New Poll Points to Increase in Paranormal Belief

Now a recent Yankelovich Partners poll lends further support to the notion that belief in the paranormal is on the rise. Published in an April 20 USA Today Snapshot titled "Belief in the Beyond", a 1997 poll compared current belief in paranormal phenomena with belief levels measured in 1976.

Maria Miller, Director of Client Services for Yankelovich Partners, deems the poll an indication of a "significant increase in paranormal belief." According to Miller, other studies by Yankelovich have indicated that Americans are now trying to "find something in their lives beyond the material." She points out that one source for growth in paranormal and spiritual belief might be the evolving attitudes of aging Baby Boomers. As the generation grows older, they increasingly seek to get in touch with themselves. Miller cites other Yankelovich polls that show increased consumer spending in areas that bring internal reward. When asked about the recent increase in media presentations of the paranormal, Miller believes the reason simple: "The public wants it, they're looking for it."

The Yankelovich results are difficult to verify since other polls conducted by the Gallup Organization and Roper Reports indicate relatively little change in belief for the topics asked by Yankelovich. Differences may be explained by the use of different wording in questions and different descriptions for paranormal topics. Both the Gallup and Roper Reports polls also vary across questions as to whether there are comparable results dating back to the 1970's.

Tom W. Clark of the Chicago-based National Opinion Research Center adds that the manner in which questions are asked can effect results. "What prior questions were asked? What is the context effect? Often, prior questions can suppress or buoy an answer." Clark also notes that it is important to examine the representativeness of the poll sample. "If those polled are made up of more than one socioeconomic class or ethnicity it can bias the answers."

In 1992, in a paper titled "Phantom Changes on Paranormal Beliefs", Clark criticized a 1990 Gallup poll that showed apparent substantial growth in belief of certain paranormal phenomena as a "methodological artifact." He cited differences in response options and question wording between the 1990 poll and the comparison Gallup poll from 1978. "As a result," Clark wrote "despite Gallup's claims, there is no evidence that belief in the paranormal has increased over the last decade."

The measurement of society-wide paranormal beliefs, their change over time and their relation to the media merits on-going study. The best available polls and research comparing current levels of belief to the 1970's are inconclusive. Meanwhile, there is continued debate over whether paranormal beliefs are media-driven. A recent study conducted by Purdue University Professor Glenn Sparks reveals a direct correlation between credulous media portrayals and increase in viewer belief.

Little debate, however, surrounds the tremendous marketability of paranormal themes. Globally profit-driven media conglomerates, like Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, seek universally understood storylines that can be easily exported overseas and translated into foreign languages. Just short of sex and violence, the paranormal sells. Along with Baywatch and Zena: Warrior Princess, we can expect programs like X-Files, Independence Day and Psi-Factor for years to come.

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