Are Believers in the Paranormal Inclined to Jump to Conclusions?

An earlier study by Irwin, Dagnall, and Drinkwater (2012a) found a relationship between the intensity of paranormal beliefs and a self-reported proneness to jump to conclusions. This relationship was statistically significant for the factor of Traditional Paranormal Beliefs but was only of borderline significance for the other major factor of paranormal beliefs, New Age Philosophy. The project reported here aimed to replicate the relationship using an additional self-report measure of jumping to conclusions, plus a standard performance measure of this construct. A convenience sample of 124 people completed three measures of proneness to jump to conclusions and a questionnaire surveying paranormal beliefs. A relationship between intensity of paranormal beliefs and proneness to jump to conclusions was confirmed, but the pattern of findings across the various indices of jumping to conclusions raises several issues for further empirical clarification.