Parapsychology and the Null Hypothesis

In 2003, James E. Alcock submitted a paper named "Give the Null Hypothesis a Chance" to. In his piece Alcock outlines how he believes parapsychologists are unwilling to attribute test results to the null hypothesis and lists reasons why individuals should still remain in doubt about the existence of psi. In order to begin evaluating this paper, perhaps it would be beneficial to first outline what parapsychology and the null hypothesis actually are. The Oxford Dictionary of Psychology states that parapsychology is:

"The study of apparently paranormal psychological phenomena or psi phenomena, especially Extra Sensory Perception and psycho kinesis¹".

It also defines the Null Hypothesis as:

"...the provisional hypothesis that there is no difference or no relationship and that the observed experimental results can therefore be attributed to chance alone."

Alcock begins his paper by outlining the conflict between parapsychology and traditional psychology. He states that modern psychologists tend to ignore the studies and results of parapsychologists as he believes there is inherent problems within the approach. He also states however that parapsychologists are often unwilling to employ a normal explanation instead of a paranormal one. It appears the paper will be a well balanced argument shedding light on both sides of the argument. Alcock suggests that in order for parapsychology to progress, it should maybe embrace the techniques of psychology and the two disciplines should work together in scientific respect.