The Multivariable Multiaxial Suggestibility Inventory-2 (MMSI-2): a psychometric alternative to measure and explain supernatural experiences

This paper presents the English adaptation of the Multivariable Multiaxial Suggestibility Inventory-2 (MMSI-2), a questionnaire developed specifically for psychological assessment and prediction of anomalous phenomena. The sample consisted of 613 respondents from England (47.6% were women and 52.4% men). All of them were of legal age (mean = 34.5; standard deviation = 8.15). An exploratory factor analysis was applied, and three confirmatory factor models were adjusted. Omega coefficients and test-retest designs were used for reliability analysis. The MMSI-2 has a valid internal structure consisting of five macrofactors: Clinical Personality Tendencies (CPT), Anomalous Perceived Phenomena (APP), Incoherent Manipulations (IMA), Altered States of Consciousness (ASC), and Openness (OP). Omega coefficients for CPT and OP factors were low but acceptable. Furthermore, test-retest trials were excellent for all scales and factors. The psychological factors CPT, IMA, and ASC predicted 18.3% of the variance of anomalous experiences (APP). The authors concluded the English MMSI-2 was a valid and reliable test for the evaluation of anomalous phenomena but recommend that subsequent research reviews the predictive quality of the underlying model

Critical thinking predicts reductions in Spanish physicians' stress levels and promotes fake news detection

The prevalence of pseudoscientific beliefs and fake news increased during the coronavirus crisis. Misinformation streams such as these potentially pose risks to people's health. Thus, knowing how these pseudoscientific beliefs and fake news impact the community of internists may be useful for improving primary care services. In this research, analyses of stress levels, effectiveness in detecting fake news, use of critical thinking (CP), and attitudes toward pseudosciences in internists during the COVID-19 crisis were performed. A total of 1129 internists participated. Several multiple regression models were applied using the forward stepwise method to determine the weight of CP and physicians' attitudes toward pseudosciences in predicting reductions in stress levels and facilitating the detection of fake news. The use of critical thinking predicted 46.9% of the reduction in stress levels. Similarly, skeptical attitudes and critical thinking predicted 56.1% of the hits on fake news detection tests. The stress levels of physicians during the coronavirus pandemic were clinically significant. The efficacy of fake news detection increases by 30.7% if the individual was a physician. Study outcomes indicate that the use of critical thinking and skeptical attitudes reduce stress levels and allow better detection of fake news. The importance of how to promote critical and skeptical attitudes in the field of medicine is discussed

Global evidence of environmental and lifestyle effects on medical expenditures across 154 countries

Increases of health care expenditures (HCEs) challenge the financial capacity of governments and bring into question the quality of health care services in each country. It is known that modifiable risk factors (e.g. alcohol consumption) and certain environmental variables allow HCEs to be modeled without impairing the quality of healthcare services. We provide a worldwide statistical analysis of how HCEs can be reduced and with what statistical power/probability. The design was retrospective and was based on linear and nonlinear multiple regression models. The HCEs, alcohol consumption, renewable energy consumption, suicide rate, economic reversal of the environmental damage caused by CO2 emissions (ERCDE) and sales-focused jobs (SJs) were measured. The type of government and the most searched Twitter worldwide topics were also analyzed. A total of 154 countries (n) participated. Reducing alcohol consumption, SJs and ERCDE predicts linear reductions of 33.1% of HCEs. Annual alcohol consumption between 4 and 5 L per person was found to have no negative impact on HCEs. Beyond this tipping point, alcohol consumption did predict significant increases in HCEs. It was also found that renewable energy consumption exponentially explained 35.2% of the reductions in HCEs. HCEs can be reduced in each country by controlling the consumption of renewable energies, the ERCDE, and the SJs. Specifically, by controlling alcohol consumption, SJs, and ERCDE the economic reduction in HCEs could be reduced annually by as much as $228.466 per person. We offer tipping points that governments can use to make effective health policy decisions that include sustainable development goals

Paranormal belief and well-being: The moderating roles of transliminality and psychopathology-related facets

Evaluation of prior research suggests that belief in the paranormal is more likely to be associated with negative psychological functioning, when presented alongside cognitive-perceptual factors that askew thinking and insight. The current study examined this notion using a sample of 3,084 participants (1,382 males, 1,693 females, nine non-binary). Respondents completed self-report measures assessing Paranormal Belief, Transliminality, psychopathology-related characteristics (Schizotypy and Manic-Depressive Experience), and well-being (Perceived Stress and Somatic Complaints). Responses were analysed via correlations and moderation. Paranormal Belief correlated positively with Transliminality, psychopathology-related measures, Perceived Stress, and Somatic Complaints. Moderation analyses revealed that Transliminality and psychopathology-related variables (i.e., the Unusual Experiences and Cognitive Disorganisation subscales of schizotypy, and Manic-Depressive Experience) interacted with Paranormal Belief in complex ways and were allied to higher scores on negative well-being outcomes. This indicated that within paranormal believers, Transliminality and specific psychopathology-related variables in combination predicted susceptibility to negative well-being outcomes

Follow-up on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) remote viewing experiments

Objectives: Since 1972, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) commissioned several research programs on remote viewing (RV) that were progressively declassified from 1995 to 2003. The main objectives of this research were to statistically replicate the original findings and address the question: What are the underlying cognitive mechanisms involved in RV? The research focused on emotional intelligence (EI) theory and intuitive information processing as possible hypothetical mechanisms. Methods: We used a quasi-experimental design with new statistical control techniques based on structural equation modeling, analysis of invariance, and forced-choice experiments to accurately objectify results. We measured emotional intelligence with the Mayer—Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test. A total of 347 participants who were nonbelievers in psychic experiences completed an RV experiment using targets based on location coordinates. A total of 287 participants reported beliefs in psychic experiences and completed another RV experiment using targets based on images of places. Moreover, we divided the total sample into further subsamples for the purpose of replicating the findings and also used different thresholds on standard deviations to test for variation in effect sizes. The hit rates on the psi-RV task were contrasted with the estimated chance. Results: The results of our first group analysis were nonsignificant, but the analysis applied to the second group produced significant RV-related effects corresponding to the positive influence of EI (i.e., hits in the RV experiments were 19.5% predicted from EI) with small to moderate effect sizes (between 0. 457 and 0.853). Conclusions: These findings have profound implications for a new hypothesis of anomalous cognitions relative to RV protocols. Emotions perceived during RV sessions may play an important role in the production of anomalous cognitions. We propose the Production-Identification-Comprehension (PIC) emotional model as a function of behavior that could enhance VR test success

Paranormal Experience Profiles and Their Association With Variations in Executive Functions: A Latent Profile Analysis

This study investigated relationships between inter-class variations in paranormal experience and executive functions. A sample of 516 adults completed self-report measures assessing personal encounter-based paranormal occurrences (i.e., Experience, Practitioner Visiting, and Ability), executive functions (i.e., General Executive Function, Working and Everyday Memory, and Decision Making) together with Emotion Regulation and Belief in the Paranormal. Paranormal belief served as a measure of convergent validity for experience-based phenomena. Latent profile analysis (LPA) combined experience-based indices into four classes based on sample subpopulation scores. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) then examined interclass differences. Results revealed that breadth of paranormal experience was associated with higher levels of executive functioning difficulties for General Executive Function, Working Memory, Decision Making, and Belief in the Paranormal. On the Everyday Memory Questionnaire, scores differed on Attention Tracking (focus loss) and Factor 3 (visual reconstruction), but not Retrieval (distinct memory failure). In the case of the Emotion Regulation Scale, class scores varied on Expressive Suppression (control), however, no difference was evident on Cognitive Reappraisal (reframing). Overall, inter-class comparisons identified subtle differences in executive functions related to experience. Since the present study was exploratory, sampled only a limited subset of executive functions, and used subjective, self-report measures, further research is necessary to confirm these outcomes. This should employ objective tests and include a broader range of executive functions

¿Los OVNIs son fantasmas? Análisis sobre la concepción psicosocial de las creencias en seres extraterrestres y fenómenos paranormales: justificación estadística del CEU-28

Las experiencias ufológicas describen contactos con UFOs, seres extraterrestres, visitas alienígenas encubiertas y abducciones. Aunque la ciencia aporta suficientes avances que apuestan por la existencia de vida fuera de la tierra, estas experiencias han sido relacionadas y equiparadas con las creencias en lo paranormal bajo un modelo integrativo dado el contenido mágico que manifiestan. En el siguiente informe se presenta un estudio psicosocial a partir de la justificación estadística del CEU-28 (Cuestionario de Experiencias Ufológicas), que examina las dimensiones subyacentes de las experiencias-creencias UFO, así como su impacto social en la cultura hispanohablante. La muestra estuvo formada por 309 sujetos seleccionados accidentalmente de la población general española. El Análisis Factorial confirmó que las experiencias UFO pueden ser representadas en base a cuatro dimensiones: Creencias Ufológicas (C1), Contactos UFO (E1), Temor a las Experiencias UFO (T1) y Creencias de Forma (C2). El análisis de los reactivos sugirió que dichas creencias podían presentar concepciones tanto de tipo mágico-divergente (concepciones irracionales) como de tipo crítico-divergente (concepciones racionales), hecho que invita a revisar la validez del modelo integrativo incluyendo la discriminación de ambas concepciones

Interdisciplinary Review of Demonic Possession Between 1980 and 2023: A Compendium of Scientific Cases

Episodes of demonic or spirit possession, where individuals perceive their bodies and minds as being controlled by supernatural entities, have been the subject of extensive research across various disciplines. Despite this, the extent to which existing scientific explanations can account for these phenomena is still uncertain, especially in terms of the aspects that remain unexplained. This official review aims to clarify the current scientific understanding of the origins, mechanisms, and causes of these seemingly extraordinary experiences. Our analysis includes 52 documented cases of possession, reviewed from literature published between 1890 and 2023 and incorporating insights from psychology, medicine, anthropology, and theology. We examine common symptom patterns, delve into the research conducted, and evaluate how many cases are still unexplained within the existing behavioral science framework. Quantitative models indicate a 0.01923 probability of a possession case being scientifically unexplained. The likelihood of discovering new, truly unexplained cases of demonic possession in the future is estimated at 0.0031, with a 0.0023 probability of encountering five such cases in a single year. Moreover, we assess the medical and psychological interventions employed in these cases and propose practical guidelines for the safe use of exorcisms and specific pharmacological treatments. This study advocates for the integration of therapeutic interventions, combined with the expertise of anthropologists for culturally sensitive actions and Catholic Church priests for spiritual guidance, including exorcisms where appropriate as determined by ecclesiastical authorities. Our conclusion suggests that integrative approaches provide the most comprehensive clinical support in such cases and underscore how possession episodes challenge our scientific understanding of consciousness and its boundaries

Bias analysis in forensic and non-forensic psychiatric assessments

In this research, we provide two important contributions to the psychiatric community. First, we offer the first valid and reliable cognitive test that measures forensic clinicians' ability to detect and avoid diagnostic biases in psychiatric assessments. Second, we also estimate the prevalence of clinical decision bias detection and prevention ability among psychiatrists and psychologists. A total of 1069 clinicians from different specialties (317 psychiatrists and 752 clinical psychologists, of which 286 were forensic clinicians) participated in this research. The Checklist of Biases for Clinicians (BIAS-31) was developed, and its psychometric properties were analyzed. The prevalence of bias detection and prevention was estimated using BIAS-31 scores. The BIAS-31 is valid and reliable for measuring clinicians' ability to avoid and detect clinical biases. Between 41.2% and 55.8% of clinicians try to avoid biased clinical judgments. Likewise, between 48.5% and 57.5% of clinicians were able to correctly detect the biases involved in the diagnostic assessment process. We did not expect to obtain these prevalences. Therefore, we discuss to what extent specific training in the prevention of diagnostic biases is necessary and propose several clinical strategies to prevent a priori the occurrence of biases in the psychiatric assessment

Evaluating the psychometric properties of the Chronic Time Pressure Inventory using Rasch analysis

Background Chronic time pressure is a common source of everyday stress and anxiety. Noting this, the Chronic Time Pressure Inventory (CTPI) was designed to measure the construct within general samples. The CTPI was validated using procedures informed by classical test theory. This identified a bifactor solution, comprising a general factor encompassing two overlapping factors: Cognitive Awareness of Time Shortage and Feeling Harried. Furthermore, the CTPI demonstrated good psychometric integrity. Explicitly, internal consistency, satisfactory convergent validity with the Perceived Stress Scale, and measurement invariance. While these outcomes indicated that the CTPI was an effective measure of chronic time pressure, the scale was not subjected to analysis of item-person functioning (i.e., Rasch evaluation). Methods This study accordingly examined the psychometric properties of the CTPI using Rasch analysis. A general sample of 748 (595 females, 153 males) participants completed the measure online. Results Initial findings recommended modification of the response scale. Subsequent analyses revealed unidimensionality, adequate item/person reliability, and gender invariance. Overall, findings confirmed that the CTPI was a valid instrument for assessing perceptions of chronic time pressure within general population samples. Noting the lack of items aligning with higher ability levels, future work should develop the CTPI by adding more complex positively keyed items