Investigating the relationship between exposure to television programs that depict paranormal phenomena and beliefs in the paranormal

Abstract

This paper seeks to continue a program of research that explores the possible relationship between exposure to media messages and paranormal beliefs. Following the work of Sparks, Nelson and Campbell (1997), who reported the results of a random sample survey taken in 1994, this study reports the findings of a second random sample survey taken in the same geographic area several years later. The results of the survey show that paranormal beliefs are prevalent in the population and that they are related to reports of television exposure to programs that regularly depict paranormal phenomena. Like the findings reported by Sparks, Nelson and Campbell (1997), this study found that the relationship between TV viewing and paranormal beliefs was contingent upon prior personal experience with a paranormal event. However, the form of this contingent relationship was directly opposite from that observed in the earlier survey. In this study, the relationship between TV exposure and paranormal beliefs emerged only for respondents who reported personal experience with the paranormal. Plausible reasons for the conflicting findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.