class 1 of wiziq course "introduction to the scientific study of psychic phenomena"

Introduction to the Scientific Study of Psychic Phenomena

Nancy L. Zingrone, PhD

www.theazire.orgThe AZIRE Learning Center in Second Life

SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madhupak/153/89/60

www.rhineeducationcenter.org The Rhine Research Center in Second Life:

SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madhupak/44/161/84

Plan of the course:O Today: Introduction to the Scientific

Study of Psychic PhenomenaO April 25th, 3pm Eastern: Ghosts,

Poltergeists and Hauntings ResearchO May 2nd, 3pm Eastern: Studying the

Out of Body and Near-Death Experiences

O May 9th, 3pm Eastern: Reincarnation Research in Scientific Parapsychology

Using the Courseware page:

Using the Course Feed:

What each live class will contain:

O An introductory lecture that ranges over the broad tropic

O Some recommendations for videos and future reading

O Some recommendations for websites, Facebook pages, blogs and other resources to study more

O A running discussion on the Course Feed page

Where I’m coming from:

O Long-time member of the Parapsychological Association – www.parapsych.org

O Trained at the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, the predecessor to the Rhine Research Center

O PhD from the psychology department at the University of Edinburgh under the late great Professor Bob Morris

O Enthusiastic about science and experience

O Believer in active self-directed learning

What does parapsychology study ….

Parapsychology

Defined as outside accepted boundaries of human functioning

“The scientific study of experiences which, if they are as they seem to be, are in principle outside the realm of human capabilities as presently conceived by conventional scientists.” Harvey J. Irwin, (2004). An Introduction to Parapsychology (4th ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Defined in terms of agency

“A science dealing with mechanical or psychological phenomena due to forces that seem to be intelligent, or to unknown powers latent in human intelligence.” Referring to “metapsychics,” Charles Richet (1923), Thirty Years of Psychical Research. New York: Macmillan.

Defined in terms of nonphysicality

“The branch of inquiry which deals with nonphysical personal operations or phenomena.” from J. B. Rhine and J. G. Pratt (1957). Parapsychology: Frontier Science of the Mind. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.

Two main categories of parapsychological phenomena

Extrasensory Perception (ESP)Telepathy

ClairvoyancePrecognition

Psychokinesis (PK)On Objects

On Biological OrganismsOn Electrical and Mechanical Systems

APPARITIONSOF THE DEAD

Recurrent

At moment of death

Long after death

OF THE LIVINGCrisis

Recurrent

Experimental

The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall

Published in 1936in Country Life Magazine

and in 1937 in Life Magazine

Taken by Captain Hubert C. Provand

& Indre ShiraRetrieved from castleofspirits.com

Sightings from 1835 to 1936,

at least …

Cheltenham Ghost

Talk available on the members only section of www.rhine.org

Powerpoint with details about this case available on SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/NanZingrone/rrc-talk-ghosts-poltergeists-hauntings-2013

Talk available on the members only section of www.rhine.org

Powerpoint with details about this case available on SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/NanZingrone/rrc-talk-ghosts-poltergeists-hauntings-2013

The Antique Shop SpukFrom Cornell, Investigating the Paranormal

(Parapsychology Foundation, 2002)

Parapsychology Foundation’s Founder,

Irish medium and patron of scientific parapsychology,

Eileen J. Garrett, in trance, in the 1930s

For more information visit the websites of the Parapsychology

Foundation:

www.parapsychology.org

www.psi-mart.comwww.pflyceum.org

www.psychicexplorers.org

Articles by Carlos S. Alvarado, PhD on out-of-body experiences

available from:http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/clinical/departments/psychiatry/sections/cspp/dops/staff/carlosbio-page

Aura Vision and Aura Viewers

Cases of the Reincarnation Type

More information available from:The Division of Perceptual Studies

University of Virginia

http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/clinical/departments/psychiatry/sections/cspp/dops/case_types-page#CORT

Healing

More info available from:

http://www.explorejournal.com/

&http://

www.dosseydossey.com/larry/default.html

Methods of StudyLaboratoryCorrelationalExperimental

Studies of Spontaneous CasesCase collections

SurveysField studies

OtherBibliographicalMeta-analysis

Conceptual Approaches to Parapsychology

Explanatory

Conventional Principles / New Principles

Disciplinary

Views and Emphases Questions about Phenomena

Psychological What is the psychological profile?

Physical Is there a physical mechanism?

Anthropological What are the cultural variables?

Medical Related to what conditions?

The Critical Mentality

Opinions depend on:

O Conditions of observation

O MethodologyO Frame of referenceO Sources of information

Conventional Explanations:

Movies (Poltergeist)O TV (X Files)O Books

CoincidenceO SuggestionO Memory mistakesO HallucinationsO Subconscious

elaborationO Fraud

Great resources for the critical but open point of view:The Parapsychological Association website

www.parapsychology.org

The website of the Society for Psychical Researchwww.spr.ac.uk

Helmut Schmidt & the “Keep It Going” MachineFRNM (Institute for Parapsychology), 1960s-1970s

Mind-Science Foundation, 1980s

Stanley Krippner and a Participant

At the Maimonides Dream Laboratory (1960s)

Chuck Honorton at the Maimonides Dream Laboratory (1960s-1970s)

“The DescentFrom the Cross”Max Beckmann,

1917, Oil on Canvas

Target for a Successful

Dream Telepathy Session

Early Random Number Generator

Psychokinesis Experiment at thePrinceton Engineering

Anomalies Laboratory (PEAR), Princeton University Circa 1985

(1976-2007)

Brenda DunneRobert Jahnwww.icrl.org

Roger Nelsonhttp://noosphere.princeton.edu/

Remote Viewing / Remote Perception

Stanford Research Institute (SRI)

Russ Targ and Hal Puthoff

1970s to late 1980s

Ed May

JoeMcMoneagle

Stanford Research Institute (SRI)Science Applications International Corp (SAIC)

The Ganzfeld Experiment

Above: setting up the

“receiver”

To the left: The KPU Lab at

Edinburgh1985 to 2005

Koestler Professor of Parapsychology, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh,

Dr. Robert Lyle Morris (1942-2004)

Centre for the Study of Anomalous Processes in Psychology, Department of Psychology,

University of Northampton, Faculty

O Deborah Delanoy: Meta-analysis,Psychomanteum research

o Richard Broughton: o Testing models of

anomalous skin conductance, Ganzfeld

O Chris Roe: ESP and PK, belief

in the paranormal

O Simon Sherwood: Apparitional experiences of black

dogs, hypnogogic imagery and OBEs

Center for Research on Consciousness and Anomalous Psychology, Department of Psychology,

Lund University

O Etzel Cardeña:Hypnotizability andscoring in ESP tasks,

electrocortical activityof deep hypnosis

experiences

Other universities with units “seeded” or benefited by the Morris Miracle:

O University of Hertfordshire

O University of Greenwich

O Goldsmith’s College, University of London

O University of Virginia

O University of São Paulo

O Federal University of Juiz de Fora

TABLE 1Topics of Research Papers at Recent Parapsychological Association Conventions

2000-2003 (N=63)

Topic N %

Experiments

ESP 38 60.3

PK/DMILS[a] 9 14.3

Spontaneous Cases

Variety of psychic experiences[b]

9 14.3

Hauntings 2 3.2

NDEs 1 1.6

Recollections of previous lives

1 1.6

Apparitions 1 1.6

Poltergeists 1 1.6

Mediumship 1 1.6

[a] Some of these may be classified as ESP.[b] These are questionnaire studies considering a variety of experiences (e.g., waking and dream ESP, OBEs).

English Language Journals to read:

O Journal of Parapsychology

O Journal of the Society for Psychical Research

O Journal of Scientific Exploration

O European Journal of Parapsychology

O Australian Journal of Parapsychology

O Journal of Near-Death Studies

O International Journal of Parapsychology

O Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research

O Explore

Associations/Societies to Join:

O Parapsychological AssociationO Society for Scientific ExplorationO Society for Psychical ResearchO International Association of Near Death

Studies

Websites to Frequent:

• www.pflyceum.org• www.parapsychology.org

• www.parapsych.org• www.iands.org• www.spr.ac.uk

• www.scientificexploration.org

The Take Away Message

O Parapsychology is:

O On the margins of mainstream science

O Controversial for complex reasons

O An interdisciplinary problem area with:

O A wide variety of phenomena

O A wide variety of approaches

O Deep questions on a grand scale

O Deep questions at the level of the individual

O Worth every day spent in it

Thanks for your Attention! See you next week!

email: nancy@theazire.org

www.theazire.orgThe AZIRE Learning Center in Second Life

SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madhupak/153/89/60

www.rhineeducationcenter.org The Rhine Research Center in Second Life:

SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Madhupak/44/161/84