Maryland Paranormal Research ® Parapsychology for Paranormal Research

Parapsychology for Paranormal Research

 This presentation surveys academic
parapsychology research on varieties of
psi experiences including extrasensory
perception, mind-matter interaction and
post-mortem survival. It is intended to
provide background on parapsychology
for paranormal research in the field.

 Parapsychology is the scientific study
of psi phenomena
" It’s no longer a matter of believing or disbelieving, it
is a matter of being aware of the facts or not being
aware of the facts "
- J.B. Rhine

 Psi phenomena are experiences in
which information or energy seems
to have been transferred or
apprehended without the operation
of the known senses or logical
inference
CARDENA, Etzel, MARCUSSON-CLAVERTZ, David and PALMER , John (2015), Reintroducing Parapsychology. In E
Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of Parapsychology: A Handbook for the 21st Century, North Carolina: McFarland and Co. Inc.

 Parapsychology as a discipline traces its
origin to the founding of the Society for
Psychical Research (SPR) on Feb 20 1882
in London. Historic SPR studies include:
1886: Phantasms of the Living
1903: Human Personality and its
Survival of Bodily Death
ALVARADO,Carlos S and ZINGRONE, Nancy L (2016): Introduction to the Study of Psychic Phenomena,
Lecture. Parapsychology Massively Open Online Course (ParaMOOC), 2016.

 Early work of the SPR often focused on the
investigation/exposure of fraudulent mediums
in connection with the Spiritualism Movement
 ThisVictorian-era movement was marked by
widespread belief that personal consciousness
persisted after bodily death
 The movement reached peak adherence in the
1840s fueled by media coverage of séances of
the Fox sisters and the influence of mesmerism

 Exceptional Experiences (ExE) are
experiences that - from the point of
view of those affected by them - are
so exceptional that they seem
incompatible (dissonant) with their
explanations of reality or with the
worldview of their social environment
BELZ, Martina and FACHWolfgang (2015), Exceptional Experiences (ExE) in Clinical Psychology. In E Cardena
(Ed.), Handbook of Parapsychology: A Handbook for the 21st Century, North Carolina: McFarland and Co. Inc.

coincidence
phenomena
dissociation
phenomena
external phenomena
[world view]
internal phenomena
[self view]
meaningful
coincidences
poltergeists/
apparitions
automatisms/
mediumship
extrasensory
perception
BELZ, Martina and FACHWolfgang (2015), Exceptional Experiences (ExE) in Clinical Psychology. In E Cardena

 ExE can be considered as spontaneous
phenomena of dissonance and can be
misattributed from lack of information
dissonance
phenomena
dissonance
reduction
resistance
paradigm change
rational reduction
paradigmatic
breakdown
cognitive
struggle
adaptation or
nonadaptation
EVRARD, Renaud: Exceptional Experiences as Paradigmatic Breakdowns, Lecture. Parapsychology
Massively Open Online Course (ParaMOOC), 2016.
KRAMER,Wim H (2012), Experiences with Psi Counseling in Holland. In InW Kramer (Ed.), Perspectives of
Clinical Parapsychology: An Introductory Reader,The Netherlands: Stichting Het Johan Borgman Fonds.

Mind Matter
Interaction
Extra Sensory
Perception
Survival of
Consciousness
reincarnation
ghosts/hauntings/adc
near death experience
psychokinesis (pk)
intentionality
DMILS
clairvoyance
precognition
telepathy
psychometrypoltergeists
mediumship

 Super-psi hypothesis is the notion that
psychic functioning is more pervasive in
everyday affairs than experimentation
suggests, and represents psi functioning
of a highly controlled or refined nature
Braude, S. (2016).The Super Psi Hypothesis, In PSI Encylopedia, Society for Psychical Research..

 The notion of post-mortem survival
that a disembodied consciousness or
some such discarnate element of
human personality might survive
bodily death at least for a time
IRWIN, H.S. andWATT, C (2007: An Introduction to Parapsychology, 5th Edition, McFarland & Company, Inc,: Jefferson,
NC.

 A ghost is a popular term for a discarnate
(or spirit) being
 Visually experienced in the form (or
projection) of an apparition
 Apparitions are rare and can be of living or
deceased persons
 Apparitions may be perceived via sensory,
telepathic or instrumental channelsMAHER, Michaleen (2015), Ghosts an Poltergeists: An Eternal Enigma . In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of
Parapsychology: A Handbook for the 21st Century, North Carolina: McFarland and Co. Inc.

 No evidence for the notion that ghosts
primarily haunt old houses
 No evidence that ghosts are primarily
connected with crimes or tragedies
 Ghosts do not ordinarily appear on
anniversaries nor on special occasions
Maher, M. (2015), Ghosts an Poltergeists: An Eternal Enigma . In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of
Sidgwick, E. M. (1885). Notes on the evidence, collected by the Society, for phantasms of the dead. In
Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research (Vol. 3, pp. 69-150).

 Ghosts rarely appear in the clothing of a
bygone era
 Ghosts may be seen in daylight or artificial
light, at dawn or dusk, indoors or outdoors
 Percipients may be of any: age; gender;
profession; temperament; intellect; state
of health or emotion
MAHER, Michaleen (2015), Ghosts an Poltergeists: An Eternal Enigma . In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of
SIDGWICK, Eleanor M. Notes on the evidence, collected by the society, for phantasms of the dead,
Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research,, 3 69-150

 Ghosts may or may not be recognized, but
it is rare for percipients to see a ghost that
is fixed to a location and is known to them
 Ghosts do not tend to materialize in areas
where witnesses had already been looking
 Ghosts may disappear suddenly or fade
out gradually or after witness inattention
Maher, M. (2015), Ghosts an Poltergeists: An Eternal Enigma . In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of
Sidgwick, E. M. (1885). Notes on the evidence, collected by the society, for phantasms of the dead. In
Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research (Vol. 3, pp. 69-150).

 Unaccountable sounds may accompany
ghosts or ambient sound may be normal
 If multiple persons are present some may
see the ghost while others do not even
when looking in the same direction
 Ghosts appear to have an affinity for a
particular location or parts of that location
SIDGWICK, Eleanor M. Notes on the evidence, collected by the society, for phantasms of the dead,
Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research,, 3 69-150

Gurney, E., Myers, F.W. H., & Podmore, F. (1886). Phantasms of the living (Vols. 1-2). London: Trübner
&Co.
 Collection of 702 paranormal experiments
and cases providing evidence for telepathy
 Found striking incidences of apparitions of
the living in moments of crisis or danger
and persons near or at the moment death
 These cases appeared evidential of shock-
induced forms of thought transference
 Study emphasized veridical apparitions

 Survey of paranormal experiences in the
UK: visual, audible and tactile apparitions
 17k responses with 1,684=yes replies
 1,112 first hand cases of visual apparitions
 352 cases were visions of the living (31%)
 Most apparitions appeared realistic (74%)
 Apparitions exhibited normal movementsSidgwick, H., Johnson, A., Myers, F.W., Podmore, F., & Sidgwick, E. M. (1894). Report on the census of
hallucinations. In Proceedings of the society for psychical research (Vol. 10, No. 26, pp. 25-394).Trübner
& Co, London.

Myers, F.W. (1907). Human personality and its survival of bodily death,Vol I andVol II. NY, Longman,
Green andCo.
 Extended telepathy theory and capacities
to post-mortem agency but also theorized
apparitions as projections in meta space
 Case histories included near-death
experiences and near-death awareness
("Peak in Darien" cases and welcoming
apparitions), recognizable and haunting
apparitions, and collective percipience

 Conditions under which an apparition
appeared (n=449 cases) (1991 study)
Daylight/ normal electric light 51 %
Semidarkness 35 %
Darkness 9 %
Varied/ unknown 5 %
Erlendur HARALDSON and Joop HOUTKOOPER: Psychic Experiences in the Multinational HumanValues
Study.Who reports them?, Journal of theAmerican Society for Psychical Research, April 1991, 145-158.

 Identities of apparitions (n=423 cases)
(1991 study)
Relatives 214 50 %
Friends 38 9 %
Co-workers 11 3 %
Acquaintances 51 12 %
Strangers 109 26 %
No information 26

 Appearance of apparitions in relation to
time of death (n=272 cases) (1991 study)
Within 1 hour 18 7 %
Within 1-24 hours 19 7 %
one week 23 8 %
one month 24 9 %
one year 57 21 %
1-5 years 57 21 %
6-10 years 25 9 %
> 10 years 49 18 %
Unknown 78

 Known causes of death for apparitions
(n=346 cases) (1991 study)
All Men Women
Disease 248 (72%) 148 (62%) 100 (92%)
Violent death 98 (28%) 89 (38%) 9 (8%)
Unknown 103 68 21*
Total 449 305 130
*Not known in 14 cases if deceased is male or female
Rate of violent death in the population for USA (3.8%)

 Poltergeists (German for noisy spirit) are
usually short-lived phenomena involving
physical manifestations such as disruptive
sounds or pronounced object movements
 Poltergeist phenomena are considered to
be person-centered (i.e. living agency)
 Some poltergeist activity also occurs in
connection with hauntings

Roll,W. G. (1972).The poltergeist. NY, Nelson Doubleday, Inc.Roll,W. G. (1972).The poltergeist. NY, Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
 Popularized the living agent theory of
poltergeists as psychokinetic phenomena
 Sources of activity are focus persons who
project pk energies into the environment
 Found pk effects were more pronounced
and frequent within 15 feet of focal person
 Focus persons usually were young adults
experiencing marked interpersonal stress

 1977 Study on Poltergeists (n=116 cases)
Movement of objects 91%
Sounds 54%
Apparitions 23%
Effects over people 12%
Voices 11%
Lights 9%
Temperature changes 6%
Fires 3%
Writing 2%
ROLL,W. G. (1977). Poltergeists. In B.B.Wolman (Ed.), Handbook of Parapsychology (pp. 382-413). New
York:Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Gauld,A., & Cornell, A. D. (1979). Poltergeists. Routledge Kegan & Paul.
 Cluster analysis of 500 published cases of
paranormal experiences [9th-20th century]
 Of the total, 328 were poltergeist cases
and 172 were haunting cases
 Hauntings involved recurrent phenomena
that are place-centered, persisting on/off
for several years, often occurring at night
 Principal activity included imitative noises

 Cases of the ReincarnationType
(CORT) was a method of systematic
study pioneered by Dr. Ian Stevenson
at the University ofVirginia
 CORT cases verified recollections of a
Previous Personality (PP)
MILLS,Antonia andTUCKER Jim B (2015), Reincarnation: Field Studies andTheoretical IssuesToday. In E Cardena

 Early onset of PP memories: average
age is 30 months
 Birthmarks on a subject (S) will appear
to relate to a PP’s cause of death
 Case frequency of PP violent or
premature death (28%)

 Short intervals between S births and
PP deaths: < 60 months
 Proximity of S and families of a PP:
often a radius of 15 miles
 In >20% of cases an S describes
intermediate realms like in NDE

 PP memories fade after age 6
 Past lives may explain déjà vu,
instantaneous likes/dislikes of persons
and phobias

 A near-death experience (NDE) is an
intense psychological and spiritual
experience associated with impending
death, encompassing multiple possible
sensations to include: detachment from
the body; serenity; life review; the
presence of radiance; and encounters
with familiar or unknown beings
HOLDEN, Janice M (2015): Recent Research on Near Death Experiences withTwo New Cases. From J.M. Holden (Ed.),
Handbook of Near-Death Experiences:ThirtyYears of Investigation with Updates, California: Preager./ABC-CLIO., 2009

 NDE may be pleasurable or
distressing events
 NDE have several stages:
non-material (sense of floating)
material (out of body perception)
trans-material (spirit interaction)

NDE accounts suggest expanded forms
of consciousness to include:
 Panoramic 360˚ fields of view
 Transparency of objects/walls
 Ability to traverse vast distances
 Merging of past/present/future
Jean-Pierre JOURDAN: Near Death Experiences and the 5th Dimensional Spatio-Temporal Perspective,
Journal of Cosmology, 2011,Vol. 14..

After a NDE persons experience:
 Loss of the fear of dying
 Increased purpose/self-worth
 Deeper spiritual/religious faith
 Sporadic medium experiences
 Electronic device malfunctions

 Mediums are individuals who are
believed to produce psi phenomena
via the agency of spirits of the dead.
Forms of mediumship include:
Physical (e.g. materializations/sounds)
Mental (e.g. visions/voices/writing)
ALVARADO,Carlos S and ZINGRONE, Nancy L (2016): Introduction to the Study of Psychic Phenomena,
Lecture. Parapsychology Massively Open Online Course (ParaMOOC), 2016.

 Double blind studies on research-
certified mental mediums indicate
statistically significant effects (success
rates) above chance expectation
 The source of anomalous information
reception in mediumistic experiences
remains unknown
BIESCHEL, Julie and ZINGRONE Nancy L (2015), Mental Mediumship. In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of

 Mediumistic experiences can involve
multiple modes of sensory perception,
telepathy, empathy and precognition
 Brain wave patterns associated with
mediumistic communication markedly
differ from those involved with recall,
perceptual or fabrication tasks
BIESCHEL, Julie and ZINGRONE Nancy L (2015), Mental Mediumship. In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of

 The apparent ability of humans to
affect objects solely by the power of
the mind

 Macro-pk are phenomena that are
experienced through the five senses
 Main sources of findings are from
valid poltergeist and physical
mediumship cases
BRAUDE, Stephan (2015), Macro-psychokinesis. In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of Parapsychology: A
Handbook for the 21st Century, North Carolina: McFarland and Co. Inc.

 Micro-pk are phenomena that are
observed through statistical means
 Random event generators are often
used for experimentation
 Meditation may have pk effects
RONEY-DOUGAL, Serena M (2015), Ariadne’sThread: Meditation and Psi. In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of

 Distant Mental Interaction with
Living Systems (DMILS) involves
psi potential for direct intentional
effects on living systems
Schmidt, S. (2015). Experimental research on distant intention phenomena. Parapsychology: A
Handbook for the 21stCentury, 244., NC: McFarland andCo. Inc.

Electro Dermal Activity (EDA)
 Galvanic skin response
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
 Electrical activity in the brain
Electromyography (EMG)
 Electrical activity in muscles

Allo-feedback experiments
 Agent affects receiver EDA
Remote staring experiments
 Agent views receiver via CCTV
Attention-focusing facilitation
 Agent affects receiver attention

 DMILS experiments (feedback, remote
staring and attention focusing) are tests of
distant intentionality and show consistent
patterns of effect sizes
 Effect sizes are small but statistically
significant. Most persons wouldn’t notice
 Results for distant healing are mixed but
hypnotic suggestion may have an impact

 ElectronicVoice Phenomena (EVP)
refer to electronically generated
sounds that resemble speech, but
are not the result of intentional voice
recordings or renderings
 EVP are often short lasting < 4 secs
 EVP contain unusual speech formants
LEARY, Mark R and BUTLERTom (2015), ElectronicVoice Phenomena. In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of

 Konstantin Raudive is credited with
popularizing the existence of EVP
with his book “Breakthrough” (1971)
 His work was regarded as uncritical
and uncontrolled. A favored EVP was
found to be a German radio broadcast
 Academic research has been sparse
LEARY, Mark R and BUTLERTom (2015), ElectronicVoice Phenomena. In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of

Telepathy
 Ability to communicate mind-to-mind
Clairvoyance
 Mental ability to view distant events
Precognition
 Mental ability to know future events

Forced-choice
 Precognition tests on fixed sets of choices
Ganzfeld experiment
 Clairvoyance tests via sensory deprivation
RemoteViewing
 Clairvoyance tests involving waking states
Implicit Cognition
 Precognition tests using stimulus/response

Experimenter effect
 Due to investigator bias/practices/psi
Decline effect
 Decay of results in successive studies
File drawer effect
 Bias arising from non-publication
BIERMAN,, Dick J (2016): Can Results in Experimental Psychology Be Explained by Questionable Research
Practices? And What to do About It, Lecture. Parapsychology Massively Open Online Course (ParaMOOC),

Meta Analysis
 Pooling of multiple studies in order to
ascertain an effect of interest and to
overcome small sample sizes
Masked Designs
 Use of blind (or double blind) methods
or implicit psi testing on participants

Sense of being stared at
 Common psi experience/ability
 Frequent claim in haunting cases
 Possibly evolved from predator-prey
Psi in animals
 Pets sense of their owners return
 Pets sense of distant intentionality
SHELDRAKE, Rupert (2015), Psi in Everyday Life: Nonhuman and Human. In E Cardena (Ed.), Handbook of

 Reincarnation, NDE, mediumship and
apparitions give convergent evidence for
post-mortem survival and psi functioning
 Persons having exceptional experiences
(ExE) attempt to rationalize and cope with
events that do not fit their belief systems
 Hauntings involve recurrent apparitions,
mainly characterized by imitative sounds

 Most apparitions are seen in normal light
and appear realistic like normal persons
 Poltergeists are considered to be person-
centered and hauntings place-centered
 Experimental designs for ascertaining the
effect sizes, correlates and significance of
psi phenomena are advancing through the
use of REGs, meta analysis and masking

 Web
http://maryland-paranormal.com
 Tumblr
http://blog.maryland-paranormal.com
 Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/marylandparanormalresearch/
 Twitter
https://twitter.com/maryparanormal
 Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/marylandparanormal

Maryland Paranormal Research ® Parapsychology for Paranormal Research

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (18)

Similar to Maryland Paranormal Research ® Parapsychology for Paranormal Research

Similar to Maryland Paranormal Research ® Parapsychology for Paranormal Research (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Maryland Paranormal Research ® Parapsychology for Paranormal Research