Indian Journal of Positive Psychology

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Paranormal Beliefs in Relation to Personality, Religiosity and Modernity


Affiliations
1 Department of Psychology, Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
2 Department of Psychology, Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


This study examined whether belief in the paranormal is linked to Big-Five personality traits, religiosity, and modernity. It has also explored the extent to which these three variables of individual difference jointly contribute to paranormal belief. A total of 280 adults (140 men & 140 women) in the age range of 19 to 50 years served as sample for the study, all of them belong to traditional Hindu religion by birth. Participants were administered four psychological instruments, i.e., Revised Paranormal Belief Scale, NEO-Five Factor Inventory, Religiosity Scale, and Modernization Scale. Only the global paranormal belief score was used in the study instead of individual scales. The results revealed that paranormal belief has a modest positive correlation with personality trait Openness (.30, p<.001) and Extraversion (.24, p<.001). A strong positive correlation (.43, p<.001) has surfaced between religiosity and paranormal belief. Among scales of modernity, Socio-religious (-.32, p<.001) and Marriage (-.13, p<.05) were found to have significant but negative association with belief in paranormal. Results of multiple regression have indicated that the measures of personality, religiosity, and modernity jointly account for 34.3% of variance (R=.586, p<.0001) in global paranormal belief, wherein Openness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, religiosity, and modernity in marriage system are the significant predictors. These results further suggest that in the prediction of paranormal belief the predictor variables form a linear combination, which is slightly different form their relationship surfaced in bivariate analysis.

Keywords

paranormal, personality, religiosity, modernity, regression
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Aarnio, K., & Lindeman, M. (2007). Religious people and paranormal believers: Alike or different? Journal of Individual Differences, 28(1), 1-9.

  • Andreas, H., Reinhard, S., & Martin, A. (2005). Paranormal belief and religiosity. The Journal of Parapsychology, 69, 293-299.

  • Ara, M. R. (2015). Correlation of the religious and the paranormal beliefs to personality. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 2, 4. Doi:10.25215/0204.093

  • Bainbridge, W. S. (2004). After the new age. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 43(3), 381-394.

  • Barrett, J. L. (2003). Why would anyone believe in god? Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press.

  • Beck, R., & Miller, J. P. (2001). Erosion of belief and disbelief: Effects of religiosity and negative affect on beliefs in the paranormal and supernatural. The Journal of Social Psychology, 14, 277-287.

  • Betsch, T., Abmann, L., & Glockner, A. (2020). Paranormal beliefs and individual differences: story seeking without reasoned review. Heliyon, 6(6), 1-8.

  • Clobert, M., & Saroglou, V. (2015). Religion, paranormal beliefs, and distrust in science: Comparing east versus west. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 37(2), 185-199.

  • Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

  • Deka, J., & Bischolar_maina, K. D. (1988). Relation between level of religiosity and principled moral judgement among four religious communities in India. Journal of Personality and Clinical Studies, 4, 151-156.

  • Groth-Marnat, G., & Pegden, J. A. (1998). Personality correlates of paranormal belief: Locus of control and sensation seeking. Social Behavior and Personality, 26, 291296.

  • Habkirk, S. G. (2011). Modernity and the supernatural in Taiwan: Gods, ghosts, and ancestors revisited. Master's Dissertation, University of Alberta.

  • Hergovich, A., Schott, R., & Arendasy, M. (2005). Paranormal belief and religiosity. Journal of Parapsychology, 69, 293-303.

  • Huntley, C., & Peeters, T. (2005). Paranormal beliefs, religious beliefs and personality correlates. Manchester Metropolitan University, UK International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences.

  • Inkeles, A., & Smith, D. H. (1974). Becoming modern: Individual change in six developing countries. Cambridge University Press.

  • Irwin, H. J. (1999). An introduction to parapsychology (3rd ed.). Je€erson, NC: McFarland.

  • Irwin, H. J. (2009). The psychology of paranormal belief. Hatfield, UK: University of Hertfordshire.

  • Kumar, P., Saini, S. S., Sharma, R., & Kumar, K. (2020). Personality and paranormal belief: A study among university students. Journal of Psychosocial Research, 15(2), 139-148.

  • Lobato, E., Mendoza, J., Sims, V., & Chin, M. (2014). Examining the relationship between conspiracy theories, paranormal beliefs, and pseudoscience acceptance among a university population. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28, 617-625.

  • MacDonald, D. A. (2000). Spirituality: Description, measurement and relation to the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Personality, 68(1), 153-197.

  • Mathews, D. (2010). Assessing sleep quality in young adult college students, aged 18 24 in relation to quality of life and anthropometrics. Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 1265.

  • Mencken, F. C., Bader, C. D., & Kim, Y. J. (2009). Round trip to hell in a flying saucer: the relationship between conventional Christian and paranormal beliefs in the United States. Sociology of Religion, 70, 65-85.

  • Orenstein, A. (2002) Religion and paranormal belief. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41, 301-311.

  • Prasad, A., & Gopal, B. (2017). Influence of childhood trauma and personality traits on paranormal beliefs among early-adults. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 5, 1. doi: 10.25215/0501.114 Rattet, S. L., & Bursik, K. (2001). Investigating the personality correlates of paranormal belief and pre-cognitive experience. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 433-444.

  • Rice, T. W. (2003). Believe it or not: Religious and other paranormal beliefs in the United States. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, 95-106.

  • Richman, H., & Bell, C. (2012). Paranormal beliefs then and now. North American Journal of Psychology, 14(1), 197-206.

  • Robins, R. W., Fraley, R. C., Roberts, B. W., & Trzesniewski, K. H. (2001). A longitudinal study of personality change in young adulthood. Journal of Personality, 69, 617-640.

  • Rogers, P., Qualter, P., Phelps, G., & Gardner, K. (2006). Belief in the paranormal, coping, and emotional intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 1089-1105.

  • Rudski, J. (2003). What does a “superstition” person believe? Impressions of participants. The Journal of General Psychology, 130(4), 431-445.

  • Singh, R. P., Tripathi, A. N., & Lal, R. (1987). Modernity Scale. Agra: National Psychological Corporation.

  • Sjödin, U. (2002). The swedes and the paranormal. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 17, 75-85.

  • Smith, C. L., Johnson, J. L., & Hathaway, W. (2009). Personality contributions to belief in paranormal phenomena. Individual Differences Research, 7(2), 85-96.

  • Swami, V., & Furnham, A. (2012). Examining conspiracist beliefs about the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Journal of General Psychology, 139(4), 244259.

  • Swami, V., Pietschning, J., Stieger, S., & Voracek, M. (2011). Alien psychology: associations between extra-terrestrial beliefs and paranormal ideation, superstitious beliefs, and the big five personality factors. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25, 647-653.

  • Teličák, P., & Halama, P. (2021). Maladaptive personality traits, religiosity and spirituality as predictors of epistemically unfounded beliefs. Studia Psychologica, 63(2), 175-189.

  • Thalbourne, M. A. (2007). Potential psychological predictors of religiosity. International Journal of Psychology of Religion, 17(4), 333-336.

  • Tobayck, J., & Milford, G. (1983). Belief in paranormal phenomena: assessment instrument development and implications for personality functioning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 1029-1037.

  • Tobacyk, J. (1988). A Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. Unpublished manuscript, Louisiana Technical University, Ruston, LA.

  • Tobayck, J. J. (1995). Final thoughts on issues in the measurement of paranormal beliefs. The Journal of Parapsychology, 59, 141-145.

  • Tobacyk, J. J. (2004). A revised paranormal belief scale. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 23(1), 94-98.

  • Wain, O., & Spinella, M. (2007). Executive functions in morality, religion and paranormal beliefs. International Journal of Neuroscience, 117(1), 135-146.

  • Weeks, M., Weeks, K. P., & Daniel, M. R. (2008). The implicit relationship between religious and paranormal constructs. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 47, 599-611.

  • Williams, E., Francis, J. L., & Robbins, M. (2007). Personality and paranormal belief: A study among adolescents. Pastoral Psychology, 56, 9-14.

  • Wilson, J. A. (2018). Reducing pseudoscientific and paranormal beliefs in university students through a course in science and critical thinking. Biology Faculty Publications, University of Nebraska at Omaha.


Abstract Views: 743

PDF Views: 0




  • Paranormal Beliefs in Relation to Personality, Religiosity and Modernity

Abstract Views: 743  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

C. R. Darolia
Department of Psychology, Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
Payal Chugh
Department of Psychology, Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

Abstract


This study examined whether belief in the paranormal is linked to Big-Five personality traits, religiosity, and modernity. It has also explored the extent to which these three variables of individual difference jointly contribute to paranormal belief. A total of 280 adults (140 men & 140 women) in the age range of 19 to 50 years served as sample for the study, all of them belong to traditional Hindu religion by birth. Participants were administered four psychological instruments, i.e., Revised Paranormal Belief Scale, NEO-Five Factor Inventory, Religiosity Scale, and Modernization Scale. Only the global paranormal belief score was used in the study instead of individual scales. The results revealed that paranormal belief has a modest positive correlation with personality trait Openness (.30, p<.001) and Extraversion (.24, p<.001). A strong positive correlation (.43, p<.001) has surfaced between religiosity and paranormal belief. Among scales of modernity, Socio-religious (-.32, p<.001) and Marriage (-.13, p<.05) were found to have significant but negative association with belief in paranormal. Results of multiple regression have indicated that the measures of personality, religiosity, and modernity jointly account for 34.3% of variance (R=.586, p<.0001) in global paranormal belief, wherein Openness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, religiosity, and modernity in marriage system are the significant predictors. These results further suggest that in the prediction of paranormal belief the predictor variables form a linear combination, which is slightly different form their relationship surfaced in bivariate analysis.

Keywords


paranormal, personality, religiosity, modernity, regression

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.15614/ijpp%2F2022%2Fv13i1%2F212305