The terms parapsychology and psychical research are closely related, but they are not identical. The main difference lies in their history, methods, and scope.
| Psychical Research | Parapsychology |
|---|---|
| Began in the late 19th century. | Emerged in the 20th century as a more scientific discipline. |
| Studies all reported paranormal phenomena. | Focuses primarily on testing specific psi phenomena under controlled conditions. |
| Includes investigations of survival after death, hauntings, mediumship, apparitions, and psi. | Primarily studies extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (PK), and related phenomena. |
| Uses historical cases, eyewitness reports, field investigations, and experiments. | Emphasizes laboratory experiments, statistics, and controlled research. |
| More interdisciplinary, drawing from psychology, philosophy, history, and anthropology. | More closely aligned with experimental psychology and neuroscience. |
Psychical Research
Psychical research is the older field, dating to the 1880s. Researchers sought to investigate claims of paranormal experiences using the best scientific methods available at the time.
Common topics may include:
- Apparitions
- Haunted locations
- Mediumship
- Near death experiences
- Deathbed visions
- Reincarnation research
- Poltergeist cases
- Survival of consciousness after death
- Telepathy and clairvoyance
Psychical researchers may often combine:
- Case investigations
- Interviews
- Historical documentation
- Field observations
- Laboratory experiments (when possible)
One of the earliest organizations devoted to this work was the Society for Psychical Research.
Parapsychology
Parapsychology developed later, especially in the 1930s, as researchers attempted to bring paranormal claims into the laboratory.
Typical research areas may include:
- Telepathy
- Clairvoyance
- Precognition
- Psychokinesis (PK)
- Presentiment
- Ganzfeld experiments
- Remote viewing
Parapsychologists generally rely on:
- Controlled experiments
- Randomization
- Statistical analysis
- Replication attempts
- Peer-reviewed publications
The emphasis is on determining whether there is evidence for psi that cannot readily be explained by chance, bias, or known psychological processes.
Areas of Overlap
Both fields investigate phenomena such as:
- Telepathy
- Clairvoyance
- Precognition
- Psychokinesis
- Apparitions
- Survival of consciousness
- Mediumship
The difference is mainly how they study them.
For example:
- A psychical researcher: might investigate dozens of reports of people seeing an apparition shortly before learning of a loved one’s death, comparing witness accounts and historical records.
- A parapsychologist: might conduct a controlled experiment to test whether participants can accurately identify concealed images at rates above chance.
Modern Relationship
Today, the distinction is less rigid than it once was. Many researchers use methods from both traditions:
- Researchers interested in survival after death often describe themselves as psychical researchers because they investigate spontaneous experiences, mediumship, and historical cases.
- Researchers focused on laboratory studies of ESP and PK are more likely to identify as parapsychologists.
Both fields remain outside of controversial scientific consensus. While some studies have reported statistically significant findings, many claims have proven difficult to replicate consistently, and there is ongoing debate about methodology, interpretation, and the strength of the evidence.
In Summary
- Psychical research: is the broader, older discipline that investigates a wide range of reported paranormal experiences using both field investigations and experiments.
- Parapsychology: is the more specialized branch that emphasizes controlled scientific testing of psi phenomena, particularly ESP and psychokinesis.
You may think of it this way:
psychical research asks, “What kinds of unusual experiences are people reporting, and what might they mean?”
While parapsychology asks, “Can specific psi phenomena be demonstrated under controlled experimental conditions?”
Shervan K Shahhian
LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 