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The relationship between exposure to televised messages about paranormalphenomena and paranormal beliefsGlenn G. Sparks a; C. Leigh Nelson b; Rose G. Campbell b

a Professor in the Department of Communication, Purdue University, b Doctoral candidate in the Departmentof Communication, Purdue University,

Online Publication Date: 01 June 1997

To cite this Article Sparks, Glenn G., Nelson, C. Leigh and Campbell, Rose G.(1997)'The relationship between exposure to televisedmessages about paranormal phenomena and paranormal beliefs',Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media,41:3,345 — 359

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Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media/Summer 1997

The Relationship Between Exposure toTelevised Messages About Paranormal

Phenomena and Paranormal Beliefs

Glenn G. Sparks, C. Leigh Nelson, and Rose G. Campbell

This paper seeks to continue exploration begun by Sparks, Hansen, andShah (1994) into the possible relationship between exposure to mediamessages and paranormal beliefs. It reports the results of a random-sam-ple survey that revealed that exposure to particular programs that regular-ly depict paranormal activity is associated with an increased tendency toendorse paranormal beliefs. The fact that this association is found only forindividuals who report no prior experience with paranormal phenomenamay hold implications for cultivation theory's resonance hypothesis.Suggestions for future study in this area are recommended.

Over the last fifteen years, scholars from various disciplines have shown increas-ing interest in the study of paranormal beliefs. The term "paranormal" is reserved forclaims made about the existence of a wide range of extraordinary phenomena thatinclude such things as ESP (extrasensory perception), haunted houses, ghosts, dev-ils, spirits, reincarnation, telekinesis (the ability of the mind to move or bend objectsjust by thinking), UFOs (unidentified flying objects), astrology, and astral-projection(one's spirit leaving the body, traveling some distance, and then returning). In arecent national survey of 1,236 adults, Gallup and Newport (1991) reported thatparanormal beliefs were "widespread," with nearly 50% of the respondents report-ing belief in ESP and almost 30% reporting belief in haunted houses. And a recentissue of Time magazine (Jaroff, 1995) reported the results of a Roper poll indicatingthat, "nearly a quarter of Americans believe in extraterrestrial UFOs and astrology..."(p. 75). These beliefs are held by people of various demographic groups, occupa-tions and economic levels. As Donald Regan, chief of staff for President Ronald

Glenn G. Sparks (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1983) is a Professor in the Department ofCommunication at Purdue University. His research interests focus on the cognitive and emotional effects ofmass media. C. Leigh Nelson (M.A., Washington State University, 1991) is a doctoral candidate in theDepartment of Communication at Purdue University. Her research interests focus on the sociological andcognitive effects of the mass media. Rose Campbell (M.S., Purdue University, 1993) is a doctoral candidatein the Department of Communication at Purdue University. Her research interests center on social factorscontributing to wellness, and she is particularly interested in the influence of emotionally compelling mes-sages on health-promoting behavior. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting ofthe International Communication Association, Albuquerque, New Mexico, May, 1995. This manuscript wasaccepted for publication in January. 1997.

© 1997 Broadcast Education Association \ournal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 41, 1997, pp. 345-359

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346 Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media/Summer 1997

Reagan, recently revealed, paranormal beliefs played a regular role in the affairs ofthe U.S. government. Regan (1988) reported that the President and his wife, Nancy,regularly relied on the advice of a San Francisco astrologer (Joan Quigley) prior toplanning important events. Such behavior is not unusual among politicians; Korem(1988) documents other instances throughout human history where world leadershave relied upon the advice of astrologers and psychics.

But widespread belief in the paranormal has often been bemoaned by skepticsand scholars alike. In a guest essay for Time (April 13, 1992), James Randi, a magi-cian and skeptic, wrote:

Acceptance of nonsense as a harmless aberration can be dangerous to us. We livein a society that is enlarging the boundaries of knowledge at an unprecedented rate,and we cannot keep up with much more than a small portion of what is made avail-able to us. To mix our data input with childish notions of magic and fantasy is to crip-ple our perception of the world around us. We must reach for the truth, not for theghosts of dead absurdities, (p. 80)

Several years ago, the concern among scientific skeptics for the widespreadacceptance of various paranormal claims led to the formation of the Committee forthe Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP). This organizationlaunched the journal, The Skeptical Inquirer, which has regularly served as a watch-dog and debunker of paranormal claims for more than a decade. According to Kurtz(1985), the purpose of this journal is to reveal the many "wishful" and "exaggerat-ed" claims frequently made about paranormal events and to provide the public withthe opportunity, "to learn about dissenting scientific studies..." (p. 357).

The Alleged Role of the Mass Media inFostering Paranormal Beliefs

One assumption or claim that consistently appears across all of the literature deal-ing with paranormal beliefs is that the mass media should accept a major responsi-bility for encouraging people toward uncritical acceptance of paranormal claims.For example, Randi (1992) noted in his essay that the reason for the prevalence of"absurd beliefs" among the populaces of every culture "...is to be found in theuncritical acceptance and promotion of these notions by the media..." (p. 80).

Among academics, the indictment of the media for encouraging the adoption ofparanormal beliefs is even harsher than Randi's. Even a casual perusal of the litera-ture reveals that its scholarly contributors subscribe widely to the notion that themedia unduly influence people to accept paranormal claims by giving excessiveattention to reports of paranormal activity, and by encouraging uncritical acceptanceof the veracity of these reports (Feder, 1984; Kurtz, 1985). For example, Kurtz (1985)refers to the, "dominant influence of the media in forming [paranormal] attitudes andbeliefs," and he charges that the media often "behave totally irresponsibly in treat-ing 'paranormal' occurrences" (pp. 359-360). Along this same line, Feder (1984)


Sparks, Nelson, Campbell/PARANORMAL PHENOMENA AND PARANORMAL BELIEFS 347

blames the media for the problems faced by archaeologists in their attempts to over-come the many reports of "unverified claims."

The assumption that the media play a crucial role in influencing these paranormalbeliefs is not new (see Mailer & Lundeen, 1932), but it appears to have become moreprevalent since the rise of television. In support of the notion that today's media doinfluence the tendency to accept paranormal claims, some surveys have found thatrespondents often cite stories in the media as the reason for their beliefs (Alcock,1981; Evans, 1973). And according to CSICOP (B. Karr, personal communication,April, 1993), at least fifty newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times and TheIndianapolis Star publish disclaimers next to the daily horoscope column (also seeCersh, 1987). Presumably these disclaimers are intended to discourage readers frombelieving in the accuracy of the astrological predictions.

Surprisingly, despite the widespread assumption that media depictions of the para-normal influence people to believe in paranormal phenomena, there appears to belittle direct empirical evidence to substantiate this claim. This is particularly inter-esting in light of the fact that the scientists, philosophers and skeptics, who oftenblame the media for disseminating scientifically unproven ideas about the paranor-mal, simultaneously appear to be relatively unconcerned about offering scientificevidence for their own claim of the pernicious effects of the media in this domain.In one recent experiment designed to correct this state of affairs, Sparks, Hansen,and Shah (1994) reported that the nature of a truth claim or disclaimer that was pre-sented prior to the entertainment program Beyond Reality, affected viewers' subse-quent paranormal beliefs. Those viewers who watched the program after hearing adisclaimer about the fictional nature of the material were significantly less likely toendorse paranormal beliefs after the program than viewers who heard no disclaimer.Another recent study by Sparks, Sparks, and Gray (1995) confirmed that subjectswho view a program depicting UFOs may subsequently tend to increase the ten-dency to express beliefs in the existence of UFOs.

In this paper, we were interested in continuing the investigation of potential mediaimpact on paranormal beliefs. While the study by Sparks et al. (1994) contributedsome initial insight into this potential, it was carried out in the highly controlledenvironment of the laboratory. In the study reported here, we examined the rela-tionship between television exposure and paranormal beliefs through a random-sample telephone survey. Although this method does not permit clear statementsabout causal relationships, it does provide an opportunity to generalize beyond asmall sample and arrive at a better understanding of the prevalence of paranormalbeliefs, and their relation to media consumption in the larger population. Moreover,this relationship can be examined in conjunction with a number of demographicvariables that can provide insights beyond most laboratory experiments. Andalthough the question of causality may be ultimately out of reach, random-samplesurveys can provide intriguing hints about causal processes, depending on the vari-ables measured. In short, it is highly desirable to have both experimental and surveydata pertaining to the relationship between media exposure and paranormal beliefs.



Theoretical Expectations

There is an entire tradition of research in media cultivation which suggests that expo-sure to standard, dramatic entertainment programming can cultivate viewers' beliefsabout the nature and frequency of the depicted events in the real world (Gerbner, Gross,Morgan, &-Signorielli, 1986; Ogles, 1987). While the specific cognitive mechanismsthat may be responsible for cultivation effects are not well understood (see Hawkins,Pingree, & Adler, 1987), some have suggested (Ogles & Hoffner, 1987) that as viewersmake judgments about the real world, they tend to rely upon media images that arereadily available in memory due to heavy or recent exposure to TV entertainment [seeTversky & Kahneman (1973), for a discussion of the availability heuristic and Shrum(1996), for a more formal test of these processes involving media cultivation].Consistent with this idea, a number of recent studies reveal that subjects are moreinclined to believe that statements are true when they are repeated (Arkes, Hackett, &Boehm, 1989; Bacon, 1979; Begg, Anas, & Farinacci, 1992; Begg & Armour, 1991;Hasher, Goldstein, & Toppino, 1977; Schwartz, 1982). Moreover, as Zaragoza andMitchell (1996) note, "...this increased belief in repeated statements occurs regardlessof the actual truth of the statements" (p. 294). If mere repetition of ideas can lead togreater acceptance, it seems reasonable to expect that viewers who are regularlyexposed to paranormal depictions on television might draw upon these depictions andbe more inclined to endorse paranormal beliefs when they are asked to make judg-ments about the veracity of paranormal events. This view presumes that depictions ofparanormal events on television are frequent enough to constitute an important sourceof information to rely upon in making judgments about paranormal phenomena.Ultimately, data from content analyses of televised content are required in order to doc-ument this presumption. Our research group is currently carrying out such analyses.1

We proceeded with the present study on the basis of the frequent charges, notedearlier, that the media have much to do with the prevalence of paranormal beliefs.Moreover, any casual examination of the television programs currently available inmost markets reveals a number of programs that regularly depict paranormal events(e.g., Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, Psychic Friends, The X-Files, etc.). Indeed, somecable systems carry programming from "The Psychic Channel" that features regular"demonstrations" of psychic powers and dramatizations of psychic predictions thathave been "confirmed."

Our expectations about the results of the survey were very general and may besummarized in the following hypothesis:

Hi: Television viewing (particularly viewing of programs that contain paranormalevents) will be positively correlated with the tendency to endorse beliefs inparanormal phenomena.

This general expectation is based on three considerations. First, as noted earlier, itseems to be the expectation that resonates with the strong intuition of scientists and



skeptics who articulate concern about widespread belief in paranormal phenomena.Second, media cultivation theory and other research on repetitive exposure to infor-mation suggests that if paranormal phenomena are regularly depicted in the mediaas if they actually occur, then viewers may come to rely upon these depictions inmaking judgments about the real world. And finally, the only experiments that weknow about in the literature (Sparks, Hansen, & Shah, 1994; Sparks, Sparks, & Gray,1995) found evidence consistent with the notion that exposure to television pro-grams about paranormal events affects paranormal beliefs. Of course, the correlationadvanced in this hypothesis could also emerge if individuals who tend to believe inthe paranormal, subsequently sought out programs with these themes. While thecross-sectional survey design employed here has certain strengths, it is limited in itsability to untangle the issue of causal direction.

In addition to Hi, we had another hypothesis:

H2: The relationship between television exposure and paranormal beliefs will bestronger for individuals who report that they have had some personal life expe-rience with paranormal events.

This hypothesis is based upon the notion of "resonance" in cultivation theory (seeCerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1994). The effects of television are presumedto be greater for individuals who have real life experiences that are consistent withthe TV messages.

Method

Respondents

Using a random-digit dialing technique, 120 telephone interviews were complet-ed during the summer of 1994 in a medium-sized city in the Midwest (males: n =46; females: n = 7A).2 Two female interviewers and one male interviewer conductedthe survey. In total, 165 individuals were contacted and 45 refused to participate(final response rate = 73%). The interviews took about 12-minutes to complete. Allrespondents were screened at the outset of the conversation to assure that they wereat least 18 years of age.

Measurement

Television viewing habits. Similar to procedures used in past research (Sparks &Ogles, 1990), respondents were asked to estimate the amount of time they spentwatching television. Respondents were asked to estimate the total number of hoursof television they watched on an average weekday, an average Saturday, and an aver-age Sunday. The weekday total was multiplied by five and added to the two week-end day totals to yield an average viewing time for the week in hours.



Respondents were also asked about their exposure to several specific programsthat routinely feature paranormal themes: Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, The X-Files,and Psychic Friends. For each of these programs, they were asked to report if theyhad ever viewed the program. If a respondent indicated that he/she had seen the pro-gram before, a follow-up question asked for an estimate of how many times the pro-gram had been seen. A similar question was asked regarding any programs seen onThe Psychic Channel (a portion of night-time programming available on the localcable system that served the respondents' market).

Paranormal beliefs. A twenty-item scale was developed to assess respondents' para-normal beliefs. This measure was constructed after a careful examination of otherexisting measures in the literature (see Jones, Russell, & Nickel, 1977; Tobacyk &Milford, 1983). Some of these measures contained items with ambiguous referentsand wording that was double-barreled. In an attempt to eliminate these problems, weconstructed a new measure that surveyed paranormal belief in ten different areas: 1)UFOs and space aliens, 2) astral-projection, 3) extrasensory perception (ESP), 4)astrology or the use of horoscopes, 5) supernatural physical healing, 6) palm reading,7) ghosts or haunted houses, 8) prophetic dreams, 9) telekinesis or moving objectsjust by thinking, and 10) general psychic powers (e.g., precognition, and the abilityto know the location of a crime scene only from objects belonging to the victim).Interviewers asked respondents to listen to each belief statement, and to respond byindicating the extent to which they agreed or disagreed, based on a 7-point scale. Thepolar anchors were "very strong agreement" ("7") and "very strong disagreement"("1"). A "A" represented uncertainty. Two items were included on the measure foreach of the ten areas listed above. One of these items was worded so that agreementreflected belief in the paranormal; the other was worded so that agreement reflecteddisbelief. These latter items were recoded so that high scores on the 20-item measurereflected the tendency to believe in paranormal phenomena. The complete 20-itemmeasure along with the percentages of respondents who either agreed or disagreedwith the items appears in Table 1. The items were presented in the order that theyappear in the table, which was determined by random selection.

Paranormal Experiences. At the end of the survey, respondents were asked if theyhad ever experienced anything that fell outside the realm of normal experience.Several examples were given to provide a context for this question when the inter-viewer said: "For example, some people say they've encountered ghosts or flyingsaucers, while others may claim that they've caught a glimpse of the future before itoccurred. These events might be called paranormal. Has anything like this ever hap-pened to you?"

Demographic variables. Respondents were also asked to provide general demo-graphic information, including their age, sex, level of education, employment status(employed vs. unemployed), income level, race/ethnicity, and religiosity. Religiositywas rated on a scale that ranged from " 1 " (not religious at all) to "10" (very religious).



Table 1

Percentages of Respondents Indicating Agreement, Disagreement,

or Uncertainty About Paranormal Beliefs

Item

Daily horoscopes that appear in the newspapers DO NOTprovide accurate information about a person's life

Some people are able to levitate or lift objects just by thinking

I do NOT believe that there is any such thing as haunted houses

I believe that sometimes I can tell what another person isthinking through ESP or extrasensory perception

No one can really tell about other people's lives just fromlooking at the lines on the palms of their hands

Some people have the power of astral-projection, that is they canwillingly leave their body for short periods of time to travel toanother part of the Universe and then return

I do NOT believe that anyone really has psychic powers

I believe that some people have a special gift to heal otherpeople simply by touching them

Some people claim that they have had dreams about futureevents that actually come true, but I believe that these casesare simply coincidence

I believe that some people have actually seen flying saucers thatcome from outer space

No one can bend metal just by thinking about it

Astrology, or the use of horoscopes, has been proven to be validfor finding out the best ways in which people should act in theirdaily lives

I don't think ESP or extrasensory perception is possible

I believe that some people have actually seen ghosts

I DO NOT believe that astral-projection is possible

Some people can really tell the future about another person's lifejust by reading the palm of their hand

I DO NOT believe that there has ever been a case whereanother human being has been captured by a space alien

Some people have a special gift that enables them to see thingsin the future that have not yet happened

Anyone who claims that he/she can heal other people just bytouching them is either lying or badly mistaken

There are some people who have a special ability to help thepolice solve crimes because they can psychically receiveinformation just by touching objects that belong to the crimevictims

Agree

3.3%

18.4%

44.1%

30.8%

79.2%

12.5%

35.0%

24.2%

45.0%

44.1%

63.4%

11.7%

37.5%

50.8%

64.1%

7.6%

58.3%

55.8%

60.0%

45.0%

Undecided

10.0%

15.8%

14.2%

13.4%

10.0%

10.0%

15.8%

10.0%

15.0%

24.2%

13.3%

15.8%

18.3%

11.7%

14.2%

6.6%

20.0%

10.8%

11.7%

20.8%

Disagree

6.7%

65.8%

41.7%

55.8%

10.8%

77.5%

49.2%

65.8%

40.0%

31.7%

23.3%

72.5%

44.2%

37.5%

21.7%

85.8%

21.7%

33.4%

28.3%

34.2%

Note. Percentages are based on 120 respondents for each item. Responses of "5," "6," and "7" were

combined into one "agree" category for this table. Responses of "3," "2," and " 1 " were similarly com-

bined for a "disagree" category.



Results

Prevalence of Paranormal Beliefs

The responses to the paranormal belief items were used to construct frequencytables that provided some descriptive insight on the prevalence of paranormal beliefsamong the participants in the study. Table 1 displays the percentages of respondentswho either agreed, disagreed, or were undecided about each item. As the tablereveals, belief in paranormal phenomena was quite common among the study'srespondents. For example, over 50% of the respondents indicated a belief in ghosts.3

Nearly one-third of the respondents reported that sometimes they had been able toread another person's mind through extrasensory perception (ESP). Moreover, near-ly 45% of the respondents believed in UFOs from outer space, and about one-fourthof the respondents believed that some people could bend metal just by thinking.These results parallel those reported by Gallup and Newport (1991) in a randomsample of Americans. They are also consistent with data reported from a conve-nience sample of college students (Sparks, Hansen, & Shah, 1994).

The Measure of Paranormal Beliefs

After recoding the items that were negatively worded, we combined the scoresacross the 20 items of paranormal beliefs to form an additive index. Cronbach'salpha on this index was .90. Evidence for the measure's validity was obtained by not-ing that it was significantly correlated with the tendency for respondents to reportthat they had experienced a paranormal event in their own life [r= .47, n = 120; p< .001]. In order to determine if the structure of this measure was multi-dimension-al, the 20 items were submitted to a maximum likelihood factor analysis with vari-max rotation. Five factors emerged initially from this analysis with eigenvaluesgreater than 1.0. However, only two of these factors accounted for at least 10% ofthe variance, with two of the factors containing only one item that loaded cleanly.4

Thus, only two factors were retained from the solution. Table 2 shows the items thatemerged for each of the two factors along with their loadings. The "supernaturalbeings" factor (SB) accounted for 38% of the variance and the "psychic energy" fac-tor (PE) accounted for 10% of the variance. The two factors were significantly corre-lated (r = .36, p < .001), but the percentage of variance that was unshared (87%),argues in favor of a conceptual distinction between the two measures.

The items associated with each of the two factors were added together to formseparate indices of paranormal beliefs. Cronbach's alpha was .83 for the "SB" factorand .63 for the "PE" factor.



Table 2

Factor Loadings for Paranormal Belief Items on Two Factors

Item

1 do NOT believe that there is any such thing as hauntedhouses

1 believe that some people have actually seen ghosts

1 believe that some people have actually seen flyingsaucers that come from outer space

1 DO NOT believe that there has ever been a case whereanother human being has been captured by a space alien

Some people claim that they have had dreams about Mureevents that actually come true, but 1 believe that thesecases are simply coincidence

1 believe that sometimes 1 can tell what another person isthinking through ESP or extrasensory perception

No one can bend metal just by thinking about it

Astrology, or the use of horoscopes, has been proven to bevalid for finding out the best ways in which people shouldact in their daily lives

SupernaturalBeings Factor

.68

.79

.65

.72

.63

.24

.30

.07

PsychicEnergy Factor

.14

.16

.06

-.01

.26

.53

.64

.57

Note. These results emerged from a maximum likelihood factor analysis with varimax rotation.N=120.

The Measures of Television Viewing

Two measures of viewing were constructed from the responses. The first measurewas a "total viewing" measure in hours-per-week and is described above. Only onerespondent in the sample reported viewing no television at all during a typical week.At the other extreme, one viewer reported viewing 88-hours of TV during a typicalweek (12.6 hours per day). The median number of hours viewed per week was 21,or about 3 hours-per-day. A second viewing measure was designed to assess view-ing of programs that were known to feature paranormal phenomena regularly. Foreach of these programs (Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, The X-Files), a median splitwas done on the data that revealed how many times the respondents had seen eachprogram. Respondents in the upper half of each distribution were given a " 1 " andrespondents in the lower half were given a "0." The three scores were combinedadditively to form a measure of exposure to paranormal programming.5



Testing the Hypotheses

In order to test the two hypotheses, we submitted the data to a series of regressionanalyses. In order to test the first hypothesis which predicted a relationship betweentelevision viewing and paranormal beliefs, we used the two paranormal belief fac-tors as dependent variables in separate regression equations. Because we wanted tocontrol for any effects of demographic variables, we entered the respondents' sex,age, level of education, employment status, salary, and religiosity as a single blockin the equations. This was followed by entering, in respective equations, either thetotal TV viewing measure, or the measure of paranormal programs. The secondhypothesis was examined by running these regression equations separately forrespondents who reported prior experience with a paranormal event (n = 57) and forthose who reported no prior experience (n = 63).

When the total number of hours of television viewing was used as the indepen-dent variable, no significant relationship emerged between viewing and paranormalbeliefs for either of the belief factors. This result held whether or not respondents hadreported prior personal experience with a paranormal event.

Table 3Regression Results for Predicting Belief in Supernatural Beings from Television

Programming

Variables Entered Multiple R R2 Beta

Step 1:ReligionSalaryEducationEmployment.GenderAge

.44 .19

.20-.24.16

-.15-.04-.15

Step 2Viewing Rjranormal .50 .25

Note. The entire regression model was significant [F(7,54) = 2.53; p < .03.**p < .05.

.25*

However, when the measure of exposure to paranormal programs was used as the

independent variable, a different pattern of results emerged. There was no significant

relationship between viewing paranormal programs and the belief in psychic ener-

gy, regardless of the level of prior experience with paranormal events. But for those

respondents who had no prior experience with paranormal events, belief in super-


Sparks, Nelson, Campbell/PARAIMORMAL PHENOMENA AND PARANORMAL BELIEFS 355

natural beings was related to the viewing of paranormal programming, even aftercontrolling for the demographic variables. As Table 3 reveals, the demographic vari-ables accounted for 19% of the variance in paranormal beliefs [F (6,55) = 2.18, p =.05]. Viewing of paranormal programming accounted for an additional 6% of thevariance [f = 1.98, p = .05]. The entire regression model accounted for 25% of thevariance in paranormal beliefs [F (7,54) = 2.53, p < .03]. For the respondents whoindicated prior experience with a paranormal event, viewing of paranormal pro-gramming, like total TV viewing was not related to belief in supernatural beings.

Discussion

As the data in Table 1 reveal, paranormal beliefs were certainly prevalent in therandom sample we drew from a small city in the Midwest. Of particular interest inTable 1 are the percentages of respondents who indicated uncertainty about variousparanormal belief items. It seems reasonable to assume that in areas of uncertainbelief, the mass media are potentially a more powerful source of influence. Althoughscientists have long argued that the media do influence people to believe in para-normal events, data needed to evaluate this claim have been lacking. To our knowl-edge, this study represents the first survey that was explicitly designed to examinethese issues, although other surveys have been conducted on paranormal beliefswithout a focus on the mass media (Gallup & Newport, 1991).

The first hypothesis was that television viewing (particularly viewing of paranor-mal programs) would be positively correlated with paranormal beliefs. As Table 3reveals, this hypothesis was supported in that the measure of paranormal programexposure was a significant predictor of belief in supernatural beings, even after con-trolling for a number of demographic variables.

The second hypothesis was that the relationship between television viewing andparanormal beliefs would be stronger for respondents who reported that they hadactually experienced a paranormal event. This hypothesis was based on the idea ofresonance in cultivation theory. If the messages in a person's media diet are consis-tent with the messages in real life, then the cultivation effect is hypothesized to bestronger because a person receives a "double dose" of the message. In this case,however, exactly the opposite finding emerged. The regression equation reported inTable 3 shows a significant relationship between exposure to paranormal programsand paranormal beliefs only for the individuals who reported that they had neverexperienced paranormal events in their real life. A similar regression equation forthose who reported direct experience with paranormal events showed an insignifi-cant relationship between program exposure and paranormal beliefs.

Of course, the concept of resonance in particular (and cultivation theory in gen-eral) has been criticized over the years (see Hirsch, 1980). However, even in studiesthat challenge the general cultivation hypothesis, some evidence has emerged infavor of resonance. For example, Doob and Macdonald (1979) found that the basic



relationship between television viewing and fear of victimization failed to emerge inthree geographical areas. But the fact that it did emerge in the high-crime-city areacould be interpreted as a finding consistent with resonance. In this area, heavy TVviewers were presumably receiving a "double-dose" of the messages that cultivatedfear of victimization. It is possible that resonance does not hold for every area ofmedia impact. And while the finding on our second hypothesis does not support theidea of resonance, it is not difficult to offer some explanation for this outcome. Forindividuals who believe that they have experienced something paranormal in theirreal life, these experiences may be the primary sources of data that are drawn uponin determining the extent to which paranormal beliefs are endorsed. In contrast, forthose who have no such experiences, the media may constitute a more importantsource of information upon which to base personal beliefs in paranormal events. Thepossibility that the resonance hypothesis is not applicable to this particular domainof media effects is one that certainly warrants more investigation.

One limitation in any survey of this type is that the evidence for significant rela-tionships cannot be interpreted conclusively as evidence for any particular causalprocess. For example, in the present case, the relationship observed between view-ing paranormal programming and paranormal beliefs could be due to the impact ofsome third variable that is causally related to both viewing and beliefs. We attempt-ed to address this concern by introducing a number of demographic variables as sta-tistical controls in the regression analyses. While no list of potential third variablesis ever complete, the relationship between paranormal program viewing and para-normal beliefs did withstand the introduction of several demographic control vari-ables. And, as mentioned earlier, a cross-sectional survey design does not permit usto sort out the temporal sequence of the relationship between television viewing andparanormal beliefs. However, data from the experiments mentioned earlier do per-mit causal conclusions and those studies suggest that viewing programs with para-normal themes certainly may exert a causal impact on paranormal beliefs.

As Potter (1994) has recently argued about this type of research, there are also avariety of issues that researchers should attempt to address in future studies, includ-ing the possibility of nonlinear relationships in the data. Our explorations alongthese lines in the present data proved to be unenlightening, but we are planning onways to improve upon the various measures that were used in this study to assess TVviewing. Moreover, given that our measure of paranormal beliefs is a new instru-ment, we are also planning to undertake additional studies on the measure's relia-bility and validity. It should also be noted that our sample size was not particularlylarge, especially for the use of multiple regression equations. This limitation under-scores the need for replication of these results with larger samples.

One variable that also appears to be important to examine in future research is theextent to which televised depictions of paranormal themes are perceived as realistic.Potter's work on perceived reality (Potter, 1986; 1988) would suggest that mediaeffects may be contingent upon these sorts of perceptions. Because paranormal pro-



gramming may produce widely divergent perceptions or reality, this variable seemslike a crucial one to investigate in future studies.

While replication and extension of these results reported here will be important(as with any scientific finding), the data from this study do suggest that there mayindeed be merit in the widespread claims of scientists and skeptics that the mediaexert some influence in the domain of paranormal beliefs. One of the strengths ofthis study is the use of a true random sample of an entire city. The problems of gen-eralizability that often accompany the use of convenience samples of college stu-dents are overcome in the use of this method. Future work in this area should con-tinue to rely upon both surveys and experiments to increase our understanding ofthe media's role in beliefs about paranormal phenomena.

Conclusion

Ultimately, we believe that research on this topic could have several importantimplications. First, our understanding about media influence in this domain may beenhanced. Second, if it turns out that the empirical evidence supports the notion thatthe media do exert a significant influence in the area of paranormal beliefs, thenthere may be implications for journalists and program producers as they disseminatecontent related to paranormal themes. One of the repeated charges of organizationslike CSICOP is that the media have not exercised careful responsibility in the dis-semination of material about paranormal events. Research findings might help todraw attention to the importance of this issue among members of the media. Finally,research on this issue may tend to draw attention to the ways in which people arriveat their beliefs about the nature of the world. Such beliefs cannot be underestimat-ed in their importance because of the potential role that they play in shaping futurepossibilities for society.

Notes

1 Preliminary analyses (Gray & Sparks, 1996) have revealed that over half of prime-time programs containat least one mention or depiction of a paranormal event. This conclusion was reached on the basis of a 3-week sample of programs from four different networks. The data reveal that a wide range of paranormal phe-nomena are referenced in these programs (e.g., astrology, ESP, UFOs, haunted houses, astral projection, etc.).

2 The sample was random with respect to the numbers dialed, but no subsequent attempt was made toselect a random person living in the household. Unless the person answering the phone was under 18-yearsof age, the interview was presented to the person who answered the phone. Persons under 18-years old werenot used due to the additional contingencies of parental permission that would have been involved in orderto satisfy guidelines for ethical treatment of human subjects. The fact that respondents were not randomlyselected within the household may account for the disparity between male and female respondents in thefinal sample. The city used for the sample had a population of about 50,000 and had a very small minoritypopulation (i.e., less than 2% of any particular minority group).

3 This inference is based upon the response to the item, "I believe that some people have actually seenghosts." Future studies should probably re-word this item so that it assesses belief more directly. But, wewould argue that the item is still a valid indicator of belief in ghosts. The emphasis upon having "actuallyseen ghosts" was designed to preclude experiences in which people might have perceived the presence ofa ghost—even though one was not really there.



4 Items with factor loadings of at least .50 on one factor and no more than .30 on the remaining factorswere considered to load cleanly.

5 We had a specific reason for using this procedure instead of simply summing the total number of timesthat respondents indicated that they had seen each program. This measure was designed to distinguishbetween heavy and light viewers of paranormal programming. We reasoned that it was far more importantto distinguish between those respondents who had only seen a program like Unsolved Mysteries a few timesvs. those who had seen it more times, than it was to distinguish between viewers who had seen the program30-times vs. 50-times. Viewers in either of these last two groups would be considered "heavy" viewers.

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