Page 74 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - August/September 2017

74 Psychology: Truth About Paranormal

Psychology: The Truth

About the Paranormal

by David Robson

Soon after World War II, Winston Churchill was
visiting the White House when he is said to have
had an uncanny experience. Having had a long
bath with a Scotch and cigar, he reportedly
walked into the adjoining bedroom – only to be
met by the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.
Unflappable, even while completely naked,
Churchill apparently announced: “Good
evening, Mr President. You seem to have me at
a disadvantage.” The spirit smiled and vanished.
His supposed contact with the
supernatural puts Churchill in illustrious
company. Arthur Conan Doyle spoke to ghosts
through mediums, while Alan Turing believed in
telepathy. Three men who were all known for
their razor-sharp thinking, yet couldn’t stop
the world. The idea is that when something shapes were playing a game of “tag”, say – and
themselves from believing in the impossible.
unexpected happens – a death, natural disaster, this was reflected in greater brain activity in the
You may well join them. According to recent
or job loss – the brain scrambles around for regions normally associated with “theory of
surveys, as many as three quarters of Americans
answers, looking for meaning in the chaos. “It’s mind” and understanding others’ motives.
believe in the paranormal, in some form, while
such an aversive state that if it can’t gain control Riekki has also found that people who believe in
nearly one in five claim to have actually seen a
objectively, we will get it by perceiving more the supernatural are more likely to see hidden
ghost.
structures around us, even if they don’t exist,” faces in everyday photos – a finding confirmed
Intrigued by these persistent beliefs,
says Jennifer Whitson at the University of by another team at the University of Amsterdam,
psychologists have started to look at why some
Texas, who studies pattern perception, and who showed that paranormal believers are more
of us can’t shake off old superstitions and folk-
judgment and decision making. Even simply likely to imagine that they had seen a walking
lore. Their findings may suggest some hidden
asking people to remember a time when they felt figure in random light displays.
virtues to believing in the paranormal. At the
out of control, can make people see illusory Added to this, Riekki has found that
very least, it should cause you to question
forces at work, she has found. That included believers may have weaker cognitive
whether you hold more insidious beliefs about
seeing patterns in the random movements of the “inhibition”, compared to sceptics. That’s the
the world.
stock market, for example, but it could also skill that allows you to quash unwanted
Some paranormal experiences are easily
manifest itself by linking two unconnected thoughts, so perhaps we are all spooked by
explainable, based on faulty activity in the brain.
events, such as the belief that “knocking on strange coincidences and patterns from time to
Reports of poltergeists invisibly moving objects
wood” for good luck would improve your time, but sceptics are better at pushing them
seem to be consistent with damage to certain
chances in a job interview. aside. Riekki gives the example of someone who
regions of the right hemisphere that are
Anthropomorphism is another common is thinking about their mother, only for her to
responsible for visual processing; certain forms
way that we try to understand events, says Adam call two minutes later. “Is it just that sceptics can
of epilepsy, meanwhile, can cause the spooky
Waytz at Northwestern University in Illinois. So laugh and say it is just coincidence, and then
feeling that a presence is stalking you close by –
we might think that a spirit lies behind a storm think of something else?” he wonders.
perhaps underlying accounts of faceless
or that a demon is causing us to get ill – rather Significantly, another paper reported that
“shadow people” lurking in the surroundings.
than acknowledging that we have no control paranormal believers also tend to have greater
Out-of-body experiences, meanwhile,
over the matter; and if a branch is tapping on confidence in their decisions, even when they
are now accepted neurological phenomena,
while certain visual illusions could confound the your window, you might be more inclined to are based on ambiguous information. So once
imagine that it is a ghost sending you a message. they have latched onto the belief, you might be
healthy brain and create mythical beings. For
“We create beliefs in ghosts, because we don’t less likely to let it go.
example, one young Italian psychologist looked
like believing that the universe is random,” says Even so, most researchers agree that
in the mirror one morning to find a grizzled old
Waytz. Again, this seems to be more common sceptics shouldn’t be too critical of people who
man staring back at him. His later experiments
when we feel less control over our lives. harbour these beliefs. After all, one study has
confirmed that the illusion is surprisingly
Given these strange turns of the mind, found that various superstitions can boost your
common when you look at your reflection in the
might some people be naturally inclined to see performance in a range of skills. In one trial,
half light, perhaps because the brain struggles to
hidden patterns and motives, and could this bringing their favourite lucky charm into a
construct the contours of your face, so it begins
to try to fill in the missing information – even if explain why they are more superstitious than memory test significantly improved subjects’
others? It is a question that Tapani Riekki at the recall, since it seemed to increase their
that leads to the appearance of skulls, old hags or
University of Helsinki in Finland has tried to confidence in their own abilities. Another
hideous animals.
answer for the last few years. He says that experiment tested the subjects’ golf putting
So any combination of exhaustion,
believers often welcome his research, since they ability. Telling them that they were using a
drugs, alcohol, and tricks of the light could
genuinely can’t understand why others don’t “lucky” ball meant they were more likely to
contribute to single, isolated sightings, like that
share their worldview. “They say that ’I don’t score than those simply using any old ball. Even
reported by Churchill. But what about the
see why other people don’t feel what I feel, or something as simple as saying “break a leg” or
experiences of people like Conan Doyle, who
believe what I believe’,” he says. “I’ll keep my fingers for you” improved the
seemed to see other-worldly actions on a day-to-
day basis? participants’ motor dexterity and their ability to
Hidden faces solve anagrams.
Protective shield
Riekki recently asked sceptics and believers to (Continued on Page 72)
view simple animations of moving shapes, while
Psychologists studying religion have long
lying in a brain scanner. He found paranormal For the Very Best in
suspected that a belief in the paranormal can be Paranormal and Parapsychology Radio
a kind of shield from the even harsher truths of believers were more likely to see some kind of
intention behind the movements – as if the www.xzbn.net