James E. Crandall, 1930-1993: an appreciation - parapsychologist - Obituary

It is particularly heartening to the parapsychological community when a senior scholar and researcher from a mainstream scientific discipline chooses to undertake psi research in a constructive spirit. It is even more heartening when the research produces reliable results that help us to better understand the nature of psi. Jim Crandall was one such person. Although his formal participation in parapsychology spanned no more than a decade, in that short time he left an indelible mark on the field and on those of us who were privileged to know him.

James Edward Crandall passed away on May 2, 1993, at the age of 62. The cause of death was pneumonia, which followed a long bout with cancer. He had seemed to be winning his battle with this dread disease and was starting to resume his academic work when the end suddenly came. He had submitted a paper to this year's Parapsychological Association convention and was looking forward to presenting it in person, as he had done so many times in the recent past. It was not to be.

Jim was born on November 5, 1930, in Hutchinson, Kansas. After serving in the army during the Korean War, he received his bachelor's (1954) and master's (1956) degrees from the University of Colorado. He went on to earn his PhD in psychology, with honors, from the University of Oregon in 1963. Upon graduation he joined the faculty of New York State University College at Oswego, where he quickly rose to the rank of Associate Professor. In 1967, he moved to the University of Idaho where he remained until his death. He was Chairman of the Department of Psychology beginning in 1983, and he served on numerous departmental and university committees.

He published one book and numerous journal articles on main-stream psychological topics. His principal focus was on the Adlerian concept of "social interest," which can be briefly defined as a person's interest in the welfare of mankind, expressed cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally.

Jim's most important contribution to parapsychology was his extensive research on the psi-missing displacement effect (PMDE). The core finding was that subjects in forced-choice ESP experiments who score below chance on the direct targets tend to score significantly above chance on plus and minus one displacements. Further research revealed that the effect was limited to clairvoyance and GESP, favorable testing conditions, and (when present) visually salient targets included among ordinary targets. He came to interpret the PMDE as being caused by unmotivated inhibition of the (direct) target signal. The PMDE studies provide an excellent example of how to conduct systematic scientific research: identify an effect, define its boundaries, and then explain it.

Despite Jim's professional status in mainstream psychology and his obvious research skills, he was never condescending toward parapsychology or parapsychologists. He believed he could learn from us, as we learned from him. In the best scientific spirit he constantly looked for possible artifacts in the PMDE work. When Donald Burdick and Richard Broughton uncovered such an artifact, Jim accepted it graciously and undertook the appropriate reanalysis of his data. Although the strength of the PMDE declined, it remained significant, and its boundaries became more clearly defined: all in all, a favorable outcome.

Jim's warmth, unpretentiousness, and down-to-earth good-naturedness made him a joy to be around. He was also willing to lend others a helping hand, as I discovered when he arranged for students in our Summer Study Program to gain academic credit through the University of Idaho if they wished. He graciously served on program committees for the Parapsychological Association conventions, which he thoroughly enjoyed attending for the opportunity to interact with his fellow parapsychologists. He was not defensive about being a parapsychologist: for example, his vita displayed his parapsychology publications mixed right in with his psychology ones.

As was the case with Chuck Honorton, who died a few months previously in November, Jim's career was ended before its time. The good news is that, like Chuck, Jim was able to leave us the legacy of a major research program that had reached a state of closure--but that is not to say finality. Follow-up studies of this important work would be well worth pursuing.

JOHN PALMER Institute of Parapsychology 402 N. Buchanan Blvd. Durham, NC 27701

COPYRIGHT 1993 Parapsychology Press
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