One thing that most defenders of psi have in common is faith. This alone accounts for why they pursue and provide reams of empirical data to support their claims but disregard or trivialize all empirical evidence that indicates their claims are in error. Their faith is the kind of controlled faith that marks some religious belief. This selective thinking trivializes the concept of evidence and explains, in part, why so many of the empirical tests for psi are inadequately designed, controlled and administered. It explains too why so much rationalization and ad hoc hypothesizing goes on to explain away failures to confirm their psychic hypotheses.
Parapsychologists have an extremely broad understanding of what counts as good science.
Thus, it is an attractive field for a wide array of bumblers with doctorates. This is a shame because its parent, psychology, is also a field with many competent scientific researchers who are contributing to a better understanding of human behavior and to the well-being of many patients.