A lot of people know what the craze around paranormal activity entails, as in the last century there have been more and more reports of so-called “paranormal sightings”, from UFO landings to ghost hauntings and out-of-body experiences. Although a majority of the theories regarding the paranormal have been debunked, lots of individuals believe in this
phenomenon, with some claiming they have experienced it themselves.
While you have surely heard of the paranormal, it is very likely that you have not heard of anomalistic psychology, the study of extraordinary phenomena of behaviour and experience, including those which are often labelled "paranormal”. This area of cognitive psychology does not focus on making assumptions on the validity of reported paranormal experiences, but rather on investigating the flaws of the human cognitive system which have led some to believe they have experienced such activities. Psychologists in this area of expertise credit paranormal activity on physical and psychological factors such as magical thinking (the belief that that specific thoughts or emotions have an influence on the world around an individual), hallucinations, sleep paralysis, delusions and hidden memories, relying on empirical data in their research. For example, a psychological study into ghost hauntings has stated that they may arise from hypnagogic hallucinations, which occur in the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep. The Lange and Houran experiment has observed that paranormal experiences are heavily influenced on perception, by dividing 22 subjects into 2 groups, one being told that the building they are located in is haunted, but not the other. The psychological and physiological perceptions of the first group were more intense, suggesting that the subjects’ interpretations of the surrounding environment could stimulate paranormal experiences.
This science has existed since the nineteenth century, although a term has not been attributed to it until the year of 1989, when psychologists Leonard Zusne and Warren Jones published the book titled “Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking” which addresses the human behaviours that give the impression of paranormal activity when in reality there had been none. Although this science is still not fully accepted as a respectable sub-discipline within the field of psychology, a number of universities are beginning to incorporate this science in the number of psychology courses they offer. In the near future, it is to be expected that the field of anomalistic psychology will become widely known and properly recognised as a science.
Comentarios