Paranormal is a broad term that covers experiences that are not explainable by scientific means. This could include things like ghost sightings, apparitional sightings, or precognitive dreams.
People often claim to have paranormal experiences, but it is difficult to know whether they are real. Consequently, paranormal investigation teams explore places that people have claimed are haunted by spirits and use a compilation of evidence to either indicate or reject the presence of a ghost.
The paranormal has long been associated with mystical experiences, including precognitive dreams and apparitional sightings (Rhine, 1981; Emmons, 1982; McClenon, 1990). However, there are also a number of studies that support the experiential source hypothesis: that paranormal experience is largely phenomenological and based on individual, dispositional qualities.
Several studies have identified relationships between paranormal belief and preferential thinking style (intuitive vs. experiential), proneness to reality testing deficits, and emotional-based reasoning (Irwin et al., 2013; Wolfradt and Watzke, 1999).
These relationships have been referred to as cognitive-perceptual processes related to endorsement of scientifically unsubstantiated beliefs. In particular, proneness to reality testing deficits and schizotypy are thought to play a role in triggering delusion formation.
In this study, we used latent profile analysis (LPA) to examine the degree to which within-individual variations in experience were related to belief in the paranormal and measures of intuitive thinking/delusion formation. Results indicated that profiles with greater levels of experience were more likely to endorse higher paranormal belief, preferential thinking style, and delusion formation.