BPS Core Textbooks Series

Developed in collaboration with the British Psychological Society

Chapter 20 – A Most Haunted House: Parapsychology’s Boundary-work

Chapter Summary

This chapter explores the haunted margins of psychology by tracing its complex and often contradictory relationship with parapsychology. Using the concept of ‘boundary-work’ as its tool for critical thinking, the chapter investigates how psychology has historically defined itself by what it excludes, particularly the paranormal. Through compelling case studies, including Borley Rectory and the medium Leonora Piper, the chapter examines how psychology’s scientific identity has been shaped by the very phenomena it seeks to dismiss. It offers a historical analysis from the late nineteenth century until after the Second World War, revealing shifting attitudes toward apparitions, telepathy, and extrasensory perception. Alongside biographical sketches of key figures such as Frederic Myers, William James, J. B. Rhine, and Carl Jung, the chapter interrogates the epistemological, ontological, and power dynamics that underpin psychology’s disciplinary boundaries. Ultimately, it argues that parapsychology has functioned as a kind of ‘constitutive other’ for psychology: never fully accepted, yet never entirely absent, and often responsible for shaping the very tools and methods of psychological science.

Chapter 20 – Quiz

  • Chapter 20 – Flashcards

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  • Chapter 20 – Key Readings

    Asprem, E. (2010), A nice arrangement of heterodoxies: William Mcdougall and the professionalization of psychical research. Journal of the History of the Behavioural Sciences, 46(2) 123-143. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.20422 

    Blum, D. (2014). Ghost hunters: William James and the search for scientific proof of life after death. Penguin Books. 

    Cypert, R., & Petro, M. S. (2024). A faith in science: Gardner Murphy and parapsychology. History of the Human Sciences, 38(1), 78-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/09526951241280534 

    Evrard, R., Pratte, E. A., & Cardeña, E. (2018). Pierre Janet and the enchanted boundary of psychical research. History of Psychology, 21(2), 100–125. https://doi.org/10.1037/hop0000086 

    Gyimesi, J. (2012). Sándor Ferenczi and the problem of telepathy. History of the Human Sciences, 25(2), 131-148. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952695111434253 

    Gieryn, T. F. (1983). Boundary-work and the demarcation of science from non-science: Strains and interests in professional ideologies of scientists. American Sociological Review 48(6), 781-795. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095325 

    Hacking, I. (1988). Telepathy: Origins of randomization in experimental design. Isis, 79, 427–451. http://www.jstor.org/stable/234674 

    Kloosterman, I. (2012). Psychical research and parapsychology interpreted: suggestions from the international historiography of psychical research and parapsychology for investigating its history in the Netherlands. History of the Human Sciences, 25(2), 2-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952695111421580 

    Lachapelle, S. (2005). Attempting science: the creation and early development of the Institut Métapsychique International in Paris, 1919-1931. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 41(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.20061 

    Lamont, P. (2013). Spiritualism and a mid-Victorian crisis of evidence. Historical Journal, 56(3), 833–860. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X04004030 

    Mülberger, A., & Balltondre, M. (2012). Metapsychics in Spain: acknowledging or questioning the marvellous? History of the Human Sciences, 25(2), 108-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952695112439374 

    Owen, A. (1989). The darkened room: Women, power and spiritualism in late nineteenth century England. Virago. 

    Parra, A. (2025), Spiritualism and Psychology in Argentina: The Inception of Parapsychology in the Scientific Mainstream (1948–1955). Journal of the History of the Behavioural Sciences, 61: e70035. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.70035 

    Sommer, A. (2012). Psychical research and the origins of American psychology: Hugo Münsterberg, William James and Eusapia Palladino. History of the Human Sciences, 25(2), 23–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952695112439376 

    Wolffram, H. (2006), Parapsychology on the couch: The psychology of occult belief in Germany, c. 1870–1939. Journal of the History of the Behavioural Sciences, 42(3) 237-260. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.20171 

    Wooffitt, R., & Allistone, S. (2005). Towards a Discursive Parapsychology: Language and the Laboratory Study of Anomalous Communication. Theory & Psychology, 15(3), 325-355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354305053218 

  • Chapter 20 – Reflective Questions

    1. How has psychology historically used parapsychology to define its own disciplinary boundaries? 
    2. Why might figures such as Leonora Piper be considered both central and marginal to the development of psychological knowledge? 
    3. In what ways did J.B. Rhine’s methods in parapsychology contribute to mainstream psychological science? 
    4. What does the chapter suggest about the ontological status of paranormal phenomena in psychology’s history? 
    5. How might the concept of a ‘haunted discipline’ help us understand the lingering presence of excluded ideas in contemporary psychology?

  • Chapter 20 – Weblinks

    American Psychological Association (APA) Division 27: A Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA) (Academic Resource)

    https://scra27.org

    This massive database promotes community psychology practise, research, and theory on a global scale. The site includes teaching resources, practise tools and materials covering empowerment, prevention and liberation psychology for students to access.

    Liberation Psychology – Wikipedia Page (Educational Resource)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_psychology

    This page gives an accessible and detailed description of liberation psychology, including information on key studies and cultural contexts to help students gain and in-depth and clear understanding of the concept and its applications.

    Participatory Action Research: A Toolkit – University of Reading (Academic Resource)

    https://research.reading.ac.uk/research-blog/2023/07/03/participatory-action-research-a-toolkit/

    This webpage contains a comprehensive and detailed explanation of the PAR Toolkit and its applications, enabling students to engage more practically with the concepts discussed to boost their ability to apply the theories discussed in the chapter.

    Introduction to Community Psychology (YouTube Lecture)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Ay3YVqLHw

    This 9-minute YouTube lecture delivered by Dr. Charlie Collins gives an easy-to-understand explanation of the concept of Community Psychology, clearly explaining the key principles and theoretical models of the theory.

    Community Psychology Section – The British Psychological Society

    https://www.bps.org.uk/member-networks/community-psychology-section

    This webpage contains an extensive database of resources and contextual information on Community Psychology, including pieces focusing on the British Perspective to give students access to contemporary work in this field, helping to develop their understanding of this theory further.