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54 Psychology: Truth About the Paranormal

Psychology: The truth uncertainty; it makes you question the future, including President Xi Jinping, concluded that
compared to a feeling like anger where you global anti-China sentiment is at its highest
about the paranormal might be surer of your righteousness. since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown,

the sources said.
And if you tell yourself that you have reasoned
Continued from Page 53
yourself out of superstitions and ghost stories, As a result, Beijing faces a wave of anti-China
you might still harbour other beliefs that are sentiment led by the United States in the
equally fanciful, she says. It could be a full aftermath of the pandemic and needs to be
blown conspiracy theory about the government, prepared in a worst-case scenario for armed
Even so, most researchers agree that sceptics or just suspicions that your colleagues are confrontation between the two global powers,
shouldn’t be too critical of people who harbour ganging up on you, based on a few spurious according to people familiar with the report’s
these beliefs. After all, one study has found that comments. content, who declined to be identified given the
various superstitions can boost your sensitivity of the matter.
performance in a range of skills. In one trial, We can perhaps see the brain’s ability to “spot”
bringing their favourite lucky charm into a illusory patterns in the response to the Ebola The report was drawn up by the China Institutes
memory test significantly improved subjects’ epidemic – such as the emergence of folk of Contemporary International Relations
recall, since it seemed to increase their remedies (including the belief that drinking salt (CICIR), a think tank affiliated with the Ministry
confidence in their own abilities. Another water is a cure), fears in the West that it will of State Security, China’s top intelligence body.
experiment tested the subjects’ golf putting spread through air travel, and theories that it was
ability. Telling them that they were using a created by industrialised governments. Reuters has not seen the briefing paper, but it
“lucky” ball meant they were more likely to was described by people who had direct
score than those simply using any old ball. Even “It’s easy to think of yourself as the one holding knowledge of its findings.
something as simple as saying “break a leg” or the rational cards, but it’s wiser to understand
“I’ll keep my fingers for you” improved the that every one of us are going to be prone to “I don’t have relevant information,” the Chinese
participants’ motor dexterity and their ability to those mistakes when we feel like we are lacking foreign ministry spokesperson’s office said in a
solve anagrams. control,” says Whitson. “We should all be ready statement responding to questions from Reuters
to evaluate our assumptions more thoughtfully.” on the report.
And even if you think you are immune, you As Churchill, Turing and Conan Doyle showed
shouldn’t underestimate the power of us, even the most astute minds can be given to China’s Ministry of State Security has no public
suggestion. Michael Nees at the Lafayette fancy from time to time. [] contact details and could not be reached for
College in Pennsylvania recently asked a group comment.
of students to listen to sound recordings from Chinese government
US ghost-hunting shows. Subtly priming the CICIR, an influential think tank that until 1980
volunteers with the thought that they were report warns of armed was within the Ministry of State Security and
involved in a paranormal study increased the confrontation with U.S. advises the Chinese government on foreign and
number of voices they reported hearing in the security policy, did not reply to a request for
fuzzy recordings – despite the fact that they over coronavirus outbreak comment.

mostly reported being sceptics. It seems that the
merest expectation of hearing something spooky Reuters couldn’t determine to what extent the
Reuters
can set your mind whirring. stark assessment described in the paper reflects
positions held by China’s state leaders, and to
An internal Chinese report warns that Beijing
Whitson’s research, meanwhile, shows how what extent, if at all, it would influence policy.
faces a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the
easy it is for us all to imagine strange But the presentation of the report shows how
coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations
happenings when we feel unsettled. Her latest seriously Beijing takes the threat of a building
with the United States into confrontation, people
experiment found that even priming someone backlash that could threaten what China sees as
familiar with the paper told Reuters.
with a feeling of hope – normally considered a its strategic investments overseas and its view
positive emotion – can still increase people’s of its security standing.
The report, presented early last month by the
belief in the supernatural, or conspiracy theories.
Ministry of State Security to top Beijing leaders
The reason, she says, is that hope is still full of (Continued on Page 62)