{"id":{"repo_id":"wvu","oai_identifier":"oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1858"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wvu/oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1858","repository":{"repo_id":"wvu","name":"West Virginia University","base_url":"https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"From Bigfoot in the backyard to ghosts in the attic: Predictors of paranormal belief","abstract":"Previous research on the social predictors of paranormal belief is contradictive and unclear. Depending on which author you read, one theory is better at explaining why individuals accept belief in paranormal phenomena. This problem most likely is the result of weak sample sizes and an inconsistency in defining and measuring the paranormal. This thesis incorporates data from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey which is one of the largest, most recent data sets assessing paranormal belief. Three predominant theories within the literature are tested. Findings lend support to the marginalization theory claiming that individuals who are marginalized from society tend to hold more paranormal beliefs, both religious and non-religious. Significant support is also given for the small step hypothesis suggesting that the more religious paranormal beliefs an individual holds, the more likely he or she is to hold non-religious paranormal beliefs. Furthermore, support is given to the functional alternative hypothesis proposing that individuals who do not have a religious identity (religious \"nones\") are more likely to profess belief in the non-religious paranormal.","abstract_html":"Previous research on the social predictors of paranormal belief is contradictive and unclear. Depending on which author you read, one theory is better at explaining why individuals accept belief in paranormal phenomena. This problem most likely is the result of weak sample sizes and an inconsistency in defining and measuring the paranormal. This thesis incorporates data from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey which is one of the largest, most recent data sets assessing paranormal belief. Three predominant theories within the literature are tested. Findings lend support to the marginalization theory claiming that individuals who are marginalized from society tend to hold more paranormal beliefs, both religious and non-religious. Significant support is also given for the small step hypothesis suggesting that the more religious paranormal beliefs an individual holds, the more likely he or she is to hold non-religious paranormal beliefs. Furthermore, support is given to the functional alternative hypothesis proposing that individuals who do not have a religious identity (religious "nones") are more likely to profess belief in the non-religious paranormal.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Tranguch, Jeff"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Sociology and Anthropology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Melissa Latimer.","Corey Colyer","Ronald Althouse"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:15:01Z","subjects":["Social research","Religion"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/855"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/855","href":"https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/855","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.855","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Melissa Latimer.","Corey Colyer","Ronald Althouse"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Tranguch, Jeff"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-01-17T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology and Anthropology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social research","Religion"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.855","https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/855"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Previous research on the social predictors of paranormal belief is contradictive and unclear. Depending on which author you read, one theory is better at explaining why individuals accept belief in paranormal phenomena. This problem most likely is the result of weak sample sizes and an inconsistency in defining and measuring the paranormal. This thesis incorporates data from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey which is one of the largest, most recent data sets assessing paranormal belief. Three predominant theories within the literature are tested. Findings lend support to the marginalization theory claiming that individuals who are marginalized from society tend to hold more paranormal beliefs, both religious and non-religious. Significant support is also given for the small step hypothesis suggesting that the more religious paranormal beliefs an individual holds, the more likely he or she is to hold non-religious paranormal beliefs. Furthermore, support is given to the functional alternative hypothesis proposing that individuals who do not have a religious identity (religious \"nones\") are more likely to profess belief in the non-religious paranormal."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["From Bigfoot in the backyard to ghosts in the attic: Predictors of paranormal belief"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Melissa Latimer.","Corey Colyer","Ronald Althouse"],"dc:creator":["Tranguch, Jeff"],"dc:date.available":["2019-01-17T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Previous research on the social predictors of paranormal belief is contradictive and unclear. Depending on which author you read, one theory is better at explaining why individuals accept belief in paranormal phenomena. This problem most likely is the result of weak sample sizes and an inconsistency in defining and measuring the paranormal. This thesis incorporates data from the 2005 Baylor Religion Survey which is one of the largest, most recent data sets assessing paranormal belief. Three predominant theories within the literature are tested. Findings lend support to the marginalization theory claiming that individuals who are marginalized from society tend to hold more paranormal beliefs, both religious and non-religious. Significant support is also given for the small step hypothesis suggesting that the more religious paranormal beliefs an individual holds, the more likely he or she is to hold non-religious paranormal beliefs. Furthermore, support is given to the functional alternative hypothesis proposing that individuals who do not have a religious identity (religious \"nones\") are more likely to profess belief in the non-religious paranormal."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.855","https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/855"],"dc:subject":["Social research","Religion"],"dc:title":["From Bigfoot in the backyard to ghosts in the attic: Predictors of paranormal belief"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology and Anthropology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:15:01Z"}