Paranormal refers to phenomena that are deemed by many to be beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. These include beliefs in the supernatural, ghosts and haunting, psychokinesis, and extraterrestrial life. Some people also believe that they are able to communicate with the dead, and report experiences such as sleep paralysis (feeling immobilised by an unseen presence in bed at night).
These beliefs often come from personal experience, rather than from media or friends, and are therefore deemed to be more ‘authentic’ than those found in other sources. They are therefore a key part of a ‘folk religion’ that consists of various spiritual and superstitious beliefs and practices, including dowsing for water, and participation in groups such as ghost-hunting clubs and societies.
This study sought to determine whether a specific cognitive thinking style, which is linked to intuitive processing, was associated with paranormal belief. In addition to this, the authors looked at a number of other psychometric traits that have been associated with paranormal beliefs. These included the tendency to use emotion-based reasoning, and the degree of schizotypy, which has been found to be associated with the endorsement of scientifically unsubstantiated beliefs.
The researchers developed a novel composite measure of paranormal belief, incorporating Paranormal Experience, Paranormal Practitioner Visiting and Perceived Paranormal Ability. This was done to overcome the limitations of previous research, which typically uses limited indices of paranormal experience that are restricted in scope and breadth. Zero-order correlations indicated that these factors were related, but had relatively low shared variance.