A recent study shows that higher education leads to less skepticism—contrary to the researchers' expectations. The results are published in the January-February issue of Skeptical Inquirer [1] magazine. A full spectrum of paranormal concepts were covered.

The poll of 439 college students found that seniors and grad students were more likely than freshmen to allow for the possibility of that “haunted houses, psychics, telepathy, channeling and a host of other questionable ideas” may, on some level, have validity. The questions, however, only offered three possible answers: ”Believe,” “Not Sure,” and “Don't Believe.” And in fact the seniors and grad students checked “Believe” much less often than the freshman did. However, what irked the skeptic researchers was that the seniors and grad student checked “Don't Believe” even less frequently.

While the results might alarm dogmatic thinkers, like some skeptics and scientists who often have more of an investment in particular belief systems [2], the study actually shows that these students become more open-minded over the course of their schooling. Or at the very least, better test takers—more likely to opt for the ambigious “Not Sure.”

Only one question had over 50% of those polled choose “Believe”—“Psychic or spiritual healing or the power of the human mind to heal the body.”

[see the Table of Results [3]]

[via LiveScience [4]]

Photo credit: Gabor Kalman [5] via stock.xchng [6]