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Chris French
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| This might be Skepticism |
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| But we're not sure |
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Christopher C. French (1956–) is British emeritus professor of psychology and head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit (APRU) at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Improper research at the ARPU
“”I wish I had made the decision earlier.
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| —Chris French on the establishment of the APRU[1] |
Upon establishing the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit (ARRU) at Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2000, he was told that his interest in anomalistic psychology would be tolerated as long as he also did “proper research.”[1]
Bem replication study
“”Once we think we know in advance which effects are real and which are illusory, true scientific objectivity flies out of the window.
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| —Chris French[2] |
Cornell University psychologist Daryl Bem, in his famous 2011 publication "Feeling the Future: Experimental Evidence for Anomalous Retroactive Influences on Cognition and Affect,"[3] which he claimed provided evidence for precognition, invited other researchers to replicate his study. French, along with Stuart J. Ritchie at the University of Edinburgh and Richard Wiseman at the University of Hertfordshire, took up that invitation.[2] The researchers had problems getting their negative replications published, with the high-impact journals (including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, which published Bem's original paper and his invitation to replication) rejecting it without review stating that they don't do replications. The British Journal of Psychology at least sent it out for review, but then rejected at the behest of reviewer 2; reviewer 2 being, of course, none other than Bem himself. The negative replications were finally published by open-access journal PLoS One.[4] Bem's response was that as the researchers were skeptics, they could have transmitted their skepticism and negative expectations.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 An Improper Researcher by Wendy M. Grossman (December 20, 2019) Skeptical Inquirer
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Precognition studies and the curse of the failed replications by Chris French (March 15, 2013) Guardian
- ↑ Bem, D. (2011) Feeling the Future: Experimental Evidence for Anomalous Retroactive Influences on Cognition and Affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 100, 407-425.
- ↑ Ritchie SJ, Wiseman R, French CC (2012). Failing the Future: Three Unsuccessful Attempts to Replicate Bem's 'Retroactive Facilitation of Recall' Effect. PLoS ONE 7(3): e33423. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033423
- ↑ Bem's response to Ritchie, Wiseman, and French by Daryl Bem, (March 15, 2012) PLoS One