A professor’s research into the inclination to believe or disbelieve paranormal phenomena was the topic on a recent “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Dr. Will Langston

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Dr. Will Langston of MTSU’s Department of Psychology first aired June 11 on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 and online at www.wmot.org. You can listen to their conversation above.

Langston has been conducting research into “ghost tours” to analyze the relationship between experience and belief. The idea is to decide whether the experience of a ghost tour might lead a skeptic to become open to the possibility that ghosts might actually exist.

To learn about that data, Langston and some of his students teamed up with the Shadow Chasers, a Murfreesboro-based group of self-described “paranormal investigators” who conduct a ghost tour on the city’s Public Square each year around Halloween.

“We measured whether or not belief changed, and the results were that the ghost tour did increase belief for people who came in as skeptics,” Langston said.

Beyond the immediate results, the research could have implications for discovering why some people cling to the beliefs that they have in other areas and why they become open to changing those beliefs.

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, visit the searchable “Audio Clips” archives at www.mtsunews.com.

For more information about “MTSU On the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.