Sex Differences in Paranormal Beliefs among Undergraduate College Students

Abstract

Beliefs in and experience of the paranormal were assessed in 125 college-aged undergraduate students. Crawford and Christensen's 1995 12-item Extrasensory Perception Survey was administered before and after taking a course in general psychology. Men scored significantly higher than women on scale values (1–5) for beliefs regarding life after death, the existence of extrasensory perception, having at least one extrasensory experience, and UFOs with people from other places visiting our planet. There were no significant differences (within subjects) between beliefs before versus after the course, yet mean scores from pre- and posttests showed that belief in life after death, belief in precognitive experience in dreams, and belief in the existence of extrasensory perception ranked highest over-all in endorsement while beliefs in physical contacts with ghosts, auras, and psychokinesis ranked lowest. Sex differences were discussed in the context of the hypothesis of social marginality.