follows the rationalist school of thinking, and materialism follows the empirical tradition, which is the basis of scientific method. This is an oversimplification, but will help students differentiate between supernatural, paranormal and scientific explanations of unusual phenomena.
1 Set for pairwork. Feed back with the class.
2 Elicit examples of supernatural, scientific and parapsychological explanations of paranormal events. Ask students to suggest additional examples of experimental research methods.
3 Look at spiritualism. Discuss the methods that have been used to demonstrate the existence of ghosts: filming, photography recording, and eye-witnesses. Ask students to consider how reliable these methods are and how the results can be distorted.
Next look at science. Discuss how each of the scientific disciplines can be applied to research into paranormal phenomena.
Set parapsychology for pairwork discussion. Discuss which scientific research methods can be applied in studies of parapsychology. Elicit the importance of objectivity and repeatability in scientific method. It would be a good idea to ask each pair to think about a different example. Ask a few pairs to feed back to the class. Accept any reasonable suggestions.
Answers 1 See diagram below.
2 For the question marks, some more examples in each category are:
Spiritualism poltergeist séances near-death experiences
? SPIRITUALISM
Science
physics/quantum physics biology
Experimental research methods double blind testing randomization
instrumental measurement Extrasensory perception
telekinesis/ psychokinesis (PK) precognition clairvoyance déjà vu
Add some of these to the diagram, as appropriate and as students suggest them. It would be a good idea to make a large poster-sized copy of the diagram or put it on an OHT or other visual medium to which you can add more examples as the unit progresses.
3 Spiritualism: remind students that eyewitness accounts are unreliable for several reasons. You can refer to Unit 7 (Memory). Students may comment on how easy it is to falsify photographic, video and recorded evidence with modern technology and software. You might want to remind students of the power of suggestibility and peer influence (Unit 8).
Science: biological and neurophysiological research is conducted on the physical and chemical responses of individuals who experience paranormal events. This research is relatively easy to monitor for reliable results through blind and double blind testing, randomization and instrumental measurements. Advances in quantum physics, which question the stability and location of atomic particles, open up the possibility that there are scientific explanations for some paranormal phenomena. Research involves complex equipment and calculation.
? ? ghosts dualism
paranormal phenomena
PARAPSYCHOLOGY telepathy ?
extrasensory perception
182 ? ? ? scepticism ? ?
experimental research methods
materialism ? ? SCIENCE neurophysiology ? blind testing reductionism Parapsychology: paranormal events are most
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