OBJECTIVE In this postmodern society, people tend to abandon conventional medicine for alternative medical systems, such as acupuncture. What are the reasons for this defiance regarding modern rationality and individualist success? Who turns to acupuncture? METHODS This study (n=89) examined whether world views opposed to the predominance of rationality (i.e., mistrust of science, spiritualit...

In the present study we introduce a novel task for the quantitative assessment of both originality and speed of individual associations. This 'BAG' (Bridge-the-Associative-Gap) task was used to investigate the relationships between creativity and paranormal belief. Twelve strong 'believers' and 12 strong 'skeptics' in paranormal phenomena were selected from a large student population (n > 350)....

The concept of extrasensory perception (ESP) implies that not all perception is dependent upon known physical sensory systems. General ESP is typically sub-divided into three types: (i) telepathy (i.e., alleged direct transference of thoughts), (ii) clairvoyance (i.e., alleged awareness of remote objects or events other than by use of the known sensory channels), and (iii) precognition (i.e., a...

This is a study of risk perception in relation to New Age (NA) beliefs, including traditional folk superstition and belief in paranormal phenomena, as well as use of alternative healing practices. Data were also obtained on trust dimensions and on personality and psychopathology variables, as well as religious involvement. It was found that four factors accounted for the investigated NA beliefs...