Measuring Extraordinary Experiences and Beliefs: A Validation and Reliability Study
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Plain English Summary
When someone says they believe in psychic phenomena, is that the same as having actually experienced it? Until this study, there wasn't a proper scientific tool to tell those apart. The researchers built a 20-question survey called the Noetic Experience and Belief Scale that separately measures paranormal belief and paranormal experience on a 0-to-100 sliding scale. They tested it on 361 everyday Americans and again on 646 lab participants. Results were solid -- people got consistent scores when retested a month later, and it matched up well with existing questionnaires. Belief and experience were related but clearly distinct, and scores had nothing to do with personality, health, or mood. All data is publicly available online. This tool lets researchers properly separate the 'I think it's real' crowd from the 'I've lived it' crowd -- a distinction that could sharpen future studies.
Abstract
Background: Belief in the paranormal is widespread worldwide. Recent surveys suggest that subjective experiences of the paranormal are common. A concise instrument that adequately evaluates beliefs as distinct from experiences does not currently exist. To address this gap, we created the Noetic Experiences and Beliefs Scale (NEBS) which evaluates belief and experience as separate constructs. Methods: The NEBS is a 20-item survey with 10 belief and 10 experience items rated on a visual analog scale from 0-100. In an observational study, the survey was administered to 361 general population adults in the United States and a subsample of 96 one month later. Validity, reliability and internal consistency were evaluated. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to confirm the latent variables of belief and experience. The survey was then administered to a sample of 646 IONS Discovery Lab participants to evaluate divergent validity and confirm belief and experience as latent variables of the model in a different population. Results: The NEBS demonstrated convergent validity, reliability and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha Belief 0.90; Experience 0.93) and test-retest reliability (Belief: r = 0.83; Experience: r = 0.77). A confirmatory factor analysis model with belief and experience as latent variables demonstrated a good fit. The factor model was confirmed as having a good fit and divergent validity was established in the sample of 646 IONS Discovery Lab participants. Conclusions: The NEBS is a short, valid, and reliable instrument for evaluating paranormal belief and experience.
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📋 Cite this paper
Wahbeh, Helané, Yount, Garret, Vieten, Cassandra, Radin, Dean, Delorme, Arnaud (2019). Measuring Extraordinary Experiences and Beliefs: A Validation and Reliability Study. F1000Research. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.20409.3
@article{wahbeh_2019_noetic,
title = {Measuring Extraordinary Experiences and Beliefs: A Validation and Reliability Study},
author = {Wahbeh, Helané and Yount, Garret and Vieten, Cassandra and Radin, Dean and Delorme, Arnaud},
year = {2019},
journal = {F1000Research},
doi = {10.12688/f1000research.20409.3},
}