Extrasensory Perception

If extrasensory perception is a common human ability,why can’t we all score high on ESP tests? This book answersthe question by describing psychological determinants ofsuccess and failure in extrasensory perception. Some ofthe most significant points raised in the editor’s enlighteningintroduction are developed in greater detail in thenine essays that follow, all of them important statementsgiving a clear picture of research into ESP and the debatethat surrounds it. Each essay is followed by a commentrelating the essay to the field as a whole.In essays on the debate about ESP, an attack (by C. E.M. Hansel) is followed by a rebuttal (by J. B. Rhine and J.G. Pratt), offering the reader insight into the peculiar tensionsurrounding the ESP controversy. The book also includes abalanced overview of problems in the field by J. C. Crumbaugh,and six other essays on the psychological factors thatinfluence research on ESP. Controversy over ESP is of specialinterest also because the questions critics raise relate closelyto problems within psychology itself. In addition, the essaysreflect a quality common to much research: the excitementof uncovering results that advance our knowledge.This book is intended for supplementary course use.Because of the fundamental problems it addresses, italso offers richly rewarding reading for all teaching andpracticing psychologists as well as for the interested generalist.A substantial number of research reports are citedthroughout, so that any reader seeking further informationwill find the cited references invaluable.

About the Editor Gertrude Schmeidler is professor emeritus of psychology at City College, City University of New York. She has held the position of president of the Parapsychological Association and the American Society for Psychical Research. She is the author of Parapsychology: Its Relation to Physics, Biology, Psychology, and Psychiatry; Parapsychology and Psychology: Matches and Mismatches; and ESP and Personality Patterns.