Editing Society for Psychical Research

{{short description|UK nonprofit organisation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox organization
|name                = Society for Psychical Research
|image               = Society for Psychical Research logo.png
|size                =
|caption             =
|abbreviation        = SPR
|formation           = {{start date and age|1882}}
|status              = [[Non-profit organisation]]
|purpose             = [[Parapsychology]]
|location            = 1 Vernon Mews, [[West Kensington]], London W14 0RL
|region_served       = Worldwide
|membership          = Psi researchers
|leader_title        = President
|leader_name         = Prof Chris Roe
|main_organ          = SPR Council
|parent_organization =
|affiliations        =
|budget              =
|website             = {{official URL}}
}}
{{Paranormal|state=collapsed}}
The '''Society for Psychical Research''' ('''SPR''') is a [[nonprofit organisation]] in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as [[psychic]] or [[paranormal]]. It describes itself as the "first society to conduct organised scholarly research into human experiences that challenge contemporary scientific models." It does not, however, since its inception in 1882, hold any corporate opinions: SPR members assert a variety of beliefs with regard to the nature of the phenomena studied.

==Origins==
[[Image:Henry Sidgwick.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Henry Sidgwick]], first president of the SPR]]

The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) originated from a discussion between journalist [[Edmund Rogers]] and the physicist [[William F. Barrett]] in autumn 1881. This led to a conference on 5 and 6 January 1882 at the headquarters of the [[British National Association of Spiritualists]], at which the foundation of the Society was proposed.<ref>[[Janet Oppenheim|Oppenheim, Janet]]. (1988). ''The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914''. pp. 136–138. {{ISBN|978-0521347679}}</ref> The committee included Barrett, Rogers, [[Stainton Moses]], [[Charles Massey]], [[Edmund Gurney]], [[Hensleigh Wedgwood]] and [[Frederic W. H. Myers]].<ref>[[Roger Luckhurst|Luckhurst, Roger]]. (2002). ''The Invention of Telepathy, 1870–1901''. Oxford University Press. p. 51. {{ISBN|978-0199249626}}</ref> The SPR was formally constituted on 20 February 1882 with philosopher [[Henry Sidgwick]] as its first president.<ref>Schultz, Bart. (2004). ''Henry Sidgwick: Eye of the Universe: An Intellectual Biography''. Cambridge University Press. p. 276. {{ISBN|978-0521829670}}</ref><ref>McCorristine, Shane. (2010). ''Spectres of the Self: Thinking about Ghosts and Ghost-Seeing in England, 1750–1920''. Cambridge University Press. p. 110. {{ISBN|978-0521747967}}</ref><ref>[[Alan Gauld]], ''The Founders of Psychical Research'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968), p. 138.</ref>

The SPR was the first organisation of its kind in the world, its stated purpose being "to approach these varied problems without prejudice or prepossession of any kind, and in the same spirit of exact and unimpassioned enquiry which has enabled science to solve so many problems, once not less obscure nor less hotly debated."<ref>[[Ivor Grattan-Guinness|Grattan-Guinness, Ivor]]. (1982). ''Psychical Research: A Guide to Its History, Principles and Practices: In Celebration of 100 Years of the Society for Psychical Research''. Aquarian Press. p. 19. {{ISBN|0-85030-316-8}}.</ref><ref name="SPR website">{{cite web|url=http://www.spr.ac.uk/main/|title=SPR website|website=spr.ac.uk|access-date=23 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217045521/http://www.spr.ac.uk/main/|archive-date=17 February 2010}}</ref>

In 1882 [[Mary Everest Boole]] became the first female member of the SPR; however, she resigned after six months.<ref>{{cite book|last=Haynes|first=Renée |authorlink=Renée Haynes|title=The Society for Psychical Research, 1882-1982: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3PsRAQAAMAAJ|year=1982|publisher=Macdonald|pages=5|isbn=978-0-356-07875-5}}</ref> Some other early members included the author [[Jane Barlow]],<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1917|title=Meetings of the Council|journal=Journal of the Society for Psychical Research|volume=18|issue=335|page=12}}</ref> the renowned chemist Sir [[William Crookes]], physicist Sir [[Oliver Lodge]], Nobel laureate [[Charles Richet]], artist [[Lewis Charles Powles]] and psychologist [[William James]].<ref>Christie, Drew. ''Societies for Psychical Research''. In [[Michael Shermer]]. (2002). ''[[The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience]]''. ABC-CLIO. pp. 217–219. {{ISBN|1-57607-653-9}}</ref>

Members of the SPR initiated and organised the International Congresses of Physiological/Experimental psychology.<ref name="Sommer1">{{cite journal |last=Sommer |first=Andreas |date=2012 |title=Psychical research and the origins of American psychology: Hugo Münsterberg, William James and Eusapia Palladino |pmc=3552602 |journal=History of the Human Sciences |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=23–44 |doi=10.1177/0952695112439376 |pmid=23355763 }}</ref><ref name="Sommer2">{{cite journal |last=Sommer |first=Andreas |date=2011 |title=Professional Heresy: Edmund Gurney (1847–88) and the Study of Hallucinations and Hypnotism |journal=Medical History |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=383–388 |doi=10.1017/S0025727300005445 |pmc=3143882 |pmid=21792265 }}</ref>

Areas of study included [[hypnotism]], [[dissociation (psychology)|dissociation]], [[telepathy|thought-transference]], [[mediumship]], [[Odic force|Reichenbach phenomena]], [[apparitional experiences|apparitions and haunted houses]] and the physical phenomena associated with [[séance]]s.<ref name="Sommer1"/><ref>Thurschwell, Pamela. (2004). ''Literature, Technology and Magical Thinking, 1880–1920''. Cambridge University Press. p. 16. {{ISBN|0-521-80168-0}}</ref><ref>McCorristine, Shane. (2010). ''Spectres of the Self: Thinking about Ghosts and Ghost-Seeing in England, 1750-1920''. Cambridge University Press. p. 114. {{ISBN|978-0-521-76798-9}}</ref> The SPR were to introduce a number of neologisms which have entered the [[English language]], such as '[[telepathy]]', which was coined by Frederic Myers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=telepathy |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=10 September 2011}}</ref>

The Society is run by a President and a Council of twenty members, and is open to interested members of the public to join.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.spr.ac.uk/main/page/join-the-spr| title=Join the SPR! |publisher=Society for Psychical Research|quote=Membership does not imply acceptance of any particular opinion concerning the nature or reality of the phenomena examined, and the Society holds no corporate views.}}</ref> The organisation is based at 1 Vernon Mews, London, with a library and office open to members, and with large book and archival holdings in [[Cambridge University Library]], [[Cambridgeshire]], England.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/rarebooks/directory.html#soci|title=Rare Books - Collections directory - name access|website=www.lib.cam.ac.uk|access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref> It publishes the peer-reviewed quarterly ''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research'' (''JSPR''), the irregular ''Proceedings'' and the magazine ''Paranormal Review''. It holds an annual conference, regular lectures and two study days per year<ref name="SPR website"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~info/SocAssoc.php3|title=Edinburgh University Website|website=ed.ac.uk|access-date=23 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303095713/http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~info/SocAssoc.php3|archive-date=3 March 2007}}</ref> and supports the ''LEXSCIEN'' on-line library project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexscien.org/lexscien/index.jsp |title=LEXSCIEN Library of Exploratory Science |publisher=Lexscien.org |access-date=10 September 2011}}</ref>

==Research==

===Psychical research===

Among the first important works was the two-volume publication in 1886, ''[[Phantasms of the Living]]'', concerning telepathy and [[apparitional experience|apparitions]], co-authored by Gurney, Myers and [[Frank Podmore]].<ref>[[Janet Oppenheim|Oppenheim, Janet]]. (1988). ''The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914''. pp. 141–142. {{ISBN|978-0521347679}}</ref> This text, and subsequent research in this area, was received negatively by the scientific mainstream,<ref name="Sommer2"/> though Gurney and Podmore provided a defense of the society's early work in this area in mainstream publications.<ref>[[Edmund Gurney|Gurney, Edmund]].  (1887). [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ns-9.214.233 Thought-transference]. ''Science'', 233–235.</ref><ref>[[Edmund Gurney|Gurney, Edmund]]. (1887). [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960/t9088vz2x;view=1up;seq=445 Thought-transference]. ''National Review'', 9, 437–439</ref><ref>[[Edmund Gurney|Gurney, Edmund]]. (1888). [https://books.google.com/books?id=HSPkAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA415 Hallucination of memory and ‘telepathy’]. ''Mind'', 13, 415–417.</ref><ref>[[Frank Podmore|Podmore, Frank]]. (1892). [https://books.google.com/books?id=cSM_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA234 "In Defense of Phantasms"]. ''The National Review''. Vol. 19, No. 110. pp. 234–251</ref><ref>[[Frank Podmore|Podmore, Frank]]. (1895). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25103491 "What Psychical Research Has Accomplished"]. ''The North American Review''. Vol. 160, No. 460. pp. 331–344</ref>

The SPR "devised methodological innovations such as randomized study designs" and conducted "the first experiments investigating the psychology of eyewitness testimony (Hodgson and Davey, 1887), [and] empirical and conceptual studies illuminating mechanisms of dissociation and hypnotism"<ref name="Sommer1"/>

In 1894, the ''Census of Hallucinations'' was published which sampled 17,000 people. Out of these, 1,684 persons reported having experienced a hallucination of an apparition.<ref>Williams, William F. (2000). ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy''. Routledge. p. 49. {{ISBN|1-57958-207-9}}</ref> Such efforts were claimed to have undermined "the notion of dissociation and hallucinations as intrinsically pathological phenomena".<ref name="Sommer1"/>

The SPR investigated many spiritualist mediums such as [[Eva Carrière]] and [[Eusapia Palladino]].<ref>Anderson, Rodger. (2006). ''Psychics, Sensitives and Somnambules: A Biographical Dictionary with Bibliographies''. McFarland & Company. pp. 14–132. {{ISBN|978-0786427703}}</ref>

During the early twentieth century, the SPR studied a series of [[Automatic writing|automatic scripts]] and trance utterances from a group of automatic writers, known as the [[cross-correspondences]].<ref>Edmunds, Simeon. (1966). ''Spiritualism: A Critical Survey''. Aquarian Press. pp. 178–180. {{ISBN|978-0850300130}}</ref>

Famous cases investigated by the Society include [[Borley Rectory]] and the [[Enfield Poltergeist]].

In 1912 the Society extended a request for a contribution to a special medical edition of its Proceedings to [[Sigmund Freud]]. Though according to Ronald W. Clark (1980) "Freud surmised, no doubt correctly, that the existence of any link between the founding fathers of psychoanalysis and investigation of the paranormal would hamper acceptance of psychoanalysis" as would any perceived involvement with the occult. Nonetheless, Freud did respond, contributing an essay titled "A Note on the Unconscious in Psycho-Analysis"<ref>1912 Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, 26 (Part 66), 312–318.</ref> to the Medical Supplement to the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research.<ref>Keeley, James P. "Subliminal Promptings: Psychoanalytic Theory and the Society for Psychical Research." American Imago, vol. 58 no. 4, 2001, pp. 767–791. Project MUSE, {{doi|10.1353/aim.2001.0021}}</ref>

===Exposures of fraud===

Much of the society's early work involved investigating, exposing and in some cases duplicating fake phenomena. In the late 19th century, SPR investigations into séance phenomena led to the exposure of many fraudulent mediums.<ref>Moreman, Christopher M. (2010). ''Beyond the Threshold: Afterlife Beliefs and Experiences in World Religions''. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. p. 163. {{ISBN|978-0-7425-6228-8}} "SPR investigators quickly found that many mediums were indeed, as skeptics had alleged, operating under cover of darkness in order to perpetrate scams. They used a number of tricks facilitated by darkness: sleight of hand was used to manipulate objects and touch people eager to make contact with deceased loved ones; flour or white lines would give the illusion of spectral white hands or faces; accomplices were even stashed under tables or in secret rooms to lent support in the plot... As the investigations of the SPR, and other skeptics, were made public, many fraudulent mediums saw their careers ruined and many unsuspecting clients were enraged at the deception perpetrated."</ref>

[[Richard Hodgson (parapsychologist)|Richard Hodgson]] distinguished himself in that area. In 1884, Hodgson was sent by the SPR to [[India]] to investigate [[Helena Blavatsky]] and concluded that her claims of [[psychic]] power were fraudulent.<ref>[[Janet Oppenheim|Oppenheim, Janet]]. (1988). ''The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914''. pp. 175–176. {{ISBN|978-0521347679}}</ref> However, in 1985 the original finding of fraud was questioned and reinvestigated by the SPR researcher [[Vernon Harrison]], president of the Royal Photographic Society and an expert at detecting forgery. Harrison determined that "As an investigator, Hodgson is weighed in the balances and found wanting. His case against Madame H. P. Blavatsky is not proven."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-spr/hpb-spr1.htm#t1 | title=Part 1, J'Accuse: An Examination of the Hodgson Report }}</ref>

In 1886 and 1887 a series of publications by S. J. Davey, [[Richard Hodgson (parapsychologist)|Hodgson]] and [[Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick|Sidgwick]] in the SPR journal exposed the [[Slate (writing)|slate writing]] tricks of the medium [[William Eglinton]].<ref name="Janet Oppenheim 1988 pp. 139–140">[[Janet Oppenheim|Oppenheim, Janet]]. (1988). ''The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 139–140. {{ISBN|978-0521347679}}</ref> Hodgson with his friend, S. J. Davey, had staged fake séances for educating the public (including SPR members). Davey gave sittings under an assumed name, duplicating the phenomena produced by Eglinton, and then proceeded to point out to the sitters the manner in which they had been deceived. Because of this, some spiritualist members such as [[Stainton Moses]] resigned from the SPR.<ref name="Janet Oppenheim 1988 pp. 139–140"/>

In 1891, [[Alfred Russel Wallace]] requested for the Society to properly investigate [[spirit photography]].<ref>[http://martynjolly.com/2013/10/02/faces-of-the-living-dead/ "The Belief in Spirit Photography"]. Martyn Jolly.</ref> [[Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick|Eleanor Sidgwick]] responded with a critical paper in the SPR which cast doubt on the subject and discussed the fraudulent methods that spirit photographers such as [[Édouard Isidore Buguet]], [[Frederick Hudson (photographer)|Frederic Hudson]] and [[William H. Mumler]] had utilised.<ref>Edmunds, Simeon. (1966). ''Spiritualism: A Critical Survey''. Aquarian Press. p. 115. {{ISBN|978-0850300130}} "The early history of spirit photography was reviewed by Mrs Henry Sidgwick in the Proceedings of the SPR in 1891. She showed clearly not only that Mumler, Hudson, Buguet and their ilk were fraudulent, but the way in which those who believed in them were deceived."</ref>

Due to the exposure of [[William Hope (paranormal investigator)|William Hope]] and other fraudulent mediums, [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] led a mass resignation of eighty-four members of the Society for Psychical Research, as they believed the Society was opposed to spiritualism.<ref name="Nelson2013">Nelson, G. K. (2013). ''Spiritualism and Society''. Routledge. p. 159. {{ISBN|978-0415714624}}</ref> Science historian [[William Hodson Brock]] has noted that "By the 1900s most avowed spiritualists had left the SPR and gone back to the BNAS (the [[London Spiritualist Alliance]] since 1884), having become upset by the sceptical tone of most of the SPR's investigations."<ref>[[William Hodson Brock|Brock, William Hodson]]. (2008). ''William Crookes (1832–1919) and the Commercialization of Science''. Ashgate Publishing. p. 206. {{ISBN|978-0754663225}}</ref>

==Criticism of the SPR==
The Society has been criticized by both spiritualists and skeptics.

===Criticism from spiritualists===
Prominent spiritualists at first welcomed the SPR and cooperated fully, but relations soured when spiritualists discovered that the SPR would not accept outside testimony as proof, and the society accused some prominent mediums of fraud. Spiritualist [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] resigned from the SPR in 1930, to protest what he regarded as the SPR's overly restrictive standards of proof. Psychic investigator and believer in spiritualism [[Nandor Fodor]] criticised the SPR for its "strong bias" against physical manifestations of spiritualism.<ref>Nandor Fodor, ''An Encyclopedia of Psychic Science'' (Secaucus, NJ: Citadel, 1966) 350–352.</ref>

===Criticism from skeptics===
[[File:Trevor H. Hall.png|upright|thumb|[[Trevor H. Hall]], a critic of the SPR]]
Skeptics have criticised members of the SPR for having motives liable to impair scientific objectivity. According to SPR critics [[John Grant (author)|John Grant]] and [[Eric Dingwall]] (a member of the SPR), early SPR members such as [[Henry Sidgwick]], [[Frederic W. H. Myers]], and [[William F. Barrett|William Barrett]] hoped to cling to something spiritual through psychical research.<ref name="Ding">[[Eric Dingwall|Dingwall, Eric]] (1985). ''The Need for Responsibility in Parapsychology: My Sixty Years in Psychical Research''. In [[Paul Kurtz]]. ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology''. Prometheus Books. pp. 161–174. {{ISBN|0-87975-300-5}} Author John Grant stated that prominent member F. W. H. Myers held that telepathy, according to some speculative explanations, might, in demonstrating that mind could communicate with mind apart from recognised channels, provide evidence supporting the proposition that human personality could continue after the death of the body. "Thus the supernatural might be proved by science, and psychical research might become, in the words of Sir William Barrett, a handmaid to religion."</ref><ref>[[John Grant (author)|Grant, John]] (2015). ''Spooky Science: Debunking the Pseudoscience of the Afterlife''. Sterling Publishing. pp. 23–24. {{ISBN|978-1-4549-1654-3}}</ref> Myers stated that “[T]he Society for Psychical Research was founded, with the establishment of thought-transference—already rising within measurable distance of proof—as its primary aim.”<ref>Woerlee, G. M. (2011). [http://neardth.com/consciousness-beyond-life.php "Review of Consciousness Beyond Life by Pim van Lommel"]. Retrieved 2016-12-19.</ref> Defenders of the SPR have stated in reply that “a ‘will to believe’ in post-mortem survival, telepathy and other scientifically unpopular notions, does not necessarily exclude a ‘will to know’ and thus the capacity for thorough [[self-criticism]], methodological rigour and relentless suspicion of errors.”<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sommer |first=Andreas |date=2011 |title=HamiltonTrevor, Immortal Longings: F.W.H. Myers and the Victorian Search for Life after Death (Exeter: Imprint Academic, 2009), pp. 359, hardback |isbn=978-1845-401238 |journal=Medical History |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=433–435 |doi=10.1017/S0025727300005597 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The skeptic and physicist [[Victor J. Stenger]] has written:

{{blockquote| The SPR ... on occasion exposed blatant cases of fraud even their own credulous memberships could not swallow. But their journals have never succeeded in achieving a high level of credibility in the eyes of the rest of the scientific community. ... most articles usually begin with the assumption that psychic phenomena are demonstrated realities.<ref>[[Victor J. Stenger|Stenger, Victor J.]](1990). ''Physics and Psychics: The Search for a World Beyond the Senses''. Prometheus Books. pp. 161–162. {{ISBN|978-0-87975-575-1}}</ref>}}

[[Ivor Lloyd Tuckett]] an author of an early skeptical work on psychical research wrote that although the SPR have collected some valuable work, most of its active members have "no training in psychology fitting them for their task, and have been the victims of pronounced bias, as sometimes they themselves have admitted."<ref>[[Ivor Lloyd Tuckett|Tuckett, Ivor Lloyd]]. (1911). [https://archive.org/stream/evidenceforsuper00tuckrich#page/8/mode/2up ''The Evidence for the Supernatural: A Critical Study Made with "Uncommon Sense"'']. K. Paul, Trench, Trübner. pp. 8–9</ref> [[Trevor H. Hall]], an ex-member of the Society for Psychical Research, criticised SPR members for their "credulous and obsessive wish... to believe." Hall also claimed SPR members "lack knowledge of deceptive methods."<ref>Spangenburg, Ray; Moser, Diane (2004). ''The Age of Synthesis: 1800–1895''. Facts on File. p. 134. {{ISBN|978-0816048533}}</ref>

Writer [[Edward Clodd]] asserted that the SPR members [[William F. Barrett]] and [[Oliver Lodge]] had insufficient competence for the detection of fraud and suggested that their spiritualist beliefs were based on [[magical thinking]] and primitive superstition.<ref>[[Edward Clodd|Clodd, Edward]]. (1917). [https://archive.org/stream/questionifmandie00cloduoft#page/265/mode/2up ''The Question: A Brief History and Examination of Modern Spiritualism'']. Grant Richards, London. pp. 265–301</ref> Clodd described the SPR as offering "barbaric spiritual philosophy", and characterised the language of SPR members as using such terms as "subliminal consciousness" and "telepathic energy," as a disguise for "bastard supernaturalism."<ref>[[Roger Luckhurst|Luckhurst, Roger]] (2002). ''The Invention of Telepathy: 1870–1901''. Oxford University Press. p. 163. {{ISBN|978-0199249626}}</ref>

A 2004 [[Psychology|psychological]] study involving 174 members of the Society for Psychical Research completed a delusional ideation questionnaire and a [[deductive reasoning]] task. The study found that "individuals who reported a strong belief in the paranormal made more errors and displayed more delusional [[Ideation (idea generation)|ideation]] than skeptical individuals". The study also claims that reasoning abnormalities may have a causal role in the formation of paranormal belief.<ref>Lawrence, E. & Peters, E. (2004). ''Reasoning in believers in the paranormal''. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 192, 727–733.</ref> 

Some skeptical members have resigned from the SPR. [[Eric Dingwall]] resigned and wrote "After sixty years' experience and personal acquaintance with most of the leading parapsychologists of that period I do not think I could name half a dozen whom I could call objective students who honestly wished to discover the truth. The great majority wanted to prove something or other: They wanted the phenomena into which they were inquiring to serve some purpose in supporting preconceived theories of their own."(1985)<ref name="Ding"/>

== Presidents ==

The following is a list of presidents:

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" | Society for Psychical Research
|-
|1882–84 &nbsp; || [[Henry Sidgwick]] (1838–1900), Professor, Trinity College, Cambridge; Philosopher and Economist
|-
|1885–87  || [[Balfour Stewart]] (1827–1887), Professor, Owens College, Manchester; Physicist
|-
|1888–92 &nbsp; || [[Henry Sidgwick]] (→ 1882), Professor, Trinity College, Cambridge; Philosopher and Economist
|-
|1893 ||[[Arthur Balfour]] KG, OM, PC, DL (1848–1930), Politician, later Prime Minister; known for the Balfour Declaration
|-
|1894–95 ||[[William James]] (1842–1910) Professor, Harvard University; American Psychologist and Philosopher
|-
|1896–99 ||Sir [[William Crookes]] (1832–1919), Physical Chemist; discovered the element Thallium, invented the [[Crookes tube]]
|-
|1900 ||[[Frederic W. H. Myers]] (1843–1901), Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; Classicist and Philosopher
|-
|1901–03 ||Sir [[Oliver Lodge]] (1851–1940), Professor, University College, Liverpool; Physicist; developer of wireless telegraphy
|-
|1904 ||[[William F. Barrett]] FRS (1845–1926), Professor, Royal College of Science, Dublin; Experimental Physicist
|-
|1905 ||[[Charles Richet]] (1850–1935), Professor, Collège de France, Paris; French Physiologist, Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology 1913
|-
|1906–07 ||[[Gerald Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour|Gerald Balfour]] (1853–1945), Politician, brother of Arthur Balfour; Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
|-
|1908–09 ||[[Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick]] (1845–1936), Principal, Newnham College, Cambridge; Physicist
|-
|1910 ||Henry Arthur Smith (1848–1922), Barrister-at-Law, Middle Temple, London; Lawyer and author of legal treatises
|-
|1911 ||[[Andrew Lang]] (1844–1912), Fellow, Merton College, Oxford; Classicist and writer on folklore, mythology, and religion
|-
|1912 ||[[William Boyd Carpenter]] KCVO (1841–1918), Pastoral Lecturer, Theology, Cambridge; Bishop of Ripon
|-
|1913 ||[[Henri Bergson]] (1859–1941) Professor, Collège de France, Paris; Chair of Modern Philosophy; Nobel Prize, Literature 1927
|-
|1914 ||[[F. C. S. Schiller]] (1864–1937), Fellow, Corpus Christi College, Oxford; Philosopher
|-
|1915–16 ||[[Gilbert Murray]] (1866–1957), Regius Professor of Greek, University of Oxford; Classicist
|-
|1917–18 ||[[L. P. Jacks|Lawrence Pearsall Jacks]] (1860–1955), Professor, Manchester College, Oxford; Philosopher and Theologian 
|-
|1919 || [[John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh]] OM, PRS (1842–1919), Cavendish Professor, Trinity College, Cambridge; Physicist, Nobel Prize, Physics 1904
|-
|1920–21 ||[[William McDougall (psychologist)|William McDougall]] FRS (1871–1938), Professor, Duke University; Psychologist, founder J B Rhine Parapsychology Lab
|-
|1922 ||[[Thomas Walker Mitchell]] (1869–1944), Physician and Psychologist, Publisher of the ''British Journal of Medical Psychology'' 1920–35
|-
|1923 ||[[Camille Flammarion]] (1842–1925), founder and first president of the Société Astronomique de France, author of popular science and science fiction works
|-
|1924–25 ||John George Piddington (1869–1952), Businessman, John George Smith & Co., London
|-
|1926–27 ||[[Hans Driesch]] (1867–1941), Professor, Universitaet Leipzig; German Biologist and Natural Philosopher, performed first animal cloning 1885
|-
|1928–29 ||Sir Lawrence Evelyn Jones (1885–1955) Honorary Fellow, Balliol College, Oxford; Author
|-
|1930–31 ||[[Walter Franklin Prince]] (1863–1934), Clergyman
|-
|1932 ||[[Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick]] (→ 1908) and [[Oliver Joseph Lodge|Oliver Lodge]] (→ 1901)
|-
|1933–34 ||[[Edith Lyttelton]] (born as Edith Balfour; 1865–1948), Writer
|-
|1935–36 ||[[C. D. Broad]] (1887–1971), Philosopher
|-
|1937–38 ||[[Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh]] (1875–1947), Physicist
|-
|1939–41 ||[[H. H. Price]] (1899–1984), Philosopher
|-
|1942–44 ||[[Robert Henry Thouless]] (1894–1984), Psychologist 
|-
|1945–46 ||[[George Nugent Merle Tyrrell]] (1879–1952), Mathematician
|-
|1947–48 ||[[William Henry Salter]] (1880–1969), Lawyer
|-
|1949 ||[[Gardner Murphy]] (1895–1979), Director of Research, Menninger Foundation, Topeka, Kansas; Psychologist
|-
|1950–51 ||[[Samuel Soal]] (1889–1975), Mathematician
|-
|1952 ||[[Gilbert Murray]] (→ 1915)
|-
|1953–55 ||[[F. J. M. Stratton]] (1881–1960), Astrophysicist, Professor in Cambridge University
|-
|1956–58 ||[[Guy William Lambert]] (1889–1984), Diplomat
|-
|1958–60 ||[[C. D. Broad]] (→ 1935)
|-
|1960–61 ||[[H. H. Price]] (→ 1939)
|-
|1960–63 ||[[E. R. Dodds]] (1893–1979), Hellenist, Professor in Birmingham and Oxford
|-
|1963–65 ||[[Donald J. West]] (1924 - 2020), Psychiatrist and criminologist
|-
|1965–69 ||Sir [[Alister Hardy]] (1896–1985), Zoologist
|-
|1969–71 ||[[W. A. H. Rushton]] (1901–1980), Physiologist, Professor in Cambridge
|-
|1971–74 ||[[Clement Mundle]] (1916–1989), Philosopher
|-
|1974–76 ||[[John Beloff]] (1920–2006), Psychologist at the University of Edinburgh
|-
|1976–79 ||Arthur J. Ellison (1920–2000), Engineer
|-
|1980 ||[[Joseph Banks Rhine]] (1895–1980), Biologist and Parapsychologist
|-
|1980 ||[[Louisa Ella Rhine]] (1891–1983), Parapsychologist, wife of Joseph Rhine
|-
|1981–83 ||Arthur J. Ellison (→ 1976)
|-
|1984–88 ||[[Donald J. West]] (→ 1963)
|-
|1988–89 || [[Ian Stevenson]] (1918–2007), Psychiatrist
|-
|1992–93 ||[[Alan Gauld]] (b. 1932), Psychologist
|-
|1993–95 ||[[Archie Roy]] (1924–2012), Professor of Astronomy in Glasgow, founded the Scottish SPR in 1987 
|-
|1995–98 ||[[David Fontana]] (1934–2010), Professor of Psychology in Cardiff
|-
|1998–99 || [[Donald J. West]] (→ 1963, → 1984)
|-
|2000–04 || [[Bernard Carr]], Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy in London
|-
|2004–07 ||John Poynton, Professor Emeritus of Biology, University of Natal
|-
|2007–11 ||[[Deborah Delanoy]], Parapsychologist
|-
|2011–15 ||Richard S. Broughton, senior lecturer in psychology at The University of Northampton
|-
|2015–18 ||John Poynton (→2004) 
|-
|2018–21 ||Chris Roe, Professor of Psychology, University of Northampton
|-
|2021– ||Adrian Parker, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Gothenburg
|}

==Publications==
The Society publishes ''Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research'', the ''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research'', and the ''Paranormal Review'', as well as the online ''Psi Encyclopedia''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Journal |url=https://www.spr.ac.uk/publications/journal-society-psychical-research |website=www.spr.ac.uk |publisher=Society for Psychical Research |access-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918154742/https://www.spr.ac.uk/publications/journal-society-psychical-research |archive-date=September 18, 2016 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="spr.ac.uk">{{cite web |title=Paranormal Review |url=https://www.spr.ac.uk/publications/paranormal-review |website=www.spr.ac.uk |publisher=Society for Psychical Research |access-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918160730/https://www.spr.ac.uk/publications/paranormal-review |archive-date=September 18, 2016 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Psi Encyclopedia |url=https://www.spr.ac.uk/publications/psi-encyclopedia |website=[[Society for Psychical Research]] |access-date=2 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918155921/https://www.spr.ac.uk/publications/psi-encyclopedia |archive-date=September 18, 2016 |language=en}}</ref>

===''Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research''===
First published in 1882 as a public record of the activities of the SPR, the ''Proceedings'' are now reserved for longer pieces of work, such as Presidential Addresses, and are only occasionally published.<ref name="iapsop.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.iapsop.com/archive/materials/spr_proceedings/ |title=Journal and Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research &#91;SPR&#93; (IAPSOP) |website=www.iapsop.com |access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> The current editor is Dr David Vernon.

===''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research''===
The ''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research'' has been published quarterly since 1884. It was introduced as a private, members-only periodical to supplement the ''Proceedings''.<ref name="iapsop.com"/> It now focuses on current laboratory and field research, but also includes theoretical, methodological and historical papers on parapsychology. It also publishes book reviews and correspondence. The current editor is Dr David Vernon.

===''Magazine of the Society for Psychical Research''===
The ''Magazine of the Society for Psychical Research'',  formerly known as the ''Psi Researcher'' and ''Paranormal Review'', has been published since 1996. Previous editors have included Dr Nicola J. Holt.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr Nicola Holt |url=http://people.uwe.ac.uk/Pages/person.aspx?accountname=campus%5Cn-holt |website=people.uwe.ac.uk |publisher=[[University of the West of England]] |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513214103/https://people.uwe.ac.uk/Person/NicolaHolt |archive-date=May 13, 2021 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref> The current editor is Dr [[Leo Ruickbie]].<ref name="spr.ac.uk"/>

===''Psi Encyclopedia''===
The ''Psi Encyclopedia'' is a collection of [https://www.spr.ac.uk/publicationsrecordings/psi-encyclopedia articles and case studies about psi research], involving the scientific investigation of psychic phenomena.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Psi Encyclopedia |url=https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/ |publisher=Society for Psychical Research |access-date=16 July 2020}}</ref> A bequest of Nigel Buckmaster enabled the foundation of the encyclopedia.

==Other societies==

A number of other psychical research organisations use the term 'Society for Psychical Research' in their name.

*Australia – In 1977 the ''Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research'' was founded.<ref>Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research http://www.aiprinc.org/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828192605/http://www.aiprinc.org/ |date=28 August 2011 }}</ref>
*Austria – Founded in 1927 as the ''Austrian Society for Psychical Research'', today the Austrian Society for Parapsychology.<ref>{{cite web|author=Peter Mulacz |url=http://parapsychologie.ac.at/eng-info.htm |title=Austrian Society for Parapsychology |publisher=Parapsychologie.ac.at |access-date=10 September 2011}}</ref>
*Canada – From 1908 to 1916 the ''Canadian Society for Psychical Research'' existed in [[Toronto]].<ref>[McMullin, Stan (2004) Anatomy of a Séance: A History of Spirit Communication in Central Canada (Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press), p. 87.]</ref>
*China – The ''Chinese Institute of Mentalism'' (中國心靈研究會) was established in 1910 or 1912, and remained active in Shanghai until the early 1940s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Junqueira |first=Luis Fernando Bernardi |date=2022-12-08 |title=The power within: Mass media, scientific entertainment, and the introduction of psychical research into China, 1900–1920 |journal=Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences |volume=59 |issue=2 |language=en |pages=193–216 |doi=10.1002/jhbs.22236 |pmid=36345211 |issn=0022-5061|pmc=7614841 }}</ref>
*Denmark – ''Selskabet for Psykisk Forskning'' (The ''Danish Society for Psychical Research'') was founded in 1905.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parapsykologi.dk/|title=Selskabet for Psykisk Forskning|website=www.parapsykologi.dk|access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref>
*Finland – ''Sällskapet för Psykisk Forskning'' (The ''Finnish Society for Psychical Research'') was formed in 1907 by [[Arvi Grotenfelt]] as a first chairman, and the society existed until 2002. A splinter group for Finnish speaking people, ''Suomen parapsykologinen tutkimusseura'' (Parapsychological research society of Finland), still exists today.
*France – In 1885, a society called the ''Société de Psychologie Physiologique'' (Society for Physiological Psychology) was formed by [[Charles Richet]], [[Théodule-Armand Ribot]] and Léon Marillier. It existed until 1890 when it was abandoned due to lack of interest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metapsychique.org/La-lumiere-sur-L-ombre-des-autres.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071108113352/http://www.metapsychique.org/La-lumiere-sur-L-ombre-des-autres.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 November 2007 |title=La lumière sur " L'ombre des autres " |publisher=Metapsychique.org |access-date=10 September 2011 }}</ref><ref>Richet, Charles. Traité de Métapsychique. Bruxelles: Artha Production, 1994, p. 63. {{ISBN|2-930111-00-3}}</ref>
*Iceland – ''Sálarrannsóknarfélag Íslands'' (Icelandic Society for Psychical Research) was formed in 1918. It has a predecessor called the Experimental Society, which was founded in 1905.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sálarrannsóknarfélag Íslands|url=http://www.srfi.is/|website=Icelandic Society for Psychical Research|access-date=5 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gissurarson|first1=Loftur Reimar|last2=Haralsson|first2=Erlendur|title=History of Parapsychology in Iceland|journal=International Journal of Parapsychology|volume=12|issue=1|pages=29–50|url=https://notendur.hi.is/erlendur/english/Psychic-experiences/hps.pdf}}</ref>
*Netherlands – The ''Studievereniging voor Psychical Research'' (Dutch for Society for Psychical Research) was founded in 1917 of which the professor in philosophy and psychology [[Gerard Heymans]] was the first president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dutchspr.org/ |title=Parapsychologie in Nederland (Dutch website) |publisher=Parapsy.nl |access-date=10 September 2011}}</ref>
*Poland – The ''Polish Society for Psychical Research'' was very active before the second world war.<ref>[Barrington, Stevenson and Weaver, (2005) A World in a Grain of Sand: The Clairvoyance of [[Stefan Ossowiecki]], Jefferson, NC, and London, McFarland, {{ISBN|0-7864-2112-6}}]</ref>
*Scotland – The ''Scottish Society for Psychical Research'' is active today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sspr.co.uk|title=sspr|website=sspr|access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref>
*Spain – ''Sociedad de Investigaciones Psíquicas Iberoamericana'' (founded in Madrid in 1895), ''Instituto de Metapsiquismo'' (Barcelona, founded in 1923), ''Sociedad Española de Estudios Metapsíquicos'' (Madrid, founded in 1924)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Graus |first1=Andrea |title=Ciencia y espiritismo en España, 1880–1930 |date=2019 |publisher=Comares |location=Granada |isbn=978-84-9045-898-3}}</ref>
*Sweden – Sällskapet för Parapsykologisk Forskning (the ''Swedish Society for Parapsychological Research'') was founded in 1948.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://parapsykologi.se/spf.html |title=Svenska Sällskapet för Parapsykologisk Forskning |access-date=2010-03-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20030610000031/http://parapsykologi.se/spf.html |archive-date=10 June 2003}}</ref>
*US – An American branch of the Society was formed as the ''[[American Society for Psychical Research]]'' (ASPR) in 1885, which became independent in 1906.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aspr.com/|title=American Society for Psychical Research|website=www.aspr.com|access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref> A splinter group, the ''Boston Society for Psychical Research'' existed from May 1925 to 1941.<ref>Berger, Arthur S., and Joyce Berger. The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research. New York: Paragon House, 1991.</ref>
*Spain – S.E.I.P Sociedad Española de Investigaciones Parapsicologicas

==See also==
* [[Institut suisse des sciences noétiques]]
* [[List of parapsychology topics]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==

'''SPR histories'''

*Bennett, Edward T. (1903). [https://archive.org/details/societyforpsychi00benn ''The Society for Psychical Research: Its Rise & Progress & A Sketch of its Work'']. London: R. Brimley Johnson.
*[[Alan Gauld|Gauld, Alan]]. (1968). ''The Founders of Psychical Research''. [[Routledge|Routledge & Kegan Paul]]. {{ISBN|978-0710060679}}
*[[Renee Haynes|Haynes, Renee]]. (1982). ''The Society for Psychical Research 1882–1982: A History''. London: MacDonald & Co. {{ISBN|978-0356078755}}
*Salter, William Henry. (1948). ''The Society for Psychical Research: An Outline of its History''. Society for Psychical Research.

'''Scholarly studies'''

*Cerullo, John. (1982). ''Secularization of the Soul: Psychical Research in Modern Britain''. Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human Issues. {{ISBN|978-0897270281}}
*[[Roger Luckhurst|Luckhurst, Roger]]. (2002). ''The Invention of Telepathy, 1870-1901''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0199249626}}
*McCorristine, Shane. (2010). ''Spectres of the Self: Thinking about Ghosts and Ghost-Seeing in England, 1750-1920''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0521747967}}
*[[Janet Oppenheim|Oppenheim, Janet]]. (1988). ''The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850-1914''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0521347679}}
*[[Leo Ruickbie|Ruickbie, Leo]]. (2018). ''Angels in the Trenches: Spiritualism, Superstition and the Supernatural During the First World War''. [[Constable & Robinson|Robinson]]. {{ISBN|978-1472139597}}

'''Criticism'''

*[[Joseph McCabe|McCabe, Joseph]]. (1920). ''Scientific Men and Spiritualism: A Skeptic's Analysis''. The Living Age. 12 June. pp.&nbsp;652–657. A sceptical look at SPR members who had supported Spiritualism, concludes they were duped by fraudulent mediums.
*[[Ruth Brandon|Brandon, Ruth]]. (1983). ''The Spiritualists: The Passion for the Occult in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries''. [[Alfred A. Knopf]]. {{ISBN|978-0394527406}}
*[[Ray Hyman|Hyman, Ray]]. (1989). ''The Elusive Quarry: A Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research''. [[Prometheus Books]]. {{ISBN|978-0879755041}}

== External links ==
{{Commonscatinline}}
* {{Official|http://www.spr.ac.uk }}

{{Parapsychology}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Society For Psychical Research}}
[[Category:Paranormal organizations]]
[[Category:Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of mental health in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Parapsychology]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1882]]
[[Category:1882 establishments in the United Kingdom]]