Explanations for anomalous experience

The role of coincidence and probability

judgements in anomalous experience Explanations for superstitious behaviour and magical thinking Personality factors underlying anomalous experience

What different types of personality do you / psychologists use to describe people? What personality factors might be related to anomalous experience / belief in the paranormal?

Childhood trauma / defence mechanisms (fantasy proneness) Neuroticism Extraversion Suggestibility Schizotypy Creative personality Temporal lobe personality Locus of control

Childhood trauma / defence mechanisms (fantasy proneness) Neuroticism Extraversion Suggestibility Schizotypy Creative personality Temporal lobe personality Locus of control

Write a paragraph of AO2 on at least two of these (three if you have time):
What evidence supports

the explanation? What are the strengths / limitations of this? How is the explanation supported by other theories / studies? IDAs

Rogers (07) looked at attachment style, loneliness and paranormal beliefs and childhood trauma. Used 250 participants from a range of backgrounds. Found that the strongest predictor of paranormal beliefs was childhood trauma. In addition proneness to fantasy and loneliness were also predictors. There was a trend that insecurely attached individuals were more prone to paranormal beliefs but the data suggested this wasnt the cause. What does this mean? How can this type of research be evaluated?

Right hemisphere over-activation Dopamine Genes

Brugger (02) First took sheep and goats briefly shown real and scrambled faces and real and madeup words. The believers were more likely to see a face or a word when there wasnt one. Goat were more likely to miss a real face or word. B) gave Ldopa to both groups and the goats started to act like the believers (who were unaffected). What does this appear to show? This finding has not been repeated so what?