- Dr James Ost’s contributions to the work of the British False Memory Society Felstead, Kevin and French, Christopher C.. 2021. Dr James Ost’s contributions to the work of the British False Memory Society. Memory, 30(6), pp. 669-677. ISSN 0965-8211
- Exploding Head Syndrome: Clinical Features, Theories about Etiology, and Prevention Strategies in a Large International Sample Sharpless, Brian A.; Denis, Dan; Perach, Rotem; French, Christopher C. and Gregory, Alice M.. 2020. Exploding Head Syndrome: Clinical Features, Theories about Etiology, and Prevention Strategies in a Large International Sample. Sleep Medicine, 75, pp. 251-255. ISSN 1389-9457
- Gender role orientation, thinking style preference and facets of adult paranormality: A mediation analysis Rogers, Paul; Hattersley, Michael and French, Christopher C.. 2019. Gender role orientation, thinking style preference and facets of adult paranormality: A mediation analysis. Consciousness and Cognition, 76(102821), ISSN 1053-8100
- Subjective sleep-related variables in those who have and have not experienced sleep paralysis Denis, Dan; French, Christopher C.; Schneider, Melanie Nicole and Gregory, Alice M.. 2018. Subjective sleep-related variables in those who have and have not experienced sleep paralysis. Journal of Sleep Research, 27(5), ISSN 0962-1105
- A systematic review of variables associated with sleep paralysis Denis, Dan; French, Christopher C. and Gregory, Alice M.. 2018. A systematic review of variables associated with sleep paralysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 38, pp. 141-157. ISSN 1087-0792
- Latent variables underlying the memory beliefs of Chartered Clinical Psychologists, Hypnotherapists and undergraduate students Ost, James; Easton, Simon; Hope, Lorraine; French, Christopher C. and Wright, Daniel B.. 2017. Latent variables underlying the memory beliefs of Chartered Clinical Psychologists, Hypnotherapists and undergraduate students. Memory, 25(1), pp. 57-68. ISSN 0965-8211
- Intention Seekers: Conspiracist Ideation and Biased Attributions of Intentionality Brotherton, Robert and French, Christopher C.. 2015. Intention Seekers: Conspiracist Ideation and Biased Attributions of Intentionality. PLoS ONE, 10(5), e0124125. ISSN 1932-6203
- A twin and molecular genetics study of sleep paralysis and associated factors. Denis, Dan; French, Christopher C.; Rowe, Richard; Zavos, Helena M. S.; Nolan, Patrick M.; Parsons, Michael J. and Gregory, Alice M.. 2015. A twin and molecular genetics study of sleep paralysis and associated factors. Journal of Sleep Research, 24(4), pp. 438-446. ISSN 0962-1105
- Magic and memory: using conjuring to explore the effects of suggestion, social influence, and paranormal belief on eyewitness testimony for an ostensibly paranormal event Wilson, Krissy and French, Christopher C.. 2014. Magic and memory: using conjuring to explore the effects of suggestion, social influence, and paranormal belief on eyewitness testimony for an ostensibly paranormal event. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1289. ISSN 1664-1078
- Belief in Conspiracy Theories and Susceptibility to the Conjunction Fallacy Brotherton, Robert and French, Christopher C.. 2014. Belief in Conspiracy Theories and Susceptibility to the Conjunction Fallacy. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28(2), pp. 238-248. ISSN 0888-4080
- Inattentional blindness, absorption, working memory capacity, and paranormal belief Richards, Anne; Hellgren, M G and French, Christopher C.. 2014. Inattentional blindness, absorption, working memory capacity, and paranormal belief. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 1(1), pp. 60-69. ISSN 2326-5523
- Measuring Belief in Conspiracy Theories: The Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale Brotherton, Robert; French, Christopher C. and Pickering, Alan. 2013. Measuring Belief in Conspiracy Theories: The Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 279. ISSN 1664-1078
- Recovered memories, satanic abuse, Dissociative Identity Disorder and false memories in the UK: a survey of Clinical Psychologists and Hypnotherapists Ost, James; Wright, Daniel; Easton, Simon; Hope, Lorraine and French, Christopher C.. 2013. Recovered memories, satanic abuse, Dissociative Identity Disorder and false memories in the UK: a survey of Clinical Psychologists and Hypnotherapists. Psychology, Crime and Law, 19(1), pp. 1-19. ISSN 1068-316X
- Failing the future: Three unsuccessful attempts to replicate Bem’s ‘retroactive facilitation of recall’ effect Ritchie, Stuart J.; Wiseman, Richard and French, Christopher C.. 2012. Failing the future: Three unsuccessful attempts to replicate Bem’s ‘retroactive facilitation of recall’ effect. PLoS ONE, 7(3), e33423. ISSN 1932-6203
- Childhood anxiety and attention to emotion faces in a modified stroop task Hadwin, Julie A.; Donnelly, Nick; Richards, Anne; French, Christopher C. and Patel, Umang. 2009. Childhood anxiety and attention to emotion faces in a modified stroop task. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27(2), pp. 487-494. ISSN 0261510X
- The “Haunt” project: An attempt to build a “haunted” room by manipulating complex electromagnetic fields and infrasound French, Christopher C.; Haque, Usman; Bunton-Stasyshyn, Rosie and Davis, Robert. 2009. The “Haunt” project: An attempt to build a “haunted” room by manipulating complex electromagnetic fields and infrasound. Cortex, 45(5), pp. 619-629. ISSN 0010-9452
- Psychological aspects of the alien contact experience French, Christopher C.; Santomauro, Julia; Hamilton, Victoria; Fox, Rachel and Thalbourne, Michael A.. 2008. Psychological aspects of the alien contact experience. Cortex, 44(10), pp. 1387-1395. ISSN 00109452
- Misinformation Effects for Psychic Readings and Belief in the Paranormal Wilson, Krissy and French, Christopher C.. 2008. Misinformation Effects for Psychic Readings and Belief in the Paranormal. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 28(2), pp. 155-171. ISSN 0276-2366
- Anxiety sensitivity and pain: Generalisability across noxious stimuli Thompson, Trevor; Keogh, Edmund; French, Christopher C. and Davis, Robert. 2008. Anxiety sensitivity and pain: Generalisability across noxious stimuli. Pain, 134(1-2), pp. 187-196. ISSN 0304-3959
- A comparison of selective attention and facial processing biases in typically developing children who are high and low in self-reported trait anxiety Richards, Anne; French, Christopher C.; Nash, Gily; Hadwin, Julie A. and Donnelly, Nick. 2007. A comparison of selective attention and facial processing biases in typically developing children who are high and low in self-reported trait anxiety. Development and Psychopathology, 19(2), pp. 481-495. ISSN 09545794
- Anxiety sensitivity, conscious awareness and selective attentional biases in children Hunt, Caroline; Keogh, Edmund and French, Christopher C.. 2007. Anxiety sensitivity, conscious awareness and selective attentional biases in children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(3), pp. 497-509. ISSN 0005-7967
- The relationship between susceptibility to false memories, dissociativity, and paranormal belief and experience Wilson, Krissy and French, Christopher C.. 2006. The relationship between susceptibility to false memories, dissociativity, and paranormal belief and experience. Personality and Individual Differences, 41(8), pp. 1493-1502. ISSN 01918869
- Anxiety Sensitivity: The Role of Conscious Awareness and Selective Attentional Bias to Physical Threat. Hunt, Caroline; Keogh, Edmund and French, Christopher C.. 2006. Anxiety Sensitivity: The Role of Conscious Awareness and Selective Attentional Bias to Physical Threat. Emotion, 6(3), pp. 418-428. ISSN 1528-3542
- Probabilistic reasoning, affirmative bias and belief in precognitive dreams Blagrove, Mark; French, Christopher C. and Jones, Gareth. 2006. Probabilistic reasoning, affirmative bias and belief in precognitive dreams. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20(1), pp. 65-83. ISSN 0888-4080
- Incredible memories: How accurate are the reports of anomalous events French, Christopher C. and Wilson, Krissy. 2006. Incredible memories: How accurate are the reports of anomalous events. European Journal of Parapsychology, 21(2), pp. 166-181. ISSN 0168-7263
- Near-death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors French, Christopher C.. 2005. Near-death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors. Progress in Brain Research, 150, pp. 351-367. ISSN 00796123
- Field and observer viewpoint in remember-know memories of personal childhood events Crawley, Susan and French, Christopher C.. 2005. Field and observer viewpoint in remember-know memories of personal childhood events. Memory, 13(7), pp. 673-681. ISSN 0965-8211
- Test anxiety, susceptibility to distraction and examination performance Keogh, Edmund; Bond, Frank W.; French, Christopher C.; Richards, Anne and Davis, Robert E.. 2004. Test anxiety, susceptibility to distraction and examination performance. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 17(3), pp. 241-252. ISSN 1061-5806
- Fantastic memories: The relevance of research into eyewitness testimony and false memories for reports of anomalous experiences French, Christopher C.. 2003. Fantastic memories: The relevance of research into eyewitness testimony and false memories for reports of anomalous experiences. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 10(6-7), pp. 153-174. ISSN 13558250
- The influence of children's self-report trait anxiety and depression on visual search for emotional faces Hadwin, Julie A.; Donnelly, Nick; French, Christopher C.; Richards, Anne; Watts, Antonia and Daley, Dave. 2003. The influence of children's self-report trait anxiety and depression on visual search for emotional faces. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44(3), pp. 432-444. ISSN 0021-9630
- Anxiety-related bias in the classification of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. Richards, Anne; French, Christopher C.; Calder, Andrew J.; Webb, Ben; Fox, Rachel and Young, Andrew W.. 2002. Anxiety-related bias in the classification of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. Emotion, 2(3), pp. 273-287. ISSN 1528-3542
- Evidence for transliminality from a subliminal card-guessing task Crawley, Susan E.; French, Christopher C. and Yesson, Steven A.. 2002. Evidence for transliminality from a subliminal card-guessing task. Perception, 31(7), pp. 887-892. ISSN 0301-0066
- Alien abduction experiences: Some clues from neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry Holden, Katharine and French, Christopher C.. 2002. Alien abduction experiences: Some clues from neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 7(3), pp. 163-178. ISSN 1354-6805
- Test anxiety, evaluative stress, and susceptibility to distraction from threat Keogh, Edmund and French, Christopher C.. 2001. Test anxiety, evaluative stress, and susceptibility to distraction from threat. European Journal of Personality, 15(2), pp. 123-141. ISSN 0890-2070
- Dying to know the truth: visions of a dying brain, or false memories? French, Christopher C.. 2001. Dying to know the truth: visions of a dying brain, or false memories? The Lancet, 358(9298), pp. 2010-2011. ISSN 01406736
- Test-Anxiety, inferential reasoning and working memory load Richards, Anne; French, Christopher C.; Keogh, Edmund and Carter, Corrin. 2000. Test-Anxiety, inferential reasoning and working memory load. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 13(1), pp. 87-109. ISSN 1061-5806
- Computers in the clinic. Microcomputers, psychology and medicine. Robert West, Margaret Christie and John Weinman (Eds). John Wiley and Sons, Chichester. 1990. No. of pages xii + 318. ISBN 0-471-924-040 (hardback). Price £45 French, Christopher C.. 1991. Computers in the clinic. Microcomputers, psychology and medicine. Robert West, Margaret Christie and John Weinman (Eds). John Wiley and Sons, Chichester. 1990. No. of pages xii + 318. ISBN 0-471-924-040 (hardback). Price £45. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 5(6), pp. 531-532. ISSN 08884080
Christopher French
Chris is an expert in the area of anomalistic psychology, focusing upon non- paranormal explanations for ostensibly paranormal experiences.
Staff details
Position
Emeritus Professor
Department
c.french (@gold.ac.uk)
Website
http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru/
Summary
Professor Chris French is the Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Patron of the British Humanist Association. He has published over 150 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics. His main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. His most recent book is Anomalistic Psychology: Exploring Paranormal Belief and Experience.
Grants and Awards
Chris has received external grant funding from a variety of organisations to support his work including: ESRC, MRC, Perrott-Warrick Committee, Society for Psychical Research, British Academy, Wellcome Trust, and the BIAL Foundation.
Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange
Chris has contributed to public engagement in a wide variety of ways. Some examples include:
- Developing and implementing Goldsmiths’ Public Engagement Strategy.
- Since 2006, organizing and running the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit Invited Speaker Series (now run in conjunction with the Forensic Psychology Unit; see www.gold.ac.uk/apru/speakers).
- Since 2013, organizing and running Greenwich Skeptics in the Pub (www.greenwich.skepticsinthepub.org).
- Co-organizing numerous conferences.
- Regular engagement in public-facing events including festivals, lectures, school events, and panel discussions.
- Writing for the Guardian and the Conversation.
- Regularly appearing in the media offering a skeptical perspective on dubious claims.
Publications and research outputs
Book
- Anomalistic psychology: Exploring paranormal belief and experience French, Christopher C. and Stone, A. 2013. Anomalistic psychology: Exploring paranormal belief and experience. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1403995711
- Anomalistic psychology Holt, N; Simmonds-Moore, C; Luke, D and French, Christopher C.. 2012. Anomalistic psychology. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0230301504
Edited Book
- Why statues weep. The best of The Skeptic Grossman, Wendy, M. and French, Christopher C., eds. 2010. Why statues weep. The best of The Skeptic. London: The Philosophy Press. ISBN 0953761126
- Cognitive psychology French, Christopher C. and Colman, Andrew M., eds. 1995. Cognitive psychology. New York: Longman Group. ISBN 0582278104
Book Section
- Demonic Possession and Disorders French, Christopher C.. 2022. Demonic Possession and Disorders. In: Stephen Hupp and Richard Wiseman, eds. Investigating Pop Psychology: Pseudoscience, Fringe Science, and Controversies. New York: Routledge, pp. 130-138. ISBN 9780367620684
- Possession and exorcism French, Christopher C.. 2016. Possession and exorcism. In: David Groome and Ron Roberts, eds. Parapsychology: The Science of Unusual Experience. 2nd ed. London: Psychology Press, pp. 34-47. ISBN 978-1138916418
- Reincarnation French, Christopher C.. 2016. Reincarnation. In: David Groome and Ron Roberts, eds. Parapsychology: The Science of Unusual Experience. 2nd ed. London: Psychology Press. ISBN 9781138916418
Article
- Associations between sleep variables and ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs: A scoping review Rauf, Betul; Perach, Rotem; Madrid-Valero, Juan J.; Denis, Dan; Sharpless, Brian A.; Farron, Hope; French, Christopher C. and Gregory, Alice M.. 2023. Associations between sleep variables and ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs: A scoping review. British Journal of Psychology, 114(4), pp. 797-818. ISSN 0007-1269
- The associations between paranormal beliefs and sleep variables Rauf, Betul; Perach, Rotem; Madrid-Valero, Juan Jose; Denis, Dan; Sharpless, Brian; Poerio, Giulia Lara; French, Christopher C. and Gregory, Alice M.. 2023. The associations between paranormal beliefs and sleep variables. Journal of Sleep Research, 32(4), e13810. ISSN 0962-1105
- Isolated Sleep Paralysis: Clinical Features, Perception of Aetiology, Prevention and Disruption Strategies in a Large International Sample Rauf, Betul; Sharpless, Brian A.; Denis, Dan; Perach, Rotem; Madrid-Valero, J.J.; French, Christopher C. and Gregory, Alice M.. 2023. Isolated Sleep Paralysis: Clinical Features, Perception of Aetiology, Prevention and Disruption Strategies in a Large International Sample. Sleep Medicine, 104, pp. 105-112. ISSN 1389-9457
Report
- Paranormal perception? A critical evaluation French, Christopher C.. 2001. Paranormal perception? A critical evaluation. Other. Institute for Cultural Research, London.
Research Interests
Chris’s research focuses on the psychology of paranormal and related beliefs and of ostensibly paranormal experiences, as well as the psychology of belief in conspiracy theories. He is the Director of the Social Processes and Personality Group. Key areas of interest are listed below. For further details, see www.gold.ac.uk/apru:
- Paranormal beliefs
- Ostensibly paranormal experiences
- Belief in conspiracies
- False memories
- Eyewitness testimony
- Sleep paralysis
- Magical thinking
- Pseudoscience
- Parapsychology
- Cognitive biases
