The historical development of parapsychology has followed the mass movement of spiritualism since the mid-19th century, the founding of the London “Society for Psychical Research” (SPR) in 1882, to which important psychologists (e.g. Sigmund Freud, William James and Carl Gustav Jung) and scientists (e.g. William Barrett, William Crookes and Oliver Lodge) belonged, and the establishment of parapsychological laboratories at a few universities in the early 1930s. The scope of this research focus includes investigations into the cultural, social and scientific history of parapsychological research and other “unorthodox” issues (“historical parapsychology”). The focus is on the history of the problems and reception of spiritualism, occultism and parapsychology in Germany from the 19th century to the present day. Of particular interest is the reception of paranormal, unusual or “anomalistic” phenomena in relation to established disciplines such as psychology, medicine, literature and art studies. Research focuses are:
Parapsychology and paranormal phenomena
History of parapsychology and border areas of psychology
Introduction
Researching the biographies of researchers and media.
The history of the relevant localities, organizations and societies.
The role of photography in the history of parapsychology.
The connection between occultism and the visual arts.
Another focus is the history of the institute itself and the biography of its founder Hans Bender. The IGPP research library and the IGPP research archive are an integral part of these studies.
