Personality and motivations to believe, misbelieve, and disbelieve in paranormal phenomena

Journal of Parapsychology, The, Fall, 2005 by J.E. Kennedy

The most widely held beliefs about paranormal phenomena involve supernatural religious interpretations and are not included in these scales. In U.S. national surveys, 89% of respondents strongly or somewhat agreed that "there is a God who watches over you and answers your prayers" (Barna, 1991) and 82% agreed that "even today, miracles are performed by the power of God" (Gallup & Castelli, 1989). Measures that do not capture the most widely held beliefs may be of limited value in understanding the characteristics of paranormal beliefs.

Personality and Genetics

Behavioral genetic and related research indicates that personality has significant genetic components and is also influenced by experiences, particularly during childhood (Cary, 2003; Collins, Maccoby, Steinberg, Hetherington, & Bornstein, 2000; Heath, Cloninger, & Martin, 1994; Rutter, Pickles, Murray, & Eaves, 2001; Stallings, Hewitt, Cloninger, Heath, & Eaves, 1996; Tellegen et al., 1988). Attempts to isolate genetic from environmental effects are difficult because of methodological factors, such as the possibility that genes can influence which environments a person chooses to experience (Rutter et al., 2001). However, for purposes of the present article, the basic concept that personality depends on both genetic dispositions and environmental experiences is sufficient.

The discussions of personality types here are primarily intended to show that these factors appear to have a significant role in attitude toward the paranormal. These discussions are not intended to limit the recognition of the variability among people or the likelihood that an individual may have motivations associated with various personality factors. The research studies discussed here have often employed the Myers-Briggs personality model. A summary of that model is described in the Appendix for those who may not be familiar with it. Other personality models could probably be developed that would be more useful for research on paranormal beliefs.

Capricious, Evasive Psi

Discussions of belief in psi must recognize the problematic properties of psi experiments that make scientific conclusions controversial. The inability to develop reliable practical applications of psi after a century of research indicates a fundamental lack of scientific progress (Kennedy, 2003a). The research efforts have not been able to overcome the capricious, evasive properties of psi that include unintended and undesired psi-missing and loss of effects. If the basic assumptions of experimental parapsychology were true, gambling industries such as casinos, lotteries, and commodity markets would not be expected to be viable. The fact that these industries remain in business and appear to make profits consistent with the laws of probability places significant restrictions on the scientific expectations about psi. Parapsychological writings generally have not addressed this central dilemma. Greater acceptance of and attention to the capricious, evasive nature of psi may be a prerequisite for scientific progress in parapsychology (Kennedy 2003a).