Microsoft Word Complete article [10] versie e-thesis[1]. doc

 

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4.5 

Post-Critical Belief Scale (PCBS) and the 

Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) 

30 

4.6 

Problems with the Study  

31 

4.7 

Suggestions for Future Research 

33 

4.8 Summary 

34 

 

 

 

 

APPENDICES 

 

 

 

APPPENDIX 1 

Paranormal Belief Scale: Revised 

Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS), 

Tobayck (1988) 

36 

APPENDIX 2 

Religious Belief Scale: Post-Critical 

Belief Scale (PCBS), Hutsebaut et al. 

(1996, 1997, 2000) 

38 

APPENDIX 3 

Personality Scale: NEO-PI-R, Costa and 

McCrae (1978, 1992, 1995) 

41 

APPENDIX 4 

Questionnaire Introduction 

45 

APPENDIX 5 

Raw Data 

46 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

 47 

 

 

 

 

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1. INTRODUCTION 

 

Surveys, such as the one conducted in 1996 by Gallup of a nationally 

representative sample of Americans, continue to show a high degree of 

belief, interest and involvement in a variety of paranormal and religious 

related phenomena among the general population.  For example, 48 percent 

believed in the possibility of extra-sensory perception (ESP), 45 percent 

believe that unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have already visited Earth, 

and 56 and 72 per cent believed in the reality of the devil and angels, 

respectively (Gallup, 1997).  In fact, these numbers have actually gone up 

since the surveys first started (Gallup and Newport, 1991) and other surveys 

amongst university and college students have yielded similar results (e.g. 

Messer and Griggs, 1989).  Perhaps due to the widespread existence of such 

beliefs, the investigation of personality correlates of paranormal and 

particularly religious belief has received considerable attention in recent 

years, but little attention was given to both simultaneously

. 

This study 

intends to provide a first exploratory look at the relationships between 

paranormal beliefs, religious beliefs and personality correlates. 

 

 

1.1 

PARANORMAL BELIEFS AND PERSONALITY

 

 

The term paranormal is used to describe phenomena, which - if authentic - 

violate basic limiting principles of science (Broad, 1949; Tobayck, 1995).  

The question of why so many people, including the well educated, believe in 

the possibility of such phenomena has perplexed the scientific community 

and as such the investigation of individual differences in the belief in the 

paranormal has been a prominent avenue of psychological inquiry. 

 

Early studies into paranormal beliefs rendered a most negative view on 

believers, emphasising deficiencies in intelligence, education and 

personality (Emme, 1940; Lundeen and Caldwell, 1930).  However, these 

early studies tended to focus on simple superstitions compared with the 

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recent research focus on more complex and sophisticated phenomena such 

as ESP, psychokinesis and precognition (Boshier, 1973; Irwin, 1993).  Also, 

some research has indicated that beliefs in the paranormal are associated 

with higher rather than lower education and intelligence (McGarry and 

Newberry, 1981). Other findings suggest that belief in paranormal 

phenomena is not associated with the rejection of mainstream science or 

technology, at least among college and university students (Schouten, 1983). 

 

Two areas that have received a lot of attention in relation to paranormal 

beliefs have been locus of control and psychopathology. The connection 

between paranormal beliefs and feelings of control were proposed as far 

back as the 1940’s by Malinowski (1948), with these beliefs serving as a 

kind of illusion of control (Langer, 1975).  Early research demonstrated a 

relationship between a more external locus of control and greater belief in 

paranormal phenomena (e.g. Tobayck & Milford, 1983).  However, the 

results from the global measurements of paranormal belief and locus of 

control have been shown questionable.  This was due to the measurement 

tools (or scales), which included both forms of paranormal belief implying a 

belief in fate and lack of control (e.g. superstitions, spiritualism) and forms 

suggesting that the world can be changed by one’s own will (e.g. psi, 

psychokinesis).  Therefore, it was suggested that superstition and 

spiritualism should correlate positively, and psi belief should correlate 

negatively with external locus of control (Wolfradt, 1997).  Indeed, taking 

this multi-dimensional approach, significant relationships between 

externality in personal and socio-political control and belief in religion, 

superstitions and spiritualism have been found.  Similarly, a significant 

relationship between internality in personal and interpersonal control and 

belief in psi has also been found (Davies and Kirkby, 1985). 

 

The other correlate that has received much attention with respect to 

paranormal beliefs is psychopathology and in particular ‘magical thinking’ 

(as seen in psychokinesis), which is among the defined symptoms of some 

psychiatric disorders like schizotypal personality disorder in the DSM-IV 

(American Psychiatric Association, 1994).  It has been found that those who 

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