The relationship between negative affect and paranormal belief

Abstract

Abstract Two experiments investigated the hypothesis that there is a relationship between negative affect and reported level of paranormal belief. In Experiment 1, participants completed Watson, Clark, and Tellegan’s [Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegan A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative effect: the PANAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.] Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) as well as Tobacyk’s [Tobacyk, J. (1988). A Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. Unpublished manuscript. Louisiana Tech University.] revised Paranormal Belief Scale (PBS). Both questionnaires were printed on red, white, or blue paper. Participants that completed the questionnaires on blue paper showed greater negative affect as well as greater paranormal belief. In Experiment 2, participants that completed the PANAS immediately following completion of the PBS demonstrated a higher level of negative affect compared to participants that completed only the PANAS, or that completed the Locus of Control Scale prior to the PANAS. Both experiments are consistent with the hypothesis that negative affect is positively correlated with level of paranormal belief.