Critical Evaluation: Social Factors in Paranormal Belief Systems

This report provides a critical evaluation of the social factors that contribute to belief in paranormal activities. It explores how factors such as lack of critical thinking, education, cultural cycles, and media influence shape these beliefs. The report discusses the impact of social influence, social impact theory, and the role of media in promoting paranormal claims. It examines how demographic factors, including gender, education, and geographic location, correlate with paranormal beliefs. The report also considers the relationship between religious beliefs and paranormal phenomena, concluding that various social elements play a crucial role in shaping an individual's acceptance of paranormal events. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the social dimensions of paranormal belief systems.

Contribution of
social factors to
believe in the
paranormal

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Critical evaluation of social factors to believe in the paranormal...............................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
.........................................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
In popular culture, folklore and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge paranormal
activities are described. The existence of paranormal, everts do not come in the context of
normal experience or scientific explanation. From the hypothetical concepts a paranormal
phenomenon is different (Billows and Storm, 2015). The dark matter and dark energy does not
come in the paranormal phenomena. The ghosts, extraterrestrial life, crypt-ids, unrecognised
flying objects' etc are some notable beliefs of paranormal
In this report a critical evaluation will be done on the social factors that contributes
towards believe in paranormal activity.
Critical evaluation of social factors to believe in the paranormal
It is been represented by polls that more than eight out of ten adults profess believe in
paranormal phenomenon in spite of strong public skepticism from scientific community. It is
been viewed as a social problem by some scientist. The variety of sources are been blamed by
Burr and Dick, (2017) , that leads to the belief in paranormal activity. The social factors such as
lack of critical thinking skills, lack of education system. Cultural cycles,fads etc often
contributes towards the believe in the paranormal phenomena. There is a direct and indirect
influence on each other's action,belief and attitudes when individuals are socially proximate.
When there are esteemed sources, targets and engaging media it is then well established that
spread of beliefs in context highly conductive to persuasion. As per Dagnall, Drinkwater and
Clough, (2016), for the diversity , ubiquity and broader social patterning of beliefs of
paranormal social bonds and persuasion may not account .A passive social influence process
must transpire for mere exposure to be sufficient for spread of paranormal belief. This process is
patterned by social networks and by the customer demographics for radio and television
programs, movies, books ,newspaper etc. The support for the paranormal claims is been given by
popular media .In the social factors the acceptance or rejection of the claim is conditioned.
Through the journals of the field general theories of social influence do not cut such a wide swat.
The exception in this may be social impact theory. As per Galliford and Furnham, (2017), on
several for this theory is expanding and prominent journals the research continues to be done
and published. In a psychological states and subjective feelings, motives and emotions there is a
great variety of change due to social impact. This change takes place in an individual,a human or
animal as a outcome of the real, implied or imaginative prescience or actions of other
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individuals. For terms such as “paranormal”, “supernatural” the own easing is been given by the
readers. In the academic literature the various definitions have been given regarding it. The
events of “supernatural” are outside the point view of natural explanations .But it not necessity
evoke religious connotations. In an intricate casual be of social forces and consequences
paranormal beliefs are suspended. The much to this belief is been contributed by science,
knowledge,psychosurgical of cognition etc. For an instance as per Irwin,Dagnall and Drinkwater,
(2016), it been discovered that for a relationship in between attainment styles and religiosity, it is
been said that to spiritual attachments certain beliefs of religions are tantamount that compensate
for the lack of various social attachments. On more social impact of religions is been focused by
Lawrence, (2016).In between religions and paranormal beliefs a stronger tie was established by
Majima, (2015). For a cultural sources empirical support was also presented. On the contrary not
as per van Elk, (2017), it is believed by him that religious belief is preconditioned to hold
paranormal beliefs and experiences. To the strength, immediacy, and number of targets the social
impact is not positively related with it. According to more than 80% of adults are holding at least
one of paranormal belief. In the recent years there have been rise on the rates for some specific
levels. As stated by Watt and Hanson, (2014), the four factors are been affected by social impact
theory that are number, strength, immediacy and impediments. To the number of people is been
referred by the number factor. It consists the source of impact. For example on an adolescent
whether peer pressure is being exerted by a single friend or by while group of friends. The
source of power , status or importance is been indicated by strength. From sometime we care
about we are more likely to be hurt or faced by there any sensitive comment. In pace or time the
closeness of source is been indicated by immediacy. For an instance the request of boss need to
be obeyed when it is delivered by them personally rather than through a e-mail. By any sort of
barrier or impediment the social impact is also assumed to be faced negatively. When there is a
barrier to effective communication this could take place .As per SOCIAL INFLUENCE ON
PARANORMAL BELIEFS, 2017, the paranormal belief is acquired by people merely by
observing others who appears to hold that belief. To confirm outwardly to the confederate the
status difference would lead but the beyond a level induced by an equal-status confederate
paranormal belief is not initialized. With the paranormal the television habits and person
experience can also lead to believe in paranormal phenomena. As per Billows and Storm, (2015),
it was said that a stronger belief in ghosts is been there due to higher education fuels. It is been
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discovered in the recent research that about 50% of participant believed in power of ESP and
about 40% of people believed in haunted house phenomena. In between religions and classic
paranormal phenomena the interrelationship is there. On the belief of pole in the paranormal the
media also influences. The ways are been affected by the mass such as television, films and
advertising and in our day to day activities we act accordingly. A lot of time is been spent by
pole by watching TV, listening radio and on reading newspaper. As per Galliford and Furnham,
(2017), the children who are expose to violent media involve more in a high number of violent
and deliquescent acts. The theory of deprivation servers as the fountain for examining the social
correlation of religious paranormal belies. The means to deal with psychophysical and physical
strain of disadvantage economic and social status is been given to people by paranormal beliefs.
Among the marginal groups such as minorities and poor people the belief in the paranormal will
be higher. In the paranormal phenomena the belief is more among disproportionately women,
African American and less educated people. For example in the devil, heaven and creationism
the more is been believed by the women in comparison with men. The religious paranormal
beliefs on southerners and mid westerns are more in comparison with easterner and
westerners .In the paranormal the rural resites are more likely to believe in comparison with
urban dwellers. Wit age the relationship is more variable. In heave and hell there is an equal
elusive by the people of all ages. In comparison with elders the young people are more in
number who believe in the devil and less likely to believe in creationism. From one phenomenon
to another the social correlated of classic paranormal beliefs are less stable as they are changes
significantly. It is been said by Burr and Dick, (2017), in comparison to men the number of
women are more who believes in ghosts, communication with dead, ESP and astrology.
However me mainly believes in the UFOs and the aliens that visits the earth. To the new age
spirituality the women are attracted. However on the contrary not as per they are not more likely
to buy new age materials. In the ghosts, arthritis and reincarnation the better educated pole are
less likely to believed in these things. But in telepathy, ESP they are more likely to believe in all
these things. In most classic paranormal phenomena the Africa Americans are more likely to
believe. However in UFOs the whites likely to believe.
CONCLUSION
Thus summing up the above report it can be concluded that paranormal activities differs
from the normal activities. The ghosts, extraterrestrial life, crypt-ids, unrecognised flying objects'
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etc are some notable beliefs of paranormal. The social factors such as education,
status,culture,age etc contributes towards the belief in theses activities. In comparison to men
women are more likely to believe in astrology and ghost and the highly educated people are also
less that believe in these phenomenon. The number of people who believe in these events in rural
area are more in comparison with urban dwellers. By the social impact theory the behaviours of
one person can be interpreted by seeing the other person.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Billows, H. and Storm, L., 2015. Believe it or not: A confirmatory study on predictors of
paranormal belief, and a psi test. Australian Journal of Parapsychology. 15(1). p.7.
Burr, V. and Dick, P., 2017. Social constructionism. In The Palgrave Handbook of Critical
Social Psychology (pp. 59-80). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Dagnall, N.A., Drinkwater, K. and Clough, P., 2016. Paranormal experience, belief in the
paranormal and anomalous beliefs. Paranthropology: journal of anthropological approaches to
the paranormal. 7(1). pp.4-15.
Galliford, N. and Furnham, A., 2017. Individual difference factors and beliefs in medical and
political conspiracy theories. Scandinavian journal of psychology. 58(5). pp.422-428.
Irwin, H.J., Dagnall, N. and Drinkwater, K., 2016. Dispositional scepticism, attitudes to science,
and belief in the paranormal. Australian Journal of Parapsychology, 16(2), p.117.
Lawrence, T.R., 2016. The client, the therapist and the paranormal: a response to the special
edition on psychotherapy and the paranormal. European Journal of Psychotherapy &
Counselling. 18(2). pp.179-192.
Majima, Y., 2015. Belief in pseudoscience, cognitive style and science literacy. Applied
Cognitive Psychology. 29(4). pp.552-559.
van Elk, M., 2017. The self-attribution bias and paranormal beliefs. Consciousness and
Cognition. 49. pp.313-321.
Watt, C. and Hanson, R., 2014. Psychological factors in precognitive dream experiences: The
role of paranormal belief, selective recall and propensity to find correspondences. International
Journal of Dream Research. 7(1). pp.1-8.
Online
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