Robin Wooffitt

Towards a Discursive Parapsychology Language and the Laboratory Study of Anomalous Communication

In recent years there has been a change in attitudes among psychologists and social scientists towards ostensibly paranormal experiences in general, and parapsychological research in particular. Instead of seeking to endorse or debunk claims of paranormal experience, attention has shifted to the analysis of the broader psychological, social and cultural implications of reports of anomalous phenomena. This paper contributes to this trend by arguing for a discursive psychological study of interaction between experimenter and subject in parapsychology laboratory experiments. Parapsychological experiments rely on mundane interactional practices which invoke the relevance of, or make explicit reference to, psychological and parapsychological states. These laboratory interactions can be investigated by conversation-analytic-informed discursive psychology. Some preliminary observations on data from ganzfeld ESP experiments are offered to illustrate the range of empirical issues which may be explored. These concern the socially organized properties of reports of conscious imagery; the use of a psychological thesaurus as part of the experimenter’s work; and the management of affiliation in experimenter-subject interaction. These observations suggest that discursive psychological research can be undertaken despite the controversial status of evidence for extra-sensorimotor communication. The paper argues that the discursive psychological studies of interaction in parapsychological experiments can yield findings relevant to the concerns of both parapsychology and discursive psychology, and can contribute to methodological issues in the broader study of consciousness.

The Paranormal is (Still) Normal: The Sociological Implications of a Survey of Paranormal Experiences in Great Britain

Historically, there has been limited sociological interest in the paranormal and no systematic study of reported paranormal experiences. There are also few medium-to-large-scale survey results with nationally representative populations focusing on paranormal experiences. This paper provides details of an exploratory survey conducted in 2009 with a nationally representative sample of 4,096 adults aged 16 years and over across Great Britain [1] . Our findings show that 37% of British adults report at least one paranormal experience and that women, those who are middle-aged or individuals resident in the South West are more likely to report such experiences. These results establish incidence levels of reported paranormal experiences in contemporary Britain. We argue also that they merit a more sustained sociological consideration of the paranormal. In this respect we renew and update the robust justification and call for serious research positioning the paranormal as a social phenomenon, originally proposed well over thirty years ago by Greeley (1975).

Some Properties of the Interactional Organisation of Displays of Paranormal Cognition in Psychic–Sitter Interaction

This paper presents a sociological investigation of instances of a class of claimed paranormal phenomena: the apparent demonstration of paranormal means of cognition by psychic practitioners, such as mediums, psychics, clairvoyants and tarot-card readers. Using a conversation analytic perspective, this paper examines recordings and transcripts of sittings between psychics and members of the public. It describes a linguistic sequence through which (unattributed) information is offered by the psychic, accepted by the sitter and then established as coming from a paranormal source. This form of analysis is located within an emerging social scientific interest to explore ostensibly anomalous human experiences to enrich understanding of everyday behaviour. In this case, it is argued that analysis of the socially organised properties of exchanges in which apparently successful demonstrations of paranormal cognitive abilities are accomplished can contribute to broader debates about the relationship between discourse and cognition.

Organising computer talk

Publisher Summary In the advice system the choice of possible next turns available to the user and to the system is controlled by a set of rules based on conversation analysis (CA). The advice system uses a conventional mouse, screen and keyboard interface. The findings of CA about human-human interaction would seem to be even more likely to be able to make a contribution to the design of voice-mediated human-computer dialogues, where the user speaks to the machine and the machines responses are generated using a speech synthesizer. Despite these opportunities, there has been some skepticism about applying CA findings to the design of computer systems and of developing computational models of conversational phenomena. This chapter explores whether this skepticism is wholly justified. One advantage of the computational approach, both to linguistics and to understanding conversation, is that it forces the analyst to be clear and precise about what is being proposed. It provides a way to conceptualize and explore the consequences of the fact that conversation is the outcome of two or more independent, goal-directed individuals. The chapter describes a current speech system project, the ESPIRIT II Sundial project that aims to draw on some of the interactional strategies revealed by CA. It also discusses shortcomings of this model to see whether the problems are as such to invalidate the enterprise or are merely difficulties that can be overcome by a more sophisticated model. The aim of the Sundial project is to develop a computer system which is capable of conversing with members of the public over the telephone to answer simple queries, such as the time of arrival of a particular airline flight or the times of trains.

Discourse, rhetoric, and the accomplishment of mediumship in stage demonstrations

Abstract This paper examines the use of language in stage demonstrations of mediumship in secular contexts, such as in civic halls or hotel conference/function rooms. Focusing on demonstrations by one of the UKs leading mediums, we examine how the organization of the introduction to the demonstration works to establish a set of inferential preconditions in the audience: tacit expectations and norms which shape the audiences interpretation of subsequent events and participation in such a way as to enhance the sense that spirit communication is occurring and which, therefore, favourably dispose the audience to the reality of the mediums purported mediumship powers. In this, our study explores some properties of the discursive, rhetorical, and performative underpinnings of demonstration of mediumship and interaction with the spirits.

The transgressive that: Making the world uncanny.

In this article, we examine how the demonstrative that may be used to notice an event in the world in such a way as to suggest it has highly unusual or transgressive properties and in so doing invite others to align with that implicit claim. Drawing on Freud’s notion of the uncanny, we examine instances of the transgressive that in circumstances in which participants at least entertain the possibility that they are experiencing anomalous or paranormal objects and entities. The analysis outlines the basic features of the transgressive that and examines how it may be the vehicle for a range of delicate interpersonal activities. Throughout the article, we try to show the broader relevance of the analytic argument by reference to data from more mundane interactional settings and to other forms of discourse, including fiction, commentary and interview narrative.

Discourse, Culture, and Extraordinary Experiences: Observations from a Comparative, Qualitative Analysis of Japanese and UK English Accounts of Paranormal Phenomena

This article examines communicative practices in Japanese and UK English accounts of extraordinary experiences. We compare the way in which specific narrative features are handled: description of the actual experience, and the completion of the narrative. We also examine some ways in which the accounts are rhetorically designed to address skeptical alternatives. The perspective is informed by an ethnomethodological focus on communicative competences in description. This comparison identifies differences between Japanese and UK English narratives. This focus on interactional features of the data is contrasted to macro cultural or psychological perspectives on the relationship between national culture and language.

Relational psychoanalysis and anomalous communication : Continuities and discontinuities in psychoanalysis and telepathy

There has been consistent interest in telepathy within psychoanalysis from its start. Relational psychoanalysis, which is a relatively new development in psychoanalytic theory and practice, seems more receptive to experiences between patient and analyst that suggest ostensibly anomalous communicative capacities. To establish this openness to telepathic phenomena with relational approaches, a selection of papers recently published in leading academic journals in relational psychoanalysis is examined. This demonstrates the extent to which telepathy-like experiences are openly presented and seriously considered in the relational community. The article then discusses those characteristics of the relational approach that may facilitate greater openness to telepathic experience. The argument is that relational psychoanalysis provides a coherent framework in which otherwise anomalous phenomena of patient–analyst interaction can be understood.

Introspection as Institutional Practice: Reflections on the Attempt to Capture Conscious Experience in a Parapsychology Experiment

Parapsychology is the scientific study of claims of anomalous communication, or anomalous cognition, and it is a predominantly experimental and laboratory-based discipline. In this article we examine transcripts of recordings from extra sensory perception (ESP) experiments as part of which participants were required to make introspective reports on their inner mental experiences. The data are recordings and transcripts of “ganzfeld” ESP experiments conducted at the Koestler Parapsychology Unit at the University of Edinburgh. Drawing from conversation analysis and discursive psychology, which seek to identify, among other things, recurrent and robust properties of describing as a social activity, we examine these reports to illuminate generic issues in the production of verbal introspective data, and make some particular remarks relevant to their role in this kind of parapsychological experiment.

Silence and its organization in the pragmatics of introspection

In this article we examine periods of silence during introspective reports produced during an experimental laboratory procedure. Drawing from conversation analytic research and Sacks’s observations on silences, we argue that silences are a significant resource by which introspective accounts may be designed for the institutional requirements of the experimental setting. We identify the normative features of silence, and sketch some of the pragmatic or performative functions facilitated by silence. We conclude by considering our findings for the more general use of introspective data in the study of consciousness and cognate disciplines.