Book Title: Paranormal Psychology: PSY410

Book Description

This OER packet contains the course materials for PSY410: Paranormal Psychology. Although often dismissed as a pseudoscience, there are many things we can learn about human beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors by studying phenomena that our current science cannot explain. The course begins with a history of real scientific studies that have been conducted to try and determine whether things like extrasensory perception, telepathy, and telekinesis are real phenomena, with a particular emphasis on what those studies can teach us about the scientific method more generally. This is followed by an examination of things related to the afterlife (e.g., ghosts, mediums, near death experiences, reincarnation claims) and things related to extraterrestrial life, with a particular focus on the psychological (and other) explanations for these phenomena and the implications of believing in these phenomena. Then we focus on belief systems and their implications, including astrology, superstitions, rituals, and cults. We end by focusing on witches, monsters, haunted places, and haunted objects, again focusing on the reasons people believe and the implications of those beliefs on daily life. The purpose of the course is not to change your beliefs. Rather it is to expose you to the scientific perspective related to those beliefs. Remember, paranormal phenomena are simply things we cannot yet explain…