Paranormal belief is a multidimensional construct best measured with eight distinct factors: haunting/ghosts, extra-terrestrial, superstition, religious beliefs, psi (premonition/psychokinesis), extra-sensory perception, astrology, and witchcraft. A new 50-item scale developed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated good internal reliability and validity, correlating positively with established measures. Non-believers performed less well on perception of randomness reasoning tasks, and belief in the paranormal correlated positively with proneness to reality testing deficits. The measure also showed excellent consistency alongside mental toughness in a real-world context, suggesting improvements for future item design.
A critical overview of published research and theories on anomalous telecommunication phenomena examines how studying these events has contributed to parapsychology. The thesis reviews four peer-reviewed papers, an extended book chapter, and a book covering the topic's history, researcher biographies, skeptical approaches, the psychology of experients, and criticisms of the research. Possible explanations considered include anomalistic psychology, the survival hypothesis, super-psi theory, and multiverse theory. The conclusion offers suggestions for future progression based on past and present approaches to spontaneous cases and the psi versus survival debate.