Unit 4(F): Claims of Extrasensory Perception (ESP) Mr. McCormick A.P. Psychology

Do-Now (Discussion)  What is Extrasensory Perception (ESP)?  Do you believe that it has any psychological credibility?

Claims of ESP  Claims of paranormal phenomena (“psi”) include:  Astrological predictions  Psychic healing  Communication with the dead  Out-of-body experiences  Extrasensory Perception (ESP)

Extrasensory Perception (ESP)  Extrasensory Perception (ESP):  Controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input  Types of ESP:  Telepathy  Clairvoyance  Precognition  Psychokinesis

Lack of Credibility of ESP  There is little to no empirical evidence of ESP  Perceived incidences of ESP:  Difficult to replicate  May be a result of:  Intuitive judgment  Chance  Confirmation bias

ESP and Law Enforcement  In a survey of Police Departments in America’s 50 largest cities:  65% of Police Departments never used a psychic  Out of the 35% who did, none found it substantially helpful

Tabloid Psychics of the 1990’s  Madonna:  To become a gospel singer!  Statue of Liberty:  Will lose both of its arms in a terrorist blast!  Queen Elizabeth:  Will abdicate her throne to enter a convent

Test Your ESP!  Websites have been designed to test one’s ESP (or guessing skills!)

Parapsychology: Lacking Empirical Evidence  Parapsychologist, Rhea White (1998):  “The image of parapsychology that comes to my mind, based on nearly 44 years in the field, is that of a small airplane that has been perpetually taxiing down the runway of the Empirical Science Airport since 1882…its movement punctuated occasionally by lifting a few feet off the ground, only to bump back down on the tarmac once again. It has never taken off for any sustained flight.”

Review  Differentiate between the following forms of Extrasensory Perception (ESP):  Telepathy  Clairvoyance  Precognition  Psychokinesis  Why is there little psychological support for ESP?

Homework  Unit 4 Sensation Lab  Unit 4 Test: “Sensation and Perception”  Chapter 5 Outline: “States of Consciousness”