HISTORY OF
PARAPSYCHOLOGY
Bichu Andrews
Shravan Abraham
Ashwini A
Sindura Sadanandan
Sneha John
W hat is Parapsychology
The termparapsychology(also known
aspsi phenomena) originates frompara
meaning "alongside", and psychology(study
of mind).
Studies related to it seem to show that in
some circumstances it is possible for some
persons to make direct responses to events
not present to their senses as well as to
future events, and probably also to influence
directly the movement of objects by willing.
As its name indicates, parapsychology is
sometimes considered a sub-branch of
psychology since it involves the study of
apparent mental faculties. In its modern
form however, parapsychology is an
interdisciplinary field, which has attracted
physicists, engineers, biologists,
psychologists and those from other
sciences. Parapsychology has no formal
affiliation with contemporary psychology
nor is it studied in most psychology
departments.
Psychical research, psi research (or as it is
now known,parapsychology),refers to
the experimental and quantitative study
of paranormal phenomenon. Paranormal
means beside or beyond normal, and is
used to describe phenomenon that are not
explicable in terms of our ordinary
understanding or current scientific
knowledge.
Parapsychologists study a number of
apparentparanormalphenomena,
includingtelepathy,precognition,clairvoy
ance,psychokinesis,near-death
experiences andreincarnation
Scope
Parapsychologists study a number of
ostensible paranormal phenomena,
including but not limited to:
Telepathy: Transfer of information on
thoughts or feelings between individuals by
means other than thefive classical senses.
Clairvoyance: Obtaining information
about places or events at remote locations,
by means unknown to current science.
Psychokinesis: The ability of the mind
to influence matter, time, space, or
energy by means unknown to current
science.
Some psychokinesis researchers claim
psychokinesis exists and deserves
further study, although the focus of
research has shifted away from largescale phenomena to small phenomena.
Precognition: Perception of
information about future places or
events before they occur.
Near-death experiences: An
experience reported by a person who
nearly died, or who experiencedclinical
deathand then revived.
NDEs include one or more of the
following experiences: a sense of being
dead; a sensation of floating above
one's body and seeing the surrounding
area; a sense of overwhelming love
and peace; a sensation of moving
upwards through a tunnel;
encountering a being of light,
Reincarnation: The rebirth of a soul
or other non-physical aspect of
humanconsciousnessin a new
physical body after death.
It is specifically the study of "cases of
the reincarnation type", that is, cases
in which a young child "spontaneously
makes remarks about a previous life
he would have led before his birth.
(Central belief of Hinduism).
A briefH istory
TheSociety for Psychical Researchwas
founded inLondonin 1882. Its
formation was the first systematic effort
to organize scientists and scholars to
investigate paranormal phenomena.
Areas of study includedtelepathy,
hypnotism,apparitions,
hauntings, and the physical aspects of
Spiritualismsuch as table-tilting,
materializationandapportation.
In 1911,Stanford Universitybecame the
first academic institution in the United
States to study extrasensory perception
(ESP) andpsychokinesis(PK) in a
laboratory setting.
Was followed by Duke University, As
opposed to the approaches of psychical
research, which generally sought
qualitative evidencefor paranormal
phenomena, the experiments at Duke
University proffered aquantitative,
statisticalapproach usingcardsand dice.
Rhine Era
Joseph Banks Rhine, initially a botanist by
formal training, studied psychology at
Harvard and then at Duke with William
McDougall. Rhine is generally considered to
be the founding father of parapsychology
as an area of scientific inquiry. Inspired by
a lecture by Arthur Conan Doyle on the
possibility of communicating with the dead,
he initiated formal laboratory and field
research on paranormal phenomena at
Duke University.
Rhine, along with associate Karl Zener, had
developed a statistical system of testing for ESP
that involved subjects guessing what symbol, out
of five possible symbols, would appear when
going through aspecial deck of cards. A
percentage of correct guesses (or hits)
significantly above 20% was perceived as higher
than chance and indicative of psychic ability.
Rhine stated in his first book,ExtraSensory
Perception(1934), that after 90,000 trials, he felt
ESP is "an actual and demonstrable occurrence".
He also started the Journal of Parapsychology,
founded the Parapsychological Association and
edited several editions of the book "Extra
Sensory Perception". His Rhine Research
Center and Institute for Parapsychology,
originally affiliated with Duke University in
Durham, North Carolina, later became a wholly
independent entity. Although there is evidence
that data produced by some of his assistants
may have been fraudulent, Rhine himself was
known for rigorous lab research and approach
to statistical analysis.
Issues and D ebates
Since the 1980s, contemporary parapsychological
research has waned considerably in the United
States. Early research was considered
inconclusive, and parapsychologists were faced
with strong opposition from their academic
colleagues.
Rupert Sheldrakeis an English biochemist. He is
known for his research into parapsychology. He is
a famous investigator and scientist looking into
parapsychology and supposedly giving the best
evidence (or arguing from other research
evidence) for the existence of psychic powers. His
specialist area concernsGanzfeld Experiment.
Parapsychological
theories are currently
viewed
aspseudoscientificby the
scientific community as
they are incompatible
with well established laws
of science.
Scientists critical of
parapsychology stated
parapsychology
asclustering
illusion,availability
error,illusion of control
ormagical thinking
Fabricated images
of ghosts such as
this were very
popular in the
19th century
Critical analysts, including some
parapsychologists, are not satisfied with
experimental parapsychology studies,
contend that apparently successful
experimental results in psi research are
more likely due to poorly trained
researchers, or methodological flaws
rather than to genuine psi effects.
Stage magicianandskeptic,James
Randi has demonstrated thatmagic
tricks can simulate or duplicate some
supposedly psychic phenomena.
PK ON RANDOM NUMBER
GENERATORS
PK ON LIVING SYSTEMS
ESP IN THE GANZFELD
REMOTE VIEWING
Criticism: Apparently successful experimental
results are actually due to sloppy procedures,
poorly trained researchers, methodological
flaws, selective reporting, and statistics
problems. There is therefore not a shred of
scientific evidence for psi phenomena.
Criticism: Psi phenomena violate basic
limiting principles of science, and are
therefore impossible.
Criticism: Parapsychology does not have a
"repeatable" experiment.
