Anomalistic psychology
Encyclopedia
In psychology
, anomalistic psychology is the study of human behaviour and experience connected with what is often called the paranormal
, without the assumption that there is anything paranormal involved.
On the hypothesis that paranormal explanations do not exist, researchers try to provide plausible non-paranormal accounts, supported by empirical evidence, of how psychological and physical factors might combine to give the impression of paranormal activity when, in fact, there had been none. Such explanations might involve cognitive bias
es, anomalous psychological states, personality factors, developmental issues, the nature of memory, the psychology of deception and self-deception.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, anomalistic psychology is the study of human behaviour and experience connected with what is often called the paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
, without the assumption that there is anything paranormal involved.
On the hypothesis that paranormal explanations do not exist, researchers try to provide plausible non-paranormal accounts, supported by empirical evidence, of how psychological and physical factors might combine to give the impression of paranormal activity when, in fact, there had been none. Such explanations might involve cognitive bias
Cognitive bias
A cognitive bias is a pattern of deviation in judgment that occurs in particular situations. Implicit in the concept of a "pattern of deviation" is a standard of comparison; this may be the judgment of people outside those particular situations, or may be a set of independently verifiable...
es, anomalous psychological states, personality factors, developmental issues, the nature of memory, the psychology of deception and self-deception.