James Alcock

Last updated
James E. Alcock
James Alcock.jpg
Alcock in 2005
BornDecember 24, 1942 (1942-12-24) (age 81)
Central Butte, Saskatchewan
Nationality Canadian
Alma mater McGill University BSc (Honours Physics)
McMaster University PhD
SpouseKaren Hanley
AwardsMay 15, 2004 awarded CSICOP's In Praise of Reason Award
Scientific career
Fields Social Psychology; Psychology of Belief; Psychotherapy
Institutions York University

James E. Alcock (born 24 December 1942) is Professor emeritus (Psychology) at York University (Canada). [1] Alcock is a noted critic of parapsychology and a Fellow and Member of the Executive Council for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. [2] He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Skeptical Inquirer , [3] and a frequent contributor to the magazine. He has also been a columnist for Humanist Perspectives Magazine. [4] In 1999, a panel of skeptics named him among the two dozen most outstanding skeptics of the 20th century. [5] In May 2004, CSICOP awarded Alcock CSI's highest honor, the In Praise of Reason Award. [6] The author of several books and peer reviewed journal articles, [1] Alcock is also an amateur magician and a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. [7]

Contents

Each of the faculty of 2012's Skeptic's Toolbox is presented by long-time attendees Carl and Ben Baumgartner, with a Honorary In The Trenches Award. Ray Hyman, Lindsay Beyerstein, James Alcock, Harriet Hall and Loren Pankratz Toolbox Faculty Awards.JPG
Each of the faculty of 2012's Skeptic's Toolbox is presented by long-time attendees Carl and Ben Baumgartner, with a Honorary In The Trenches Award. Ray Hyman, Lindsay Beyerstein, James Alcock, Harriet Hall and Loren Pankratz

Early life

Alcock grew up in an observant Protestant household and regularly went to Sunday school. His mother was "very religious" and his father, though not outwardly observant, "never criticized religion". "When I started university, it was difficult, over a period of a couple of years, to give up my belief". As a 19-year-old undergraduate, he attended a stage hypnosis show hosted by Reveen the Impossibilist. He took part in the show as a volunteer and was asked to interlace his hands. He was surprised that at the hypnotist's suggestion he could not separate his hands. "It really freaked me out at the time. It got me really interested in hypnosis. But it's just suggestion." [9]

Education and career

Alcock has a degree in physics from McGill University. After completion of that degree he was extended admission to the graduate program in physics but instead chose to accept a job at IBM as a Systems Engineer. He then developed an interest in psychology, and subsequently earned a Ph.D. in social psychology from McMaster University. Throughout his career Alcock was a professor of psychology at Glendon College, York University, Toronto, Canada; a clinical psychologist with a private practice; a Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association; and a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. His research concentrated on the psychology of belief, and he participated in a special research project for the National Academy of Sciences regarding the critical evaluation of parapsychology. [10] He was chosen as a fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association for making "a distinguished contribution to the advancement of the science or profession of psychology". [11]

Skepticism and skeptical activism

James Alcock is a prominent skeptic and a Fellow and Member of the Executive Council for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. His first television appearance was in 1974 when he appeared on the Toronto TVOntario magazine show, The Education of Mike McManus,. He sat on a panel discussing current paranormal research with a parapsychologist and a psychic healer. When asked if he was closed-minded to the possibility of psi, Alcock responded that there is no good research out there that would change his position. "The experiments that have been done... are filled with flaws... they just don't satisfy the canons of science. Until the parapsychologists can present evidence that satisfies the criteria of science there's nothing to investigate, there's no phenomenon there." [12]

In 1976, Alcock attended the organizing conference at which the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal was founded, and was invited to be a Fellow of CSICOP at that time. He was appointed to the Executive Council a few years later. [13]

Alcock's 1981 book, "Parapsychology-Science Or Magic?: A Psychological Perspective," was instrumental in transforming Professor Chris French's skeptical understanding of paranormal events and explaining unusual experiences:

I kind of fell into this trap myself...I used to be a believer, a true believer until quite well into my adulthood. And it was reading one particular book by James Alcock, called 'Parapsychology-Science or Magic?' that made me realize there was another way of explaining all these unusual experiences, and one that actually made a lot of sense to me! ... I can turn 'round to him [James Alcock] and say, 'You are the bastard that got me to where I am today! You've got a lot to answer for! [14] [15]

A long–time member of the Skeptic's Toolbox faculty, Alcock lectured at the 4-day workshops that taught attendees critical thinking skills for their daily lives. Alcock told a Register-Guard reporter who attended the 2003 conference, "Science has many voices... We encourage people to listen to scientific evidence, but how (in the case of expert testimony in American courts) do we determine who to listen to?" And in the case of printed media, "There are lots of things published that are sheer nonsense." Learning to evaluate evidence is why workshops like the Toolbox are important. [16]

The San Francisco Chronicle asked Alcock to comment on EVP and ghost-hunter instruments. He suggested "several explanations for so-called voices from the dead. One theory is that the recording devices are picking up snatches of radio broadcasts. Another is called 'apophenia,' which means that people tend to perceive patterns even when there are none. If we play the same piece of tape over and over ... we maximize the opportunity for the perceptual apparatus in our brain to 'construct' voices that do not exist." [17]

In October 2004 Alcock spoke at the World Skeptics Congress in Italy. [3] As a member of the executive council of CFI, he addressed the opening session of the 2012 6th World Skeptic Congress in Berlin. He outlined the history of the modern skeptical movement as begun by CSICOP in April 1976 in Buffalo, NY. [18] He has been a featured speaker at CSICon, an annual skeptical conference hosted by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, several times.

Robert Jahn

Alcock carried out a systematic review of parapsychological research involving random event generators. He found several methodological problems that he considered of such a serious nature that one could not have any confidence in the results and conclusions of the various studies.

Much of the research was carried out in the Princeton University Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory of Robert Jahn, then Dean of that university's Engineering faculty. In addition to concerns regarding methodology, Alcock determined that if one were to remove the data related to one particular participant, the results of the study were no longer statistically significant. Moreover, the fact that the participant was the individual who set up and oversaw the research for Dr. Jahn rang alarm bells for James Alcock. [19] [20]

Alcock later commented on why he thinks Jahn and other physicists who conduct parapsychological research incorporate methodologically unsound elements into their research: "Here's the problem, physicists don't work with people. They work with subject matter that doesn't lie, that doesn't trick them[...] Physicists often tend to think that they're the true scientists and they probably don't need guidance from anyone else. But the confidence they have in doing the research misguides them when it comes to working with people because when you're dealing with human beings, it's a very different matter. You've got all kinds of subtle influences that can change people's behaviors. You've got all kinds of opportunities for fraud that you wouldn't get when you're studying atoms and molecules." [9]

The Bem experiments

Media attention was directed toward Daryl Bem's research paper Feeling the Future: Experimental Evidence for Anomalous Retroactive Influences on Cognition and Affect. Alcock responded with his paper Back from the Future: Parapsychology and the Bem Affair by stating, "Bem has reported data suggesting that individuals' future experiences can influence their responses in the present. Careful scrutiny of his report reveals serious flaws in procedure and analysis, rendering this interpretation untenable." [21]

After evaluating Daryl Bem's nine experiments, Alcock claimed to have found metaphorical "dirty test tubes", serious methodological flaws such as changing the procedures partway through the experiments and combining results of tests with different chances of significance. The amount of actual tests done is unknown and no explanation of how it was determined that participants had "settled down" after seeing erotic images was given. Alcock concludes that almost everything that could go wrong with these separate experiments did go wrong. Bem's response to Alcock's critique appeared online at the Skeptical Inquirer website [22] and Alcock replied to these comments in a third article on the same website. [23]

The null hypothesis

In 2003 Alcock published Give the Null Hypothesis a Chance: Reasons to Remain Doubtful about the Existence of Psi, in which he claimed that parapsychologists never seem to take seriously the possibility that psi does not exist. Because of that, they interpret null results as only that they were unable to observe psi in a particular experiment, rather than accepting null results as indicating the possibility that there is no psi. The failure to take the null hypothesis as a serious alternative to their psi hypotheses leads them to rely upon a number of arbitrary effects to:

"The pursuit of science should be directed at seeking explanations, whatever they are, rather than searching for preferred explanations. Parapsychology is directed at finding evidence that paranormal phenomena exist, rather than at explaining the strange, anomalous experiences that people have from time to time. Parapsychologists show little interest in normal explanations for those experiences because they are committed to finding evidence of the paranormal. Their commitment is such that failures to replicate, rather than suggesting that perhaps there is "nothing there" (the null hypothesis), the failures are reinterpreted in terms of some made-up "effect." [14]

Alcock cites several endemic problems in parapsychological research, including:

Overall, he argues that there is nothing in parapsychological research that would lead parapsychologists to conclude that psi does not exist. As such, even if psi does not exist, the search is likely to continue for a long time. To that end, conclusions of parapsychologists like Susan Blackmore who acknowledge lack of psi evidence and abandon the field are "downplayed or ignored". "I continue to believe that parapsychology is, at bottom, motivated by belief in search of data, rather than data in search of explanation." [24]

James Alcock dowsing for beer at the 2005 Euroskeptics Conference in Brussels. His lecture was The appeal of alternative medicine. Alcock dowsing for beer.jpg
James Alcock dowsing for beer at the 2005 Euroskeptics Conference in Brussels. His lecture was The appeal of alternative medicine.

Belief

Alcock's book Belief: What it Means to Believe and Why Our Convictions Are So Compelling is a 638 page expansion on his 1995 article "The Belief Engine," where he wrote, "Our brains and nervous systems constitute a belief-generating machine, a system that evolved to assure not truth, logic, and reason, but survival". In the book's foreword, Ray Hyman wrote that the book is an "ideal textbook for a course that provides an integrated overview of all the areas of psychology" and that every "psychologist and psychology student should read it". [25]

Personal life

Alcock is married to Karen Hanley. His son Erik Alcock is a professional musician/songwriter; two of his songs were included on Eminem's Recovery album, the best-selling album of 2010. [26]

Skeptical Toolbox regular Ben Baumgartner (far right) presents the faculty with Skeptic Toolbox hats. From left Wallace Sampson, James Alcock, Ray Hyman and Barry Beyerstein. (August 2005) Our leaders.jpg
Skeptical Toolbox regular Ben Baumgartner (far right) presents the faculty with Skeptic Toolbox hats. From left Wallace Sampson, James Alcock, Ray Hyman and Barry Beyerstein. (August 2005)

Selected scholarly and professional memberships

Selected publications


Related Research Articles

Extrasensory perception (ESP), also known as a sixth sense, or cryptaesthesia, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke University botanist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as intuition, telepathy, psychometry, clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, empathy and their trans-temporal operation as precognition or retrocognition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parapsychology</span> Study of paranormal and psychic phenomena

Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near-death experiences, synchronicity, apparitional experiences, etc. Criticized as being a pseudoscience, the majority of mainstream scientists reject it. Parapsychology has also been criticised by mainstream critics for claims by many of its practitioners that their studies are plausible despite a lack of convincing evidence after more than a century of research for the existence of any psychic phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telepathy</span> Psychic ability

Telepathy is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), and has remained more popular than the earlier expression thought-transference.

Precognition is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychic</span> Person claiming extrasensory perception abilities

A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology such as extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, such as psychokinesis or teleportation. Although many people believe in psychic abilities, the scientific consensus is that there is no proof of the existence of such powers, and describes the practice as pseudoscience. The word "psychic" is also used as an adjective to describe such abilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganzfeld experiment</span> Pseudoscientific test for extrasensory perception (ESP)

A ganzfeld experiment is an assessment used by parapsychologists that they contend can test for extrasensory perception (ESP) or telepathy. In these experiments, a "sender" attempts to mentally transmit an image to a "receiver" who is in a state of sensory deprivation. The receiver is normally asked to choose between a limited number of options for what the transmission was supposed to be and parapsychologists who propose that such telepathy is possible argue that rates of success above the expectation from randomness are evidence for ESP. Consistent, independent replication of ganzfeld experiments has not been achieved, and, in spite of strenuous arguments by parapsychologists to the contrary, there is no validated evidence accepted by the wider scientific community for the existence of any parapsychological phenomena. Ongoing parapsychology research using ganzfeld experiments has been criticized by independent reviewers as having the hallmarks of pseudoscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Committee for Skeptical Inquiry</span> Organization examining paranormal claims

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims." Paul Kurtz proposed the establishment of CSICOP in 1976 as an independent non-profit organization, to counter what he regarded as an uncritical acceptance of, and support for, paranormal claims by both the media and society in general. Its philosophical position is one of scientific skepticism. CSI's fellows have included notable scientists, Nobel laureates, philosophers, psychologists, educators, and authors. It is headquartered in Amherst, New York.

Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Notable paranormal beliefs include those that pertain to extrasensory perception, spiritualism and the pseudosciences of ghost hunting, cryptozoology, and ufology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientific skepticism</span> Questioning of claims lacking empirical evidence

Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism, sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refers to the examination of claims and theories that appear to be beyond mainstream science, rather than the routine discussions and challenges among scientists. Scientific skepticism differs from philosophical skepticism, which questions humans' ability to claim any knowledge about the nature of the world and how they perceive it, and the similar but distinct methodological skepticism, which is a systematic process of being skeptical about the truth of one's beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryl Bem</span> American psychologist (born 1938)

Daryl J. Bem is a social psychologist and professor emeritus at Cornell University. He is the originator of the self-perception theory of attitude formation and change. He has also researched psi phenomena, group decision making, handwriting analysis, sexual orientation, and personality theory and assessment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Hyman</span> American professor of psychology (born 1928)

Ray Hyman is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and a noted critic of parapsychology. Hyman, along with James Randi, Martin Gardner and Paul Kurtz, is one of the founders of the modern skeptical movement. He is the founder and leader of the Skeptic's Toolbox. Hyman serves on the Executive Council for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Dean Radin investigates phenomena in parapsychology. Following a bachelor and master's degree in electrical engineering and a PhD in educational psychology Radin worked at Bell Labs, as a researcher at Princeton University and the University of Edinburgh, and was a faculty member at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He then became Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) in Petaluma, California, USA, later becoming the president of the Parapsychological Association. He is also co-editor-in-chief of the journal Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. Radin's ideas and work have been criticized by scientists and philosophers skeptical of paranormal claims. The review of Radin's first book, The Conscious Universe, that appeared in Nature charged that Radin ignored the known hoaxes in the field, made statistical errors and ignored plausible non-paranormal explanations for parapsychological data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcello Truzzi</span> American sociologist (1935–2003)

Marcello Truzzi was an American sociologist and academic who was professor of sociology at New College of Florida and later at Eastern Michigan University, founding co-chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), a founder of the Society for Scientific Exploration, and director for the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research.

Charles Henry Honorton was an American parapsychologist and was one of the leaders of a collegial group of researchers who were determined to apply established scientific research methods to the examination of what they called "anomalous information transfer" and other phenomena associated with the "mind/body problem"—the idea that mind might, at least in some respects, have a physical existence independent of the body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris French</span> Psychologist specialising in paranormal beliefs (born 1956)

Christopher (Chris) Charles French is a British psychologist who is prominent in the field of anomalistic psychology, with a focus on the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. In addition to his academic activities, French frequently appears on radio and television to provide a skeptical perspective on paranormal claims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Krippner</span>

Stanley Krippner is an American psychologist and parapsychologist. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1954 and M.A. (1957) and Ph.D. (1961) degrees from Northwestern University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Beyerstein</span> Canadian psychologist and scientific skeptic (1947–2007)

Barry L Beyerstein was a scientific skeptic and professor of psychology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. Beyerstein's research explored brain mechanisms of perception and consciousness, the effects of drugs on the brain and mind, sense of smell and its lesser-known contributions to human cognition and emotion. He was founder and chair of the BC Skeptics Society, a Fellow and member of the Executive Council of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), now known as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Associate editor of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine Journal as well as a contributor to Skeptical Inquirer, Beyerstein was one of the original faculty of CSICOP's Skeptic's Toolbox. Beyerstein was a co-founder of the Canadians for Rational Health Policy and a member of the advisory board of the Drug Policy Foundation of Washington D.C. He was a founding board member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy and contributed to the International Journal of Drug Policy. According to long-time friend James Alcock, Beyerstein once addressed the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health during discussions leading up to the passage of the Controlled Substances Act". Along with his brother Dale, Barry was active in the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skeptic's Toolbox</span> Annual four-day workshop devoted to scientific skepticism.

The Skeptic's Toolbox was a four-day workshop devoted to scientific skepticism. Founded by psychologist and now-retired University of Oregon professor Ray Hyman, it was sponsored by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Annual workshops focused on educating people to be better critical thinkers, and involved a central theme. The attendees formed small groups and were given tasks that to work on and whose results they then presented to the entire workshop on the final day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. E. M. Hansel</span> British psychologist and parapsychology critic (1917–2011)

Charles Edward Mark Hansel was a British psychologist most notable for his criticism of parapsychological studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline Watt</span> Scottish parapsychologist

Caroline Watt is a Scottish psychologist and professor of parapsychology. She is the holder of the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology at the University of Edinburgh. She is a past president of the Parapsychological Association. She is an author of several papers and books on parapsychology and runs an online course that helps educate the public about what parapsychology is and to think critically about paranormal claims.

References

  1. 1 2 "York University Faculty Page". Archived from the original on 2024-04-14. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  2. ↑ Frazier, Kendrick; Barry Karr (January–February 2011). "CSI (COP) Renews and Expands Executive Council, Plans for Future Activities". Skeptical Inquirer. 35 (1). Committee for Skeptical Inquiry: 5.
  3. 1 2 "World Skeptics Congress 2004: James Alcock". CICAP. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  4. ↑ "Index". Humanist Perspectives. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Skeptical Inquirer Names the Ten Outstanding Skeptics of the Century" (Press release). Skeptical Inquirer magazine. 14 December 1999. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  6. ↑ Caeddert, John (September–October 2004). "News and Comment". Skeptical Inquirer. 28 (5): 6.
  7. ↑ "Skeptic Toolbox Interviews Pt 1". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Skeptic's Toolbox Awards – 2". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  9. 1 2 "502 Conversations with Dr. James Alcock". YouTube. 502 Conversations. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "James E. Alcock Ph.D." PsychologyToday.com. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  11. ↑ "CPA Fellows". Canadian Psychological Association. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "The Education of Mike McManus: Psychics & Parapsychology". TVOntario. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  13. ↑ Ray Hyman – Honorary Degree Recipient, Vancouver, BC: Simon Fraser University, October 4, 2007, archived from the original on September 30, 2008, retrieved July 27, 2009
  14. 1 2 Gerbic, Susan (6 September 2017). "James Alcock – an Interview with Susan Gerbic". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  15. ↑ Saunders, Richard. "The Skeptic Zone #292 25 May 2014". The Skeptic Zone . Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  16. ↑ Baker, Mark (August 17, 2003). "Skeptics gather to sort out normal and paranormal". thefreelibrary.com. The Register Guard. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  17. ↑ Kirby, Carrie (31 October 2005). "Ghost hunters utilize latest in technology; paranormal research has become a popular pursuit". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  18. ↑ "A Brief History of the Skeptical Movement". World Skeptics Congress. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  19. ↑ Mccrone, John (26 November 1994). "Psychic powers what are the odds?". New Scientist.
  20. ↑ Alcock, James (1988). A comprehensive review of major empirical studies in parapsychology involving random event generators and remote viewing. In Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Enhancing human performance: Issues, theories and techniques, Background Papers.. National Academy Press. doi:10.17226/778. ISBN   978-0-309-07810-8. Archived from the original on 2024-04-07. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  21. ↑ Alcock, James (6 January 2011). "Back from the Future: Parapsychology and the Bem Affair". CSICOP . Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  22. ↑ Bem, Daryl (6 January 2011). "Response to Alcock's "Back from the Future: Comments on Bem"" . Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  23. ↑ Alcock, James (6 January 2011). "Response to Bem's Comments" . Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  24. ↑ Alcock, James. "Give the Null Hypothesis a Chance: Reasons to Remain Doubtful about the Existence of Psi" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  25. ↑ Hall, Harriet (2018). "How We Believe". Skeptical Inquirer. 42 (6). Committee for Skeptical Inquirer: 56–59. The brain can fool us with remarkable experiences that we can't distinguish from external reality, often accompanied by strong emotions and lasting effects.
  26. ↑ "Eminem's 'Recovery' Is 2010's Best-Selling Album; Katy Perry's 'California Gurls' Top Digital Song". Billboard.com. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  27. ↑ http://www.sagepub.co.uk/alcocksadava. website for the textbook
  28. ↑ Alcock, James; van der Tempel, Jan (2015). "Relationships between conspiracy mentality, hyperactive agency detection, and schizotypy: Supernatural forces at work?". Personality and Individual Differences. 82: 136–141. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.03.010.
  29. ↑ "New and Notable". Skeptical Inquirer. 42 (3). Committee for Skeptical Inquiry: 60. 2018.
  30. ↑ Reber, Arthur S.; Alcock, James E. (2020). "Searching for the impossible: Parapsychology's elusive quest". American Psychologist. 75 (3): 391–399. doi:10.1037/amp0000486.
  31. ↑ Alcock, James E. (2020). "Parapsychology: The Search Science Left Behind" (PDF). Physics in Canada. 76 (1): 24–28. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-04-14. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
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