To Believe or Not to Believe

The internet is rife with reports of first-hand encounters with the unusual and the unnatural. A quick search on YouTube can yield hundreds of videos of grainy footage, claiming to have captured a ghost on camera. Scary stories on websites like Reddit claim to tell true stories about hauntings. For many, that “proof” of the paranormal is dubious at best, not being enough to convince them of anything. However, a large proportion of people believe in the paranormal. A poll from Gallup revealed that thirty-seven percent of Americans believe that houses can be haunted, and thirty-two percent believe that ghosts exist. The numbers showed an increase from a previous poll in 1990. In a 2017 poll by Chapman University, researchers discovered that around half of the population believe places can be haunted by spirits. They also gathered information about what demographics were more likely to believe in spirits, and found that people with the highest likelihood of believing in the paranormal tend to be female, conservative, living on the West Coast, or highly religious.  According to Psychology Today, one prevailing theory about why some people are susceptible to belief in the paranormal is that the belief is a “shield” from unpleasant emotions. The paranormal can be used to make sense of a situation, such as grief or extreme stress. This comes from a need for control and understanding in the midst of chaos.  Barry Markovski, a sociologist from the University of South Carolina, suggests that paranormal sightings occur as a result of the natural instinct of human beings to make sense of situations. He raised the point that ghost sightings often occur during times when one’s senses are not at their full function, such as late at night, while falling asleep, or while waking up. Paranormal encounters can also be explained away using a reason such as apophenia or pareidolia. Apophenia is when one incorrectly draws connections between unrelated things. A similar phenomenon, pareidolia, occurs when one incorrectly ascribes meaning to something, such as seeing faces on inanimate objects or hearing hidden messages in music. It is relatively common for people to claim to have photographed a ghost or apparition. Pareidolia explains these situations, instead of offering a psychological explanation.  Aside from psychological factors, there is also the fact that some people find ghosts thrill-inducing, and actively seek them out. This is evident from the success of television shows such as “Ghost Adventures” and “Most Haunted.” In them, teams of paranormal investigators traipse through old, dimly lit buildings, waving EMF (Electromagnetic frequency) readers in the air. There’s no question that these shows can be exciting, in the same way, that horror movies are. They appeal to people’s desire for adrenaline. People who seek out ghosts are more likely to find them, as people tend to see what they want to see. Due to this, horror-junkies and paranormal investigators are far more likely to have their own tale to tell of the paranormal.  Skepticism can also be explained from a psychological standpoint. Studies from researcher Tapani Riekki, from the University of Helsinki, have suggested that skeptics have higher “cognitive inhibition,” meaning that they have a greater ability to push aside unwanted thoughts and to move on. When experiencing something unusual or “spooky,” skeptics have an easier time ignoring it. In addition, skeptics often try to rationalize the unexplainable, by using scientific explanations.  The battle between belief and skepticism is one that is often present in the media. One well-known example is the dichotomy between Agent Mulder’s sometimes reckless belief and Agent Scully’s often closed-minded skepticism. The two characters sometimes clash due to their differing mindsets. While there may or may not be aliens and wide-spread government conspiracies in real life, there is much to be said for the conflict between science and the paranormal. However, which response is correct? That question difficult to answer. Both reactions are a result of various psychological and environmental factors. Whether they believe in the paranormal or not, people’s actions when faced with the unusual can often be explained as a method of self-preservation.