parapsychology

American  

[par-uh-sahy-kol-uh-jee] / ˌpær ə saɪˈkɒl ə dʒi /

noun

1. the branch of psychology that deals with the investigation of purportedly psychic phenomena, as clairvoyance, extrasensory perception, telepathy, and the like.

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parapsychology British  

/ ˌpærəsaɪkəˈlɒʒɪkəl, ˌpærəsaɪˈkɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the study of mental phenomena, such as telepathy, which are beyond the scope of normal physical explanation

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parapsychology Cultural  

1. The study of extrasensory perception (ESP), communications with the dead, telekinesis (using mental energy to cause distant objects to move), and other mental phenomena that have not been explained or accepted by scientists. (See psychic research.)

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Other Word Forms

• parapsychological
  adjective
• parapsychologist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of parapsychology

First recorded in 1925–30; para- ¹ + psychology

Example Sentences

Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic and paranormal abilities and events.

From BBC • Oct. 27, 2023

Parapsychology — that inquiry into mental phenomena beyond the reach of psychology — is a perfect subject for the theater, where audience members have been trained to suspend their disbelief.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2023

Over the course of Ms. Coly’s tenure, she has maintained the library, continued providing grants, brought back the Helix Press imprint and served as the editor in chief of the International Journal of Parapsychology.

From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2022

In October 1983, the Parapsychology Foundation held a conference in San Antonio, Texas, to address the field’s “repeatability problem.”

From Slate • May 17, 2017

Parapsychology Interest in parapsychology is very old, yet the simple fact is that there have been no repeatable studies which have demonstrated its existence, Uri Geller and other charlatans notwithstanding.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos