Chris A Roe

Critical thinking and belief in the paranormal: A re-evaluation

This paper evaluates the claim that believers in the paranormal exhibit poor critical thinking ability relative to disbelievers, as manifested in their inability to evaluate the competence of experimental abstracts. It is argued that such differences reported elsewhere (Alcock & Otis, 1980; Gray & Mill, 1990) may be accountable for in terms of the action of cognitive dissonance, or as due to experimental artifacts. A study was conducted which attempted to overcome earlier methodological shortcomings, and which assessed the cognitive dissonance account of differential performance. Altogether, 117 participants were characterized as believers, neutrals or disbelievers according to a pre-measure. Subsequently, each participant was asked to evaluate an abbreviated experimental report which was either sympathetic or unsympathetic to parapsychology. No differences in assessment ratings were found, failing to replicate the claimed effect and supporting an account in terms of artifact. There was a significant tendency for those participants who received a paper which was incongruent with their a priori beliefs to rate it as less competently conducted and analysed than those who rated the congruent paper, in keeping with the cognitive dissonance account.

Exploring the meaning in meaningful coincidences: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of synchronicity in therapy

Synchronicity experiences (SEs) are defined as psychologically meaningful connections between inner events (e.g. thought, dream or vision) and one or more external events occurring simultaneously or at a future point in time. There has been limited systematic research that has investigated the phenomenology of SEs in therapy. This study aimed to redress this by exploring the process and nature of such experiences from the perspective of the practitioner. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of nine practitioners who reported SEs in their therapeutic sessions (three counsellors, three psychologists and three psychotherapists), and focused on how participants make sense of their experiences of synchronicity in therapy. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify three superordinate themes: sense of connectedness, therapeutic process, and professional issues. Findings suggest that SEs can serve to strengthen the therapeutic relationship and are perceived as useful harbingers of information about the therapeutic process, as well as being a means of overcoming communication difficulties, as they are seen to provide insights into the client’s experiencing of themselves and others, regardless of whether or not the SE is acknowledged by the client or disclosed by the therapist.

Reframing voices and visions using a spiritual model. An interpretative phenomenological analysis of anomalous experiences in mediumship

Throughout different civilisations and historical epochs, anthropological and religious texts have been replete with accounts of persons who have reported anomalous experiences in the form of visions or voices. In these contexts, such experiences are considered to be a “gift” that can be spiritually enriching or life enhancing. One such group of individuals are mediums who claim to receive information from spirits of the deceased in the form of auditory or visual perceptions. This study explores how mediums come to interpret their experiences as mediumistic and how they describe their relationship with spirit voices. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 Spiritualist mediums using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three themes were identified: “Childhood anomalous experiences”, “A search for meaning: Normalisation of mediumship”, and “relationship with spirit”. These themes illuminated aspects of the mediumistic experience that have therapeutic implications for individuals who have similar experiences but become distressed by them.

NARCISSISM AND BELIEF IN THE PARANORMAL

The present study was designed to assess whether the relationship between narcissistic personality and paranormal belief identified by Tobacyk and Mitchell earlier could be replicated with a general population and to see whether the effect could be found with a narrower definition of paranormal beliefs that focuses only on belief in psychic phenomena. 75 participants completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and two measures of paranormal belief, the Paranormal Belief Scale and the Australian Sheep–Goat Scale. There was no correlation between narcissism and Paranormal Belief Scale scores, but narcissism and Australian Sheep–Goat Scale scores were significantly positively correlated. Of the three subscales to the Australian Sheep–Goat measure, scores for narcissism correlated with belief in ESP and PK but not in Life after death. These relationships were interpreted in terms of need for control.

Lucid dreaming incidence: A quality effects meta-analysis of 50 years of research

We report a quality effects meta-analysis on studies from the period 1966-2016 measuring either (a) lucid dreaming prevalence (one or more lucid dreams in a lifetime); (b) frequent lucid dreaming (one or more lucid dreams in a month) or both. A quality effects meta-analysis allows for the minimisation of the influence of study methodological quality on overall model estimates. Following sensitivity analysis, a heterogeneous lucid dreaming prevalence data set of 34 studies yielded a mean estimate of 55%, 95% C. I. [49%, 62%] for which moderator analysis showed no systematic bias for suspected sources of variability. A heterogeneous lucid dreaming frequency data set of 25 studies yielded a mean estimate of 23%, 95% C. I. [20%, 25%], moderator analysis revealed no suspected sources of variability. These findings are consistent with earlier estimates of lucid dreaming prevalence and frequent lucid dreaming in the population but are based on more robust evidence.

Exploring the role of need for cognition, field independence and locus of control on the incidence of lucid dreams during a 12 week induction study

This article reports an investigation of 2 proposed theories, the predispositional and experiential, regarding the association of personality variables to lucid dreaming incidence during a 12-week lucid dreaming induction program. The study found no differences between those who did and did not report lucid dreams during the program on baseline measures of field independence, locus of control or need for cognition. There was an observed significant change toward a field independent orientation between baseline and posttests for those successful at inducing a lucid dream; with no statistically significant differences for either Locus of Control or Need for Cognition. Results suggest that field independence may not be a predispositional characteristic for the successful induction of lucid dreaming, but an experiential result of having lucid dream experiences. The authors conclude that experiences within a dream state may have appreciable effects on waking cognition.

Caring and healing in health care: The evidence base

It is nearly 90 years since Francis Peabody gave his landmark lecture on the care of the patient (Peabody, 1927). Peabody was concerned that the science of medicine was marginalising its central role of caring, and famously concluded that ‘‘the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient’’.

An Empirical Test of the Theory of Morphic Resonance by Using Recognition for Chinese Symbols

Tests of the theory of morphic resonance have tended to confirm the theorys predictions but are difficult to evaluate since they are typically reported in popular accounts rather than more detailed peer-reviewed journal papers. We replicated earlier work using word-based stimuli in a study that also looked at the effects of transliminality on performance. Sixty participants were exposed to five genuine Chinese characters and five false characters. Subsequently, participants identified the characters they could recognize among a sheet consisting of those originally presented intermixed with 10 decoys. As predicted, participants accurately recognized more of the genuine than false characters, t(59) = 2.40, P = .020, but also were more likely to report false memories for genuine than false characters, t(59) = 3.805, P < .001. Transliminality scores were related to performance with presented characters (r = .38; P = .003) but not with decoy characters (r = .14, P = .28).

Anomalous Experiences and the Bereavement Process

Bereavement can be described as a universally experienced set of negative emotional stages following the loss of an object we hold dear.1 This typically involves the loss of people through physical separation or biological death, but can occur in a variety of circumstances, including separation from childhood toys or the loss of a limb through accident and amputation.2 To be able to experience such a personal loss we must first have formed an attachment to something, or typically someone. A psychological attachment is “the strong, affectionate tie we have with special people in our lives that leads us to feel pleasure when we interact with them and to be comforted by their nearness during times of stress”.3 Bowlby presented a general theory of attachment between people, particularly with regard to understanding attachments between child and caregiver.4 He considered terminations of attachment through death, and observed that people commonly experience emotional shock, and then physiological stress and anxiety from such loss (termed separation anxiety).5 However, over time the bereaved will come to accept the loss, readjust to the situation, and form new attachments.

The relationship between latent inhibition and performance at a non-intentional precognition task.

CONTEXT Many spontaneous cases of extra-sensory perception (ESP) seem to occur without the conscious intent of the experient to manifest any anomalous phenomena. Indeed, Stanford׳s psi-mediated instrumental response (PMIR) theory, which frames ESP as a goal-oriented function, goes as far as to suggest that such intent may be counterproductive to psi. OBJECTIVES The present study was the latest to build on the successful paradigm developed by Luke and colleagues in testing the non-intentional psi hypothesis and potential covariates of psi task success. This study focused on the ability of latent inhibition-an organism׳s cognitive tendency to filter out apparently irrelevant information-to predict an individual׳s sensitivity to psi stimuli. METHOD A total of 50 participants completed a two-part auditory discrimination performance measure of latent inhibition; a battery of questionnaires; and a 15-trial, binary, forced-choice, non-intentional precognition task. They were then either positively or negatively rewarded via images from subsets that they had pre-rated, seeing more images from their preferred subsets the better they performed at the psi task and vice versa. RESULTS Participants scored a mean hit rate of 7.96 [mean chance expectation (MCE) = 7.50], which just failed to reach a statistically significant level, t(48) = 1.62, P = .06, one-tailed, ESr (effect size correlation) = 0.23. However, latent inhibition was found to be unrelated to participants׳ precognitive performance.