Mind reading and the power to predict the long run usually are not abilities commonly related to the human race. However, research shows that many individuals actually consider this the existence of psychic powers.
You would think that cases of proven psychic hoaxes over time would weaken the credibility of psychic claims. There have been historical cases, e.g Ludwik Ksiądz, a Hungarian spirit medium who was found to be imitating animals during séances. And recently, self-proclaimed clairvoyant James Hydrick turned out to be a fraud. Hydrick admitted to his paranormal demonstrations tricks I learned in prison.
Another notable example was televangelist Peter Popoff. His wife used a wireless transmitter to transmit details about sermon participants to Popoff via earpiece. Popoff claimed to have received it information through paranormal means and gained fame by hosting a national television program during which he performed seemingly miraculous healings on viewers.
However, despite such cases, there are still many individuals who firmly consider in the facility of psychic abilities. According to a survey by the American Gallup Institutefor instance, over 1 / 4 of individuals consider that humans have psychic abilities reminiscent of telepathy and clairvoyance.
Believers
A recent report may help shed some light on why people still consider in psychic powers. Tests tested believers and skeptics alike with the identical level of education and academic performance and located that individuals who believed in psychic powers thought less analytically. This implies that they have an inclination to interpret the world from a subjective, personal perspective and don’t treat information critically.
Read also: The three best scientific explanations for ghost sightings
Believers also watch often mental claims as corroborating evidence – no matter their evidentiary basis. This is evidenced by the case of Chris Robinson, who describes himself as a “dream detective.”
Robinson claims to have predicted terrorist attacks disasters and death of stars. His claims are based on limited and questionable evidence. Tests conducted by Gary Schwartz on the University of Arizona confirmed Robinson's ability, but other researchers used similar methods didn’t confirm Schwartz's conclusion.
Vague and general
Claims about parapsychology are sometimes general and vague – for instance, predicting a plane crash or the death of a star – which is partly why so many individuals consider in the potential for psychic abilities.
This is the so-called Barnum effecta standard psychological phenomenon whereby people tend to simply accept vague, general descriptions of personality as applying only to themselves.
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Research e.gshowed that individuals rate the high accuracy of descriptions of their personality which are supposedly tailored to their needs, but which actually are vague and general enough to be applied to a big selection of individuals. The name refers to circus performer Phineas Taylor Barnum, who had a fame as a master psychological manipulator.
Impossible to confirm
Many psychic claims have also proven not possible to substantiate. A classic illustration is Uri Geller's claim that he “wanted” the ball to maneuver in the course of the match penalty kick for Euro 96. The ball's movement occurred spontaneously in an uncontrolled environment, and Geller made his claim retroactively.
When professed abilities are subjected to scientific scrutiny, researchers generally discredit them. This was the case with Derek Ogilvie within the 2007 television documentary “The Million Dollar Mind Reader.” The investigation revealed that Ogilvie truly believed he had powers, but was actually unable to achieve this read children's minds.
And when scientists backed up the paranormal claims, criticism normally followed. This happened within the Seventies, when physicists Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff published an article in the distinguished journal Nature by which they confirmed the concept that Uri Geller had real psychic abilities. psychologists, like Ray Hyman he refuted this by highlighting the most important methodological errors. These included a hole within the laboratory wall through which drawings that Geller “mentally” reproduced might be viewed.
Mixed evidence
Another factor that facilitates belief in psychic abilities is the existence of scientific research that gives positive conclusions. This reinforces believers' view that the claims are authentic and the phenomena are real, but ignores the incontrovertible fact that published research is commonly criticized and desires to be replicated for widespread acceptance to occur.
One outstanding example of this was an article published by social psychologist Daryl Bem within the high-quality Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. It has been claimed that research has shown support for the existence of precognition (conscious cognitive awareness) and premonition (affective apprehension) future event. But other researchers these results couldn’t be reproduced.
A way of pondering
So it appears that evidently despite the occurrence of forgeries, forgeries, and frauds – in addition to mixed evidence – people will proceed to consider in psychic phenomena. cIndeed, research has shown this one in three Americans feel they’ve experienced a psychic moment, and almost half of American women say they’ve felt the presence of a ghost.
Whether it's attributable to a scarcity of analytical skills, real experience, or just a desire to make the world just a little more interesting, it appears that evidently believers will proceed to consider – though science shows otherwise.
Image Source: Pixabay.com
