Editing Psychic (section)

===Belief in psychic abilities===
In a 1990 survey of members of the National Academy of Sciences, only 2% of the respondents thought that [[extrasensory perception]] had been scientifically demonstrated, with another 2% thinking that the phenomena happened sometimes. Asked about research in the field, 22% thought that it should be discouraged, 63% that it should be allowed but not encouraged, and 10% that it should be encouraged; [[neuroscientist]]s were the most hostile to [[parapsychology]] of all the specialties.<ref name="mcconnell">McConnell, R.A., and Clark, T.K. (1991). "National Academy of Sciences' Opinion on Parapsychology" Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 85, 333–365.</ref><ref name="stokes">Douglas M. Stokes, [https://archive.today/20120710155103/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2320/is_n3_v56/ai_13771782/pg_5 Research in Parapsychology, 1990: Abstracts and Papers from the Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association], Journal of Parapsychology, Sept, 1992, Retrieved July 4, 2009</ref>

A survey of the beliefs of the general United States population about paranormal topics was conducted by [[The Gallup Organization]] in 2005.<ref name=gallup>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/16915/Three-Four-Americans-Believe-Paranormal.aspx |title=Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal |author=David W. Moore |date=June 16, 2005 |publisher=[[The Gallup Organization|Gallup News Service]] |access-date=2008-10-08 |archive-date=2017-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919195101/https://news.gallup.com/poll/16915/three-four-americans-believe-paranormal.aspx |url-status=live }}<br>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070202054056/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_5_29/ai_n15400020 Gallup poll shows that Americans' belief in the paranormal persists], Skeptical Inquirer, accessed October 28, 2006</ref> The survey found that 41 percent of those polled believed in [[extrasensory perception]] and 26 percent believed in [[clairvoyance]]. 31 percent of those surveyed indicated that they believe in telepathy or psychic communication.

A poll of 439 college students conducted in 2006 by researchers Bryan Farha of [[Oklahoma City University]] and Gary Steward of [[University of Central Oklahoma]], suggested that college seniors and graduate students were more likely to believe in psychic phenomena than college freshmen.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allthingspsychic.com/PsychicBeliefPoll.html|title=Paranormal Belief Poll|website=www.allthingspsychic.com|access-date=2021-12-23|archive-date=2021-12-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223213103/https://www.allthingspsychic.com/PsychicBeliefPoll.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Twenty-three percent of college freshmen expressed a belief in paranormal ideas. The percentage was greater among college seniors (31%) and graduate students (34%).<ref>Britt, R.: [http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/060121_paranormal_poll.html "Higher Education Fuels Stronger Belief in Ghosts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714192645/http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/060121_paranormal_poll.html |date=2007-07-14 }} LiveScience, January 2006, Retrieved September 18, 2007.</ref> The poll showed lower belief in psychic phenomena among science students than social science and education students.

Some people also believe that anyone can have psychic abilities which can be activated or enhanced through the study and practice of various disciplines and techniques such as meditation and divination, with a number of books and websites being dedicated to instruction in these methods.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chauran|first=Alexandra |title=So You Want To Be a Psychic Intuitive|publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide|year=2012|isbn =978-0738730653 }}</ref> Another popular belief is that psychic ability is hereditary, with a psychic parent passing their abilities on to their children.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Psychics – myths & misconceptions|url=http://www.hark.net.au/articles/psychics_info.htm|access-date=April 25, 2007|archive-date=April 16, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416104517/http://www.hark.net.au/articles/psychics_info.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>