Related to Why do People do Weird Things?

1. 

   How Do People Lose Religion?

   Millions of people have lost religion in the western world since the 1960. How does this happen? At what ages? What are the triggers? Is there a difference between men and women? Professor Callum Brown draws on the accounts of those he has interviewed in North America and Britain.

2. 

   You Know Less Than You Think

   Every day we all make perceptions of people and the world around us. But perception is a two-way process and most people don't stop to think about the biases inherent in their own perception. What are these cognitive biases and how much can they affect our judgement?

3. 

   Brainwashed! A Cult Survivor's Tale

   Arthur Chappell describes how he was seduced into an Eastern meditation cult in the early 1980's, despite being an ex-Catholic atheist. The talk takes you step by step through the process of conversion, so that you can see step by step how the cult world wraps itself around you, cutting off exits, making rational thinking and doubt difficult and later near impossible.

4. 

   Neuroscience for the Soul

   Dr. Craig Aaen Stockdale (Optometry, Bradford) will give an introduction to the field of neurotheology, which attempts to relate religious behaviour and experience to the workings of the brain. He will review the current literature and give his own thoughts on what, if anything, this tells us.

5. 

   Superstition

   Superstition is often overlooked - while critics of religion have been vocal over the past decade, superstition is actually far more prevalent in our society from phrases like "touch wood" to crossing our fingers and avoiding the number 13.

6. 

   Stop Playing Tricks on Me

   The Amazing Leo Dragon presents a talk on the psychology of all things strange, from magic to psychics, from spoon bending to astrology. A whirlwind tour of why people really jump at the explanations given by the "professionals", with some live magic thrown in along the way.

7. 

   Psychology of Anomalous Experiences

   Ever since records began, in every known society, a substantial proportion of the population has reported unusual experiences many of which we would today label as "paranormal". Opinion polls show that the majority of the general public accepts that paranormal phenomena do occur. Such widespread experience of and belief in the paranormal can only mean one of two things. Either the paranormal is real, in which case this should be accepted by the wider scientific community which currently rejects such claims. Or else belief in and experience of ostensibly paranormal phenomena can be fully explained in terms of psychological factors.