Psychological Elements of Dowsing

Dowsing: an old wives’ tale or a bona fide way to find water and other precious resources? According to some sources, the answer is clear: dowsing is nothing more than a superstitious practice with no basis in reality. Or is it?

But could there be something more to it? In this post, we’ll explore some of the psychological elements that make dowsing appealing – and seemingly successful – in spite of what some scientists say.

What is dowsing in psychology?

There isn’t such thing as a dowsing branch in psychology, however, psychological repercussions of dowsing have been studied extensively: it has been shown that those who believe in dowsing & divination are more likely to go out and validate its effect in real life examples.

In other words, the person that practices dowsing will subconsciously initiate the ideomotor process.

Psychological element in Dowsing

As we partly covered on this piece about coconut dowsing, the ideomotor effect is a psychological phenomenon in which a person makes a movement unconsciously in response to a mental stimulus.

Psychological correlation between Dowsing and Paranormal activities

Now let’s talk about some of the more paranormal-alike aspects of dowsing.

Psychology has always been fascinated by paranormal activity. For example, psychologists have looked at why people believe in ghosts, whether déjà vu experiences are actually memories of past lives, and what might cause people to have out-of-body experiences.

While there is still much disagreement about the causes of these phenomena, some psychologists believe that they may be explained by normal psychological processes.

For instance, it has been suggested that déjà vu experiences may be due to a brief interruption in the flow of information from the sensory input to long-term memory storage. This interruption might cause the person to “ fill in the gaps” by creating a false memory based on their expectancies or past experience.

Similarly, Out-of-body experiences could be explained as a form of dissociation, where the mind becomes disconnected from the body in response to stress or trauma. However, it should be noted that these explanations are far from conclusive, and much more research is needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn.

In the same way, there are many reasons why people believe in dowsing. For example:

  • Some people believe that dowsing is a way to communicate with the spiritual world,
  • Others believe that dowsing can be only used to find water, oil, or other minerals (such as gold).
  • Some people also believe that dowsing can help with diagnosing illnesses or find lost objects.

Dowsers claim that dowsing is a skill that anyone can learn, and there are many techniques that can be used to improve your dowsing ability.

In conclusion, dowsing may have some psychological effects that need to be considered. Those effect can resemble the same as paranormal activities, which can sometimes have pose a risk on people’s auras.

If you are considering trying dowsing out, it is important to be aware of these potential risks and take precautions if necessary.What is your experience on the psychological effects of dowsing?