Research Dedicated to the Study of Anomalous or ‘Psychic’ Experiences
The Parapsychology Research Group at Liverpool Hope is dedicated to the study of anomalous and ‘psychic’ experiences. Anomalous experiences reflect a range of unusual experiences (for example the out of body experience, near death experiences, etc.), which are not yet fully understood by mainstream science. Psychic or paranormal experiences are a sub-set of anomalous experiences which appear to reflect methods of communication and /or mind-matter interaction which challenge the current scientific framework. The field of parapsychology has been described as “the scientific study of experiences which, if they are as they seem to be, are in principle outside the realm of human capabilities as presently conceived by conventional scientists” (Irwin, 1999, p. 1).
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“Zener” or ESP cards – traditionally used to test for ESP performance, particularly in the early days of parapsychology |
Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP)
There are various forms of extra-sensory perception (ESP) experiences. This is a general term which refers collectively to telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and retrocognition. Telepathic experiences reflect apparent mind to mind communication, where all other means of communication are ruled out. Clairvoyance experiences reflect an apparent direct awareness of information that is distant or hidden from the perceiver. Precognitive experiences reflect an apparent awareness of information from sources that are in the future. Retrocognitive experiences reflect an apparent awareness of information from sources that have taken place in the past.
Psychokinesis
Experiences suggestive of psychokinesis (PK) appear to reflect the direct interaction between mental intentions and the physical environment. Due to the difficulties associated with distinguishing ostensible ESP and PK effects, parapsychologists typically use the less value-laden term psi (the Greek letter ) to refer to these kinds of ‘psychic’ experiences.
Human Personality or Consciousness
Other experiences studied by the group include experiences that suggest that human personality or consciousness may exist outside of a physical body. These experiences include phenomena such as out-of-body experiences, mediumship phenomena, and haunting phenomena.
Our approach
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Participant in the “ganzfeld” – a method employed for inducing a state of consciousness which seems to be conducive to ESP experiences |
As a group, we represent a diverse range of approaches and interests within the areas of parapsychology and more generally, consciousness research. Our general approach is that of open-minded scepticism; that is to say that we do not make assumptions about the outcomes of our experiments and investigations, letting the data speak for themselves as to whether different forms of anomalous phenomena can be explained by mainstream science or whether science should be extended to accommodate the existence of genuine phenomena. We also thoroughly respect the subjective experiences of the people we study. Our work ranges from being experimental (e.g., ganzfeld work) to exploring the phenomenology of particular forms of subjective experience (e.g., the nature of the experiences of psychic healers) and addressing experiences in the field, such as hauntings.
Past research projects
We have been involved in some exciting research projects
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Virtual Reality and ESP (see http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~toby/telepathy/)
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Ganzfeld research
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Gender role and ESP
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Reviewing the animal psi literature
Virtual reality and ESP experiment run between Manchester University and Liverpool Hope
Current Research Projects
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The phenomenology of PK experiences
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Exploring conceptual frameworks for anomalous experiences
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The phenomenology of psychic healing
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The phenomenology of mediumship
Future/planned Research Projects
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Eye movements and ESP
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Evolution and ESP experiences
Recommended further reading on the psychology of anomalous experiences and parapsychology
Cardeña, E., Lynn, S. J. &. Krippner, S. (Eds.) (2000). Varieties of anomalous experience: Examining the scientific evidence, (pp. 121-149). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
Irwin H.J. &. Watt, C.A. (2007). An Introduction to Parapsychology, 5th edition. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.