| dc.description.abstract | This thesis focuses on both the development of methods for testing practitioners claiming
paranormal abilities (i. e. astrologers, psychics and mediums) and the exploration of how
they use various linguistic strategies to convince clients that they genuinely possess
paranormal abilities. Paranormal claimants have been tested for decades with varying
success. The results have provoked acrid debate, mainly focusing on the methodological
issues. This thesis reviews the key issues in this debate, describes the formulation of a
method of testing that aimed to prevent the many problems that have hindered past
research, and how this was then used to test several professional practitioners from the
main three paranormal domains. The empirical work examines the accuracy of the
claimants then seeks to understand underlying linguistic causes for participants' acceptance
of particular readings. Many researchers from the early 1900s involved primarily with
mediumship were aware of natural psychological explanations for impressive alleged after-death
communication. In addition, more recent research has examined the possible
linguistic stratagems employed by pseudo-psychics to convince clients of apparent accuracy
where there is none. To date this research has primarily focused on the Barnum Effect and
taken a more process-oriented stance, manipulating various aspects of Barnum-type
statements themselves (e. g. positive vs. negative wording) or the source (e. g. psychologist
vs. psychic) to decipher the optimum conditions for acceptance. Little research, however,
has examined the actual readings produced by claimants themselves. Taking it's lead from
rhetorical psychology, and with a content analytic approach, this thesis examines the
rhetoric of paranormal claimants using the actual readings produced in a controlled
environment. The results from the accuracy tests did not support the existence of genuine
astrological, psychic or mediumistic ability. Competing interpretations of these results are
discussed, along with ways in which the methodology presented in the paper could be used
to assess conceptually similar, but non-paranormal, contexts. | en_US |
