Anomalistic psychology

Anomalistic psychology is a field of psychology that explores paranormal beliefs and experiences, focusing on phenomena that are not currently explained by mainstream science. It is not concerned with proving or disproving paranormal phenomena, but rather with understanding why people believe in, and have experiences of, the paranormal.

History

The term "anomalistic psychology" was first used by Leonard Zusne and Warren Jones in their 1989 book, Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking. They defined it as "the study of extraordinary phenomena of behavior and experience, including (but not restricted to) those which are often labeled 'paranormal'".

Methodology

Anomalistic psychologists use empirical and experimental methods to explore paranormal phenomena. They often work in conjunction with other disciplines, such as cognitive psychology, social psychology, and quantitative psychology, to understand the cognitive and social processes underlying paranormal beliefs and experiences.

Key Concepts

Cognitive Biases

Anomalistic psychologists have identified several cognitive biases that may contribute to paranormal beliefs. These include the confirmation bias, the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories, and the availability heuristic, the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events with greater "availability" in memory, which can be influenced by how recent the memories are or how emotionally charged they are.

Perceptual and Memory Distortions

Anomalistic psychology also investigates how perceptual and memory distortions can contribute to paranormal experiences. For example, the misinformation effect, where a person's recall of episodic memories becomes less accurate because of post-event information, can lead to false memories of paranormal experiences.

Suggestibility

Suggestibility, the quality of being inclined to accept and act on the suggestions of others, is another key concept in anomalistic psychology. High levels of suggestibility can make individuals more likely to believe in, and report experiences of, the paranormal.

Criticisms

Critics of anomalistic psychology argue that it is inherently biased against the existence of paranormal phenomena. They contend that anomalistic psychologists often dismiss evidence of the paranormal without sufficient investigation.

See Also

• Parapsychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Social psychology
• Quantitative psychology