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Paranormal perception? A critical evaluation


Dr. Chris French

The concept of extrasensory perception (ESP) implies that no all perception is dependent upon known physical sensory systems. General ESP is subdivided into three types: (i) telepathy (i.e., alleged direct transference of thoughts); (ii) clairvoyance (i.e., alleged awareness of remote objects or events other than by use of the known sensory channels); (iii) precognition (i.e., alleged knowledge of events before they occur, other than as a result of inference).

This presentation will begin by briefly considering the philosophical problems raised by the notion of paranormal perception. Whether or not ESP exists is still an unresolved issue after more than a century of scientific research. What is certain, however, is that the human information processing system is such that we should expect ostensibly paranormal experiences to be frequently reported, even if paranormal forces do not exist. Several types of altered states of consciousness have been linked with the experience of apparently paranormal events. These include the near-death experience, the out-of-body experience, and sensations associated with sleep paralysis.

The role of 'top-down' processing (the tendency to see what one expects to see) is often crucial in determining exactly what is experienced. Top-down processing is also responsible for the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns in essentially random stimuli. This provides the most likely explanation for a host of seemingly paranormal and other pseudo-scientific phenomena. These include the so-called "electronic voice phenomenon" (in which spirits are said to communicate via tape recorders), subliminal persuasion techniques (such as "backward masking" which supposedly involves the embedding of reversed-speech Satanic messages in rock music), and pareidolia (an illusion in which a vague or obscure stimulus is perceived as a clear and distinct image, e.g., the face of Mother Theresa in a cinnamon bun).

However, such biases are not restricted to the world of the apparently paranormal, and their effects are also to be found in the history of science. Examples of 'pathological science', in which eminent scientists have been led astray by such biases, will be provided (e.g., the 'canals' on Mars and the discovery of N-rays).

Dr. Chris French is currently Reader in Psychology at the Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths College, University of London, where he also heads the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit. He received his BA from Manchester University in 1977 and PhD from Leicester University in 1983. He has worked at Goldsmiths since 1985 and was Head of Department from 1997 to 2000. One of his main current interests is in the psychology of paranormal belief and ostensibly paranormal experiences. He often appears on radio and television or in the national press, providing a sceptical perspective on paranormal and related claims.