AIM HIGHER WITH PALGRAVE INSIGHTS IN PSYCHOLOGY Also ere eee s7a.0.230.27222-4 sre-ons028882 s78.0.250-20537-7 To find out mote vist wunw palgrave.com/insights Anomalistic Psychology Nicola J. Holt, Christine Simmonds-Moore, David Luke and (eerie) ee eee | NGS a es & ROB LEWIS© Nicola. Hott Christine Simmonds-Moore, David Luke and CCwistapher C. French 2012 Alright reserved. No repreuction, copy or transmission ofthis publication may be made without atten permission. 'No portion ofthis publication may be reproduced copie or transmitted save with written permission or in accoreance wth the provisions ofthe Copyright, Designs ad Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of ary cence etmitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Safron House, 0-10 Ktby Street, London ECIN BTS, ‘ny person who does any unauthorized atin relation to this pblication ‘nay be liable to criminal prosecution ane ev lls Yor damages. ‘The authors have asserted their right to be identified 45 the authors of ths workin accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Aet 1986, Fist publishes 2012 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, Palgrave Macrilan inthe UK is an knprint of Macmillan Publishes Limited, feglstered in England, company number 785988, of Houncmils Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6, Palgrave Mtacmilan inthe US ea dvision of St Martin's Pres LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, Nev York, NY 10010, Palgrave Macmillan i the global academic imprint of the above companies ‘and has companies and representatives throughout the wen Palgrave and Macmilan® are registered trademarks nthe United States, ‘the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN 976-0-230-30150—4 “This books printed on paper stable for recyeting and made fom fuly ‘managed and sustained forest sources. Long, pulping and manucturing processes are expected to conform tothe environments regulations of the ountey of eign ‘catalogue record fortis book is avalable fom the Bits Library ‘Acaralog record fortis book i available fm the Library of Congress. wee 76s 4324 2 2019 wy we 15 1a 13 Printed in chine family, my parents Jean and John, my sister Georgina and my ., who made the writing of this book possible. For my husband 14 jevla J. Holt “To Steve Moore for everything, Sienna and Leif for putting up with ry attachment to the computer and the Simmonds family for letting sme be me. —Christine Simmonds Moore For Anna and for my dad and in memory of my mum. Dawid Lube For my mum and in memory of my dad — with thanks for everything, —Christopher C. FrenchContents Note from series editors 11 Introduction and overview Section One: Explanations for Anomalous Experiences and Belief in the Paranormal 2 Cognitive explanations 3 Personality and individual difference explanations 4 Explanations for superstitious beliefs and behaviour Section Two: Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Parapsychology 5 Pseudoscience and the scientific status of parapsychology & — Methadalagical issues related to the study of psi Section Three: Research into Specific Anomalous Experiences 7 Apparitions 8 — Out-of-body experiences and near-death axperiences 9 Mental mediumship 10 Concluding comments Glossary References Index Reading guide 7 33 55 ” 3% 125 19 173 192 199 206 247 292Note from series editors Anomalistic psychology is an understandably popular component of our subject. This area, pethaps more than any other, can astonish and amuse readers as well as inform and develop their understanding of psychology. Nicola Holt and her team have developed a book that does all these things. ‘The examples used in the text are certainly interesting and infor- mative, but most importantly they are not superthious and redund Instead they are used to carefully illustrate well-made and illuminating aspects of anomalstic psychology. Many of you considering reading this book will already know that this topic is not about ghost hunting and "age; rather, itis about how people arrive at their beliefs and what they rogard as constituting evidence. Iris, perhaps, best described as the study of extraordinary experiences or behaviours. = You may be reading this book in preparation far university. Interest in anomalistie psychology continues to grow and as such itis feature as part of an undergraduate course in psychology, ‘The principles discussed here, not least those of careful experimenting and research, are described in such a way as to avoid confusion and facilitate the transfer of knowledge to related topics within psychology. Some existing books can be heavy and the other contributors have provided a introduction to the topic. = This book may be part of your university course. Ifthisis the ease, you are probably studying psychology or a related subject. The members of the author team are all well aware of the d undergraduate course where anomalistic psychology play ul dry, but Nicola excellent, weleoming so you can be eonfident that the coverage is both relevantand appropriately rigorous, You may be reading this bok as part of @pre-university course, such as A-level paychalegy. Lf anomalistie psychology is an option that you are covering, the series of which this text is part has this in mind, ‘The authors and editors have taken care to include coverage required by your A-level specification as well as additional material that will stretch and challenge your understanding of the topic, We hope this volume will encourage your appetite for further stuly Directions about where information relevant to your A-level specification appears can be found in the Reading Guide. ‘Of course, the nature of this particular topic lends itself not only to those g fora book to complement a course but also to a wider readership. “Those interested in the paranormal and in extraordinary beliefs and expe- riences will find it fascinating and accessible. Ifyou fall into this group, ‘may even whet sour appetite for psychology and we look forward to wel- you to the subject. We are delighted to include this book in the NIGEL HOLT AND ROB LEWIS Series EditorsIntroduction : and overview Historical records abound with accounts of visions, miraculous heal- ings, encounters with spirits, and extraordinary human powers. Socrates claimed to hear voices (Smith, 2008), Herodotus (c. 440 1c) deseribes hhow the messiges from che god Apollo, delivered by the Oracle at Delphi, were central to ancient Greck culture, and Genesis ells of the prophetic dreams of Jacob. Similar experiences persist in oral traditions across the world, from shamanistic trances (in which shamans appear to commu- ricate with spirit guides) to gazing into polished stone in the hope of obtaining images of the future (Frazer, 1957). Extraordinary experiences, such as sightings of dece: nication) between friends or relatives, and the apparent ability to “leav and float above one’s own body are eon nonly reported tod cultures, As psychologists, what are we to make of such experiences nd what, if anything, do they tell us about the nature of cor ness? For example, do they suggest that our personality survives death, and that our minds are more interconnected than conventional model oof mind eon imagination? ue, or do they simply illustrate our remarkable powers of <® Whatis anomalistic psychology? nomalistic psychology is the application of psychological method's co the study of anomalous experiences and associated beliefs. An anomaly is something that is rare or that deviates from the norm. An anomalousNeca cexperienes, then, is an “uncommon experience (e.g. synaesthesia [where the stimulation of one sense, such as colour vision, automatically stim- lates another sense, such as sound]) or one that, although it may be experienced by a substantial amount of the population (eg. expe interpreted as telepathic), is believed to deviate from ordinary experien or from the usually accepted explanations of reality” (Cardena, Lynn & Krippner, 2000, p. 4). Anomalous experiences include, but are nat lim- ited (o, hallucinations, a perceptual experience that occurs despite the absence of an appropriate external stimulus (Bentall, 1999); mystical ‘experiences, which may involvea sense of connection with a divine being and leave “a strong impression of having encountered a reality diff from. the realty of everyday experience” (Wulff, 2000, p. 397); 0 body experiences, where one’s consciousness is experienced as separate fom one’s physical body (Alvarado, 2000); alien abduction experiences nch, Santomauro, Hamilton, Fox & Thalbourne, 2008); aid subjec- tive paranormal experiences, such as prophetic dreams (Targ, Schlitz & Irwin, 2000), Associated beliefs are multidimensional and include belie? in the paranormal (eg. extrasensory perception |F-SP] or ghosts), mag~ superstitious or ‘new age’ beliefs (such as in astrology, angels, the Juckiness of black cats or past lives), and other extraordinary belief, such as in the Loch Ness monster, fairies or the Bermuda ‘Triangle (Ir 1993), Te is worth nothing that there are different types of anomalous bliets. People who hold one type of belief (ex. in an afterlife) do not sarily hold others (eg. in extraordinary life forms) (Lawrence, 1995). Anomalous experiences and beliefs are distinet Irom our ordinary state of awareness or contravene conventional assumptions about reality. For example, we expect our self to be experienced as bounded by our own physical body and our thoughts exclusively to be our own, Anomalous experiences offer an apparent ‘alternative reality’ of sorts. ‘They may involve changes in the dimensions of consciousness that make up our state of ordinary wakefulness, such as cognition, emotion, perception, and autention (Reed, 1988), or they may vio assumptions that seem self-evident and that we take for granted. The philosopher Broad (1953) defined four types of such assumptions, which he called ‘basic lim- iting principles’ — principles of causation (that an event cannot begin to have effects before it has happened) of mind on matter (ie. that the cannot directly influence objects) of the mind’s dependence on the and of information acquisition (e. itis only possible to perceivea material ‘object through the five ordinary senses). ‘These four principles would be re existen cS avened by reports, when taken at face value, of precognition (acquit n from the future), psychic healing, communication with ess, and telepathy (acquiring information afirmat spirits or out-of-body exp. Aivectly from the mind of another) respestively Despite the unusual nature of anomalous experiences, they are rel- ly common. For example, in surveys of the general population, approximately 10% report having had at least one, non-