In essays on the debate about ESP, an attack (by C. E.M. Hansel) is followed by a rebuttal (by J. B. Rhine and J.G. Pratt), off ering the reader insight into the peculiar tensionsurrounding the ESP controversy. The book also includes abalanced overview of problems in the field by J. C. Crumbaugh,and six other essays on the psychological factors thatinfl uence research on ESP. Controversy over ESP is of specialinterest also because the questions critics raise relate closelyto problems within psychology itself. In addition, the essaysreflect a quality common to much research: the excitementof uncovering results that advance our knowledge.
This book is intended for supplementary course use.Because of the fundamental problems it addresses, italso off ers richly rewarding reading for all teaching andpracticing psychologists as well as for the interested generalist.A substantial number of research reports are citedthroughout, so that any reader seeking further informationwill find the cited references invaluable.
Gertrude Schmeidler is professor emeritus of psychology atCity College, City University of New York. She has held theposition of president of the Parapsychological Association andthe American Society for Psychical Research. She is the authorof Parapsychology: Its Relation to Physics, Biology, Psychology,and Psychiatry; Parapsychology and Psychology: Matches andMismatches; and ESP and Personality Patterns.