Abstract
This study examined the degree to which within-individual variations in paranormal experience were related to belief in the paranormal, preferential thinking style, and delusion formation. A sample of 956 non-clinical adults completed measures assessing experience-based paranormal indices (i.e., paranormal experience, paranormal practitioner visiting, and paranormal ability), paranormal belief, belief in science, proneness to reality testing deficits, and emotion-based reasoning. Latent profile analysis (LPA) combined the experience-based indices to produce six underlying groups. Inter-class comparison via multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that both breadth and intensity of experiential factors were associated with higher belief in in the paranormal, increased proneness to reality testing deficits, and greater emotion-based reasoning. Belief in science, however, was less susceptible to experiential variations. Further analysis of reality testing subscales revealed that experiential profiles influenced levels of intrapsychic activity in subtle and intricate ways, especially those indexing Auditory and Visual Hallucinations and Delusional Thinking. Collectively, identification of profiles and inter-class comparisons provided a sophisticated understanding of the relative contribution of experiential factors to differences in paranormal belief, belief in science, proneness to reality testing deficits, and emotion-based reasoning.
Highlights
National surveys report that belief in the paranormal remains widespread within contemporary Western societies (i.e., United Kingdom, Ipsos, 1998, Ipsos, 2003, United States, Gallup: Newport and Strausberg, 2001; Moore, 2005)
Observing the potential of Latent profile analysis (LPA), the current paper examined the degree to which profile membership was associated with differences in paranormal belief and cognitive-perceptual information processing; preferential thinking style and factors related to delusion formation in general populations
Belief in the Paranormal, Proneness to Reality Testing Deficits, and EmotionBased Reasoning correlated positively, whereas Belief in Science was negatively associated with paranormal experiences and abilities
Summary
National surveys report that belief in the paranormal remains widespread within contemporary Western societies (i.e., United Kingdom, Ipsos, 1998, Ipsos, 2003, United States, Gallup: Newport and Strausberg, 2001; Moore, 2005). A 2005 Gallup poll (Moore, 2005) observed that three in four Americans acknowledged at least one paranormal belief. Concomitant with belief, the reporting of paranormal experiences is relatively common (e.g., Schmied-Knittel and Schetsche, 2005; Castro et al, 2014; Dagnall et al, 2016). Studies from other geographical areas have produced comparable findings Consideration of literature reveals that experiencers frequently report multiple occurrences (Castro et al, 2014; Dagnall et al, 2016)
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