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Definition: parapsychology from Philip's Encyclopedia

Research into phenomena that appear inexplicable by traditional science, such as extrasensory perception (ESP) and precognition (perceiving future events). Parapsychology has not produced any significant results.

parapsychology

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Study of paranormal phenomena, which are generally subdivided into two types: extrasensory perception (ESP), or the paracognitive; and psychokinesis (PK), telekinesis, or the paraphysical – movement of an object without the use of physical force or energy. Most research into parapsychology has been experimental. The first Society for Psychical Research was established in London in 1882 by scientists, philosophers, classical scholars, and spiritualists. Despite continued scepticism within the scientific establishment, a chair of parapsychology was established in in 1984 at Edinburgh University, endowed by the Hungarian author Arthur Koestler. Other societies with similar aims include the American Society of Psychical Research and the Institut Metapsychique in Paris, France. The Parapsychological Association (1957) is a professional association of research workers in this field. In 1927 a parapsychological laboratory was set up under J B Rhine at Duke University, North Carolina, which…
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Full text Article Parapsychology

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
Parapsychology is concerned with what appear to be paranormal experiences, ie interactions between individuals, or between an individual and the environment, which seem to be inexplicable in terms of current scientific understanding. While popular representations of parapsychology often include such…
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Full text Article parapsychology

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Discipline concerned with investigating events that cannot be accounted for by natural law and knowledge that cannot have been obtained through the usual sensory abilities. Parapsychology studies the cognitive phenomena often called extrasensory perception , in which a person acquires knowledge of…
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Full text Article Parapsychology

From Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology
Meaning “beyond psychology,” a term used to describe the study of paranormal, or psi, phenomena, the most significant being extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK). The term “parapsychology” was coined in 1889 by the German psychologist Max Dessoir (1867–1947). The study of paranormal…
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Full text Article Parapsychology

From The Oxford Encyclopedia of the History of American Science, Medicine, and Technology
The term “parapsychology” was adopted by Joseph Banks Rhine in his first monograph, Extra-Sensory Perception (1934), to denominate a new field of academic scientific research dealing with purported human abilities that, prima facie , appeared to have no obvious explanatory mechanism in sensory or…
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Full text Article parapsychology

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Study of paranormal phenomena, which are generally subdivided into two types: extrasensory perception (ESP), or the paracognitive; and psychokinesis (PK), telekinesis, or the paraphysical – movement of an object without the use of physical force or energy. Most research into parapsychology has been…
| 360 words
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Full text Article parapsychology

From The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology
A more-or-less (with the emphasis on less ) accepted branch of psychology concerned with paranormal phenomena; that is, phenomena that are presumed to be unexplainable using known laws and principles, including extrasensory perception ( ESP) , telepathy, precognition, telekinesis and clairvoyance. …
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Full text Article parapsychology

From Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
the study of certain anomalous phenomena and ostensible causal connections neither recognized nor clearly rejected by traditional science. Parapsychology's principal areas of investigation are extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (PK), and cases suggesting the survival of mental functioning…
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Study of ‘paranormal’ psychological phenomena like telepathy, extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (movement of objects by the power of the mind), spiritualism, clairvoyance, etc. This field played a surprisingly important role in establishing Psychology in the nineteenth century, the…
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Full text Article parapsychology

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
study of mental phenomena not explainable by accepted principles of science. The organized, scientific investigation of paranormal phenomena began with the foundation (1882) of the Society for Psychical Research in London. Such early efforts attempted to dissociate psychical phenomena from…
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Full text Article parapsychology

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
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