Educating Parapsychologists

Journal of Parapsychology, The, Sept, 1999 by Matthew D. Smith

Further encouragement that the new universities are keen to support parapsychology is demonstrated by the fact that three of these four institutions also include parapsychology options as part of their undergraduate degree programs. It would appear that they recognize that not only is parapsychology a popular subject choice among students, but that it can also serve as a context in which to develop students' critical thinking skills. In addition, parapsychology can be used to illustrate the importance of rigorous methodology, the relevance of relatively advanced statistical issues, and the need for replication of experimental findings. All of these are not only important in parapsychology, but are also important in psychology as a whole. Thus, much of what students might learn in the context of parapsychology may be applied to other aspects of their studies.

So, given the recent successes of the graduates of the Koestler Parapsychology Unit, I would be inclined to recommend the educational strategy employed by Bob Morris which, I believe, will increase the chances that students who study parapsychology are employable academics who will go on to contribute to the field of parapsychology. That is, wherever and whenever possible, we should integrate parapsychology within larger disciplines. At this stage, I feel that our best chances still lie within psychology because psi phenomena are, if nothing else, fundamentally psychological phenomena. That's not to say that parapsychology cannot, or should not, be integrated into other disciplines (such as philosophy or physics), but simply that I feel that it is currently psychology that has the most to learn from, and contribute to, the study of psi phenomena. Indeed, it is encouraging to note that this view also appears to be shared by the examining boards of "A" Level Psychology in England. "A" Levels are the school-lea ving qualifications that many 17-year-olds will use to secure heir place at university, and it is only within the past 10 years that students have been able to take an "A" Level course in psychology. The encouraging part is that the "A" Level curriculum, something which is set by the examining boards and not by individual instructors, now includes a small section on parapsychology. This means that many students now arrive at university expecting parapsychology to be included in their studies in psychology.

One approach which may help to integrate parapsychology within psychology is to emphasize links between parapsychology and other areas which are already becoming increasingly integrated within the psychological sciences. Two such areas are the scientific study of consciousness and transpersonal psychology. In Britain, these areas are becoming increasingly recognized as important subdisciplines of academic psychology as illustrated by the inauguration of two new Sections of the British Psychological Society in 1997: The Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Section and the Transpersonal Psychology Section. In Liverpool, we have built upon this growing interest by establishing a Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology Research Unit. The Unit is based within the Centre for Applied Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University although it also comprises members who are based in the Psychology Department at Liverpool Hope University College. Not only are the members of the Unit engaged in research, including experimental research in parapsychology, but we are also very much involved with teaching these areas at both an undergraduate level (as part of a BSc in Applied Psychology at John Moores University, and as part of a BSc or BA in Combined Subjects at Liverpool Hope University College) and graduate level (through supervising PhDs and through teaching an MSc in Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology). The teaching and research of parapsychology sits comfortably within this framework.