The coverage of parapsychology in introductory psychology textbooks: 1990-2002

Journal of Parapsychology, The, Spring, 2003 by James McClenon, Miguel Roig, Matthew D. Smith, Gillian Ferrier

One possible explanation for these variations revolves around the skeptical quality of many textbook discussions. Discussions in the 1990s tended to regard the topic of ESP as open; ganzfeld experiments were described as possibly replicable. Skeptical authors and editors may have chosen to ignore the topic rather than cover such a "controversial" topic. In recent years, there has been a trend toward fewer introductory texts (Griggs, 1990), with the texts becoming more uniform. (This pattern is revealed by the smaller standard deviation of the pages covering ESP/parapsychology in the 2002 sample; see Table 1.)

As Table 1 indicates, the average number of pages devoted to ESP/parapsychology was 1.91 in the 1980s, 2.73 in the 1990s, and 2.39 in the 2002 sample. As in the 1980s texts, most of the 1990s textbooks covered ESP/parapsychology in sections tided "Sensation," "Perception," or "Sensation and Perception." In the 1990s sample, 82% of those discussing the topic did so within those sections. In the 2002 sample, 88% of the ESP/parapsychology discussions were within those sections.

The 2002 sample portrayed greater skepticism than the 1990s sample, illustrated by the texts providing the most coverage. The most lengthy section in the 1990s sample was an 18-page chapter titled "Sensation and Parapsychology" from a textbook that was part of the U.K. sample (Hayes, 1998). This coverage appeared more balanced than many since parapsychologists' arguments were presented. The most lengthy discussion in the 2002 sample was an 8-page chapter in Mynatt and Doherty's (2002) text titled "There Is No Credible Evidence for Extrasensory Perception (Or Why Nobody Has Collected Randi's Million Dollars)." No parapsychologists or authors publishing in parapsychological journals were cited.

RESEARCH AREAS AND CITATION COUNTS

Emphasis on J. B. Rhine's Zener cards declined during the 1990s but became a focus of skeptical comments in the 2002 sample. Twenty-one of the 1980s textbooks (54% of those covering parapsychology) discussed Rhine's Zener card research (see Table 2). Zener card research was described in 8 of the 1990s texts (29% of the texts covering parapsychology) and in 14 of the 2002 texts (42% of those covering parapsychology). Many discussions in the 2002 texts provided criticisms of Rhine's studies. For example, Coon (2001, p. 229) used Alcock's (1990) false and misleading statements as a source:

some of Rhine's most dramatic early experiments used badly printed Zener cards that allowed the symbols to show faintly on the back. It is also very easy to cheat, by marking cards with a finger nail or by noting marks on the cards caused by normal use.

Although an early producer of Zener cards, designed for mass marketing, manufactured poorly printed cards, Rhine never used these within formal experiments (Broughton, 1991, p.71). The 2002 texts contain other equivalent inaccuracies based on skeptical misrepresentations, implying that much parapsychological research is flawed because of incompetence or fraud.