ESP believers and ESP disbelievers participated in a study in which they watched two attempts to demonstrate telepathic communication. Although the participants didn't know it, one attempt was rigged to appear successful, and the other attempt was rigged to fail. Following the demonstration:
A)all of the participants incorrectly remembered both attempts as being unsuccessful.
B)the ESP disbelievers thought that ESP did not occur in either the successful or the unsuccessful demonstration.
C)only the ESP believers said that ESP had taken place in the unsuccessful attempt, thus demonstrating the belief-bias effect.
D)only the ESP disbelievers said that ESP had taken place in the unsuccessful attempt, thus demonstrating the fallacy of positive instances.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The study demonstrates the belief-bias effect, where ESP believers interpret even unsuccessful attempts as successful due to their prior belief in ESP. Thus, only ESP believers said that ESP had taken place in the unsuccessful attempt. Option A is incorrect since this implies that all participants remembered both attempts as unsuccessful, which is not the case according to the scenario. Option B is also incorrect since it implies that ESP disbelievers did not believe in ESP even during the successful demonstration, which is not stated. Option D is incorrect as it describes the fallacy of positive instances, which is not demonstrated in the study.

ESP Believers and ESP Disbelievers Participated in a Study in Which