Psychic Powers and Illusions
PSYCHIC
PSYCHIC
POWERS?
POWERS?
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OUTLINE
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Introduction to psychic and illusion
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5 types of illusion:
- Connections
- Control
- Pattern and randomness
- Forms
- Memory
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Conclusion
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A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP)
to identify information hidden from normal senses
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Related to the human soul and mind
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Examples: telepathy, déjà vu
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People believe in psychic phenomena because they have psychic
experience
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Misinterpreted perception of the senses
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Examples: Visual (optical) illusion, auditory illusion
THE ROWS OF BLACK AND WHITE SQUARES ARE PARALLEL.
THERE ARE ONLY WHITE CIRCLES IN THE INTERSECTION
PSYCHIC EXPERIENCES ARE
COMPARABLE TO VISUAL ILLUSIONS
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Visual illusions are caused by a mismatch of what the eyes see and
what the brain intercepts.
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In the case of psychic experiences, it may be due to the illusion
that a cause is operating and an explanation is required when in
fact none is.
BELIEVERS IN PSYCHIC PHENOMENAL-SHEEP
DISBELIEVERS IN PSYCHIC PHENOMENAL-GOAT
1. ILLUSIONS OF CONNECTIONS
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2 errors:
- Treat connected events as chance
coincidences
- Treat chance events as connected
and seek for explanations
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Trying to find a connection even where
there is none might be the reason for
people having psychic experiences
That cannot
That cannot
be chance!
be chance!
That was a chance
That was a chance
coincidence!
coincidence!
2. ILLUSIONS OF CONTROL
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Tendency for people to
overestimate their ability to control
events
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Judgements of control depend on 2
conditions : an intention to create
the outcome and the relationship
between the action and the
outcome
3. ILLUSIONS OF PATTERNS AND RANDOMNESS
•
People are bad at judging randomness and they cannot clearly
distinguish between pattern and randomness
•
Experiment of generating a string of numbers, known as subjective
random generation (SRG)
3. ILLUSIONS OF PATTERNS AND RANDOMNESS
•
People typically give far fewer repetitions of the same digit than
would be expected by chance.
•
ESP experiments are often equivalent to SRG and show the same
bias
•
2 errors: - failure to detect patterns that are there
- tendency to see patterns that are not there
4. ILLUSIONS OF FORMS
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Experiment: Object identification
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3 pictures, the first being the blurriest
4. ILLUSIONS OF FORMS
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Goats were willing to say that there was a shape, but less likely in
identifying them
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The sheep would claim to see the forms earlier in the studies and
identify them
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Creativity may correlate with belief in the paranormal and the
tendency to see forms
•
For those who often see forms in ambiguity, they are more likely
the ones who will believe in paranormal activities or have psychic
experiences
5. ILLUSIONS OF MEMORY
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Selective memory may make
coincidences appear to occur more often
than they actually occur
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Fortune telling
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People who are prone to memory effects
are more likely to have psychic
experiences
CONCLUSION
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5 types of illusion (connection, control, patterns and randomness,
forms and memory) are related to psychic experiences
•
Sheep tends to show many of these effects of illusions to a greater
extent than goats
THANK
YOU!
A deep dive into psychic powers and illusions, comparing psychic experiences to visual illusions. Learn about the nature of psychics, the misconceptions around illusions, and the connection between psychic phenomena and sensory perception. Discover the psychology behind believers and skeptics, and explore the intriguing world of extrasensory perception.
Uploaded on Feb 27, 2025 | 0 Views
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Presentation Transcript
PSYCHIC POWERS?
TOPIC TOPIC: PSYCHIC ILLUSIONS READING READING: BLACKMORE (1992), PSYCHIC EXPERIENCES: PSYCHIC ILLUSIONS, SKEPTICAL INQUIRER 16, 367-376. GROUP 5 GROUP 5: SHU MIN, YAN LING (PRESENTER), YI MOU
OUTLINE Introduction to psychic and illusion 5 types of illusion: - Connections - Control - Pattern and randomness - Forms - Memory Conclusion
PSYCHIC PSYCHIC A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from normal senses Related to the human soul and mind Examples: telepathy, d j vu People believe in psychic phenomena because they have psychic experience Illusion Illusion Misinterpreted perception of the senses Examples: Visual (optical) illusion, auditory illusion
PSYCHIC EXPERIENCES ARE COMPARABLE TO VISUAL ILLUSIONS
Visual illusions are caused by a mismatch of what the eyes see and what the brain intercepts. In the case of psychic experiences, it may be due to the illusion that a cause is operating and an explanation is required when in fact none is.
BELIEVERS IN PSYCHIC PHENOMENAL-SHEEP DISBELIEVERS IN PSYCHIC PHENOMENAL-GOAT
1. ILLUSIONS OF CONNECTIONS 2 errors: That was a chance coincidence! - Treat connected events as chance coincidences That cannot be chance! - Treat chance events as connected and seek for explanations Trying to find a connection even where there is none might be the reason for people having psychic experiences
2. ILLUSIONS OF CONTROL Tendency for people to overestimate their ability to control events Judgements of control depend on 2 conditions : an intention to create the outcome and the relationship between the action and the outcome
3. ILLUSIONS OF PATTERNS AND RANDOMNESS People are bad at judging randomness and they cannot clearly distinguish between pattern and randomness Experiment of generating a string of numbers, known as subjective random generation (SRG)
String 1 String 2 String 3
3. ILLUSIONS OF PATTERNS AND RANDOMNESS People typically give far fewer repetitions of the same digit than would be expected by chance. ESP experiments are often equivalent to SRG and show the same bias 2 errors: - failure to detect patterns that are there - tendency to see patterns that are not there
4. ILLUSIONS OF FORMS Experiment: Object identification 3 pictures, the first being the blurriest
4. ILLUSIONS OF FORMS Goats were willing to say that there was a shape, but less likely in identifying them The sheep would claim to see the forms earlier in the studies and identify them Creativity may correlate with belief in the paranormal and the tendency to see forms For those who often see forms in ambiguity, they are more likely the ones who will believe in paranormal activities or have psychic experiences
5. ILLUSIONS OF MEMORY Selective memory may make coincidences appear to occur more often than they actually occur Fortune telling People who are prone to memory effects are more likely to have psychic experiences
CONCLUSION 5 types of illusion (connection, control, patterns and randomness, forms and memory) are related to psychic experiences Sheep tends to show many of these effects of illusions to a greater extent than goats
THANK YOU!
