How Much Do You Believe in the Paranormal?
Ghosts, omens, horoscopes and the phone call you somehow saw coming
Almost nobody believes in everything or nothing. Plenty of hard-nosed sceptics still knock on wood, and plenty of people who read their horoscope every morning think ghost stories are nonsense. The most widely used research scale splits paranormal belief into separate areas, and this test maps six of them so you can see which ones you lean towards and which you dismiss.
Before you start There are no right answers. Pick what is usually true for you, not what sounds best.
Answer with what you actually think, not what you would say at a dinner party. Unsure counts as a real answer - use the middle when you honestly do not know.
What it measures
Six of the seven subscales of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale: psi (mind over matter, telepathy), witchcraft, superstition, spiritualism (contact with the dead, hauntings), extraordinary life forms and precognition (astrology, prophetic dreams). The seventh subscale, traditional religious belief, is left out on purpose: faith is not a paranormal claim to be scored. It is not a test of intelligence or of open-mindedness.
Based on: Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (Tobacyk & Milford, 1983; Tobacyk, 2004)
Possible results
Psi
Belief that minds can read other minds or move objects without physical means.
Witchcraft
Belief that spells, curses and magic can really affect people.
Superstition
Belief that signs, numbers and small rituals influence luck.
Spiritualism
Belief in contact with the dead, spirits and haunted places.
Extraordinary life forms
Belief in undiscovered giant creatures and visitors from other worlds.
Precognition
Belief that the future can be foreseen through astrology, psychics or dreams.
Common questions
Why do intelligent people believe in the paranormal?
Because belief depends more on thinking style and experience than on raw intelligence. People who trust their intuitions and first impressions tend to score higher, and one vivid personal experience - a dream that came true, a sense of a dead parent nearby - outweighs any statistic. Culture matters too: in many countries some of these beliefs are simply what everyone grew up with.
Is believing in horoscopes the same as believing in ghosts?
Not quite, which is why the scale splits them. The beliefs are correlated - someone high on one tends to be above average on the others - but many people are selective. Researchers have argued for grouping them in different ways, and the most recent analyses support one general tendency plus distinct sub-areas, which is how this test reports them.
Is it harmful to believe in the paranormal?
Usually not. For many people these beliefs bring comfort, meaning or simple enjoyment. The problems come in specific situations: paying large sums to psychics or curse removers, delaying medical treatment in favour of a prediction, or living with fear of omens. If a belief is costing you money, health or sleep, that is the point to question it.
Sources
- Tobacyk, J., & Milford, G. (1983). Belief in paranormal phenomena: Assessment instrument development and implications for personality functioning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.44.5.1029
- Tobacyk, J. J. (2004). A Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies. doi:10.24972/ijts.2004.23.1.94
- Drinkwater, K., Denovan, A., Dagnall, N., & Parker, A. (2017). An assessment of the dimensionality and factorial structure of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. Frontiers in Psychology. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01693
An honest note The items are Quinthea's own wording, adapted from the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale, so your scores cannot be compared with its published norms. The religious-belief subscale is deliberately left out. A 2017 analysis found the subscales share one strong general factor, so the six bars partly measure the same overall belief. Belief varies with culture and upbringing, and women score higher on average. A high or low score says nothing about intelligence or mental health.