Fearful Hearts, Future Visions?
On this page
Does how you form relationships predict paranormal beliefs?
Imagine you're someone who struggles with close relationships — you want connection but fear getting hurt, or you crave intimacy but worry about being abandoned. Now picture yourself more likely to believe that you can sense future events or that spiritual forces guide your life. A British psychologist studied 293 people and found exactly this pattern: those with insecure attachment styles — particularly people with 'fearful' and 'preoccupied' attachment — showed significantly stronger beliefs in precognition, spiritualism, and other paranormal phenomena. The question that emerges is both psychological and profound: are we drawn to invisible forces when visible relationships feel unsafe?
People with insecure attachment styles show stronger beliefs in paranormal phenomena.
Psychologist Paul Rogers wanted to understand why some people believe in the paranormal while others don't. Rather than looking at intelligence or education, he focused on attachment styles—the emotional patterns we develop for forming close relationships. He conducted two studies with nearly 300 adults to test whether people who struggle with secure relationships might be drawn to paranormal beliefs.
People with insecure attachment styles — those who struggle with trust and intimacy in relationships — show statistically stronger beliefs in paranormal phenomena like precognition and spiritual forces.
Key Findings
- People with 'fearful' attachment styles—those who want close relationships but worry about getting hurt—showed stronger beliefs across most paranormal categories.
- Those with 'preoccupied' attachment—who crave intimacy but fear abandonment—also believed more strongly in most paranormal phenomena.
- The pattern held up across both studies despite using different measurement methods.
What Is This About?
Participants filled out detailed questionnaires about their relationship patterns—whether they felt secure in close relationships or experienced fear and anxiety about abandonment or intimacy. They also completed surveys measuring their beliefs in various paranormal phenomena like ESP, ghosts, astrology, and precognition. The first study used a simple four-category system for attachment styles, while the second used a more nuanced continuous scale. Researchers controlled for factors like gender and education level to isolate the relationship between attachment and belief.
Two survey studies where participants completed questionnaires measuring their attachment styles (how they form emotional bonds) and their beliefs in various paranormal phenomena.
People with fearful or preoccupied attachment styles showed stronger beliefs in most types of paranormal phenomena compared to those with secure attachment styles.
How Good Is the Evidence?
293 total participants across both studies—a medium-sized sample that's typical for psychology research exploring personality correlations, though smaller than the thousands needed for definitive population estimates.
Supporters argue this reveals important psychological functions of paranormal beliefs—they may provide comfort and sense of control for people struggling with relationship insecurity. Skeptics contend that correlation doesn't prove causation, and question whether the findings reflect deeper personality traits rather than attachment styles specifically. Both sides agree more research is needed to understand the direction of influence.
Mainstream: This shows interesting correlations but proves nothing about paranormal validity—it's purely about belief psychology. Moderate: The findings suggest paranormal beliefs serve genuine psychological needs, regardless of their truth value. Frontier: This supports the idea that emotional openness and sensitivity might make some people more receptive to genuine paranormal experiences.
This study doesn't prove that insecure attachment causes paranormal beliefs—it only shows they tend to occur together. The relationship could work in reverse, or both could be influenced by other factors like personality traits or life experiences.
To establish causation, we'd need longitudinal studies tracking people over time, experimental manipulations of attachment security, and replication across diverse populations. This study provides useful correlational evidence but can't determine whether attachment influences beliefs, beliefs influence attachment, or both stem from other factors.
The role paranormal belief plays as a compensatory and/or controlling mechanism for coping with non-secure adult attachment is discussed.
Stance: Mixed
What Does It Mean?
The most striking finding? People with 'fearful attachment' — those who simultaneously crave and fear intimacy — showed the strongest beliefs across almost every paranormal category, suggesting our deepest relationship wounds might drive us toward invisible realms of connection and control.
Think about how some people turn to horoscopes or psychic readings during relationship troubles, or seek spiritual explanations when feeling emotionally vulnerable—this study suggests there might be a systematic pattern behind such behaviors.
If these findings hold up, they could reshape how we understand both paranormal experiences and human psychology. Rather than dismissing unusual beliefs as mere superstition, we might need to recognize them as sophisticated emotional strategies that help people navigate uncertainty and seek meaning. This could lead to more empathetic approaches in both therapy and scientific investigation of anomalous experiences.
When studies find correlations between personality traits and beliefs, always ask: which direction does the influence flow, and what other factors might explain both?
Understanding Terms
What This Study Claims
Findings
Preoccupied adults displayed stronger belief in all paranormal types except psi, superstitions, and extraordinary life forms
moderateFearfully attached adults had stronger beliefs in superstitions, Spiritualism, precognition, New Age philosophy and psi when controlling for gender and education
moderateThe relationship between attachment style and paranormal belief was consistent across two different measurement approaches
moderateInterpretations
Paranormal beliefs may serve as compensatory mechanisms for coping with insecure attachment styles
weakThis summary is for general information about current research. It does not constitute medical advice. The scientific interpretation of these results is debated among researchers. If personally affected, please consult qualified professionals.