Is my brain wired so that I will never see a ghost? A psychologist who deals with three factors that escalate the likelihood of paranormal phenomena

Around 1 in 5 Americans claim to have seen a ghost. I'm not one of them and probably never will be. I blame my brain for this.

Let me explain. No one can say for sure that ghosts exist, but many people believe that they do. About three-quarters of Americans believe in some form of paranormal activity – not just ghosts, but also psychic abilities, prophetic dreams, mediums, and anything else that conventional explanations cannot explain.

As a psychology professorI often think about the subjectivity that people apply when interpreting experiences. So I wonder if there are perfectly ordinary explanations for seemingly extraordinary experiences. Perhaps the perfect storm of everyday factors will converge and create a sensation of the paranormal.

In my novel book “The science of the supernatural“, I am exploring the idea that the human brain can cause supernatural phenomena by misinterpreting the outside world. Here are three factors that can trick the brain and create a false ghost:

Haunting factor #1: environmental cues

Anyone who has ever watched a ghost hunting show has seen a paranormal investigator mutter something like “EMF is going crazy” when alleged supernatural activity is taking place. Electromagnetic fieldsor electromagnetic fields are concealed areas of energy produced by electrically charged particles.

There is currently no direct evidence that humans can consciously sense electromagnetic fields in the same way that we touch, see or hear things in our environment. But with a portable device purchased from your local hardware store, you can measure them anywhere. An electromagnetic field detector detects electrical or magnetic activity, regardless of whether man-made or otherworldly. But are fluctuations in the electromagnetic field related to paranormal activity?

The scientific method can assist answer this question. One study conducted in the South Street basement near Edinburgh, Scotland, found that electromagnetic fields fluctuated more in areas where there had been a history of spooky events. Another test discovered greater variability in electromagnetic fields in more “haunted” areas Hampton Court Palace in England.

People can unconsciously detect changes in environmental stimuli such as electromagnetic fields. So the question arises: did the ghost cause the electromagnetic field, or did the electromagnetic field cause the ghost?

To date, only one research group has attempted to experimentally manipulate environmental factors, including elaborate electromagnetic fields, and measure subsequent perceptions of paranormal phenomena.

Participants did report a number of oddities, from dizziness to feelings of separation from their bodies and even a sense of presence – but these experiences did not match how researchers varied environmental conditions, such as electromagnetic field intensity. Interestingly, the people who described anomalous experiences were the same people who believed more in paranormal phenomena.

Do environmental factors such as electromagnetic fields lead to the perception of paranormal phenomena? On the one hand, there is a correlation between supposedly haunted places and the variability of the electromagnetic field. There is some evidence that humans can detect magnetism. On the other hand, experimental manipulation of the electromagnetic field has not been associated with strange observations in laboratory conditions.

I think we need to look at other haunting factors.

Haunting factor #2: Neurological mistakes

Researchers did this by applying a tiny electrical current to the side of the head, usually to evaluate a patient for a clinical procedure I noticed some strange effects. One case study described a patient who experienced an “illusory shadow figure” that mimicked and even disrupted his movements. Other people came forward out-of-body experiences.

Experimental evidence suggests that this area of ​​the brain, the so-called temporo-parietal junctionis probably crucial to the sense of embodiment – ​​inhabiting one's body. It appears to disrupt this area of ​​the brain create the impression of disembodiment.

Neurologists aren't quite sure how sense of embodiment it is built in the brain. The brain likely integrates bodily senses, such as balance and position, with other internal processes, such as the sense of self and agency. When this integration changes, the person will experience very strange sensations.

Sometimes, misinterpretation of body sensations can occur during sleep, when the brain is cut off from the outside world. During rapid eye movement or REM, sleepWhen the most rich dreams occur, the brain sends signals that prevent skeletal muscles from moving. This inhibition causes complete paralysis during REM sleep. This is a neurological safeguard; without it, you would probably make your dreams come true.

However, some people wake up during REM sleep and find that they cannot move. At the same time, they may experience opulent hallucinations – remnants of sleep. This experience passes quickly. But at this moment sleep paralysisneural signals that control skeletal muscle movement are inhibited, resulting in a mismatch of feedback from the body to the brain. Most people respond to lack of sensory information due to fearmaking them more likely to experience the sights and sounds from where they live dreams as reality.

Haunting Factor #3: Personality Traits

Experiencing a paranormal encounter requires the person to label their experience as such. For example, if a believer were exposed to alternating electromagnetic fields, he or she might quickly classify this strange feeling as paranormal. A skeptic might note that they felt strange or uncomfortable, but this would probably not point to a paranormal explanation.

More and more research suggests that people with certain personality traits they are more likely to believe in paranormal phenomena.

For example, some people they are hyperaware of unconscious perceptions and ideas that then permeate their consciousness. Often these traits are associated with magical thinking, distorted or unusual thoughts, disorganized behavior, and sometimes problems forming close relationships.

Psychologists call this set of traits schizotypy. They are related schizophreniaalthough a high level of schizotypy does not mean you will be diagnosed with schizophrenia. This is more likely to occur in people with high levels of schizotypy believe in paranormal phenomena. They too experience more often disembodiment and unrehearsed sensory perception and have trouble distinguishing themselves from others.

All of these characteristics relate to the function of the temporo-parietal junction, an area of ​​the brain that helps you realize that you are in your own body.

When haunted factors make up a ghost

While I cannot say for sure whether ghosts exist, I can offer a plausible explanation for why some people may be more susceptible to apparent paranormal experiences than others.

Consider a paranormal believer who experiences a natural change in the electromagnetic field or an episode of sleep paralysis. These experiences produce unusual sensations that the person cannot explain. By searching for meaning in ambiguity, this person distorts the distinction between internally and externally generated experiences. They settle on the only explanation that makes sense to them – that the strange feeling they experienced was a ghost.

My guess is that belief in the paranormal is the glue that holds hauntings together, creating the (mis)perception of a ghost.

One experiment asked participants to walk through a closed theater in Decatur, Illinois. Some were told the theater was haunted, others were not. A few participants noticed strange sensations that they attributed to paranormal activity, but these were only reported by those who believed the theater was haunted.

Belief alone may not create a ghost, but belief combined with at least one haunting factor – environmental triggers, neurological hiccups, or mental states – may be enough to make a ghost real.

It becomes a chicken or the egg puzzle – or in this case – a ghost or an electromagnetic field. Someone who is more sensitive to environmental factors or experiences sleep paralysis may form a belief based on their experiences. When one is unable to explain these experiences with any “natural” explanation, the only explanation that makes sense may be a supernatural one.

I never noticed the electromagnetic field. I have never experienced sleep paralysis. I'm pretty sure I don't have personality traits like schizotypy. I don't believe in paranormal phenomena. And I don't think I'll ever see a ghost.