Belief in precognition increases sense of control over life

Loss of control increases belief in precognition, belief in precognition increases control

2013-08-08

(Press-News.org) People given scientific evidence supporting our ability to predict the future feel a greater sense of control over their lives, according to research published August 7 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Katharine Greenaway and colleagues from the University of Queensland, Australia.

One group of study participants read a paragraph stating that researchers had found evidence supporting the existence of precognition, while another group read a related paper that refuted these findings. Both papers were published in the same issue of a scientific journal. On a subsequent survey, people who read the paper confirming our ability to predict the future agreed more strongly with statements like "I am in control of my own life", "My life is determined by my own actions" and "I am able to live my life how I wish" than the group who read a paper denying the existence of precognition.

In a second experiment, participants who were made to feel a loss of control and then asked to read the same pieces reported feeling an increased sense of control after reading about the existence of precognition, but not when they read that it did not exist. People who were made to feel more in control of their lives before reading and answering questions reported no difference in their subsequent sense of control. Based on these studies, the researchers conclude that psychic predictability can provide the psychological system with a compensatory boost in perceived control. As Greenaway explains, "Humans are predisposed towards prediction; we like to know what is going to happen in our lives. Belief in paranormal abilities like precognition can help people meet this need for predictability by making us feel as though we can control our destiny."

The study concludes, "We found that people were drawn to predictability when they experienced loss of control–even to the extent of endorsing seemingly irrational beliefs about precognition."

### Citation: Greenaway KH, Louis WR, Hornsey MJ (2013) Loss of Control Increases Belief in Precognition and Belief in Precognition Increases Control. PLOS ONE 8(8): e71327. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071327

Financial Disclosure: Preparation of this paper was facilitated by support to the lead author from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research: Social Interactions, Identity, and Well-being Program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071327

Disclaimer: This press release refers to upcoming articles in PLOS ONE. The releases have been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed in these are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLOS. PLOS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information. About PLOS ONE: PLOS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ a combination of peer review and post-publication rating and commenting, to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLOS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS), the open-access publisher whose goal is to make the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource.

All works published in PLOS ONE are Open Access. Everything is immediately available—to read, download, redistribute, include in databases and otherwise use—without cost to anyone, anywhere, subject only to the condition that the original authors and source are properly attributed. For more information about PLOS ONE relevant to journalists, bloggers and press officers, including details of our press release process and our embargo policy, see the everyONE blog at http://everyone.plos.org/media.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Angry opponents seem bigger to tied up men

2013-08-08

A physical handicap like being tied down makes men over-estimate an opponent's size and under-estimate their own, according to research published August 7 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Daniel Fessler and Colin Holbrook from the University of California, Los Angeles. Participants who were tied down in a chair envisioned an angry man in a picture as being taller than when they made the same type of guess while simply sitting in the chair without being restrained. In a second test where they were asked to state their own height based on visual marks on a wall, ...

Researchers map complex motion-detection circuitry in flies

2013-08-08

Some optical illusions look like they're in motion even though the picture is static. A new map of the fly brain also suggests motion—or at least how the fly sees movement. The new research, published in the August 8 issue of Nature, takes advantage of a high-throughput approach that speeds the charting of neuronal connections involved in motion detection. Neurons snake through the brain, each reaching out and touching many other neurons. In the human brain, 100 billion neurons make on average 1,000 connections each. That intricate network is the secret behind all the ...

New proto-mammal fossil sheds light on evolution of earliest mammals

2013-08-08

A newly discovered fossil reveals the evolutionary adaptations of a 165-million-year-old proto-mammal, providing evidence that traits such as hair and fur originated well before the rise of the first true mammals. The biological features of this ancient mammalian relative, named Megaconus mammaliaformis, are described by scientists from the University of Chicago in the Aug 8 issue of Nature. "We finally have a glimpse of what may be the ancestral condition of all mammals, by looking at what is preserved in Megaconus. It allows us to piece together poorly understood details ...

NIH, Lacks family reach understanding to share genomic data of HeLa cells

2013-08-08

The National Institutes of Health today announced in Nature that it has reached an understanding with the family of the late Henrietta Lacks to allow biomedical researchers controlled access to the whole genome data of cells derived from her tumor, commonly known as HeLa cells. These cells have already been used extensively in scientific research and have helped make possible some of the most important medical advances of the past 60 years. These include the development of modern vaccines, cancer treatments, in vitro fertilization techniques, and many others. HeLa cells ...

Scientists identify biomarker to predict immune response risk after stem cell transplants

2013-08-08

INDIANAPOLIS -- Researchers from Indiana University, the University of Michigan, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified and validated a biomarker accessible in blood tests that could be used to predict which stem cell transplant patients are at highest risk for a potentially fatal immune response called graft-versus-host disease. Although transplant specialists have been able to reduce its impact, graft-versus-host disease remains a leading cause of death among patients who receive a stem cell transplant from another ...

Narrower range of helpful bacteria in guts of C-section infants

2013-08-08

The range of helpful bacteria in the guts of infants delivered by caesarean section, during their first two years of life, is narrower than that of infants delivered vaginally, indicates a small study published online in the journal Gut. This has implications for the development of the immune system, say the researchers, particularly as the C-section infants had lower levels of the major group of gut bacteria associated with good gut health, Bacteroidetes phylum, as well as chemicals that help curb allergic responses. The researchers assessed the patterns of bacterial ...

Rheumatoid arthritis heightens risk of dangerous leg and lung blood clots

2013-08-08

Rheumatoid arthritis significantly increases the risk of potentially fatal blood clots in the legs and lungs, reveals a large nationwide study published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Between 11% and 30% of people who develop a blood clot in the legs, known as a deep vein thrombosis or DVT, or a blood clot in the lungs, known as a pulmonary embolism, or PE, die within 30 days of their diagnosis, the evidence suggests. Several studies have shown that chronic inflammation, which typifies rheumatoid arthritis, is linked to a heightened risk of thickened ...

UW researchers publish study on genome of aggressive cervical cancer that killed Henrietta Lacks, subject of bestselling book

2013-08-08

A team from the University of Washington has unveiled a comprehensive portrait of the genome of the world's first immortal cell line, known as HeLa. The cell line was derived in 1951 from an aggressive cervical cancer that killed Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old African-American tobacco farmer and mother of five – the subject of the 2010 New York Times bestseller, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. They will also be the first group to publish under a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy for HeLa genomic data, established through discussions with Lacks' family. The ...

Newly discovered bacterial partnership changes ocean chemistry

2013-08-08

In a discovery that further demonstrates just how unexpected and unusual nature can be, scientists have found two strains of bacteria whose symbiotic relationship is unlike anything seen before. Long, thin, hairlike Thioploca (meaning "sulfur braids" in Spanish) trichomes form chains down into marine sediment, which tiny anammox cells ride down like an elevator. At the bottom, the anammox cells consume the waste products of the Thioploca: nitrite and ammonium, or "fixed" nitrogen. Nitrogen is a crucial building block of life, a prerequisite for photosynthesis. While ...

Access to HeLa cell genome data restored following agreement

2013-08-08

BETHESDA, MD -- The first study to sequence and analyze the entire genome of a HeLa cell line, along with access to its sequence data, has been published today (Wednesday, August 7) in its final version, by G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, an open-access, scientific journal of the Genetics Society of America. The article, "The Genomic and Transcriptomic Landscape of a HeLa Cell Line," by Landry et al., was authored by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and was published in an early online version March 11, 2013. Genomic ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Scientists trace microplastics in fertilizer from fields to the beach

The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Women’s Health: Taking paracetamol during pregnancy does not increase risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disabilities, confirms new gold-standard evidence review