Christopher Charles French (born 1956) is a British
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
specialising in the psychology of
paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
beliefs and experiences, cognition and emotion. He is the head of the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
's
anomalistic Psychology
In psychology, anomalistic psychology is the study of human behaviour and experience connected with what is often called the paranormal, with few assumptions made about the validity (or otherwise) of the reported phenomena.
Early history
Accordin ...
Research Unit and appears regularly in the media as an expert on testing paranormal claims.
Career
After French completed his PhD he taught adult education classes in which he also addressed
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
and
extrasensory perception
Extrasensory perception or ESP, also called sixth sense, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke Universi ...
.
French is currently Professor Emeritus of
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
at
Goldsmiths College, University of London
Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...
, and is head of their Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit
which he founded in 2000.
On the importance of
anomalistic psychology
In psychology, anomalistic psychology is the study of human behaviour and experience connected with what is often called the paranormal, with few assumptions made about the validity (or otherwise) of the reported phenomena.
Early history
Accordin ...
he said in an interview on
The Skeptic Zone
Richard Saunders is an Australian skeptic, podcaster and professional origamist. He received recognition by the Australian Skeptics with a Life Membership in 2001, and has twice served as their president. He founded Sydney Skeptics in the Pub ...
,
The focus of his current research is the
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences.
In addition to academic activities, such as conference presentations and invited talks in other departments, he frequently appears on radio and television presenting a sceptical view of paranormal claims.
He has been consulted as an expert on a wide range of such claims including
psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
abilities,
recovered memory
Repressed memory is an inability to recall autobiographical information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature. The concept originated in psychoanalytic theory where repression is defined as a protective mechanism that excludes memory of ...
,
telepathy
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...
,
faith healing
Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...
,
past life regression
Past life regression is a method that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations. The practice is widely considered discredited and unscientific by medical practitioners, and experts generally re ...
,
ghosts
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
,
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
abductions,
out-of-body experience
An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commonly use ...
s,
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
and so on.
Academia
French teaches a course entitled ''
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
,
Parapsychology
Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...
and
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...
'' as part of the
BSc (Hons) Psychology programmes at both Goldsmiths College and
Birkbeck College
Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...
. He is a Chartered Psychologist and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
During his 2014 interview for the
Skeptic Zone Podcast, Chris acknowledged that, as a sceptic, he believed in paranormal activities until he became more aware of the psychology behind why people believe, a point made clear to him through a book written by Professor of Psychology
James Alcock
James E. Alcock (born 24 December 1942) is a Canadian educator. He has been a Professor of Psychology at York University (Canada) since 1973. Alcock is a noted critic of parapsychology and is a Fellow and Member of the Executive Council for the ...
:
He has authored or co-authored over 80 articles and chapters dealing with a wide variety of subjects in psychology, his work has been published in the
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
The ''Journal of Abnormal Psychology'' (formerly ''Journal of Abnormal Psychology and Social Psychology'' and ''Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology'') is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Psychological Association (AP ...
, the
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
The Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) is an academic society which facilitates research into experimental psychology and communication between experimental psychologists. It is based in the United Kingdom.
The society was originally formed as ...
, the
British Journal of Psychology
The ''British Journal of Psychology'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed psychology journal. It was established in 1904 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Psychological Society. The editor-in-chief is Stefan R. Schweinberger ( ...
and the
British Journal of Clinical Psychology.
In August 1996, he organised and chaired an integrated paper session on the topic of The Psychology of Paranormal and Pseudoscientific Beliefs at the XXVI International Congress of Psychology in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
.
He also contributed to a symposium on The Psychology of Anomalous Experience at the
British Science Association
The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
annual
British Science Festival
The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
at the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
in September 1996.
In July 1997, he chaired a symposium on The Psychology of Paranormal Belief at the Fifth European Congress of Psychology in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. He presented a paper at a conference on Paranormal and Superstitious Beliefs: A Skeptical Examination at
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
on Friday 13, November, 1998.
In February 1999, he contributed to a symposium of the
Royal Statistical Society
The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good.
...
(which he co-organised). In July 1999, he co-organised and presented a paper at a half-day conference on Parapsychology: Current Status and Future Prospects at Goldsmiths College and gave a paper at the Sixth European Congress of Psychology in Rome.
In February 2001, he gave an invited presentation to the Institute for Cultural Research
at the
Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London.
History
The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...
and he has organised two symposia at major conferences (Glasgow, March 2001; London, July 2001).
In 2001, French tested the effects of
crystal healing
Crystal healing is a pseudoscientific alternative-medicine practice that uses semiprecious stones and crystals such as quartz, agate, amethyst or opal. Adherents of the practice claim that these have healing powers, but there is no scientific ...
with the results suggesting that they are largely
placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
effects. 80 volunteers were given a questionnaire to gauge their level of belief about paranormal phenomena. Later they were given what they were told was a genuine crystal, and asked to meditate for 10 minutes and then report the sensations they experienced. Half of the subjects had actually been given fake plastic crystals instead. French found no difference between the feelings reported between the two groups.
In 2004, French and colleagues conducted an experiment involving
electromagnetic field
An electromagnetic field (also EM field or EMF) is a classical (i.e. non-quantum) field produced by (stationary or moving) electric charges. It is the field described by classical electrodynamics (a classical field theory) and is the classical c ...
s (EMF) and extremely low frequency sound waves (
infrasound
Infrasound, sometimes referred to as low status sound, describes sound waves with a frequency below the lower limit of human audibility (generally 20 Hz). Hearing becomes gradually less sensitive as frequency decreases, so for humans to perce ...
) phenomena that have been associated with allegedly haunted locations, the experiment did not establish a causal relationship between these phenomena and experiences of the subjects.
A study, led by French and published in 2008, explored the psychology of people who believed they had been abducted by aliens.
In January 2010, French was elected as a Fellow of the
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
French,
Richard Wiseman
Richard J. Wiseman (born 17 September 1966) is a Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. He has written several psychology books. He has given keynote addresses to The Royal ...
and
Stuart Ritchie each tried to replicate
Daryl Bem
Daryl J. Bem (born June 10, 1938) is a social psychologist and professor emeritus at Cornell University. He is the originator of the self-perception theory of attitude formation and change. He has also researched psi phenomena, group decision ...
's claim about
psychic powers
This is a list of alleged psychic abilities that have been attributed to real-world people. Many of these abilities pertain to variations of extrasensory perception or the ''sixth sense''. Superhuman abilities from fiction are not included.
Psyc ...
independently and failed at publishing their findings in high-profile journals. This is a common problem with publishing negative results, as
novel research is more sought-after. They subsequently submitted their paper to
PLOS One, an open access journal, of which's concept French became a supporter.
Science communication
French is a former Editor-in-Chief of
''The Skeptic'' (UK) magazine.
He presided over a relaunch, in 2009, in which the magazine expanded to 40 pages and assembled an editorial advisory board, including many big names (e.g.
Tim Minchin,
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
, Richard Wiseman,
Simon Singh
Simon Lehna Singh, (born 19 September 1964) is a British popular science author, theoretical and particle physicist. His written works include ''Fermat's Last Theorem'' (in the United States titled ''Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve th ...
).
From 2009 to 2016, French has been a columnist for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper exploring scepticism and anomalistic psychology.
He has appeared on various science programmes (e.g. ''
Equinox
A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...
'', ''
ScienceNow
''Science'', also widely referred to as ''Science Magazine'', is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals.
It was first published in 188 ...
'', ''
All in the Mind'') and documentaries (e.g. ''
Heart of the Matter'', ''
Everyman
The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them.
Origin
The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...
'') as well as numerous discussion programmes (e.g. ''
Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
''; ''
The Time, The Place
''The Time, The Place'' was a British audience participation talk show that was produced by a number of different ITV companies, and broadcast live on ITV from 1987 to 1998. ''TTTP'' was presented by Mike Scott from 1987 to 1993 and by John ...
''; ''
Kilroy
Kilroy may refer to:
* Kilroy (surname)
* ''Kilroy'' (TV series), a BBC day time chat show hosted by Robert Kilroy-Silk
* Kilroy, a main character beginning with Season 2 in the television series '' Taken''
* Kilroy's College, a distance educatio ...
''; ''
This Morning'').
In 1997, he was one of three sceptics sitting on a panel for a 90-minute live debate on UFOs broadcast at peak viewing time by the ''
Strange but True?'' team to mark the 50th anniversary of UFOs.
In 1998, he took part in an investigation of reincarnation claims amongst the
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
people of
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, broadcast as part of the ''
To the Ends of the Earth
''To the Ends of the Earth'' is the title given to a trilogy of nautical, relational novels—''Rites of Passage'' (1980), ''Close Quarters'' (1987), and ''Fire Down Below'' (1989)—by British author William Golding. Set on a former British ...
'' series. This involved spending around three weeks in Lebanon with a film crew.
He made regular appearances on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
's programme ''
Haunted Homes''. He also makes appearances in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
documentary series ''
Tony Robinson
Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentaries ...
and the Paranormal''.
In November 2013, French was featured as the keynote speaker for the 2013 Australian Skeptics National Convention in Canberra.
In 2017, French attended the 17th
European Skeptics Congress
European Skeptics Congresses (ESCs) – a series of congresses now supported by the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO), in which skeptical organisations from many different European countries participate. They have been held ever si ...
(ESC) in Old Town Wrocław, Poland. This was organised by the
Klub Sceptyków Polskich
Klub Sceptyków Polskich or KSP (English: ''Polish Skeptics Club'' or ''Polish Sceptics Club'') is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation actively engaged in the promotion of critical thinking, scientific skepticism and scientific methods. ...
(Polish Skeptics Club) and
Český klub skeptiků Sisyfos
Český klub skeptiků Sisyfos (English: ''Czech Skeptics' Club Sisyfos'') is a Czech Republic, Czech list of skeptical organizations, skeptical nonprofit organisation founded in 1994, headquartered in Prague. Its primary goal and mission is to spr ...
(Czech Skeptic's Club). Here he appeared on a panel to discuss exorcisms. The panel was chaired by
Amardeo Sarma
Amardeo Sarma (born 1955) is a Engineer's degree#Germany and Austria, qualified engineer for electrical engineering, electrical and telecommunications engineering, chair of the Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaf ...
and included Mariusz Błochowiak,
Konrad Szołajski and
Jakub Kroulík.
Works
Book
Co-edited book
Selected book sections
Selected articles
References
External links
Chris French's Goldsmiths Homepage*
Student BMJ; Medicine and magicScience Weekly: The paranormal ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 28 September 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Chris
1956 births
Living people
Academics of Birkbeck, University of London
Academics of Goldsmiths, University of London
Anomalistic psychology
Critics of parapsychology
English psychologists
English sceptics
Place of birth missing (living people)
People from the Royal Borough of Greenwich
People associated with The Institute for Cultural Research