Brief Biography
Bruce is currently Chair of Developmental Psychology and Director of the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre at the University of Bristol (1999–). He was previously a professor in the Department of Psychology, Harvard University (1995–99) and a visiting scientist at MIT (1994–95). He obtained his first degree in psychology at Dundee University in 1984 and his PhD from Cambridge University in 1991.
About the Author
I was born in Toronto and my middle name is MacFarlane, a legacy of my Scottish heritage from my father’s side. My mother is Australian, with the very unusual first name of ‘Loyale’. I used to believe for many years that she had two sisters called ‘Hope’ and ‘Faith’ but this was just wishful thinking. ‘Why Toronto?’, I hear you ask. My father was a journalist and plied his art on various continents. By the time, I finally settled in Dundee, Scotland, for the majority of my childhood, I had already lived in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. (If you are wondering, I support Scotland during the Rugby World Cup.) I have an older brother who was also born in Toronto but he doesn’t have my mid-Atlantic accent. He is sensible. He is a lawyer. In Dundee, I went to school and then to university where I studied psychology. I then went to Cambridge to conduct research on visual development in babies and completed my PhD in 1991. That year I got married with a ‘Dr’ in front of my name. My wife is a real doctor and wouldn’t marry me until I was doctored. After some post-doc experience at University College London, we both set off to Boston to sample US academia for a year. By the time we were ready to travel, we were three as my eldest daughter had just been born. When my wife wasn’t paying attention, I applied for, and was offered, a professorship at Harvard. What was supposed to be just one year in the US turned into five, by which time we decided that we really did not want to raise our daughter with the same accent as mine. We moved back to Bath, a beautiful city where we never thought we would ever have the opportunity to work. Bristol University, which is not too far away from Bath, offered me a professorial chair in developmental psychology, so I was well pleased. That was ten years ago. We now have a second daughter and we all live in a medieval barn with mice. I still conduct research and teach at Bristol. But I also write books. That’s where I am up to now.
HOW DO YOU MEASURE UP ON THE SUPERSENSE?
HOW DO YOU SCORE ON PARANORMAL BELIEF?
In chapter 2, I described the results of Gallup polls surveying the general public in their supernatural beliefs. There are several scales that have been used in research to measure how much belief people have in supernatural phenomena. Listed below are thirteen statements containing opinions designed to quickly measure paranormal beliefs. Following each opinion please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the statement, with (1) = Strong Disagreement, (2) = Moderate Disagreement, (3) = Mild Disagreement, (4) = Mild Agreement, (5) = Moderate Agreement and (6) = Strong Agreement. Read the statements carefully as the wording is important.
a)
It is probably true that certain people can predict the future quite accurately.
b)
For the most part, people who claim to be psychics are in reality just very good actors.
c)
It is quite possible for planetary forces to control personality traits.
d)
Contrary to scientific opinion, there is some validity to fortune telling.
e)
In spite of the laws of science, some people can use their psychic powers to make objects move.
f)
As a general rule, any fortune-teller’s predictions which come true are just a result of coincidence.
g)
Regardless of what you might read in the magazines, people who actually believe in ‘magic’ rituals are just wasting their time.
h)
For the most part, most fortune-tellers’ predictions are general and vague. It is just the situation that them believable.
i)
In spite of what people think, card readings, for example tarot cards, can reveal a lot about a person and their future.
j)
Cosmic forces (astrology) can still influence peoples’ lives even thought they don’t believe in it. k) Although some people still believe there are people who can actually put a hex on or cast a love spell on some, such belief is only superstition. l) Contrary to scientific belief, some people can make contact with the dead.
Take your score for items b), e), f ), g), and j) then reverse the value so that 1=6, 2=5, 3=4, 4=3, 5=2 and 6=1. Now add all your scores together. What was your total?
Research with this scale has shown that the average adult score is 38 in the US and 32 in the UK.
DISCUSSION TOPICS
HAVE YOU HAD ANY SUPERSENSE BELIEFS OR MOMENTS?
If the supersense is within all of us, there should be no embarrassment in talking about our individual supernatural beliefs and behaviours. Why not ask colleagues and friends if they have any interesting super-sense moments and how they came about? Start with the personal sentimental objects, as many of us are happy to describe what they mean to us. If not an object, then it may be a certain place or an event where one experiences a sense of the profound. Our lives are full of such moments of significance though we use different ways to interpret them.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAVE FROM A BURNING HOUSE?
In chapter 8, I described how personal possessions become very precious to the individual. Imagine that your house caught fire and you had to save just one item. What would it be and why would you risk your life to save it?
My student Katy Donnelly posed this question to 180 people in an online survey. The top three household items in order were: 1) photographs, 2) jewellery and, 3), their childhood toy. Women rated items they had been given by someone else as more valuable than did men, who valued objects that they had bought themselves as most important. Why do you think that might be the case?
HOW MUCH IS YOUR SUPERSENSE WORTH?
Consider the following tasks and answer honestly if you could do any of them and, if so, for how much: £1; £100; £1000; £100,000; £1,000,000; or never? You have to fully imagine doing it to get a true insight into your own supersense.
1)
Could you drop your most cherished sentimental object into the toilet bowl?
2)
Could you wear a murderer’s cardigan?
3)