“Talking to the Dead in the Classroom: How a Supposedly Psychic Event Impacts Beliefs and Feelings”, 2020-10-05 (; similar):
Paranormal beliefs (PBs) are common in adults. There are numerous psychological correlates of PBs and associated theories, yet, we do not know whether such correlates reinforce or result from PBs. To understand causality, we developed an experimental design in which participants experience supposedly paranormal events. Thus, we can test an event’s impact on PBs and PB-associated correlates.
Here, 419 naïve students saw a performer making contact with a confederate’s deceased kin. We tested participants’ opinions and feelings about this performance, and whether these predicted how participants explain the performance. We assessed participants’ PBs and repetition avoidance (PB related cognitive correlate) before and after the performance. Afterwards, participants rated explanations of the event and described their opinions and feelings (open-ended question).
Overall, 65% of participants reported having witnessed a genuine paranormal event. The open-ended question revealed distinct opinion and affect groups, with reactions commonly characterized by doubt and mixed feelings. Importantly, paranormal explanations were more likely when participants reported their feelings than when not reported. Beyond these results, we replicated that 1. higher pre-existing PBs were associated with more psychic explanations (confirmation bias), and 2. PBs and repetition avoidance did not change from before to after the performance. Yet, PBs reminiscent of the actual performance (spiritualism) increased. Results showed that young adults easily endorse PBs and paranormal explanations for events, and that their affective reactions matter. Future studies should use participants’ subjective experiences to target PBs in causal designs (eg. adding control conditions).
[Keywords: Belief, supernatural, magic routine, cognition, affect]
Magic performance: The performance closely resembled the performance described in et al 2018 (Study 2 & 3). To be as ambiguous as possible about the performer(avoiding the impression of an experienced stage magician or psychic), the performance accentuated the performer’s and the confederate’s discomfort of being on stage, non-professionalism, and affectivity. Specifically, a semi-professional magician (Gregory) performed the event. Gregory is a member of the FISM (International Federation of Magical Society) club of Geneva (www.lecmg.ch). He specializes in mentalism. We did not use magic props, such as cards or coins. The performance consisted of two parts. First, the performer aimed to guess the color a volunteer had selected. The volunteer received a dice with colors on the dice’s sides. Hidden from Gregory, the volunteer turned the dice so that the selected color was shown on top. Due to unexpected technical problems with the dice, this part of the performance was initiated, but not completed. Afterwards, the performer invited a confederate from the audience to join him. This female confederate was asked to think about one of her deceased close family members, in order to get in touch with him or her. The performer, after “having felt” a presence, started to “guess” details about the deceased person. Gregory reported more details about this person’s life as the performance continued. These details were “almost accurate” (eg. Gregory guessed that the family member’s name was Michel, but it was actually Michael). As the performance continued, the confederate became increasingly emotional. The performer finished the performance by telling the young woman that her father loves her, that he was very proud of her, and that he would always look after her.