Anomalistic assessment Jan 2012

coincidence Coincidence is when 2 or more events happen by chance to occur at the same time or in close succession leading to an assumption that they are linked. For example, the co-occurrence of these events (3 double sixes in a row) could have happened by chance not due to the performer.

Personality factors Must discuss 2 factors at least. No application to context of scenario e.g. Jo is demonstrating creativity because…. Research to support point is best practice e.g. Gianotti found positive correlation between creative personality traits and beliefs in paranormal.

Ganzfeld procedure AO1 Key details often missed out: -sender randomly sends a card -reference to sensory deprivation -hit rate must be above 25% for significant finding across several trials AO2 -Lack of control was the best points to use - Some didn’t explain non-randomisation of targets clearly -Evidence is not relevant to this question (asked for methodological issues)

Psychic mediumship AO1 -use research findings/conclusions (not explanations) -accurately describe the results of at least 2 studies (most inaccuracies on biological evidence) AO2 -discuss how cold reading and Barnum statements might account for the significant finding in Schwartz study -use O'Keeffe study to challenge Schwartz and support for cold reading explanation (good evaluation) -implications of this research e.g. is mediumship really occurring? Hint: in the exam write the 10 mark question first so you ensure you have plenty of time to do it properly

DIRT tasks If you missed out/answered the incorrect question or achieved lower than 5 marks on the psychic mediumship question – redo. 2. If you did not use the scenario/research in the question on personality factors – redo. 3. If you achieved 2 out of 4 or less on the evaluation on the Ganzfeld question – redo. 4. If you did fabulous on all, come see me!