Unit 4(F):
Claims of Extrasensory
Perception (ESP)
Mr. McCormick
A.P. Psychology
Do-Now
(Discussion)
 What is Extrasensory
Perception (ESP)?
 Do you believe that it has any
psychological credibility?
Claims of ESP
 Claims of paranormal phenomena (“psi”)
include:
 Astrological predictions
 Psychic healing
 Communication with the dead
 Out-of-body experiences
 Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
 Extrasensory Perception (ESP):
 Controversial claim that perception can occur
apart from sensory input
 Types of ESP:
 Telepathy
 Clairvoyance
 Precognition
 Psychokinesis
Lack of Credibility of ESP
 There is little to no empirical evidence of
ESP
 Perceived incidences of ESP:
 Difficult to replicate
 May be a result of:
 Intuitive judgment
 Chance
 Confirmation bias
ESP and Law Enforcement
 In a survey of Police
Departments in America’s
50 largest cities:
 65% of Police Departments
never used a psychic
 Out of the 35% who did, none
found it substantially helpful
Tabloid Psychics of the 1990’s
 Madonna:
 To become a gospel singer!
 Statue of Liberty:
 Will lose both of its arms in a terrorist blast!
 Queen Elizabeth:
 Will abdicate her throne to enter a convent
Test Your ESP!
 Websites have been designed
to test one’s ESP (or guessing skills!)
Parapsychology:
Lacking Empirical Evidence
 Parapsychologist, Rhea White (1998):
 “The image of parapsychology that comes to
my mind, based on nearly 44 years in the
field, is that of a small airplane that has been
perpetually taxiing down the runway of the
Empirical Science Airport since 1882…its
movement punctuated occasionally by lifting a
few feet off the ground, only to bump back
down on the tarmac once again. It has never
taken off for any sustained flight.”
Review
 Differentiate between the following forms
of Extrasensory Perception (ESP):




Telepathy
Clairvoyance
Precognition
Psychokinesis
 Why is there little psychological support for
ESP?
Homework
 Unit 4 Sensation Lab
 Unit 4 Test: “Sensation and Perception”
 Chapter 5 Outline: “States of
Consciousness”