Reducing student belief in the paranormal

Richard Miller offered insights on helping students become more critical thinkers.

Students are enthralled with reports of the paranormal, so when psychologists in the classroom try to alter such beliefs, the students usually combat these efforts, says Richard Miller, PhD, of the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

The problem is that students learn the fact that paranormal occurrences resist systematic exploration, but the students don't embrace that idea personally. In an address titled "From hobbits to Hobbes: reducing students' beliefs in the paranormal" at APA's 2002 Annual Convention in Chicago, Miller identified strategies for helping students cast aside their previous beliefs and adopt a more critical stance.

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