True-believer syndrome is an informal, rhetorical term coined by M. Lamar Keene in his 1976 book The Psychic Mafia to describe people who go on believing in a paranormal event even after it has been thoroughly debunked or shown to have been staged. Keene treated it as a kind of cognitive disorder and considered it a key reason for the success of many psychic mediums; the underlying phrase true believer had already been used by Eric Hoffer in his 1951 book The True Believer to describe the psychological roots of fanatical groups. True-believer syndrome can be understood as a form of belief perseverance specifically applied to paranormal claims.
Facts
Core ClaimContinued belief in a paranormal phenomenon or event even after it has been debunked or proven to have been staged. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Sources
1. True-believer syndrome, Wikipedia
Lead section, second sentence
He began using the term to refer to people who continued to believe in a paranormal phenomenon or event, even after it had successfully been debunked or proven to have been staged.
Lead section, first sentence
True-believer syndrome is an informal or rhetorical term coined by M. Lamar Keene in his 1976 book The Psychic Mafia.
In Group: Belief Perseverance Effects, Lead
He began using the term to refer to people who continued to believe in a paranormal phenomenon or event, even after it had successfully been debunked or proven to have been staged.
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