James E. Alcock is a Professor of Psychology at York University

York University

York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....

 (Canada). He has been a professor at York since 1973. Alcock received his BSc (Honours Physics) from McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 and a PhD in Social Psychology

Social psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...

 from McMaster University

McMaster University

McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...

. Alcock is also an amateur magician and is a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians

International Brotherhood of Magicians

International Brotherhood of Magicians is the world's largest organization for professional and amateur magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St...

.

Skepticism

Alcock is a noted critic of parapsychology

Parapsychology

The term parapsychology was coined in or around 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir, and originates from para meaning "alongside", and psychology. The term was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research...

. Alcock is a Fellow and Member of the Executive Council for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. A member of the Editorial Board of The Skeptical Inquirer, he is a frequent contributor to the magazine.

On October 9, 2010 CSI announced Alcock (and others) as a part of their policy-making Executive Council, he will also serve on Skeptical Inquirer

Skeptical Inquirer

The Skeptical Inquirer is a bimonthly American magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry with the subtitle: The magazine for science and reason....

's magazine board.

His publications include:

• "Electronic Voice Phenomena: Voices of the Dead?"
• "In Praise of Ray Hyman"
• "The Belief Engine"

In 1999, a panel of skeptics named him among the two dozen most outstanding skeptics of the 20th Century.

In October 2004 he spoke at the World Skeptics Congress in Italy.

Author

Alcock has authored and edited several books, mostly on parapsychology:

• A textbook of social psychology (2005) with D. W. Carment , S. W. Sadava
• Psi Wars: Getting to Grips with the Paranormal (2003)
• Science and Supernature: A Critical Appraisal of Parapsychology (1990)
• Parapsychology, Science or Magic?: A Psychological Perspective (1981)

Media coverage

Alcock has been written about in several major publications such as:

• The San Francisco Chronicle
• The LA Times
• The New Scientist
• The Telegraph
• New York Times
• CBC's Quirks & Quarks

External links

• Give the null hypothesis a chance
• Podcast interview with James Alcock