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	The consensus in the ] field of ] is that certain types of psychic phenomena such as ], ], and ] are well established.<ref>http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf ''Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview'' By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007</ref><ref name="ConsciousUniverse">{{cite book \|last=Radin \|first=Dean I. \|authorlink=Dean Radin \|title=The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena \|year=1997 \|publisher=] \|isbn=0-06-251502-0 }}</ref><ref>http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file3.html#20 What is the state-of-the-evidence for psi? Retrieved January 31, 2007</ref> Critics such as ] say that the evidence for ] needs further replication and theoretical work before it is accepted.<ref>http://www.mceagle.com/remote-viewing/refs/science/air/hyman.html The Journal of Parapsychology, December, 1995, ''Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena'' By Ray Hyman Retrieved January 5, 2007</ref>		The consensus in the field of ] is that certain types of psychic phenomena such as ], ], and ] are well established scientifically.<ref>http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf ''Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview'' By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007</ref><ref name="ConsciousUniverse">{{cite book \|last=Radin \|first=Dean I. \|authorlink=Dean Radin \|title=The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena \|year=1997 \|publisher=] \|isbn=0-06-251502-0 }}</ref><ref>http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file3.html#20 What is the state-of-the-evidence for psi? Retrieved January 31, 2007</ref> Critics such as ] say that the evidence for ] needs further replication and theoretical work before it is accepted.<ref>http://www.mceagle.com/remote-viewing/refs/science/air/hyman.html The Journal of Parapsychology, December, 1995, ''Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena'' By Ray Hyman Retrieved January 5, 2007</ref>

	Parapsychologists and skeptics agree that many of the instances of more popular psychic phenomena such as ], can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such as ].<ref>http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007</ref>		Parapsychologists and skeptics agree that many of the instances of more popular psychic phenomena such as ], can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such as ].<ref>http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007</ref>

Revision as of 22:45, 19 February 2007

Template:TotallyDisputed In the field of parapsychology, a psychic (From the Greek psychikos, “of the soul, mental,” derived from psyche, “soul, mind”) is an individual who has a relatively high degree of psi ability. Psychics are defined as those who have paranormal abilities such as psychokinesis, or paranormal senses such as clairvoyance.

The scientific field which studies psychic abilities is called parapsychology. Outside parapsychology, the existence of psychic abilities is not recognized by many in the scientific community. The term "psychic" is also commonly used as an adjective to refer to any event involving psi.

Scientific views

Main article: Parapsychology

The consensus in the field of parapsychology is that certain types of psychic phenomena such as psychokinesis, telepathy, and precognition are well established scientifically. Critics such as Ray Hyman say that the evidence for psi needs further replication and theoretical work before it is accepted.

Parapsychologists and skeptics agree that many of the instances of more popular psychic phenomena such as mediumism, can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such as cold reading. Magicians such as Ian Rowland and Derren Brown have demonstrated techniques and results similar to those of popular psychics, but they proffer psychological explanations instead of paranormal ones. They have identified, described and developed complex psychological techniques of cold reading and hot reading.

Skeptical view

Noted debunker of psychic fraud James Randi has offered a $1 million prize to anyone who can demonstrate their psychic powers under controlled circumstances agreed upon by both parties. So far, no one has passed even the preliminary testing procedures, let alone been awarded the prize money.

Popular culture

Belief in psychic abilities is very common. For example, one 2006 poll by researchers Bryan Farha of Oklahoma City University and Gary Steward of University of Central Oklahoma, showed that college seniors and graduate students have more paranormal beliefs than college freshmen.

Some people also believe that psychic abilities can be activated or enhanced through the study and practice of various disciplines and techniques such as meditation, with a number of books and websites being dedicated to instruction in these methods (see Psionics article for details).

Fiction

Psychic characters are common in fiction as well. For example, The Dead Zone by Stephen King (and the film and TV series based on it) are about a psychic named Johnny Smith whose abilities are awakened after a car accident.

External links

The Society for Psychical Research — Founded in 1882 to examine paranormal phenomena scientifically
James Randi Educational Foundation — An Educational Resource on the Paranormal, Pseudoscientific, and the Supernatural
Alternative Science - Criticisms of James Randi's $1 million challenge
Skeptic's Dictionary — Psychic

References

http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Retrieved January 29, 2007
http://www.answers.com/topic/psychic, Answers.com, Retrieved January 31, 2007
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/psychic The Free Dictionary, Retrieved January 31, 2007
http://parapsych.org/faq_file1.html#4 What is parapsychology? Retrieved January 31, 2007
http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p Parapsychological Association website, Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Retrieved January 29, 2007
http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007
Radin, Dean I. (1997). The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-251502-0.
http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file3.html#20 What is the state-of-the-evidence for psi? Retrieved January 31, 2007
http://www.mceagle.com/remote-viewing/refs/science/air/hyman.html The Journal of Parapsychology, December, 1995, Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena By Ray Hyman Retrieved January 5, 2007
http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007
O',Keeffe, Ciarán and Wiseman Richard: Testing alleged mediumship: Methods and results. British Journal of Psychology (2005), 96, 165–17. http://www.psy.herts.ac.uk/wiseman/papers/MediumBJP.pdf
Rowland, Ian: The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading. http://ianrowland.com/ItemsToBuy/ColdReading/ColdReadingMain1.html
http://www.randi.org/research/faq.html#1.4
Steiger, B: "Smart People See Ghosts. Higher education supports belief in the paranormal" Fate Magazine, April 2006 Volume 59, Number 4, Issue 672

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	The consensus in the ] field of ] is that certain types of psychic phenomena such as ], ], and ] are well established.<ref>http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf ''Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview'' By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007</ref><ref name="ConsciousUniverse">{{cite book \|last=Radin \|first=Dean I. \|authorlink=Dean Radin \|title=The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena \|year=1997 \|publisher=] \|isbn=0-06-251502-0 }}</ref><ref>http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file3.html#20 What is the state-of-the-evidence for psi? Retrieved January 31, 2007</ref> Critics such as ] say that the evidence for ] needs further replication and theoretical work before it is accepted.<ref>http://www.mceagle.com/remote-viewing/refs/science/air/hyman.html The Journal of Parapsychology, December, 1995, ''Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena'' By Ray Hyman Retrieved January 5, 2007</ref>		The consensus in the field of ] is that certain types of psychic phenomena such as ], ], and ] are well established scientifically.<ref>http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf ''Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview'' By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007</ref><ref name="ConsciousUniverse">{{cite book \|last=Radin \|first=Dean I. \|authorlink=Dean Radin \|title=The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena \|year=1997 \|publisher=] \|isbn=0-06-251502-0 }}</ref><ref>http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file3.html#20 What is the state-of-the-evidence for psi? Retrieved January 31, 2007</ref> Critics such as ] say that the evidence for ] needs further replication and theoretical work before it is accepted.<ref>http://www.mceagle.com/remote-viewing/refs/science/air/hyman.html The Journal of Parapsychology, December, 1995, ''Evaluation of Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena'' By Ray Hyman Retrieved January 5, 2007</ref>

	Parapsychologists and skeptics agree that many of the instances of more popular psychic phenomena such as ], can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such as ].<ref>http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007</ref>		Parapsychologists and skeptics agree that many of the instances of more popular psychic phenomena such as ], can be attributed to non-paranormal techniques such as ].<ref>http://www.psy.gu.se/EJP/EJP1984Bauer.pdf Criticism and Controversy in Parapsychology - An Overview By Eberhard Bauer, Department of Psychology, University of Freiburg, in the European Journal of Parapsychology, 1984, 5, 141-166, Retrieved February 09, 2007</ref>

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