Proneness to Self-Deception and the Two-Factor Model of Paranormal Belief

Abstract

Previous research suggests that paranormal beliefs may serve the basic human need for a sense of control over life events in a capricious and sometimes hostile world. This view might be taken to suggest that the paranormal believer tends to embrace essentially incompatible beliefs, namely, "Unpleasant things may happen to me" and "I have complete control over life events". On this basis the study examined the relationship between proneness to self-deception and the strength of the two facets of paranormal belief identified by Lange, Irwin, and Houran's (2000) two-factor model. Thirty Australian university students completed the Self-Deception Questionnaire and the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. Proneness to self-deception was found to be a correlate of New Age Philosophy factor of paranormal belief (r = 0.447), but not of the factor Of Traditional Paranormal Beliefs (r = 0.078). Contrary to expectation, However, New Age Philosophy was associated with a lack of self-deception. It is suggested that paranormal believers as a group are not especially prone to embrace incompatible beliefs, but that adherents of New Age Philosophy may be more analytical of the internal consistency of their worldview than are adherents of Traditional Paranormal Beliefs.