This document provides an introduction to parapsychology. It defines parapsychology as the study of psychological phenomena that go beyond normal sensory perception. It discusses ESP (extrasensory perception) and different types of ESP, including precognition, psychokinesis, telepathy, and clairvoyance. It also discusses experiments that have been conducted to test for ESP, as well as criticisms from skeptics who argue that evidence for ESP is inconclusive or can be explained by deception, bias, or poor methodology.
5. Kinds of ESPKinds of ESP
Precognition
◦ The ability to know about events before they
occur
6. Kinds of ESPKinds of ESP
Psychokinesis
◦ The ability to make objects
move by thinking of them as
moving
7. Kinds of ESPKinds of ESP
Telepathy
◦ The direct transmission of
thoughts or ideas from
person to person without
anything being spoken or
written down
8. Kinds of ESPKinds of ESP
Clairvoyance
◦ The ability to perceive objects
that are out of the range of
human senses
i.e. – sensing the location of a missing child
9. Testing ESP
“Because a good magician can do something
shouldn't make you right away jump to the
conclusion that it's a real phenomenon.” -
Richard Feynman
10. Bem and Honorton’s Ganzfeld Studies
Uri Geller
J. B. Rhine
Pearce-Pratt Series
11. Testing ESP
"Exteriorization of Sensitiveness."
A photograph of the sensitive was taken and the negative
was then held by her a few moments. The operator, with
a pin, scratched the hand on the negative. Instantly the
sensitive ejaculated with pain, and a small red spot
appeared on the back of her hand. This rapidly grew into
the blister shown on the next slide.
12.
13. What the Skeptics Say
Most of the evidence for ESP is anecdotal and is dismissed by
skeptics as based on one or more of the following:
Incompetence or fraud by parapsychologists
Cold reading
Subjective validation
Selective thinking and Confirmation bias
Poor grasp of probabilities and of the law of truly large numbers
Not falsifiable
Gullibility, self-deception, and wishful thinking
14. After thousands of experiments, a reproducible
ESP phenomenon has never been discovered, or
has anyone produced any individual who can
convincingly demonstrate psychic ability.
A National Research Council investigation of ESP
concluded that "the best available evidence does
not support the contention that these
phenomena exist.”
15. U. S. National Research Council (1988)
A 2 year study concluded there was no
scientific justification from research conducted
over 130 years for the existence of
parapsychological phenomena.
“the best scientific evidence does not justify
that ESP -that is, gathering information about
objects or thoughts without the intervention of
known sensory mechanisms- exists.”
16. ACKNOWLDGEMENT
• I am very thankful to Correspondent and also for
Mr.Prasad Sir, Ms. Nalini Madam,
• My special thanks to my parents and my friends.