Some Recent Publications

- 1 November 1986

Carison, S. A double-blind test of the astrology hypothesis. Nature, December 5, 1985, 318, 419-425. Two double-blind tests were made of the thesis that astrological ‘natal charts’ can be used to describe accurately personality traits of test subjects. Despite using highly regarded astrologers, despite incorporating their suggestions into the design, and despite the fact that they approved the design, astrology failed to perform at a level better than chance. The astrological hypothesis was clearly refuted.

Johnson, J., Cain, L., Falke, T., Hayman, J., & Perillo, E. The “Barnum Effect” revisited: Cognitive and motivational factors in the acceptance of personality descriptions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1985, 49, 1378-1391. Investigations of the Barnum effect, the acceptance of character descriptions as uniquely applicable to the self, provide some conclusions about the factors which influence the effect.

Lewin, R. Evidence for scientific creationism? Science, May 17, 1985, 228, p.837. A computer scan of 1000 scientific and technical journals found no articles offering empirical or experimental evidence for creationism. A survey of 135,000 manuscripts submitted for publication found only 18 addressing the scientific underpinnings of creationism and none accepted for publication.

Marks, D. Investigating the paranormal. Nature, March 13, 1986, 320, 119-124. Reviews current evidence for a wide range of paranormal phenomena, discusses theoretical and methodological issues in their investigation, and. psychological factors influencing belief in the paranormal.

Morris, R. What I shall do with the Koestler chair. New Scientist, September 5, 1985, p.59. Morris describes how he views the Koestler chair of parapsychology at Edinburgh University, and what he intends to do as its first occupant.