsychological experimentation and testing

Telepathy Defined as ‘‘transmission of thought independently of the recognized channels of sense.’’

Telepathy It refers to mind-reading The ability to communicate with another person without the use of the senses Term coined by British psychical researcher F. W. H. Myers in 1882

In telepathy the transmitter is often unaware that he acts as an agent The receiver does not consciously prepare himself for the reception Telepathy cannot be made a subject of experiments Telepathy is a well developed mode of supernormal perception and is usually brought into play by the influence of very strong emotions. The journalist and pioneer spiritualist william t. Stead often received automatic writing from the living

Telepathic theories Telepathy & theory of gravitation, are daughters of astrology But gravitation is universally accepted by science, telepathy remains a questionable hypothesis The wise men of ancient times taught that the stars radiated an invisible influence that held them together in their course They affected men and events on our planet, receiving in turn some subtle emanation from the earth and its inhabitants. From this idea assume that a radiant influence,whether magnetic or otherwise, passed from one human being to another.

The doctrine of astral influence was shared by Paracelsus Sir Isaac Newton, whose discovery of the law of gravitation brought the age of simplistic astrology to a close.

The dividing line between clairvoyanceand telepathy is vague The telepathic message may take the form of visual or auditory sensation If the content indicates future events, clairvoyance should be suspected Past events may be both telepathic communications and the result of a reading by psychometry.

The Wave Theory According to Sir William CrookesIf telepathy takes place we have two physical facts. Thephysical change in the brain of the suggester, and the analogouschange in the brain of the recipient of the suggestion. Believed that these ether waves were of small amplitude and greater frequency than x-rays They continually passed between human brains, arousing an image in the second brainthat is similar to the image in the first.

controversy Intensity of any waves diminishes with distance The telepathic image is very vivid despite the remoteness of the agent Picture is often modified or symbolical. The wave theory of telepathy remains unproven and discarded Few modern soviet investigators suggested an electromagnetic theory of telepathy.

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

Possession Common to all religious traditions The possessing personality aims to establish communication with this world by writing or speech In the Christianity possession viewed as a negative phenomena Christian leaders have largely equated possession with possession by a demonic force, or even the devil himself.

Stages of possession Personation- during which the medium’s own personality is still in the body but is Assuming the characteristics of someone departed. Partial possession- the excitation of the medium’s motor or sensory centres by a discarnate agent either through the subconscious self or in some direct way. Full possession- postulates the vacation of the organism by the medium to allow the entrance of another spirit.

Reincarnation(Rebirth) The return to a new corporeal life of a soul that had previously been embodied and passed through bodily death.

Reincarnation(Rebirth) Fundamental to both hinduism and buddhism Contrast to the dominant western Christian idea of resurrection The soul might pass into the body of an animal, a plant, or even an inanimate object such as a stone

Link with moral belief The belief in reincarnation was tied to moral categories ,the Eastern concept of karma It viewed the present life as the working out of consequences from previous lives Future embodiments will also be determined by the consequences of this present life One must remove oneself from the realm of consequences through spiritual activity or be stuck in the endless cycle of reincarnation forever

The idea of reincarnation is usually associated with India. Basically, the soul is an immortal or deathless entity that has continuity through eternity, but falls into material existence and is trapped in the illusion that this physical world is ultimately real. Through multiple lives the soul becomes subject to karma, or consequences.

Rebirth Good karma leads to noble birth Bad karma to a lower birth, even to rebirth as an animal

Integral to social organization in the caste system and thus had practical application in everyday life. The caste system determined and sanctioned by the rewards and punishments of karma

Ultimate goal was to escape the wheel of reincarnation totally. By withdrawing and concentrating on the spiritual realm, one ceased to create karma and dissolved old karma or eventually, one could rid oneself of karma entirely and escape An idea of reincarnation, though not karma, is also found in some early Greek philosophy, including that of both Pythagoras and Plato

Researchers view déjà vuoften been cited as an argument for reincarnation Eugene Rochasfirst explored memories of past incarnations if put into hypnotic sleep By means of longitudinal passes, could be made to retrace the previous phases of their existence down to their birth even earlier state of incarnation By means of transversal passes the subject was brought back to his normal state by going through the same phases in order of their time If the transversal passes were continued, the subject was led into the future.

Psychical Researchers and Reincarnation After Allan Kardec , Leon Denis and Gabriel Delannebecame the main pillars of the reincarnationist school inFrance. The general evidence they relied on was fourfold: (1)infant prodigies, (2) spontaneous recollection of past lives, (3) exploration of memory under hypnosis, and (4) the claims announced of coming reincarnation British hypnotherapist ArnallBloxham, who spent more than 20 years tape recording hypnotic subjects. These sessions convinced many that they presented actual memories of former incarnations

Precognition Psychic knowledge of something in advance of its occurrence. Paranormal knowledge of impending events, also referred to as prediction premonition prophecy

Premonition A paranormal warning of a future event Premonitions may range from vague feelings of disquiet or uneasiness suggestive of impending disaster, to actual hallucinations Dreamsare frequent vehicles of premonitions Whether the premonition comes in the waking state or during sleep, it is believed the impression is usually deep and lasting. The recipient may write it down or narrate it for later verification

Prediction vs premonition A premonition differs from prediction Prediction has a degree of precision and tends to detail the basic who, what, when, where, and how questions When the event foreseen is not precisely outlined or is too insubstantial to prompt a prophetic utterance, premonition is the more appropriate term For vague future events of a personal nature, presentiment is employed

Richet’s Conditions: According to psychical researcher Charles Richet, premonitions should have two fundamental conditions: The fact announced must be absolutely independent of the person to whom the premonition has come. The announcement must be such that it cannot be ascribed to chance or sagacity(practical wisdom)

Terms If the percipient is positive about the event in question is about to happen, the term ‘‘precognition’’ is used. If it takes visual form, ‘‘prevision’’ is the appropriate label. When predictions involving the fate of larger units, countries, or nations are made,‘‘prophecy’’ is the appropriate term. Premonition may be conceived of as the lowest degree of prophecy

Psychokinesis The ability to move or bend objects at a distance by mental power without contact

Psychokinesis The term has now largely displaced ‘‘telekinesis,’’ formerly used This term was proposed by psychologist J. B. Rhine ,in relation to experiments with influencing the fall of dice by mental concentration

Special terms PK-MT- psychokinetic effect on moving targets, such as dice PK-LT - influence on living target, such as plants, healing, influencing of animals PK-ST –influence on static targets

A PK Placement Test denotes a PK-MT experiment in which the subject attempts to influence falling objects to land in a designated area.

Phenomena included Rappings-Percussive sounds of varying intensity without visible, known or normal agency Table turning Levitations-The rising of physical objects, tables, pianos, or of human beings into the air, contrary to the known laws of gravitation and without any visible agency Conveyance of apports-flowers, jewellery, and even live animals, reportedly materialized in the presence of a medium.

Considerations Spiritualists- believed these were caused by the intervention of discarnate spirits. Magnetists -believed in the existence of some kind of fluidic or energetic emanation as the cause of such movements. Some others-discounting those phenomena that were the result of fraud

Alien abduction Paranormal experience of being abducted by aliens of other universe.

Intense Experiences - missing time, or seeing and communicating with aliens Non-intense experiences - seeing unidentified lights in the sky

MMPI applied to individuals who reported alien abduction experiences No considerable psychopathology in such people compared with control group

Hopkin’s probability of abduction Waking up paralysed with a sense of a strange person or presence of something else in the room Experiencing a period of time of an hour or longer in which you were apparently lost, but you could not remember why, or where you had been Feeling that you were actually flying through the air, although you did not know how or why Seeing unusual lights or balls of light in a room without knowing what was causing them or where they came from Finding puzzling scars on your body, and neither you nor anyone else remembering how you received them or where

Fantasy-proneness Fantasy-prone personalities are typically excellent hypnotic subjects, but are also noted for their profound fantasy lives. They spend a great deal of time fantasizing, and they report that when they imagine The hallucinatory nature of their fantasies leads to frequent confusion between imagination and reality.

Level of dissociative tendencies Higher in abductees than in non-abductees. Associated with a history of childhood trauma which in turn is correlated with fantasy-proneness. It is a defensive mechanism which allows traumatized children to escape the unbearable reality of their lives by entering a more acceptable fantasy world

Sleep paralysis This theory explains why someone might suspect that they had been abducted ,without any clear memory of such an event The most frequently notedclaim as evidence of an alien abduction is 'Waking up paralysed with a sense ofa strange person or presence or something else in the room'. This is a concisedescription of the experience of sleep paralysis, which is a standard symptomof narcolepsy Can occur quite commonly in the general population

Temporal lobe activity At the extreme end of the continuum of temporal lobe activityare temporal lobe epileptics A seizure ispreceded by odd sensations, deja vu, hallucinations and mystical feelings

UFO Unidentified Flying Objects

Unidentified Flying Objects Similar to the experience of alien abduction UFOs entered popular consciousness as ‘flying saucers’. In the twentieth century UFOs were called as airships, foo fighters, and ghost rockets

Near-death experiences (NDEs) Profound psychological events with transcendental and mystical elements, typically occurring to individuals close to death or in situations of intense physical or emotional danger

Near-death experiences (NDEs) NDEs have been reported in cases of actual clinical death, where the vital signs are absent for up to 20 minutes But also seem to be experienced in situations which are only potentiallyfatal

Key features The inherent ineffability of the experience Overhearing the news of their own death Feelings of peace and quiet The noise-unpleasant buzzing or rushing sound. Dark tunnel-a sensation than a vision sense of being outside one's body Meeting others The being of light

Cont… The panoramic review of one's major life events. A 'point of no return' at which one must 'decide' whether to return to the body. Coming back -A sense of making the decision to return. Telling others or not revealingdue to fear of appearing insane. Effects on lives-changes in views on life and other people. New views on death Corroboration-Independent confirmation of elements of the NDE by others.

The five stages of the NDE Feelings of deep peace and well-being- first and most common stage, absence of fear or pain A sense of separation from the body-a bird's-eye view of own body, excellent view of the medical staff's attempts to resuscitate them

Entering darkness/passing through a tunnel Seeing the light- brilliant, golden, not seem to hurt the eyes, enveloped them Entering the light/beautiful garden-classically heavenly, consisting of a lovely garden with beautiful music

Spiritual theories The first theory we shall consider is that NDEs arise as the mind or spirit separates from the body near the point of death, since this seems to be the most popular interpretation among members of the general public

Psychological theories Depersonalization Its an attempt to escape from this unpalatable thought by retreating into a more positive fantasy experience in an effort to protect themselves from the emotional shock. The NDE as a remembrance of the birth experience Shock of being close to death may evoke powerful memories of great stress, namely one's own birth . Dark tunnel- represents the birth canal, The light - the theatre into which one is being born The authoritative persons -may be the medical staff or parent

Organic theories Endorphins Extreme stress and fear of NDE release endorphins which can reduce pain perception & induce pleasant sensations. Cerebral anoxia The final common pathway to death is cerebral anoxia which produced a sense of well-being and power Suggest that the NDE might best be explained as the result of an anoxic brain

Temporal lobe seizures Hypoxia can give rise to temporal lobe epilepsy Which has features similar to the NDE Such as the panoramic life review and the changes in affect.

The 'dying brain' hypothesis Best known and most popular explanation for NDE Suggested by blackmore She suggests that different elements of the NDE may need to be explained by different psychological or physiological mechanisms. Features of the tunnel, light and noises -hypoxia and other threats to the brain The affective features of peace and well- endorphins

Astrology Astrologers believe that a person's character and destiny are affected by the stars at the moment of their birth.

This influence is believed to be both powerful and lasting. The position of the stars at the moment when one is born is considered to shape the kind of personality that one will have for the rest of one's life

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

Main groups of sun signs & personality Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius)- fiery in nature, tending to be energetic, optimistic, enthusiastic and aggressive Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn)- practical, Dependable, logical and cautious. Air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)- light hearted, friendly, open-minded and very changeable Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces)-imaginative, artistic, sensitive and Emotional.

Astrology and personality Eysenck personality inventory (EPI), a widely used questionnaire that measures both extraversion and emotionality. At first glance these findings appear to offer some support for astrology But subsequent studies have failed to replicate them, None of the more recent studies have found significant personality differences of any kind between any of the sun signs

Matching birth charts with test scores A team of professional astrologers was presented with the birth chart of one subject, and was then given the same person's California Personality Inventory (CPI) profile together with two other CPI profiles chosen at random. The astrologers' task was to decide which one of the three CPI profiles matched up with the birth chart. This same procedure would then be repeated for the next subject, and so on throughout the entire sample. The results clearly demonstrated that the astrologers were unable to match up the charts with their corresponding questionnaire scores beyond the level that would be expected by chance. Moreover, in a further experiment it was found that the subjects themselves were unable to recognize their own astrological personality profile based on their birth charts

Ghost The disembodied spirit or image of a deceased person, appearing to be alive.

Ghost Ghosts are believed to be ethereal- able to penetrate doors and walls, appear at the moment of death to a distant relative or friend. Haunting- dwelling locations of ghosts Places associated with their earthly life or locales with a tragic history. Although the evidence for ghosts is largely anecdotal, its belief is widespread and persistent.

Children are often reported to have encountered ghostly playmates Reports of ghost pictures when taking normal photographs

Apparitions Paranormal perception, which cannot be explained by any worldly objective cause. Covers all visionary appearances, hallucinations, clairvoyance, and similar unusual perceptions. A ghostis a visual apparition of a deceased human being. All apparitions do not take the form of visual images; auditory and tactile false perceptions also occur

Types of Apparitions Induced- hypnotic and post-hypnotic hallucinations and visions induced by the use of narcotics and intoxicants, ascetic practices, spontaneous Crystallomancy or crystal gazingis a form of apparition that is believed to be frequently clairvoyant. Crystal visions fall under the heading of induced apparitions

Parapsychology

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Parapsychology

Similar to Parapsychology (20)

More from madurai medical college,tamilnadu,India

More from madurai medical college,tamilnadu,India (7)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Parapsychology

Editor's Notes