Research on Spirituality and Paranormal Phenomena

This site contains scientific articles on spirituality and parapsychology. The sequence of these articles tells the story of how my thinking on these topics has evolved. The articles that I think are most relevant are marked with an *.

The articles are listed below in the following categories:

Most of the recent articles are provided in html (easy to access), pdf , and Word document (better for printing) formats. Links to other sites that have the article are also provided in some cases.

For those not familiar with the terminology used in psychical research, the term "psi" is used to mean any type of psychic phenomena.

J.E. Kennedy


The Relationship between Spirituality and Psi

*Personality and Motivations to Believe, Misbelieve, and Disbelieve in Paranormal Phenomena. (2005), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 69, Pages 263-292.
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*What is the Purpose of Psi? (2004), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Volume 98, Pages 1-27
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*The Polarization of Psi Beliefs: Rational, Controlling, Masculine Skepticism versus Interconnected, Spiritual, Feminine Belief. (2003), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Volume 97, Pages 27-42.
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Spirituality and the Capricious, Evasive Nature of Psi. (2006), J.E. Kennedy, for the National Conference on Yoga and Parapsychology, January, 2006, Visakhapatnam, India. [Version of 5/14/2007]
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The Roles of Religion, Spirituality, and Genetics in Paranormal Beliefs. (2004), J.E. Kennedy, Skeptical Inquirer, Volume 28, Number 2 (March-April), pages 39-42.
      Looksmart    Skeptical Inquirer

*The Capricious, Actively Evasive, Unsustainable Nature of Psi: A Summary and Hypotheses. (2003), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 67, Pages 53-74.
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[Letter on capricious psi]. (2004), Joop M. Houtkooper, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 68, Pages 189-191.
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[Response to letter on capricious psi]. (2004), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 68, Pages 191-193.
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Commentary on "Experiments on Distant Intercessory Prayer" in Archives of Internal Medicine. (2002), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 66, Pages 177-182.
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Do People Guide Psi or Does Psi Guide People? Evidence and Implications from Life and Lab. (2000), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research Volume 94, Pages 130-150.
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*An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being. (1995), J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Volume 89, Pages 249-264.
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Association Between Anomalous Experiences and Artistic Creativity and Spirituality. (1995), J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Volume 89, Pages 333-343.
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Psychic and Spiritual Experiences, Health, Well-Being, and Meaning in Life. (1994), J.E. Kennedy, H. Kanthamani, and J. Palmer, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 58, Pages 353-383.
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[Book Review of Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century by Edward Kelly, et al.] (2006), J.E. Kennedy Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 70, Pages 373-377.
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Properties of Psi that are Problematic for Research

*[Letter on meta-analysis in parapsychology]. (2006), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 70, Pages 410-413.
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*A Proposal and Challenge for Proponents and Skeptics of Psi. (2004), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 68, Pages 157-167.
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[Letter on power analysis in parapsychology]. (2003), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 67, Pages 406-408.
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Why is Psi so Elusive? A Review and Proposed Model. (2001), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 65, Pages 219-245.
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*Methods for Investigating Goal-Oriented Psi. (1995), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 59, Pages 47-62.
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Exploring the Limits of Science and Beyond: Research Strategy and Status. (1994), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 58, Pages 59-77.
      pdf    doc       Looksmart

Experimenter Effects in Parapsychological Research. (1976), J.E. Kennedy and Judith L. Taddonio, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 40, Pages 1-33.
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Methodological Issues in Parapsychology

Methodological Problems in Free-Response ESP Experiments (1979), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Volume 73, Pages 1-15.
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More on Methodological Issues in Free-Response Psi Experiments (1979), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Volume 73, Pages 395-401.
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Learning to Use ESP: Do the Calls Match the Targets or Do the Targets Match the Calls? (1980), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Volume 74, Pages 191-222.
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Ambiguous Data Result in Ambiguous Conclusions: A Reply to Charles T. Tart (1980), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, Volume 74, Pages 349-356.
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Skepticism and Negative Results in Borderline Areas of Science (1981), J.E. Kennedy, Unpublished paper.
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A Methodological Note on Psychophysiological Studies in Parapsychology (1978), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 40, Pages 308-310.
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Notes on a case of scientific fraud.

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Parapsychological Experiments

Possible Paranormal Components of Anticipation: Psychophysiological Explorations (1979), J.E. Kennedy, Unpublished paper (abstract in Journal of Parapsychology, 1979, Volume 43, Pages 360-363).
      Abstract: pdf    doc         Paper: pdf    doc         Technical Appendix: doc

PK Experiments Using Light as the Stimulus with Rodents, Insects, and a Plant (1979), J.E. Kennedy, Unpublished paper (abstract in Journal of Parapsychology, 1979, Volume 43, Pages 358-359)
      Abstract: pdf    doc         Paper: pdf    doc

Are Psychological Tests Nonintentional Psi Tasks? (1978), J.E. Kennedy and JoMarie Haight, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 42, Pages 33-50.
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Information Processing in Psi

Redundancy in Psi Information: Implications for the Goal-Oriented Hypothesis and for The Application of Psi (1979), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 43, Pages 290-314.
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Consistent Missing: A Type of Information-Processing Error in ESP (1979), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 43, Pages 113-128.
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The Role of Task Complexity in PK: A Review (1978), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 42, Pages 89-122.
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Information Processing in ESP: A Survey of Forced-Choice Experiments Using Multiple-Aspect Targets (1980), J.E. Kennedy, Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 44, Pages 9-34.
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Related Links

    Articles on Changes in Spirituality and Well-Being

    Exceptional Human Experience Network

    American Society for Psychical Research

    Parapsychological Association

    Trickster and The Paranormal

    Integrating Science and Spirituality

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