Anomalous Experiences

Thirteen essays on the psychology and parapsychology of anomalous experience explore a range of phenomena, including extrasensory perception, haunting experiences, apparitions, alien contacts, séance room activity, and out-of-body experiences. The contributors are Daryl J. Bem, Etzel Cardeña, Jezz Fox, Rachel Fox, Christopher C. French, Victoria Hamilton, Craig D. Murray, Ciarán O’Keeffe, Steve Parsons, Chris A. Roe, Julia Santomauro, Simon J. Sherwood, Christine Simmonds-Moore, Paul Stevens, Michael Thalbourne, Caroline Watt, Richard Wiseman and Robin Wooffitt.

Matthew D. Smith is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Buckinghamshire New University in England. He has conducted research on paranormal experiences for more than 15 years and was the resident psychologist/parapsychologist for the television show Most Haunted.

Edited by Matthew D. Smith
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 228
Bibliographic Info: tables, notes, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4398-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5571-3
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

Part One: Parapsychological Perspectives

1. Feeling the Future: Studies of Precognitive Emotional Arousal
Daryl J. Bem      5

2. Experimenter Effects in Parapsychology: Three Studies with a Remote Helping Task
Caroline Watt      12

3. The Role of Altered States of Consciousness in Extrasensory Experiences
Chris A. Roe      25

4. Are Our Assumptions More Anomalous Than the Phenomena?
Paul Stevens      50

5. Will We Ever Know Whether Extrasensory Perception Exists?
Jezz Fox      61

6. Towards a Sociological Parapsychology
Robin Wooffitt      72

Part Two: Psychological Perspectives

7. Anomalous Experiences During Deep Hypnosis
Etzel Cardeña      93

8. Haunting Experiences: An Integrative Approach
Ciarán O’Keeffe and Steve Parsons      108

9. Apparitions of Black Dogs
Simon J. Sherwood      120

10. Psychological Aspects of the Alien Contact Experience
Christopher C. French, Julia Santomauro, Victoria Hamilton, Rachel Fox and Michael Thalbourne      136

11. Observing the Impossible: Eyewitness Testimony for Darkroom Séances
Richard Wiseman      154

12. Developing a Dissociational Account of Out-of-Body Experiences
Craig D. Murray      161

13. Anomalous Experiences and Boundary Thinness in the Mind and Brain
Christine Simmonds-Moore      177

About the Contributors      207

Index      211