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

Towards the end of her studies she switched to parapsychology from forensic psychology, which concentrates on criminal behaviour.

From BBC • Oct. 27, 2023

The dubious field of parapsychology, for instance, owes its existence to the decades of pseudoscholarship churned out at Duke and Harvard University–and financed by wealthy private patrons.

From Scientific American • Aug. 25, 2023

In a first-person story for the Times, Mr. Toth called the pretext for his arrest “laughable,” saying a source he believed was a scientist had handed him a paper on parapsychology, not military secrets.

From Washington Post • Dec. 14, 2022

“She didn’t want parapsychology talking to itself as a field.”

From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2022

Boyle went on to carry out extensive research into the phenomenon of second sight, which one might describe as the beginnings of parapsychology.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton