Is a parapsychologist and a paranormal investigator and ghost hunter the same thing?
I am asking because I always thought they were 3 separate fields but I know many ghost clubs who call themselves parapsychologist so just wondering.
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This one is easy and your right! Parapsychologists study the psi aspect, mainly, that most paranormal/supernatural things can be attributed to psi energy, you can get degrees in this field but alot of people go running around claiming to be parapsychologists when their not. Ghost hunters are anywhere from professional to adventure seekers to social clubs(and the biggest of all three groups) and investigate/research usually just hauntings/ghosts/poltergeists. Paranormal Investigators are more generalized taking on hauntings/ghosts/poltergeists/ufos/crop circles/cryptids such as bigfoot or the jersey devil, or any other strange or bizarre events/occurrences, and are mostly professional. There is alot of large paranormal organizations out there that certify people or their own members to help with credibility and quality, but as of yet and to my knowledge no accredited colleges give degrees for this or the ghost hunting field but one organization is on the verge of getting accreditation–PARANEXUS, if they havent already. Hope this helped!
Generally, yes, with different emphasis on professionalism. For a serious, in-depth investigation, I would go with a paranormal investigator and medium.
Parapsychologists study psi phenomenon and the nature of human consciousness. Parapsychological work is typically done in a laboratory in a controlled environment, but much of the consciousness study is done more as phenomenological studies or ethnography studies. That is, they talk to people who have had NDEs and ask them to describe their perceptions of the event. It’s difficult (and unethical) to recreate a Near Death Experience in a laboratory setting… The overriding characteristic of parapsychology is its structure and scientific approach to specific phenomena.
Ghost hunters are typically more informal and less trained individuals who are interested in locating or detecting non-physical entities. Some technical skills might be important to some ghost hunters, and some may even recruit people who claim to have mediumistic tendencies. These groups are typically informal in nature, they travel to "haunted" sites, and they are more concerned with collecting evidence than examining the science behind the phenomenon.
Paranormal investigators, in my experience, study many different subjects. There are investigators who are searching for UFO evidence. There are investigators examining reports of unusual animals. There are investigators focused specifically on Area 51 and those focused specifically on alien abduction. Some are also investigating reports of hauntings or poltergeist activity. This sort of investigator typically takes a more measured (and often skeptical) approach to these phenomena and examines the evidence through both field studies and research. Many paranormal investigators are searching through a haystack of creaky floors, old electrical systems, gases from old mines, and reflected headlights to try to find that single needle where the observed phenomenon truly cannot be explained by physical causes. It is a very painstaking process, but true paranormal investigators are dilligent and tenatious people who are able to look into unexplained events with a critical and usually scientific eye.
In essence, Parapsychologists are more laboratory scientists. Paranormal investigators take many forms, but most involve a combination of field work and research. Ghost hunting teams, even when they use very technical equipment, are usually less trained, less skeptical, and less scientific. All of these groups are valuable in their own way. They may seem to sometimes overlap in some areas, but they are not the same thing.
Apologies if I provided some information that does not appropriately describe ghost hunters or paranormal investigators. I am speaking from my limited experience with a small number of groups.
There can be some overlap but they are usually distinct fields of study.
For example, Lloyd Auerbach which holds a Master’s degree in parapsychology does conduct field investigations (ghost hunting) at reportedly haunted locations.
However, parapsychology is the study of ESP, PK, and evidence suggestive of survival of consciousness and nothing else. Rhine when forming the Parapsychological Association in 1957 defined it only as the study of ESP and PK and believed that survival research should be left to the field of psychical research (out of which parapsychology was formed). Most parapsychology research does take place in the laboratory or focus as another well informed poster mentioned on the personal characteristics of a psi experience like Out of Body Experiences or Near Death Experiences.
Also, most members of the Parapsychological Association hold doctorate degrees in a conventional area of science (engineering, physics, medicine, psychology), many hold university teaching positions, many have published their psi research in peer reviewed science journals, many did a thesis (Masters) or Dissertation (Doctorate) on a parapsychology related topic.
Paranormal investigator can include anything that falls under the umbrella term paranormal (Big Foot, UFOs, Alien Abduction, etc.) While there are people with advanced degrees working in some of these areas there is not generally the level of education present among parapsychologist, there is not to the best of my knowledge a peer reviewed science journal to publish in (like the Journal of Parapsychology) for most if any of these areas.
Also, the term is too general for science which as a rule likes everything precisely defined so anyone working in a specific area would do better to identify themselves as a Cryptozoologist, UFO investigator, etc.
Ghost Hunters, ah the ghost hunters. Most of course are composed of amateur groups rather than scientist.
Not to say that there are not some groups with members that are very well educated even in fields of science. However, none of those groups currently have a television show.
Most Ghost Hunters are Parapsychologist the same way that reading Psychology Today makes you a Psychologist.
However, let me say that there is some confusion because whether they know it or not (most do not) ghost hunters are working in the field of parapsychology (examining evidence suggestive of survival of consciousness).
Most parapsychologist ignore that part of parapsychology, and likewise ignore field work and retreated into laboratories long ago. Of course they also dismiss the many many non scientist that ghost hunt.
This is unfortunate as that other fields of science like geology and astronomy have amateurs actively involved in the field and are actively supported by professionals working in those fields with advice and support. Parapsychologist have chosen instead to protect their own already questionable (among main stream scientist) reputation rather than support and encourage actual amateur contributions to the field of parapsychology.
So in summary by example when you ghost hunt you are doing parapsychology (even if poorly) but it no more makes you a parapsychologist than bathing your dog makes you a biologist or watering your plants makes you a botanist.
Psiexploration