Why Do We Believe in the Paranormal?

In the final spooky season episode of The Science of Personality in 2025, Ryne and Blake are joined by Christopher Bader, PhD, professor and chair of the department of sociology at Chapman University, to talk about why people believe in the paranormal. Christopher has studied the paranormal for more than 20 years, and he also takes his work out into the field, having participated in several ghost hunts, observed support groups for UFO abductees, and joined in on bigfoot investigations. In addition, he is the author of the book Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture and the book Paranormal Britain, which will be released in Spring of 2026.