PSY 510 Short Paper 1 Scientific Skeptic.docx- Snhu

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PSY 510 Short Paper 1 Scientific Skeptic.docx- Snhu

My chosen psychological claim is ESP.ESP has always been something that fascinated me. I have watched many movies and television shows that have claims of people who have extrasensory perceptions.ESP can be defined as an awareness of the world that occurs through some process other than the known perception. Science deals with observations of the natural world from far-off galaxies, to microorganisms, to human behavior. Science can explain those natural observations (Robinson, 2009). I have always been curious about ESP because of the many claims that have been brought in various forms.

PSY 510 Short Paper 1 Scientific Skeptic.docx- Snhu

I was skeptical because if a person did have ESP, they could predict winning lottery numbers, prevent deaths from happening, and could place themselves in a position to help family and friends. I once spoke with someone who claimed they had ESP. He talked about being able to sense things before they happen. He spoke of a feeling he gets and dreams about things that seem to happen the next day. I could not confirm it was true, but it was fascinating listening to his story. My research question about my chosen claim centers around ESP. Can ESP be proven scientifically, or is it more spiritual base? That is a question that I feel would explore both the science and the spiritual side of ESP.

PSY 510 Short Paper 1 Scientific Skeptic.docx- Snhu

The term extrasensory perception (ESP) is defined as an awareness of the world that occurs through some other mechanism outside of the five known senses of sight, sound, touch, feeling, and taste such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. Research experiments on parapsychology began with Dr. J.B. Rhine in 1926. He and another psychologist, Dr. WilliamMcDougall, began focusing on developing new “scientific” methods for investigating paranormal phenomena. Over one million trials in 33 experiments were conducted and while Dr.Rhine firmly believed that several of his studies showed evidence for ESP in the research, there was no compelling evidence to support his claims; results were always rejected due to problems in the experimental process (James Randi Educational Foundation, 2012). Many scientists regard past “classic” studies supportive of ESP as inadequate methodologically and to date, parapsychology is still considered “pseudoscience”.

PSY 510 Short Paper 1 Scientific Skeptic.docx- Snhu

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