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An Introduction to the Psychology of Paranormal Belief and Experience
When someone admits to a strange experience, such as witnessing an unidentified flying object, having telepathic hunches, or seeing angels or ghosts, listeners usually explain it away as mistaken perception, intoxication, ignorance, or even mental illness. Though these unsympathetic psychology-based explanations remain the most popular responses to claims of the supernatural, those who use them often have little understanding of what such dismissive "solutions" actually entail. This study offers a balanced and accessible analysis of various explanations for the paranormal. By providing insight into how these theories are applied, or misapplied, to inquiry into the paranormal, it clarifies the relationship between the field of psychology and the supernatural. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may .
273 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2011
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August 1, 2024
This is a fascinating book for those interested in, as the title ought to suggest, psychology of the paranormal. What this is not is a book of ghost stories, claims of alien abduction, or psychic phenomena. Rather, it’s what I would call a semi-academic treatment of the research, both psychological and parapsychological, that’s been done on such subjects.
Believers and skeptics alike will find a lot to like in this book. Clearly the author has a certain affinity for the subject and has very little interest in “mere debunking.” But he’s also a scientists and so unwilling to take the stories at face value. Instead, he treats the reader to a remarkably thorough review of various psychological studies whose results shed some light on the subject. Some studies suggest naturalistic explanations for alleged paranormal phenomena, some hint at potential supernatural explanations, and others simply explore the psychological status of people who’ve claimed to experience such things.
Much of the book’s material was already familiar to me, as I’ve worked in this field for quite a while, but even I found a few hidden gems that gave me some cause for thought. But what really differentiates this from most other works on the subject is that after walking the reader through the “stereotypical” parapsychological studies and attempts at debunking, Jinks then appends a second part that explores paranormal phenomena through a psychodynamic lens. That is, instead of simply reporting the various attempts to EXPLAIN paranormal phenomena (whether from a believer’s perspective or from a skeptic’s one), this book takes the time to also explore that body of literature that’s devoted to the INTERPRETATION of anomalous experience REGARDLESS of its potential explanation.
In fact, speaking only for myself, I would very much have enjoyed a lot more of that second part of the book. But I also recognize that, though most of the first part was already familiar to me, it serves as necessary introduction for readers not as well-versed in the subject matter.
Readers who are looking for a book espousing their favorite paranormal claims are likely to be disappointed. So are those looking for a book interested only in debunking the supernatural. What Tony Jinks has done here is to take an admirably balanced approach seeking neither to affirm nor to deny the paranormal, but to make whatever attempts possible to understand it.
Believers and skeptics alike will find a lot to like in this book. Clearly the author has a certain affinity for the subject and has very little interest in “mere debunking.” But he’s also a scientists and so unwilling to take the stories at face value. Instead, he treats the reader to a remarkably thorough review of various psychological studies whose results shed some light on the subject. Some studies suggest naturalistic explanations for alleged paranormal phenomena, some hint at potential supernatural explanations, and others simply explore the psychological status of people who’ve claimed to experience such things.
Much of the book’s material was already familiar to me, as I’ve worked in this field for quite a while, but even I found a few hidden gems that gave me some cause for thought. But what really differentiates this from most other works on the subject is that after walking the reader through the “stereotypical” parapsychological studies and attempts at debunking, Jinks then appends a second part that explores paranormal phenomena through a psychodynamic lens. That is, instead of simply reporting the various attempts to EXPLAIN paranormal phenomena (whether from a believer’s perspective or from a skeptic’s one), this book takes the time to also explore that body of literature that’s devoted to the INTERPRETATION of anomalous experience REGARDLESS of its potential explanation.
In fact, speaking only for myself, I would very much have enjoyed a lot more of that second part of the book. But I also recognize that, though most of the first part was already familiar to me, it serves as necessary introduction for readers not as well-versed in the subject matter.
Readers who are looking for a book espousing their favorite paranormal claims are likely to be disappointed. So are those looking for a book interested only in debunking the supernatural. What Tony Jinks has done here is to take an admirably balanced approach seeking neither to affirm nor to deny the paranormal, but to make whatever attempts possible to understand it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review