. 146 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research : CIA-RDP96-00792R000400100003-0 Approved For Release 2000/08/11 BACKGROUND OF THE EUROPEAN HUMAN VALUES SURVEY In 1981—1984.a multi-national survey——sometimes called the European Human Values Study——was conducted in most countries of Western Europe and in the United States. T he survey should be of particular in- terest to readers of this Journal and all psi researchers because it con- tained three items on psychic experiences, and these same items were used in all the participating countries. The European Value Systems Study Group (EVSSG), which organized the survey, was initiated by J. Kerkhofs of the University of Louvain in Belgium. The group now has its center at the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands (directed by R. A. de Moor). The EVSSG consists mainly of European sociologists with long experience in research on values and norms. They constructed the original questionnaire, but the paranormal items were originally devised by the well-known sociologist-priest-nov- elist Andrew Greeley. The central concem of the EVSSG was whether or not Western Euro- peans have one common value system. They were interested in the extent to which their norms and values might differ or be similar. Gallup or Gallup-affiliated companies carried out the survey on behalf of the EVSSG. In 1981, the survey was conducted in nine Western European countries. Later, several more countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas joined the project. The survey has now been conducted in 16 European countries and 11 countries in the Americas and Asia, but the data from some of the non-European countries have not been made avail- able. Gallup International in London coordinated the fieldwork. , This is the largest survey conducted to date that allows so many cross- cultural or cross-national comparisons on human beliefs and values. The principal findings from a comparison of 10 selected Western European countries are discussed in the book Contrasting Values in Western Europe (Harding, Phillips, & Fogarty, 1986). Several books have been published on the findings in individual countries (e.g., Abrams, Gerard, & Timms, 1985; Halman, Heunks, Moor, & Zanders, 1987; Noelle-Neumann & Kécher, 1987). Numerous papers have been written on various aspects of this survey (see the European Value Systems Study Group’s Information Bulletin 1987). E. Haraldsson was a member of a group of researchers who prepared the survey in Iceland, and he later obtained access to all the data files from Western Europe and the U.S. METHOD The Samples The samples were representative of the adult population in all the partic- ipating countries, and standard sampling methods were used to obtain Psychic Experiences: AM ultinational Study 147 them (Harding, Phillips, & Fogarty, 1986). The mean sample size for the 14 countries that are included in most of our analyses is 1,329 persons. These samples are from Iceland (927), Denmark (1,182), Finland (1,003), Norway (1,246), Sweden (954), Great Britain (1,231), Ireland (1,217), West Germany (1,305), the Netherlands (1,221), Belgium (1 ,145), France (1,200), Italy (1,348), Spain (2,303) and the U.S. (2,325). A few results are given for South Korea (942). The total number of persons interviewed in the European and U.S. samples is 18,607. All of the interviews were conducted face-to-face. The Questionnaire The EVSSG questionnaire consists of over 120 items, many with se eral subitems. (For the full text of the basic English version of the quess tionnaire, see Harding, Phillips, & Fogarty, 1986.) The same basic ques tionnaire was used in all the participating countries with a few questions & local interest added to it in several of the countries. The questionnaifS surveyed a variety of values, attitudes, and behaviors and was divided ing the following six domains: o 1. Leisure. There were 19 items on leisure, psychological well-beinS etc. For example: ‘“Thinking of the way you spend your leisure time, wht is more important to you, to relax as much as possible or doing thing being active?”’ o 2. Work. There were 12 items on attitudes toward work and woud ethics; for example, which of 16 listed aspects in a job are important to the respondent, such as good pay, pleasant people to work with, etc. re) 3. Meaning and purpose of life. There were 23 items dealing with reli- gious beliefs and practices but also with such questions as, “In the loag run do you think that scientific advances we are making will help or hash mankind?’ (The three paranormal items of Greeley were included in section.) = 4. Family life. There were 20 items dealing with various aspects caf relations to other people, such as how close your father and mother wee 003-0 to you during the time when you were growing up. S 5. Contemporary social issues. There were 21 items on politics agd various social issues, such as describing one’s political interests. aw 6. Demographic information. There were 17 items in this catego, including sex, age, education, socioeconomic status, and other baldk- ground variables. 3 Of particular interest to us are the three items that deal with paranorrpal experiences. They were taken from a survey entitled The Ultimate Valigs of the American Population by two University of Chicago sociologists, William McCready and Andrew Greeley (1976). These items are sofffe- times referred to as the Greeley items because Andrew Greeley composed them. One of the Greeley items concerned spiritual/religious experiences and will not be dealt with in this paper.
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000400100003-0 Approved For Release 2000/08/11 148 Journal of the American The items are as follows: Did you ever have any of the following experiences: (1) Felt as though you were in touch with someone when they were far away from you; (2) Seen events that happened at a great distance as they were happening; (3) Felt as though you were really in touch with someone who had died; (4) Felt as though you were close to a powerful spiritual life force that seemed to lift you out of yourself. [The responses to this query were not included in our analyses. ] Response alternatives for the items were: no never, yes, don’t know. For convenience, the three Greeley items will hereafter be referred to as telepathy, clairvoyance, and contact with the dead. Limitations of the Data There are some obvious limitations to the data elicited by the three thy, clairvoyance, and contact with the dead: questions concerning telepa' a) We are only dealing with reported experiences. No attempt was made to investigate Or verify/falsify any reported experiences. b) From the para- psychologist’s point of view, these items are far from being worded in the ideal fashion. The wording “felt as though’? (used in the first and third items) is particularly critical because respondents may have reported in- stances in which they were not sure that the experience was genuine, al- though they may have “felt as though’’ they were having the experience. c) Exact translations of items from one language to another can be diffi- cult, and nuances of translations may in some cases provide a source of error. In spite of these limitations, there are relatively comparable representa- tive survey data from most countries of Western Europe and the U.S. Bearing the above limitations in mind, we still have a better opportunity than ever before to get answers to such questions as: How commonly in yarious countries do people report experiences of telepathy, clairvoyance, and contact with the dead? Are there significant national differences in reporting these experiences? What, if anything, characterizes those who report psychic experiences? Do they differ in any meaningful way from those who report none? Does this huge amount of data give any support to the notion that there is a **psychic personality’’? RESULTS First, let us look at the overall results for each of the three types of experiences. For the combined 13 participating countries in Europe, telep- athy was reported more frequently than the other experiences. Weighing the figures by national population sizes, it can be estimated that 32% of Europeans from these 13 countries have experienced telepathy, 20% have Psychic Experiences: A Multinational Study 149 had a personal experience of clairvoyance, and that contact with the dead was experienced by 23%. The percentages for the U.S. are higher in all instances: telepathy, 54%; clairvoyance, 25%; and contact with the dead, 30%. The results for each country and Europe combined are given in Table 1. Telepathy The answers varied greatly from one country to another in regard to the number of persons who reported having “felt as though you were in touch with someone when they were far away from you.” In the U.S., thig, experience was reported by 54% of the respondents — which far exceedga any European nation surveyed. Italy, which was highest in Europe, camB next with the considerably lower figure of 41%. Finland followed wit 40%, then West Germany with 39%, Great Britain (36%), and France an Iceland, who both reported 34%. Denmark had the lowest percentage persons reporting telepathy (15%). Second and third among the lowest aim Norway and Ireland, with 17% and 19%, respectively. The Danish resulfS are reminiscent of the earlier finding that only 11% of respondents BS ported a paranormal experience in a 2-item survey initiated by the Dani n 1957 (Gallup Markedsanalyse, 195% Society for Psychical Research i We have this figure for one Asian country, South Korea, where 48% & the respondents reported telepathy (Gallup International, 1984). o Nationality is evidently an important and significant factor in the & porting of telepathic experiences. a < O Table 1 = PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS IN HE HUMAN VALUES SURVEY REPORTING EXPERIENCES. Contact Telepathy Clairvoyance the de France 34 24 IAN Italy 41 39 340 Spain 21 14 16 8 Belgium 21 14 18@ Great Britain 36 14 260 West Germany 39 7 2f Holiand 29 12 126 {reland 19 il 14. Denmark 15 : 12 10,5 Finland 40 15 14g Iceland 34 7 4g Norway \7 7 ed Sweden 24 7 i< EUROPE 34 21 2 USS. 54 25 30 25 23 South Korea 48
: CIA-RDP96-00792R000400100003-0 Approved For Release 2000/08/11 150 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research Clairvoyance For clairvoyance, national differences range from 7—39%. The Italians lead in a prominent way with 39% of respondents —more than every third person—reporting having ‘‘seen events that happened at a great distance as they were happening.’’ Americans came second with 25% and were closely followed by the French (24%). Then came West Germany (17%) and Finland (15%). Great Britain, Spain, and Belgium each reported 14%, The lowest percentages are found in Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, with 7% each. It is worth noting that in every country people are considerably less likely to report clairvoyant than telepathic experiences. Contact with the Dead Having ‘‘felt as though you were really in touch with someone who had died’’ was the second most often reported experience in Europe as well as in the U.S. Again, large national differences are found, with the per- centages ranging from 9%—41%. Iceland leads with 41% of the respon- dents reporting a personal experience of contact with the dead. Italy is second with 34%, and the U.S. had 30%. West Germany and Great Britain follow closely with 28% and 26%, respectively. Denmark and Norway have the lowest percentages, with 10% and 9%, respectively. In Europe as a whole, every fourth person polled reports having felt them- selves to have been in actual touch with someone who had died. Any Paranormal Experience For Europe as a whole, nearly half of the population (46%) reported one or more of the three types of paranormal experiences. It is also quite evi- dent that the percentage differs widely within the group of countries, as can be seen in Table 2. The U.S. and Italy lead with 60% of respondents reporting some psychic experience. Iceland is third with 52%; Germany, France, Finland, and Britain follow with 49%, 48%, 45%, and 44%, re- spectively. Norway and Denmark, the two countries culturally closest to Iceland, have the lowest percentages, with about a quarter of the respon- dents reporting any experience. Number of Paranormal Experiences Of those who report any paranormal experience at all, 49% in Europe and 47% in the U.S. profess to have had only one kind of experience, whereas 8% and 11%, respectively, reported having had all three kinds of experiences. The three items correlate significantly with one another. In the com- bined countries in Europe, the highest correlation (Kendall tau) is between telepathic experience and clairvoyance at .46. The correlation between Psychic Experiences: A Mattinational Study 151 Table 2 PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS IN THE HUMAN VALUES SURVEY REPORTING PsycHic EXPERIENCES Any psychic Number of experiences experience 0 lL 2 3 US. 60 40 28 21 11 Ttaly 60 40 24 22 14 Iceland 52 48 27 22 3 West Germany 49 31 27 17 5 France 48 52 25 | & Finland 45 55 28 12 & Great Britain 44 56 21 16 © Holland 34 66 21 1 4 Spain 32 68 19 9 @ Sweden 31 69 20 9 > Treland 30 70 18 9 <>) Belgium 29 71 16 8 & Denmark 25 75 18 6 @ Norway 24 76 15 7 & EUROPE 46 54 23 16 telepathy and contact with the dead is .40 and between clairvoyance contact with the dead it is .34.2 In the U.S., these numbers were .29, .3 and .28, respectively. Thus, for the U.S., the relationship between tele athy and contact with the dead is the most prominent. CIA-RDF96-007 Who Reports Psychic Experiences? 1 The great number and variety of variables in this survey provide & unique opportunity to search for the characteristics of those who repo psychic experiences. For brevity’s sake, let us call them the psychic8 keeping in mind the inherent limitations of the data, particularly the que tion of validity, and the extent to which the reported instances are indeeg dealing with genuine psychic experiences. Can the psychics be distirg guished from the nonpsychics? Because there are large samples fro many countries, the generality of the findings of one country sample ca easily be tested across countries, but here again, it must be kept in mind that the survey reveals national differences. rd Sex. In Europe, many more women (38%) reported telepathic expers ences than men (30%), and a comparable difference was found in the U. o , Q p 2 Throughout this paper, the Kendall tau is used as a measure of association. It is also uss in the case of dichotomous variables in which we present the strengths of the associations in a uniform manner, rather than test their significances. Nevertheless, 7 can be used provided, as we do, that the correction for ties is applied. In general, the correlations were calculated across individuals.
CIA-RDP96-00792R000400100003-0 Approved For Release 2000/08/11 152 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research (59% vs. 47%). Only in Holland and Norway do equal proportions of the sexes report telepathy, and in no country did men report it more frequently than women. It can be firmly stated that in most countries women have a greater tendency than men to report telepathy. This sex difference is not equal for the three kinds of experiences. For clairvoyance this difference is generally very slight, and it was even re- versed in five countries where more men than women report clairvoyance, although this difference is not significant in any country. In five countries there is no difference, as in the U.S. The sex difference becomes strongest when reporting contact with the dead. In Europe, 30% of the women and 20% of the men report such an experience; the difference is comparable in the U.S. (34% vs. 25%). When we look at the results in regard to reporting some psychic experi- ence (see Table 3), we find that in all countries but one—Holland— there are more psychics among women than men, and there the difference is small (35% vs. 34%). Education. Is the reporting of paranormal experiences a deficiency syn- drome of some kind that shows a lack of education? For Europe as a whole, 37% of the college-educated report telepathic experiences, as do 32% of those who finished their education immediately after primary school. Again, there are national differences. In 11 countries, relatively more college-educated than only primary-school-educated respondents re- ported telepathy. This tendency was reversed only in Great Britain and there only marginally so. In the U.S., the telepaths were found in equal! numbers among the primary- and college-educated. Clairvoyance was generally not affected by education in Europe or the U.S., whereas the less educated reported more contact with the dead. In Europe as well as in the U.S., the length of formal education has no effect on the reporting of some paranormal experience. The correlation with the reporting of some paranormal experience is .00 for Europe and .02 for the U.S. Marital status. Probably most people would not expect marital status to be related in any way to how likely people are to report paranormal experi- ences, but that is incorrect (see Table 4). In Europe, about a third of the married and the single respondents, 31% and 36%, respectively, report an experience of telepathy. For other groups the situation is different. Almost half of those living together as married (i.e., not legally married) (44%), the separated (53%), and the divorced (47%) report telepathic experi- ences. The same trend is evident in the U.S. Of the married and single respondents, about half (51% and 53%, respectively) profess to have had telepathic experiences, against almost two-thirds of those who are living as married, separated, or divorced and widowed (65%, 66%, 64%). It should be pointed out that the number of respondents in what we might call the broken-relationship groups is relatively small in all countries. In all 15 countries, relatively fewer single and married persons report telepathy than the combined broken-relationship group of those living as Table 3 PERCENTAGE OF PERSONS REPORTING ANY Psycuic EXPERIENCE BY SIGNIFICANT VARIABLES Psychic Experiences: A Multinational Study Rarely Never Think about the meaning and purpose in life Sometimes Often Prayer Others Y¥ N Belief in spirit or life force ¥ N Belief in reincarnation Education Sec Col Y Pri Women Sex Men Total 48 66 35 35 46 31 41 34 25 48 48 24 38 46 62 49 56 31 28 41 47 31 28 26 43 54 22 29 43 58 47 58 31 25 50 44 31 32 25 47 60 28 31 47 64 * Some figures missing because of technical difficulties with the Finnish data file. 55 65 36 33 49 54 34 33 29 57 30 38 51 65 41 54 28 25 40 42 35 27 22 47 18 25 41 55 60 32 29 44 49 34 30 25 45 52 24 31 46 60 48 West Germany Holland Great Britain Ireland France Traly Spain Belgium Denmark Finland* Iceland Norway Sweden EUROPE US. 153 : CIA-RDP96-00792R000400100003-0 Approved For Release 2000/08/11