Thinking Style and the Making of a Paranormal Disbelief

Abstract

Despite a burgeoning literature on the psychological correlates of belief in the paranormal, little research has been devoted to the investigation of paranormal scepticism. This study sought to relate the formation of a paranormal disbelief to habitual thinking styles. An online survey was undertaken by 94 Australian university students. Questionnaire measures replicated known associations between the intensity of previously established paranormal beliefs and an experiential-intuitive mode of thinking but not a rational-analytical mode. Under a procedure for evoking a paranormal belief or disbelief in real time, however, participants who formed a paranormal disbelief were found to exhibit a preference for a rational-analytical mode of thinking. Recommendations are made for the further investigation of the nature of paranormal disbelief.