Beliefs in paranormal phenomena and locus of control: A field study.

Investigated beliefs in paranormal phenomena and their relationship to locus of control for 4 groups that varied in terms of their involvement with paranormal practices. 51 psychic readers, 81 undergraduates, and 205 adults interested in ESP completed a questionnaire designed to assess degree of involvement and beliefs in paranormal phenomena, locus of control, sociopolitical attitudes, and demographic characteristics. It was predicted and found that (a) paranormal beliefs increased as involvement increased; (b) internality increased as involvement increased; and (c) involvement and locus of control interacted so that with high and moderate involvement, paranormal beliefs were associated with an internal locus of control, whereas with low involvement, there was a slight tendency for paranormal beliefs to be related to an external locus of control. Analyses of the paranormal beliefs questionnaire and the relationship between paranormal beliefs and sociopolitical attitudes, demographics, and locus of control scores are reported. Reevaluation of previous studies of personality dimensions associated with esoteric belief systems that have relied solely on low-involvement (student) samples is suggested. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)