Parapsychology Course

Lesson 1 • Historical Development of the Field

Traces the field from 19th-century psychical research to modern laboratory science. Understanding this arc contextualizes current methodologies and debates.

Lesson 2 • Defining Parapsychology as a Discipline

Parapsychology is distinguished from pseudoscience and folk belief through operational definitions. This grounding enables students to frame the field accurately in academic contexts.

Lesson 3 • Major Phenomena Under Investigation

Surveys the core phenomena—ESP, psychokinesis, and survival research—that define the field's research agenda. Students learn to categorize claims systematically.

Lesson 1 • Statistical Analysis for Psi Research

Introduces effect-size metrics, meta-analysis, and Bayesian approaches used in psi studies. Students apply these tools to evaluate published findings critically.

Lesson 2 • Ethical Standards in Human Subjects Research

Outlines informed consent, participant welfare, and deception protocols relevant to psi experiments. Students apply ethical review principles to their own study designs.

Lesson 3 • Randomization and Blinding Procedures

Proper randomization and blinding are essential to eliminating sensory leakage and experimenter bias. Students implement these safeguards in study protocols.

Lesson 4 • Core Experimental Designs

Covers forced-choice, free-response, and remote-viewing protocols as primary research tools. Students learn to select designs appropriate to specific hypotheses.

Lesson 1 • Individual Differences in ESP Performance

Explores how personality, belief, and altered states correlate with ESP scoring. Students design studies that account for subject-level variables.

Lesson 2 • Telepathy: Evidence and Protocols

Reviews controlled telepathy experiments from card-guessing to modern neuroimaging paradigms. Students assess methodological quality and effect-size consistency.

Lesson 3 • Clairvoyance and Remote Viewing

Examines remote-viewing research, including government-sponsored programs and independent replications. Students evaluate target-matching accuracy and analytical judging methods.

Lesson 1 • Theoretical Models of PK Mechanisms

Surveys quantum, informational, and consciousness-based models proposed to explain PK. Students evaluate each model's explanatory power and testability.

Lesson 2 • Micro-PK and Random Event Generators

Covers REG-based micro-PK research, including the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research findings. Students conduct simulated REG analyses and interpret cumulative deviation graphs.

Lesson 3 • Global Consciousness and Field Effects

Examines the Global Consciousness Project and field-REG studies during mass events. Students critically assess the statistical methodology and theoretical implications.

Lesson 1 • Out-of-Body Experience Research

Covers laboratory OBE induction, target-detection studies, and virtual-reality paradigms. Students design OBE experiments with appropriate controls for chance success.

Lesson 2 • Phenomenology of Near-Death Experiences

Maps the core features of NDEs—tunnel, light, life review, and border encounter—across cultures. Students use standardized scales to classify and compare reports.

Lesson 3 • Survival Implications and Theoretical Models

Analyzes whether NDE and OBE data support consciousness surviving bodily death. Students weigh survivalist and non-survivalist interpretations using evidential standards.

Lesson 4 • Neuroscientific Explanations of NDEs

Reviews REM intrusion, hypoxia, endorphin, and temporal-lobe hypotheses for NDE generation. Students evaluate each hypothesis against the empirical NDE literature.

Lesson 1 • Reincarnation Case Research

Examines Ian Stevenson's methodology and subsequent replication of children's past-life cases. Students apply case-strength criteria to evaluate reincarnation claims systematically.

Lesson 2 • Laboratory Studies of Mediumship

Reviews blinded sitter studies, proxy sittings, and triple-blind mediumship protocols. Students evaluate scoring methods and effect sizes in controlled mediumship research.

Lesson 3 • Mediumship: Types and Historical Context

Distinguishes mental from physical mediumship and traces their investigation from the 19th century onward. Students identify fraud indicators and legitimate evidential criteria.

Lesson 1 • Quantum Approaches to Psi

Reviews quantum entanglement, non-locality, and observer-effect models applied to psi phenomena. Students assess whether quantum mechanics provides a viable explanatory framework.

Lesson 2 • Integrative and Anomalistic Models

Surveys anomalistic psychology and integrative models that explain psi without invoking new physics. Students compare explanatory scope across all major theoretical positions.

Lesson 3 • Building Testable Theoretical Predictions

Guides students in deriving falsifiable predictions from each major theory for experimental testing. Students produce a theory-to-experiment mapping as a practical deliverable.

Lesson 4 • Consciousness-Based Theories

Covers panpsychism, idealism, and extended-mind theories as foundations for psi explanation. Students evaluate philosophical coherence and empirical implications of each position.

Lesson 1 • Critical Evaluation of Paranormal Claims

Trains students to apply systematic skeptical analysis to media reports and public paranormal claims. Students use structured evaluation rubrics to assess claim quality.

Lesson 2 • Professional Ethics and Boundaries

Addresses ethical obligations when working with vulnerable populations and contested phenomena. Students develop a personal code of professional conduct for parapsychological practice.

Lesson 3 • Science Communication and Public Engagement

Develops skills for communicating parapsychological findings accurately to non-specialist audiences. Students craft press releases, blog posts, and public talks on psi research.

Lesson 4 • Research Consulting and Study Design

Prepares students to advise organizations and investigators on rigorous psi study design. Students produce a complete research proposal as a capstone deliverable.