PSYCHIC HEALING

Definition: The ability to cause positive changes in physical well- being (in other humans or even animals, plants and cells) without the use of known medical techniques or effects. Examples:  Prayers  lay on of hands  use of healing rituals  Therapeutic touch (TT)

AURA  Chi -   What is aura?   Try to see aura: 

EXPLANATIONS  Energy Field (aura) Human – an open energy system composed of layers of energy -The energy is constantly interacting with self, others & the environment.  Sickness is caused by imbalance of the person’s energy field  Clearing & restoring balance of the person’s energy field promotes health  People have natural abilities to heal others  Worked example: Therapeutic touch (TT)

EXPLANATIONS  Anxiety relief  Prayers / Psychic healing / Consoling -acts a social support to reduce stress & anxiety  A01: Mollica (2005) suggests that psychic healers are beneficial in dealing with traumas. After the Asian tsunami, patients treated by psychic healing benefited more than those receiving medical treatments. => They were offered ‘psychological first aid’ =>Less stressed and reduce anxiety  Benefiting from the contact with a sympathetic person  Enhance immune system

 A02:  However this study was not controlled.  There might be experimenter effects and demand characteristics  Also it is a natural experiment (Catastrophes not caused by humans)  Replication is needed to test for reliability  Not much detail on how “benefited” the patients were

EXPLANATIONS  Placebo effect  Show improvement as patient believes that an effective treatment has been received  Patient might feel better spontaneously  But effect wont last long…then relapse

SUPPORTING RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY Randomised Controlled Trials  Double blind, randomised controlled trials [RCT’s]  Neither the patient nor the person administering the treatment knows whether the patient is receiving the active treatment or the placebo  If the active treatment group show greater levels of improvement than the placebo control group, then the treatment would appear to be effective

BRAUD & SCHLITZ 1988 PSYCHIC HEALING DISTANCE HEALING Psychic healers were asked to focus on pictures of patients for 1 minute. Patients were unaware that this was occurring.  This eliminates placebo effects Found: Galvanic skin responses were elevated and this response altered the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. This suggests a real biological effect to psychic healing.

WIRTH 1990 PSYCHIC HEALING THERAPEUTIC TOUCH [TT] Patients were either treated with TT or no treatment at all. The Patients didn’t know which condition they were in With their eyes shut they did not know if they had TT or not This eliminated the placebo effect Found: Those who were treated with TT healed faster

A02 EVALUATION  Wirth [1990] TT:  Failed to replicate his own research on wound healing  Researchers who tried to contact him to discuss his research failed  Convicted of criminal fraud

CHA ET AL [2001] PSYCHIC HEALING THE MIRACLE STUDY Effects of prayer on infertile women Women were prayed over by Christians from overseas Found: 50% fertile for prayed group VS 26% fertile for non- prayed group

A02 EVALUATION  Che et al [2001]:  The research was criticised by various scientists leading one author to withdraw his name  The protocol of the study was said to be very confusing  Accused of plagiarism in a journal

A01 ROSA ET AL 1998 PSYCHIC HEALING THERAPEUTIC TOUCH (TT) 21 TT practitioners were tested. They had to place their hands through two holes in a screen and on the other side an experimenter would place her hands about 4 inches above the practitioner’s right / left hand. The practitioners must detect the energy field form the experimenter’s hand then decide and tell which side the experimenter’s hand was in. Found: Only 44% of the time the practitioners were right which is less than by chance.

ROSA ET AL  TT:

A02 LONG ET AL PSYCHIC HEALING THERAPEUTIC TOUCH (TT) Challenged Rosa et al’s finding after he replicated the experiment.  When experimenter’s hand was only 3 inches above  Results were better  Possible explanation: heat can be detected from the experimenter’s hand  Designed a study which eliminated body heat  Found results at chance level  Support Long et al. ‘s criticism A02 GLICKMAN AND GRACELY

A02 HINES 2003 PSYCHIC HEALING THERAPEUTIC TOUCH (TT) TT supporters claimed that the research was invalid. As experimenter wasn’t ill, lack of unbalance of aura made detection difficult.

OPPOSING RESEARCH

BENSON ET AL 2006 PSYCHIC HEALING WHETHER PRAYERS INFLUENCE HEALTH Patients receiving a coronary heart by-pass were randomly divided into 3 groups in receiving prayers group (they were told they MAY or MAY NOT receive prayers) in NOT receiving prayers group (they were told they MAY or MAY NOT receive prayers) in receiving prayers group (they were told they would be prayed) Found: 52% complications occurred in group 1 51% in group 2 59% in group 3  negative effect (!?) Conclusion: no effect on recovery

EVALUATION  Conflicting research findings in terms of using healing for medical conditions  In randomised trials there could be other variables:  Participant variables  Such as belief  Current mental health  Health status at the time [fluctuations]  Placebo effect [Belief bringing about positive change due to expectation]  Personality

EVALUATION Placebo effect: – Belief combined with expectation – Change in behaviour – Change in ways of thinking – Facilitates positive change – Makes the whole procedure look as though it worked All these factors affect the outcomes of research

EVALUATION Spontaneous recover with a relapse later Argue that belief plays a role in psychic healing Does not support psychic healing Individuals who feel it is effective will believe Culture bias Sample size

PAST EXAM QUESTIONS  Discuss what research has shown about psychic healing. (4 marks + 6 marks)

 AO1 = 4 marks  AO1 credit is awarded for findings and conclusions of research into psychic healing. Candidates are likely to focus on studies which have looked for the existence of healing and/or the factors associated with belief in psychic healing.  Some studies have demonstrated significant benefits from psychic healing, whereas others have shown a lack of benefit:  Krieger (2000) found higher haemoglobin levels in a group who had received psychic healing than a control group.  Bener’s (2000) meta-analysis identified positive effects in 197 studies of psychic healers. Keller et al (1986) double blind trial found significant benefits to tension headaches.  Credit can also be gained from description of possible mechanisms underlying possible effects, e.g. Tang (1998) suggests that psychic healing increases relaxation and activates self-healing.  AO2/AO3 = 6 marks  AO2/AO3 credit is awarded for commentary and evaluation on what research has shown about psychic healing.  AO2/AO3 content depends on the material presented as AO1 but likely content includes:  contradictory findings of studies on healing lack of controlled, double blind trials use of small volunteer samples  ethical issues (e.g. vulnerability, exploitation of those seeking healing).