Psychopathological Symptoms and Their Relation to Paranormal Belief and Illusory Judgment
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University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Fall 2006 Psychopathological symptoms and their relation to paranormal belief and illusory judgment Michael P. Cofrin University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Cofrin, Michael P., "Psychopathological symptoms and their relation to paranormal belief and illusory judgment" (2006). Doctoral Dissertations. 334. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/334 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PSYCHOPATHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS AND THEIR RELATION TO PARANORMAL BELIEF AND ILLUSORY JUDGMENT BY MICHAEL P. COFRIN B.A., Keene State College, 1999 M.A., University of New Hampshire, 2002 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in PSYCHOLOGY September, 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3231347 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3231347 Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation has been examined and approved. Cl. Dissertation Director, Victor A. Benassi, Professor of Psychology ,/^vf Peter S/Fernald, Professor of Psychology Victoria L. Banyard, Associate Professor of Psychology < fedGary S. fedGary GolcIstein, Associate Professor of Psychology Alison K. Puglia, Associate Professor of Psychology Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. iii DEDICATION To my mother, Gertrude Barker St. George, whose love for the language and a good story continues to influence me. Her large personality and wit I shall miss. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to all the students who participated in the studies. Without them, there would have been no data to analyze. Special thanks go to my advisor Professor Victor Benassi without whose knowledge and guidance this dissertation would not have been completed. A number of other people were involved in my work. I am very grateful for the valuable assistance from other faculty in the Psychology Department. I would also like to thank my research assistants for their interest and hard work in the laboratory. Special thanks to Michael Thalboume, Ph.D., who provided me with materials in a timely manner. Last, I thank my family for their support and their understanding during periods of absence, frustration, poverty, and neuroses. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION............................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES.....................................................................................................................ix ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................x INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 1 Definitions and Conceptions of Paranormal Belief......................................................... 3 Belief Scales......................................................................................................................... 5 Theoretical Explanations of the Origins of Paranormal Belief ......................................6 Cognitive Deficit Hypothesis .............................................................................................9 Psychopathological Symptoms and Paranormal Belief .................................................13 Individual Difference Variables .......................................................................................18 Suggested Integration........................................................................................................22 Rationale for Experimental Investigation ....................................................................... 24 CHAPTER PAGE I. STUDY 1..................................................................................................................................27 Method ............... 27 Results ............... 28 Discussion........................................................................................................................... 29 II. STUDY 2.................................................................................................................................30 Method ............... 30 Results .................................................................................................................................31 Discussion............................................................................................................................32 III. STUDY 3 ...............................................................................................................................34 Method .................................................................................................................................35 Results .................................................................................................................................41 Discussion............................................................................................................................52 IV. STUDY 4 ...............................................................................................................................56 Method .................................................................................................................................58 R esults .................................................................................................................................61 Discussion............................................................................................................................70 IV. GENERAL DISCUSSION................................................................................................. 74 LIST OF REFERENCES........................................................................................................... 82 APPENDICES.............................................................................................................................91 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX A: ILLUSION OF CONTROL MEASURES APPENDIX B: IRB APPROVAL LETTERS..................... Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES 1. Bivariate Correlation Matrix of Three Paranormal Belief Scales and Psychopathology Measures ...............................................................................................42 2. Multivariate F values and Low and High Psychopathological Symptom Means (Standard Deviations) for Three Paranormal Belief Scales ..............................43 3. Factor loadings for the Four Paranormal Task Illusion of Control Measures ............45 4. Bivariate Correlation Matrix of the Four Paranormal Task Factors and Belief Scales........................................................................................................................ 45 5. Bivariate Correlation Matrix of the Four Paranormal Task Factors and Psychopathology Measures ............................................................................................... 46 6. Multivariate F values and Low and High Psychopathological Symptom Means (Standard Deviations) for Four Paranormal Task Factors ................................48 7. Univariate F values and Low/High Psychopathological Symptom Means (Standard Deviations) for Paranormal Influence (Para) Item .......................................50 8. Bivariate Correlations between Illusion of Control Items and Paranormal Influence (Para) Item ..........................................................................................................51