Just a short note – I’m scheduled to appear on both the Skeptic and Science Tracks at Dragon*Con – the findings on paranormal, pseudoscience and conspiracy theory beliefs stemming from a study co-created by Dr Martin Bridgstock and myself will be presented by both of us on Sunday, 6th September at 7pm, called “Australian Skeptics Study of Paranormal and Pseudoscientific Beliefs” at the SkepTrack room, Hilton 207.
The popular website Yahoo Answers (at http://answers.yahoo.com) has a response to the question ‘Why are men always more skeptical than women?’ – apparently men are ’smarter and not as naïve’. This was voted the best response to the question, on a site visited by hundreds of thousands of people, with no references or detailed discussion regarding the contributor’s conclusion: when women believe in ‘weird things’ they lack a skeptical-savviness and are burdened with a dearth of intelligence. What do we know about whether women have a tendency to be more skeptically-minded or not?
Psychological research demonstrates that cognitive differences do not equal cognitive deficiencies – in the case of paranormal and supernatural beliefs, there is certainly evidence that women are more likely to affirm their beliefs, but it does not mean that they are definitely more credulous or lacking in intellect. From statistical analysis of surveys to a recent article published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience on the presence of dopamine and its influence on the brain, we naturally learn more and more over time about belief in the ‘weird things’.
The paranormal is a term that generally refers to alleged phenomena or events asserted to be outside the range of ordinarily accepted forces (Lett, 1990) and belief in the paranormal is no longer considered an eccentricity in the modern world. We can find ‘psychic readings’ in popular women’s magazines and thousands of people attend the ‘speaking with the dead’ extravaganzas of John Edward and Sylvia Browne. Paranormal beliefs are often associated with practices of the occult, magic (as opposed to dramatic performances, sleight-of-hand and dextrous manipulation of items to create illusions), and superstitions. Studies of paranormal beliefs are often done in conjunction with pseudoscientific beliefs, which, according to Preece and Baxter (2000), involves a set of ideas or theories which are claimed to be scientific but which are contrary to standard science and have failed empirical tests (or which cannot in principle be tested), such as the claims of ‘new age’ practices like crystal healing or reiki.
The study of sex differences in science refers to biological differences such as chromosomes and internal and external sex organs; ‘gender’ describes characteristics that an individual’s society defines as masculine or feminine (Unger & Crawford, 1992). Research into believers of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims often compare how males and females respond to surveys on the existence of UFOs, ghosts, whether astrology accurately reflects our lives and so forth (Gallup & Newport, 1991; Wolfradt, 1997; Shermer, 2001). In 2007, a representative quota sample of 1,005 adults in Great Britain aged from 16 years and upward were interviewed via telephone, demonstrating that within the sample belief in telepathy was very strong amongst women (47%) with one in four consulting their horoscope regularly and one in four of those believing ‘that horoscopes accurately predicted events in their lives’ (Ipsos-MORI, 2007).
Paranormal beliefs can be influenced by cultural factors such as family, peer groups, media influences, and the persuasive power of social institutions (e.g., religious or cultural groups) and education (Clark, 2002; Díaz-Vilela & Álvarez-González, 2004; Schriever, 2000). Socialisation has been used to explain gender differences concerning the extent of paranormal beliefs. Clark (2005) for example, noted the prevalence of popular culture and new age beliefs in teenage females, while Mason, Webber, Singleton and Hughes (2006) recorded a shift towards secular views of the world, some of which incorporate new age beliefs and practices.
Studies using intelligence tests in conjunction with belief in the paranormal have yielded mixed findings, with some failing to find a relationship (e.g., Wiseman & Watt, 2004) and others demonstrating higher IQ scores in believers than disbelievers (Jones, Russell, & Nickel, 1977). Otis and Alcock (1982) found that an individual’s level of skepticism is negatively related to superstitious beliefs and individuals in certain academic fields may possess a greater level of skepticism than others. Individuals from the natural sciences have been found to be more skeptical than individuals from the humanities, arts, and education, while individuals working in the arts and humanities tend to be relatively more superstitious than individuals in other academic fields (Happs, 1987; Otis & Alcock, 1982; Shermer, 1997). If we take into consideration how traditionally men dominate the fields of science and mathematics, women may be at a disadvantage when it comes to developing a ‘skeptical mindset’.
While formal education increases the likelihood of skepticism and a reduction in superstition (Vyse, 1997), 
Aarnio and Lindeman’s (2006) study of 239 Finnish volunteers demonstrated a disassociation between intuitive thinking (rather than analytical thinking) and skepticism. Paranormal-believing participants demonstrated less emotional stability and assigned more purpose to artificial and random events, thereby pointing to a problem with confusion of core knowledge (knowledge learned without instruction, in terms of intuitive comprehension of physical, biological and psychological entities as well as their processes). Hood (2009) argues that females (as biologically defined) are more inclined as a group towards intuitive reasoning, involving genetic predisposition. His theory of the ‘supersense’, or the human brain’s pre-wiring towards supporting intuitions and superstitions, is suggested as a key to understanding how we can rationalise beliefs. There is also a commonly-held stereotype that women demonstrate better performances on social cognition tests, such as face processing and theory of mind in comparison to men, leading to women demonstrating social skills and understanding other’s perspectives more easily.
A very recent study using a drug called L-dopa (sometimes applied in treatment of Parkinson’s disease by raising levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain) led experimenters to infer that its presence decreased sensitivity to perceptual-cognitive decisions and promoted conservative in the sample of skeptically-minded participants (Krummenacher, Mohr, Haker & Brugger, 2009). These results led to the conclusion that paranormal ideation might profoundly modulate pain assessment, assessment of risky scenarios, recognition of patterns and decision making. An earlier study by Mohr, Graves, Gianotti, Pizzagalli, and Brugger (2001) also contributed to investigating what commonalities there are between creative thinking, paranormal belief and delusional ideation – leading to further questions as to whether dopamine is the “gullibility neurotransmitter” for non-skeptical people (particularly when the first study only used males and the second used a small number of subjects).
As research continues into the origins and influences upon paranormal and pseudoscientific belief, the contributions of cognitive neuroscience and technology brings us closer to understanding better the need to believe in ‘weird things’. Creative thinking, intuition and highly-developed interpersonal skills cannot be discounted as useless, yet the potential for paranormal and pseudoscientific beliefs to lead members of either sex towards dangerous practices shouldn’t be ignored either. In the meantime, the summation provided by a popular site like Yahoo Answers about what makes a ‘believing in the weird’ woman is hardly conclusive, nor complimentary.
Select Bibliography
Aarnio, K., & Lindeman, M. (2006). Superstitious, magical and paranormal beliefs: An integrative model. Journal of Research into Personality, 41(4), 731-744.
Clark, L. S. (2002). U.S Adolescent religious identity, the media and the ‘funky’ side of religion. Journal of Communication, 52(4), 794-881.
Clark, L.S. (2005). From Angels to Aliens. Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural. Oxford University Press: USA
Hood, B. M. (2009). Supersense: Why We Believe the Unbelievable. HarperOne, San Francisco, CA.
Krummenacher P., Mohr, C., Haker, H., & Brugger, P. (2009). Dopamine, Paranormal Belief, and the Detection of Meaningful Stimuli. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(7).
Mason, M., Webber, R., Singleton, A., & Hughes, P. (2006). The spirit of Generation Y: A summary of the final report of a three year study. Australian Policy Online, http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/research/ccls/spir/sppub/sppub.htm.
Otis, L. P. & Alcock, J.E. (1982). Factors Affecting Extraordinary Belief. Journal of Social Psychology, 118, 77-85
Shermer, M. (2001) Polls show paranormal beliefs on the rise, evolution belief on the decline. Skeptic 9(1), 10-11.
Smith, M. D., Foster, C. L., & Stovin, G. (1998). Intelligence and paranormal belief: Examining the role of context. The Journal of Paranormal Psychology, 62, 65-77.
Unger, R., & Crawford, M. (1992). Women and Gender: A Feminist Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Vyse, S. A. (1997). Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wolfradt, U. (1997). Dissociative experiences, trait anxiety and paranormal beliefs. Personality and Individual Differences, 23, 15-19.
Krummenacher P, Mohr C, Haker H, & Brugger P (2009). Dopamine, Paranormal Belief, and the Detection of Meaningful Stimuli. Journal of cognitive neuroscience PMID: 19642883
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{ 6 comments }
This is totally tangential… but if you’re going to Dragon*Con, have a good time at the Abney Park concert!
I cannot agree more when you say cognitive differences are often misconstrued as cognitive deficiencies and I’ve come across famous authors attributing such differences to lack of reasoning and intellect.
My first visit to this blog. Made a brilliant read!
“…belief in the paranormal is no longer considered an eccentricity in the modern world.”
This has been fascinating me recently. In Oz, Channel 7 have elevated paranormal belief to “normal”, not just by promoting belief itself but by mocking scepticism. On that station, disbelief is apparently seen as eccentric.
This week, for example, when Nat on Sunrise expressed doubts on a “ghost” video, she was ridiculed on air by her colleagues. In the past, Peter FitzSimons copped an ear-bashing for daring to doubt John Edward on the same show. And Aussies will remember the not-so-subtle jibes aimed at nasty, mean, party-pooping Richard Saunders on The One.
Meanwhile, professional “psychics” benefit from regular advertorial-like appearances on Sunrise and other shows – generally without their supposed abilities being questioned.
Given this sort of public ridicule of scepticism, I wonder to what extent belief is the result of “media peer pressure” (or is the media responding to pressure from society?)
Now with the last minute add-on of Adam Savage, our Skeptic Track will be overhauled a bit. So… please consult the final programming book before taking any of the above days, times, or panels as a fact!
It has been nutty here in the past 48 hours at Dragon*Con planning HQ!
WAHHH!!! I have faith in the Colanduno to work his skeptical-magic to make it all appear somehow!
I’ve always thought that women would be less religious than men. After all The Heap Big Sky God approves of men’s health care, but when it comes to women, we get screwed. And of course, there’s a multitude of verses from your book of choice affirming that women are less than men and always shall be.
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