Contact with Spirits

  Research questions: Why do paranormal investigators use the tools that they use? How does the media (i.e., paranormal programming) affect the choices and beliefs of investigators and observers? Why are some people more likely to believe in the paranormal than others? Works Cited Axtell, Cassie C., "Assessing Electronic Voice Phenomena through Speech Science" (2017).  Honors Theses. 415. https://encompass.eku.edu/honors_theses/415. Aykroyd, Peter H., and Angela Narth. A History of Ghosts: the True Story of Séances, Mediums,  Ghosts, and Ghostbusters . Rodale, 2009.  Blum, Deborah. Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life after  Death . Century, 2007.  Brewer, Paul R. “The Trappings of Science: Media Messages, Scientific Authority, and Beliefs  About Paranormal Investigators.” Science Communication , vol. 35, no. 3, SAGE  Publications, 2013, pp. 311–33, doi:10.1177/1075547012454599. Fitch, Marc E.. Paranormal Nat...

 “‘Sheet Happens!’ Advancing Ghost Studies in the Analytics Age” by James Houran Image of James Houran, found on ResearchGate Houran, James. “‘Sheet Happens!’ Advancing Ghost Studies in the Analytics Age.”       Australian  Journal of Parapsychology , vol. 17, no. 2, Dec. 2017, pp. 187–206.       EBSCOhost,  search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?      direct=true&db=aph&AN=127093363&site=ehost-live. (Link: https://login.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=127093363&site=ehost-live)      This paper discusses many of the issues with modern-day ghost studies, such as an over-reliance on gadgets, and proposes a possible solution in order to advance ghost studies.       James Houran is a parapsychologist. He also has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Springfield (USA...

“Magic and Memory: Using Conjuring to Explore  the Effects  of Suggestion, Social Influence, and Paranormal Belief on Eyewitness  Testimony for an Ostensibly  Paranormal Event” by Krissy Wilson and Christopher C. French Image of Christopher C. French, found on Wikipedia Wilson, Krissy, and Christopher C. French. “Magic and Memory: Using Conjuring to Explore       the Effects  of Suggestion, Social Influence, and Paranormal Belief on Eyewitness       Testimony for an Ostensibly  Paranormal Event.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 5,       FRONTIERS RESEARCH FOUNDATION, 2014,   pp. 1289–1289,       doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01289. (Link: https://bit.ly/37s1Raq)      Researchers exposed participants to fake psychics and asked them to complete a questionnaire about what they witnessed. Participants were exposed to different types of social influences (negative, positi...

Working Title: The Effect of Cognitive Ability and Scientific Misrepresentation on Paranormal Belief Topic :       I will examine the possible reasons behind people’s continued belief in the paranormal. This paper will link people’s cognitive ability to scientific misrepresentation, particularly in media, and explore the unreliability of ghost-hunting techniques, such as EVP.  Research Question:       What sparked people’s interest in contacting spirits? How have our methods of reaching the undead evolved, and are these methods reliable? Despite the mounting evidence against the existence of spirits, why do people continue to believe in the paranormal? Theoretical Frame: In the study by Gordon Pennycook et al. “Analytic Cognitive Style Predicts Religious and Paranormal Belief,” and the study “Probability Misjudgment, Cognitive Ability, and Belief in the Paranormal” by Jochen Musch et al., researchers looked into the link between people’s c...

"Analytic Cognitive Style Predicts Religious and Paranormal Belief" by Gordon Pennycook et al. (Image of Gordon Pennycook, found on Twitter) Pennycook, Gordon, et al. “Analytic Cognitive Style Predicts Religious and Paranormal       Belief.”  Cognition , vol. 123, no. 3, Elsevier B.V, 2012, pp. 335–46,       doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2012.03.003. (Link: https://bit.ly/3bk2i7H )      The purpose of this study was to find whether or not people’s cognitive abilities are correlated with their religious and paranormal belief. In the end, the researchers established that there was indeed an association between these variables.       Gordon Pennycook is an assistant professor of behavioral science at the University of Regina. His research is primarily focused on reasoning, judgement, misinformation, and beliefs. Pennycook has a PhD from the University of Waterloo and completed his postdoc at Yale University’s departm...

What sparked people’s interest in contacting spirits? How have our methods of reaching the undead evolved, and are these methods reliable? Despite the mounting evidence against the existence of spirits, why do people continue to believe in ghosts? Musch, Jochen, and Katja Ehrenberg. "Probability Misjudgment, Cognitive Ability, and       Belief in the Paranormal." British Journal of Psychology, vol. 93, 2002, pp. 169-77.       ProQuest, https://login.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/login?url=?url=https://www-proquest-      com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/scholarly-journals/probability-misjudgment-cognitive-      ability-belief/docview/199588868/se-2?    accountid=13626, doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/10.1348/0007126021625      7. Pennycook, Gordon, et al. “Analytic Cognitive Style Predicts Religious and Paranormal       Belief.”  Cognition...

    I'd like to mostly keep my original topic but focus more on the history of séances and the occult (possibly just in America, but I'm not entirely certain for now). I'd also like to talk about why people seem to be so fascinated with the idea of ghosts and contacting the dead. I still think it would be interesting to further explore more "modern" and "scientific" ways of contacting spirits today as well; however, after looking into the topic some more, I think I will end up discussing actual scientific explanations for why people think they see ghosts as well as the reasons for why different technologies used to detect or contact ghosts actually prove nothing. Originally, I wanted to touch on both sides of the "Are ghosts real?" argument, but after doing some further research, it would be far easier for me to explain why ghosts do not exist, as I am now thoroughly a skeptic. Thinking ahead, I think I'd like to open my paper with the hist...