Conflicit1ve Psi Experiences: A Survey With Implications For Clinical Parapsychology

We are grateful to the Bial Foundation for their financial support of this research project. Thanks are also due to Carlos S. Alvarado, Nancy Zingrone, and Stanley Krippner or help with the translation and for reviewing the English version of this article.

ABSTRACT: Surveys have been one of the most valuable research instruments for studying the psychological and social dimensions of parapsychology. Surveys seem to show that there is a high prevalence of spontaneous experiences in the general population. This article explores in a descriptive way the incidence of conflict produced by spontaneous psi experiences. Two hundred sixty Argentineans participated in the study; 58.8% were women, and 41.2% were men (M age = 44.65, SD = 14.26). Most of the participants were interested in parapsychology and in psi phenomena. Using questionnaires, the authors determined the type and frequency of participants' psi experiences and whether the experiences were conflictive or traumatic for them. They found that more than one third of the sample had had a psi experience such as a precognitive dream or a telepathic perception. Two thirds said they had RSPK disturbances, and more than half claimed healing abilities. Near-death experiences and possession were considered to be confl ictive or traumatic by more than one third of the sample. One third of the respondents consulted family members, friends, and acquaintances, and over one quarter of the sample consulted a physician. The authors believe that these experiences mark a process of personal growth and of a sense of connection with the world. The experiences may be a healthy response to a hostile and alienating environment or context. Further analyses of the introspective accounts may yield more information about the experiencers' emotional reactions to their psi experiences. In a future report statistical analyses of the interaction between these variables will be presented.

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