Introduction: Paranormal beliefs are defined as believing in extrasensory perception, precognition, witchcraft, and telekinesis, magical thinking, psychokinesis, superstitions. Previous studies corroborate that executive brain functions underpin paranormal beliefs. To test causal hypotheses, neurophysiological studies of brain activity are required. Method: A sample of 20 students (10 females,...

Recent articles by Erich Goode (2000) and Glenn Sparks (2001) discussed the relationship between religious and paranormal beliefs. Goode proposes that they share a common foundation of belief in phenomena that are outside conventional science. Sparks is less certain of a relationship between traditional religion and paranormal beliefs. However, both writers agree that there are multiple dimensi...

Background: Paranormal experiences that fit into a prior framework of belief are seen as more pleasant, while individuals without such a framework find them intrusive and disturbing. Methods: Undergraduate students (no paranormal experiences group, N= 1574) and people who attended workshops on paranormal/spiritual topics (paranormal experiences group, N= 416) completed two questionnaires, the O...

This study assessed the extent to which within-individual variation in schizotypy and paranormal belief influenced performance on probabilistic reasoning tasks. A convenience sample of 725 non-clinical adults completed measures assessing schizotypy (Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences; O-Life brief), belief in the paranormal (Revised Paranormal Belief Scale; RPBS) and probabi...

This study examines the psychological correlates of paranormal beliefs among teachers and teachers in training. Teachers are a population of special interest because they may transmit paranormal beliefs to their students. Teacher paranormal beliefs were found to be correlated with cognitive perceptual and disorganized schizotypal thinking and intuitive thinking styles. The overall pattern of th...

The present paper examined relationships between schizotypy (measured by the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experience; O-LIFE scale brief), belief in the paranormal (assessed via the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale; RPBS) and proneness to statistical bias (i.e., perception of randomness and susceptibility to conjunction fallacy). Participants were 254 volunteers recruited via conve...

Background: Paranormal beliefs are common among patients with mental illness. Such beliefs may mediate conceptualization of illness, treatment satisfaction and medication adherence. Objective: To study the level of paranormal beliefs and its relationship with explanatory models, treatment adherence and satisfaction using standardized assessment tool. Methods: Eighty nine patients with mental il...

A study was conducted to assess the relationship between critical thinking and belief in the paranormal. 180 students from three departments (psychology, arts, computer science) completed one measure of reasoning, the Paranormal Belief Scale (Tobacyk & Milford, 1983), and a scale of paranormal experiences. Half of the subjects filled out the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (Ennis & Millmann, 198...

Paranormal beliefs and magical thinking exist in the public, and amongst university students. Researchers have found that media can influence such beliefs. A 2012 study suggested pseudoscientific rationales can influence acceptance of reported paranormal phenomena. Using a paranormal belief survey and controlled experiment this work explores the paranormal beliefs and test the effects of three ...

This study examined connections between paranormal beliefs and educational level, discipline, length of education, gender, and analytical and intuitive thinking. Finnish students (N = 3141) from 14 university and six vocational school disciplines filled in an Internet-based questionnaire. The results showed that university students had less paranormal beliefs than vocational school students, wh...