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Approved For Release 2000/08/11
: CIA-RDP96f00792R0004001 00003-0
Psychic Experiences in the Multinational Human
Values Study: Who Reports Them?
Erlendur Haraldsson and Joop M. Houtkooper
ABSTRACT: Three
items on personal psychic experiences
(telepathy, clairvoyance, and
contact with the dead) were included
in a survey on human values that was conducted on
large representative samples in
13 countries in Europe and in the U.S. (N =
18,607). The
three items were originally formulated by Andrew Greeley and were translated into different
European languages.
In Europe,
the percentage of persons reporting telepathy was 34%;
clairvoyance was reported by 21%; and 25% reported contact with the dead. Percentages for
the U.S.
were considerably higher: 54%, 25% and 30%,
respectively. There were great
national
differences; for example, 60% of Americans and
Italians reported some psychic
experience, but only 24% of the Norwegians made such claims. Looking into the question of
how people who report psychic experiences differ from those who do not revealed little or no
effect of education and age but rather striking effects of sex, marital status, reporting positive
and negative affects on the Bradbum Affect Scale, and several other variables. The question
of whether some of these associations could be due to a response bias effect was considered,
and as
far as could be ascertained,
there was no response bias
effect, meaning that the
associations were quite specific. After national differences, the variables best predicting that
one has had some psychic experience were sum of affect according to the Bradbum Affect
Scale and belief in reincarnation.
In the past 10-15 years, surveys have been conducted in a few coun-
tries that used large representative national samples and included items on
psychic experiences and
beliefs (Audience Selection,
1980; Greeley,
1975; Haraldsson, 1978, 1985; IMU 1978, 1980).
It is interesting to note
that most of these surveys were
initiated by sociologists and journalists
outside the field of parapsychology. These surveys have provided an op-
portunity to make cross-national comparisons of the frequency of reports
of various psychic experiences and beliefs. However, differences in the
content and wording of items have made direct comparisons across coun-
tries both difficult and highly tentative. Haraldsson (1985) has reported on
such surveys
in Iceland, Great Britain, Sweden, and the United States,
and he has made a tentative comparison of findings across countries.
Striking national differences were found in both the frequency of reported
experiences and belief in various kinds of allegedly paranormal phe-
nomena.
1 The authors gratefully acknowledge two research grants from the Parapsychology Foun-
dation
in the U.S.,
a travel grant from the Tiger Trust in Holland, and support from the
University of Iceland.
Approved For Release 2000/08/1 1
: CIA-RDP96-00792R0004001 00003-0
The Journal of the American Society for
Psychical Research Vol. 85, April 1991
Approved For Release 2000/08/11
: CIA-RDP96-00792R0004001 00003-0
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