Research Dedicated to the Study of Anomalous or
‘Psychic’ Experiences
The Parapsychology Research Group at Liverpool Hope is dedicated to the study
of anomalous and ‘psychic’ experiences. Anomalous experiences reflect a range of
unusual experiences (for example the out of body experience, near death
experiences, etc.), which are not yet fully understood by mainstream science.
Psychic or paranormal experiences are a sub-set of anomalous experiences which
appear to reflect methods of communication and /or mind-matter interaction which
challenge the current scientific framework. The field of parapsychology has been
described as “the scientific study of experiences which, if they are as they
seem to be, are in principle outside the realm of human capabilities as
presently conceived by conventional scientists” (Irwin, 1999, p.
1).
“Zener” or ESP cards – traditionally used to test for ESP
performance,
particularly in the early days of parapsychology
Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP)
There are various forms of extra-sensory perception (ESP) experiences. This
is a general term which refers collectively to telepathy, clairvoyance,
precognition and retrocognition. Telepathic experiences reflect apparent mind to
mind communication, where all other means of communication are ruled out.
Clairvoyance experiences reflect an apparent direct awareness of information
that is distant or hidden from the perceiver. Precognitive experiences reflect
an apparent awareness of information from sources that are in the future.
Retrocognitive experiences reflect an apparent awareness of information from
sources that have taken place in the past.
Psychokinesis
Experiences suggestive of psychokinesis (PK) appear to reflect the direct
interaction between mental intentions and the physical environment. Due to the
difficulties associated with distinguishing ostensible ESP and PK effects,
parapsychologists typically use the less value-laden term psi (the Greek letter
) to refer to these kinds of ‘psychic’ experiences.
Human Personality or Consciousness
Other experiences studied by the group include experiences that suggest that
human personality or consciousness may exist outside of a physical body. These
experiences include phenomena such as out-of-body experiences, mediumship
phenomena, and haunting phenomena.
Our Approach
Participant in the “ganzfeld” – a method employed for inducing a state of consciousness which seems to be conducive to ESP experiences
As a group, we represent a diverse range of approaches and interests within
the areas of parapsychology and more generally, consciousness research. Our
general approach is that of open-minded scepticism; that is to say that we do
not make assumptions about the outcomes of our experiments and investigations,
letting the data speak for themselves as to whether different forms of anomalous
phenomena can be explained by mainstream science or whether science should be
extended to accommodate the existence of genuine phenomena. We also thoroughly
respect the subjective experiences of the people we study. Our work ranges from
being experimental (e.g., ganzfeld work) to exploring the phenomenology of
particular forms of subjective experience (e.g., the nature of the experiences
of psychic healers) and addressing experiences in the field, such as hauntings.
Past research projects
We have been involved in some exciting research projects
Virtual reality and ESP experiment run between
Manchester University and
Liverpool Hope
Current Research Projects
-
The phenomenology of PK experiences
-
The phenomenology of psychic healing
-
The phenomenology of mediumship
- Exploring conceptual frameworks for anomalous experiences
Future/planned Research Projects
Recommended further reading on the psychology of anomalous
experiences and parapsychology
Cardeña, E., Lynn, S. J. &. Krippner, S. (Eds.) (2000). Varieties of
anomalous experience: Examining the scientific evidence, (pp. 121-149).
Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
Irwin H.J. &. Watt, C.A. (2007). An Introduction to Parapsychology,
5th edition. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
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Research Projects 
