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Psychology Commons

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Psychology

Social Psychology

James M. Donovan

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Toward A Model Relating Empathy, Charisma, And Telepathy, James M. Donovan Jan 1997

Toward A Model Relating Empathy, Charisma, And Telepathy, James M. Donovan

James M. Donovan

Telepathy is often dismissed because it is judged to be so weird as to be counterintuitive. This article argues that telepathy may be interpreted as phenomenologically impressive events of a social psychological process which in less dramatic instances would be termed empathy and charisma. Such an equation, however, herein called the "possible world model," would perhaps normalize telepathy, and lessen the opprobrium attached to its study. A first step is taken to validate the model when a comparative literature search finds that telepathy and empathy relate very similarly to other experimental variables.


Charisma, Empathy, And The Experience Of Telepathy, James M. Donovan Jan 1992

Charisma, Empathy, And The Experience Of Telepathy, James M. Donovan

James M. Donovan

A critique is offered of the preference of parapsychology for physical explanatory models for telepathy. Discussion shows this trend emerging from the combined effects of historical accident. An alternative explanatory model is offered which draws upon the rich but underutilized psychological foundations of parapsychology. Emphasizing telepathy's original definition as a communication event, two other phenomena are held to fall into the same class of events: charisma and empathy. Concepts traditionally used to understand charisma and empathy are shown to be equally suited for modeling telepathy. Experimental, theoretical, and especially philosophical implications of this "possible world" model are addressed throughout.


A Charisma Model Of Telepathic Communication, James M. Donovan Jan 1988

A Charisma Model Of Telepathic Communication, James M. Donovan

James M. Donovan

This paper opened by making some general criticisms of the state of parapsychological research: that it suffered from a lack of external validity and from uncritical acceptance of a flawed paradigm. The charisma model was offered as an attempt to rectify these problems. It allows for laboratory experiments to be designed which closely approximate genuine human interactions by shifting the paradigm for telepathy from that of energy transfers to one of communication events.