Introduction to Parapsychology
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Parapsychology is a discipline that seeks to investigate the existence and causes of psychic abilities and life after death using the scientific method. Laboratory and field research is conducted by privately funded laboratories and some universities around the world,[1] although there are fewer universities actively sponsoring parapsychological research today than in years past. Such research is usually published in parapsychological publications, and some articles have appeared in more mainstream journals. Experiments have included the use of random number generators to test for evidence of precognition and psychokinesis with both human and animal subjects,[2][3][4] sensory-deprivation and Ganzfeld experiments to test for extrasensory perception, and research trials conducted under contract to the United States government to investigate whether remote viewing would provide useful intelligence information.
The position of many parapsychologists is that the existence of some forms of psi such as psychokinesis and ESP has good supporting evidence.[5]
Terminology
The term parapsychology was coined in or before 1889 by psychologist Max Dessoir. It was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research, to indicate a significant shift toward laboratory methodologies in their work.[6] The term originates from the Greek: παρά para meaning "alongside", and psychology. Parapsychologists call the psychic phenomena that they search for psi, a term intended to be descriptive without implying a mechanism.[7]
References
1"Parapsychological Association FAQ". Parapsychological Association (1995).
2 Schmidt, Helmut (1969). "Clairvoyance Tests with a Machine'". Journal of Parapsychology 33.
3 Schmidt, Helmut (1970). "PK Experiments with Animals as Subjects". Journal of Parapsychology 34.
4 Schmidt, Helmut (1973). "PK Tests with a High Speed Random Number Generator'". Journal of Parapsychology 37.
5 What is the state-of-the-evidence for psi?, FAQ of the Parapsychological Association. Retrieved: 2009-01-07
6Melton, J. G. (1996). Parapsychology. In Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology. Thomson Gale. ISBN 978-0810394872.
7Bem, D. J.; Honorton, C. (1994). "Does psi exist? Replicable evidence for an anomalous process of information transfer". Psychological Bulletin 115: 4–18
Applied Parapsychology
Applied Parapsychology is the study of the practical uses of Parapsychology such as remote viewing, distance healing, psychic archaeology, psychic criminology and healing research.