Introduction

The investigation of paranormal belief has proved to be a fertile avenue of psychological and parapsychological inquiry. The majority of research has employed self-report measures, and several scales have been developed (Blackmore & Troscianko, 1985, Davis, Peterson, & Farley, 1974, Jones, Russell, & Nickel, 1977, McGarry & Newberry, 1981, Murphy & Lester, 1976, N. Dagnall, A. Parker, G. Munley, K. Drinkwater

Otis & Alcock, 1982, Randall & Desrosiers, 1980, Thalbourne & Delin, 1993, Windholtz & Diamant, 1974). While this approach has successfully produced a wealth of published findings, the validity and content of these paranormal measures has been frequently questioned (Lawrence, 1995).

This can best be illustrated by reference to the Paranormal Belief Scale (PBS, Tobacyk & Milford, 1983; later revised by Tobacyk, 1988, R-PBS), which is the most widely used measure of paranormal belief (Goulding & Parker, 2001). The R-PBS includes a range of phenomena that extend beyond the traditional domain of parapsychology (traditional religious belief, psi, witchcraft, superstition, spiritualism, extraordinary life forms, and precognition). This breadth contrasts with the other commonly used measure, the Australian Sheep–Goat Scale (ASGS) (Thalbourne & Delin, 1993), which restricts measurement to the subset of core beliefs studied by parapsychology: extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (PK), and life after death. The three ASGS factors have been found to be highly correlated, and, consequently, several researchers have used the ASGS as a measure of belief in psychic ability (Thalbourne, 1995a, 1995b, Thalbourne & Delin, 1993, Thalbourne, Dunbar, & Delin, 1995, Wiseman & Watt, 2006). Paradoxically, the strength of the R-PBS, its extensiveness, has also attracted criticism (i.e. the inclusion of religious items and those measuring extraordinary life forms).

The inclusion of religious belief items is problematic because there is dispute regarding the relationship between paranormal and religious beliefs. Tobacyk and Milford (1983) argue that religious and other paranormal beliefs originate in the same fundamental human experience. In support of this hypothesis, several studies have documented a positive relationship between religious and paranormal beliefs (e.g., Goode, 2000, Irwin, 1985, Orestein, 2002). However, other studies have suggested that paranormal belief functions as a set of substitute beliefs for people outside mainstream religions (Emmons & Sobal, 1981). This view is supported by several studies (e.g., Bainbridge & Stark, 1980, Tobacyk & Wilkinson, 199

0) that have noted an inverse relationship between religious beliefs and the endorsement of paranormal phenomena.

Pertinently, Thalbourne and O’Brien (1999), using the ASGS, obtained findings that varied in accordance with the measure of religiosity used. In particular, they found an almost significant negative correlation with the Religion–Puritanism Scale from the Wilson–Patterson Attitude Scale (Wilson, 1975), a correlation close to zero with the traditional religious beliefs subscale from the R-PBS, and a significant positive correlation with the religiosity scale from Haraldsson (Haraldsson, 1981). Such findings illustrate that the relationship between religiosity and paranormal belief remains inconclusive and may explain why items relating to religiosity continue to be incorporated into paranormal measures.

Connected to the previous point is the notion that some R-PBS items are of dubious “paranormality.” This criticism applies particularly to the Extraordinary Life Forms subscale, which contains questions about: the abominable snowman of Tibet, life on other planets, and the Loch Ness monster. Considering this final item, Lawrence (1995) argued that the mystery surrounding the Loch Ness monster originated from the creature’s elusiveness rather than from the possession of paranormal characteristics.

Finally, recent criticisms have centered on Differential Item Functioning (DIF), the observation that responses vary as a function of age and gender rather than level of belief (Lange, Irwin, & Houran, 2000). Lange, Irwin, and Houran (2000) argue that DIF results in the emergence of “phantom factors” that undermine the structure of paranormal belief. To address this, Lange, Irwin, and Houran (2000) employed Rasch scaling to eliminate DIF in the R-PBS. This led them to propose the existence of two clusters of items (New Age Philosophy and Traditional Paranormal Beliefs). This two-factor model has subsequently been adopted by several researchers (e.g., Irwin, 2003, Thalbourne, 2001), who have reported good construct validity (Houran & Lange, 2001). Despite these positive comments, the purification of the R-PBS has not been entirely satisfactory; several original items have failed to load on either factor. Consequently, Lange, Irwin, and Houran (2000) have acknowledged that the addition of new items may produce additional belief clusters. Similarly, Lange and Thalbourne (2002) have subjected the ASGS to Rasch scaling.

Many of the R-PBS problems arise from a lack of theoretical clarity within parapsychology. Particularly, there is no single, agreed-upon definition of what constitutes paranormal belief. Goode (2002) delineates “paranormalism” as belief in any power or force, which the overwhelming majority of scientists argue violates a basic scientific rule, principle, or law. This may explain why, despite its breadth, the R-PBS fails to include beliefs that could be considered as important dimensions of paranormal belief. This criticism is particularly relevant in the context of the ASGS and other measures of paranormal belief, such as the Paranormal Short Inventory (PSI) (Randall, 1997), which have chosen to adopt more narrow definitions of paranormality.

The consequence of this lack of consensus is the apparent neglect of potentially important facets of paranormal belief (i.e. ghost and poltergeist experiences and alien life forms). Considering ghost and poltergeist experiences first, these are closely interwoven with the notion of spirits and the survival hypothesis (Irwin & Watt, 2006), and therefore would be expected to be key tenets of any paranormal belief measure. Indeed, the survival hypothesis represents one of the key domains of parapsychological interest. For this reason it is surprising that haunting, ghost, and poltergeist experiences are largely absent from scales measuring belief in the paranormal; both the R-PBS and

N. Dagnall, A. Parker, G. Munley, K. Drinkwater

ASGS contain items designed to tap into religiosity and spiritualism rather than haunting experiences.

Further to this point, the Anomalous Experiences Inventory (Kumar, Pekala, & Gallagher, 1994), includes eight items (Poltergeist subscale), which have been judged to parallel experiences typical of haunting and poltergeist activity. Houran and Thalbourne (2001a, 2001b) found a positive correlation between these items and the ASGS (r = .54), suggesting that belief in such phenomena may be related to general paranormal belief. Surprisingly, despite containing items relating to life after death, neither the R-PBS nor the ASGS make specific reference to hauntings.

Similarly, the R-PBS also provides only partial measurement of belief in extraterrestrial life: one item on the Extraordinary Life Forms subscale (c.f., “There is life on other planets”). This item enquires about the less radical and more credible belief that there may be life on other planets, a belief endorsed by non-believers (Lawrence, 1995). Additionally, the ASGS makes no reference to alien life or visitation. This is somewhat counterintuitive because ideas endorsed by UFO advocates typically extend beyond beliefs relating to life on other planets to encompass those for which there is a greater degree of debate. Although some scholars are willing to interpret certain forms of evidence as indicating an extraterrestrial presence (e.g., Carlotto, 1997, 2002, Crater & McDaniel, 1999, DiPietro, Molenaar, & Brandenburg, 1988, Friedman, 2008, O’Leary, 1990, Sitchin, 1976), there is much less acceptance of this among the mainstream scientific community. In this context, endorsement of items concerning alien visitation could be considered to be paranormal (Lawrence, 1995).

Support for this view is provided by reference to Diaz-Vilela and AlvarezGonzalez (2004 ). They administered the R-PBS with additional items, assessing belief in extraterrestrial life and UFO visitations. Factor analysis of responses revealed that the additional items clustered to produce an additional factor tapping into beliefs about extraterrestrial life and its presence on earth. This suggests that belief in extraterrestrial life andalien visitation of earth may represent additional facets of paranormal belief.

The present study was designed to expand upon current understanding of paranormal belief. An extensive search of the literature was undertaken and several different measures of paranormal belief were identified. These scales were then combined into a composite measure representing a range of paranormal beliefs. It was anticipated that this approach would enable the authors to examine several important questions. Firstly, the composite measure allowed the conceptual overlap between independent measures of paranormal belief (R-PBS, ASGS, etc.) to be explored. The purpose of this being to determine whether subsequent studies could plausibly combine items and subscales into coherent belief dimensions (e.g., belief in ghosts and spiritualism).

Secondly, combining the measures enabled the current study to examine the relationship between established dimensions of paranormal belief (e.g., PK and ESP) and dimensions previously studied independently (e.g., haunting/ poltergeist activity and alien life/visitation). It was expected that this would indicate whether the previously under-researched dimensions were related to general paranormal belief inthe same way as established dimensions.

Finally, the current study sought to identify interscale dimensions of paranormal belief. These are common factors produced by combining individual scale items, the purpose being to identify factors of belief not currently measured by established measures. For example, the authors wanted to explore whether alien-related beliefs (life on other planets and alien visitations) were related to extraordinary life forms as suggested by the R-PBS. Further on this point, the current study was designed to test the notion that belief in extraterrestrial life and alien visitation represent additional facets of paranormal belief (DiazVilela & Alvarez-Gonzalez, 2004 ).

In summary, there are currently a number of scales measuring paranormal belief. These measures share considerable common variance. For example, the ASGS, R-PBS, and PSI all contain items measuring belief in ESP, PK, and life after death. To identify shared variance and reduce item redundancy, the scales were combined and principal components analysis (PCA) was performed. It was anticipated that this analysis would identify a number of discrete paranormal belief factors.

Participants

1,481 participants completed the questionnaire. Ages ranged from 14 to 70 years, with a mean of 27.44, a standard deviation of 11, median of 23 (lower quartile 19 and upper quartile 33); 75.1% were female and 24.9% were male. Of the total number of participants, 538 participants (37%) completed the questionnaire in a paper/pencil form, while 933 (63%) completed a Webbased version of the questionnaire. Respondents were recruited through a range of sources: Student participants were recruited via undergraduate psychology classes and through contacts at local colleges. Respondents were also generated through advertisement of the study via emails to staff and students at the university and via posters placed around the university campus. Participation was voluntary, and respondents could terminate their participation at any time during the study.

Procedure

All participants were informed that the questionnaire was concerned with belief in paranormal phenomena. Participants were told that there was no time limit for completing the questionnaire. Those who completed the paper versions of the questionnaire were asked to answer all items. For those who completed the online version, all items were mandatory: Participants could not move on to the next Webpage without responding to every item on the current page. At the end of both versions of the questionnaire, an optional question appeared asking participants if there were any other areas/subjects that they believed should be included in a questionnaire on paranormal belief.

Discussion

The composite measure of paranormal belief (R-PBS, ASGS, PSI, MMU Paranormal Belief Scale, etc.) used in the current study was found to be reducible to nine factors: Hauntings, Other Life, Superstition, Religious Belief, Alien Visitation, ESP, PK, Astrology, and Witchcraft. Examination of each factor suggested that item clusters were conceptually coherent; factors possessed good face validity being composed of individual items that were clearly related to the assigned factor label. Additionally, each emergent factor demonstrated good internal reliability.

Eight of the factors were found to have moderate to high degrees of intercorrelation, representing general belief in the paranormal. The remaining factor, belief in the existence of life on other planets, demonstrated only weak associations with the other factors, and thus was not considered to be a core element of paranormal belief. These findings provide some support for the observation of Chequers, Joseph, and Diduca (1997) that UFO-related beliefs function differently from belief in extraterrestrial life; they found only the former to be positively associated with scores on the multidimensional schizotypy questionnaire (Rawlings & MacFarlane, 1994).

The finding that alien visitation represents a discernible factor supports the work of Diaz-Vilela and Alvarez-Gonzalez (2004). However, Diaz-Vilela and Alvarez-Gonzalez found belief in alien visitation and existence of extraterrestrial life to constitute a single factor, while the results of the present study suggest that these belief clusters may constitute two correlated but separate factors; belief in alien visitation is more highly associated with paranormal belief than belief in other life forms. Further confirmatory factor analysis will be required to determine how these factors can be best presented as a model of overall paranormal belief.

The present study suggests that a broader measure of paranormal belief is required. Additional factors to those included in established measures, such as the R-PBS, have been identified. A new measure developed in line with these belief clusters would have the advantage of assessing under-researched paranormal-related beliefs (hauntings and alien visitation) alongside more traditional facets of paranormal belief (ESP, PK, etc.). Although it can be argued that alien/UFO-related beliefs are not paranormal, belief in alien activity and abduction share many of the features of paranormal beliefs. Particularly, such beliefs are unconventional, run contrary to existing scientific evidence, and are not supported by prevailing scientific knowledge. These are attributes shared with traditionally labelled paranormal beliefs, and thus make alien/UFO beliefs worthy of inclusion (Lawrence, 1995). It is hoped that using these newly proposed dimensions, we can determine whether alien/ UFO-related beliefs are explained by the same psychological mechanisms as traditional paranormal beliefs.

Finally, the results of the current study provide support for the notion that religious and paranormal beliefs are related. However, whereas the R-PBS identifies religious belief as a single subscale underlying paranormal belief, the current study proposes that religious belief forms a common factor with belief in life after death. This makes both intuitive and theoretical sense; indeed, Irwin (1999) identifies the survival hypothesis as one of the core domains of parapsychology.

In conclusion, it is considered that the approach adopted in the present study, combining several extant measures of paranormal belief and supplementing these with additional items (where omissions were identified), has produced a potential structure for a revised measure of paranormal belief. Future research is intended to refine the scale items into a concise and easy-to-administer questionnaire measure of paranormal belief.

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