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.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.