This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Lamont, P. Articles by Mckinlay, A. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Explaining the unexplained: warranting disbelief in the paranormal

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, UK, peter.lamont{at}ed.ac.uk

Claudia Coelho

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, UK, claudia.coelho{at}ed.ac.uk

Andrew Mckinlay

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, UK, a.mckinlay{at}ed.ac.uk

Psychologists have studied paranormal belief for over a century, but have been concerned with belief in the paranormal rather than disbelief. However, disbelief in the paranormal is a position in its own right and, for many, by no means a self-evident position. An avowal of disbelief is, therefore, a social phenomenon that may involve some interesting discursive work. This article examines the discourse of self-ascribed ‘sceptics’, and analyses how they warrant their expressed position when faced with an ostensibly paranormal event for which they cannot provide a ‘normal’ explanation. We show how, for example, through the use of ‘definitely/something’ constructions, they appeal to an explanation that exists in principle, though the details are not available to them. Such devices can be seen as social and discursive forms of belief maintenance, in that they are designed to maintain a social position established through an avowal of (dis)belief.

Key Words: belief • discourse analysis • discursive psychology • paranormal • scepticism

Discourse Studies, Vol. 11, No. 5, 543-559 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1461445609340978


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?