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Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS)3

Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) Test

In five minutes, the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) Test presents 26 statements about supernatural and religious ideas. Your result outlines several belief dimensions, helping you reflect on how you respond to questions about prediction, extraordinary beings, spirits, magic, and related experiences.

Questions: 265 minutes

Revised Paranormal Belief Scale: situation and reply bubbles

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

22,715 views

2,525 completions

2,070 likes

Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

2,070 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

PrecognitionP

Measures the extent to which a person believes they can predict future events through methods like astrology or divination.

example score17/28

17/28Moderate beliefexample score

4 – 12Low belief

13 – 20Moderate belief

21 – 28High belief

A score of 17 falls in the Moderate belief range, suggesting a noticeable but not strong endorsement of predicting the future through such methods.

Extraordinary Life FormsELF

Measures the degree of belief in the existence of extraordinary life forms such as aliens, Bigfoot, and similar phenomena.

example score10/21

10/21Moderate beliefexample score

3 – 8Low belief

9 – 15Moderate belief

16 – 21High belief

A score of 10 falls in the Moderate belief range, suggesting some openness to extraordinary life forms without strong endorsement.

SpiritualismS

Measures belief in communicating with the spirits of the deceased and in the existence of an afterlife.

example score6/28

6/28Lowexample score

4 – 11Low

12 – 20Moderate

21 – 28High

A score of 6 falls in the Low range, suggesting relatively low endorsement of spiritualism-related beliefs compared with the rest of the scale.

SuperstitionS

Measures the tendency to endorse everyday superstitions such as omens, signs, and lucky or unlucky rituals.

example score12/21

12/21Moderateexample score

3 – 9Low

10 – 15Moderate

16 – 21High

A score of 12 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not strong inclination toward believing in common superstitions.

WitchcraftW

Measures the degree of belief in witchcraft, including spells, magical practices, and supernatural influence over events.

example score12/28

12/28Moderate beliefexample score

4 – 11Low belief

12 – 19Moderate belief

20 – 28High belief

A score of 12 falls in the Moderate belief range, suggesting some openness to the idea of witchcraft and magical influence without strongly endorsing it.

Psi AbilitiesPA

Measures the degree to which a person endorses the existence of extrasensory and telepathic abilities (e.g., mind reading or predicting the future).

example score13/28

13/28Moderate beliefexample score

4 – 12Low belief

13 – 20Moderate belief

21 – 28High belief

A score of 13 falls in the Moderate belief range, suggesting some endorsement of psi abilities without strong conviction.

Traditional Religious BeliefTRB

Measures the strength of adherence to traditional religious beliefs and elements of organized religion (e.g., belief in God, angels).

example score26/28

26/28Highexample score

4 – 12Low

13 – 20Moderate

21 – 28High

A score of 26 falls in the High range, suggesting a strong endorsement of traditional religious faith statements on this scale.

Paranormal BeliefPB

Measures a person's overall tendency to endorse beliefs in paranormal and supernatural phenomena across multiple domains.

example score134/182

134/182Highexample score

26 – 78Low

79 – 130Moderate

131 – 182High

A score of 134 falls in the High range, indicating a stronger-than-average endorsement of paranormal beliefs on this scale.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Curious paranormal explorers

41%OF USERS

People who enjoy ghost stories, ESP, astrology, or other mysterious topics and want to see how strongly they actually believe.

Psychology students and researchers

34%OF USERS

Students and academics who need a quick, reliable measure of paranormal belief for surveys, experiments, and cross-cultural comparisons.

Skeptics checking themselves

25%OF USERS

People who identify as rational or doubtful but take the test to spot any hidden superstitions or inconsistent beliefs.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

PredictionsP

You?

Average17.2

Typical rangeTypical14.3 – 20.2

Possible4 – 28

Extraordinary Forms of LifeEFoL

You?

Average14.1

Typical rangeTypical11.8 – 16.4

Possible3 – 21

SpiritualismS

You?

Average15.7

Typical rangeTypical12 – 19.3

Possible4 – 28

SuperstitionsS

You?

Average14.2

Typical rangeTypical11.8 – 16.6

Possible3 – 21

WitchcraftW

You?

Average18.9

Typical rangeTypical15.4 – 22.4

Possible4 – 28

Psi AbilitiesPA

You?

Average15.3

Typical rangeTypical12.3 – 18.2

Possible4 – 28

Traditional Religious FaithTRF

You?

Average21.7

Typical rangeTypical18.7 – 24.7

Possible4 – 28

Belief in the Paranormal ScaleBitPS

You?

Average106.6

Typical rangeTypical82.9 – 130.2

Possible26 – 182

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Don't know / not sure
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Don't know / not sure
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Don't know / not sure
- Somewhat agree
- Agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 26 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) Test - Description and methodology of the test

irrational thinking

superstition

People who want to understand how they respond to supernatural, religious, and extraordinary claims may find the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) Test useful as a structured self-report profile. The profile organizes endorsement across paranormal and religious themes. As an RPBS self-assessment, it shows how responses cluster by subject and contribute to an overall tendency.

What This Assessment Measures

This RPBS questionnaire reports dimensions and bands:

Precognition (4-28) measures foresight: Low belief 4-12; Moderate belief 13-20; High belief 21-28.
Extraordinary Life Forms (3-21) measures unusual beings: Low belief 3-8; Moderate belief 9-15; High belief 16-21.
Spiritualism (4-28) measures afterlife: Low 4-11; Moderate 12-20; High 21-28.
Superstition (3-21) measures omens: Low 3-9; Moderate 10-15; High 16-21.
Witchcraft (4-28) measures magic: Low belief 4-11; Moderate belief 12-19; High belief 20-28.
Psi Abilities (4-28) assess telepathy: Low belief 4-12; Moderate belief 13-20; High belief 21-28.
Traditional Religious Belief (4-28) measures religion: Low 4-12; Moderate 13-20; High 21-28.
Paranormal Belief (26-182) measures endorsement: Low 26-78; Moderate 79-130; High 131-182.

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each item offers seven ordered responses from strongly disagree to strongly agree, with a middle uncertainty option. The format records degree of endorsement, not a yes-or-no position. Responses form domain scores and an overall total; higher scores indicate stronger endorsement within a domain or across the questionnaire. The displayed bands describe lower, middle, or higher endorsement in this measure.

Methodologically, the online form is conceptually consistent with the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) (Tobacyk, 2004), the published instrument supplying its closest framework. Drinkwater et al. (2017) examined dimensional structure; Dagnall et al. (2023) evaluated temporal stability and predictive validity; Lange et al. (2000) investigated item purification. Their findings do not establish that this online version shares the published instrument’s wording, factor structure, reliability, norms, or validity.

The questionnaire records how strongly a person endorses paranormal claims and produces a paranormal belief profile; it does not establish whether those claims are true. The result reflects current self-reported endorsement and may vary with context, interpretation of the statements, self-awareness, and candour.

Author: Jerome E. Tobacyk

Literature:

Tobacyk, Jerome J. (2004). A Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 23(1), 94-98. 10.24972/ijts.2004.23.1.94
Drinkwater, Kenneth, Andrew Denovan, Neil Dagnall, and Andrew Parker (2017). An Assessment of the Dimensionality and Factorial Structure of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, Article 1693. 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01693
Dagnall, Neil, Andrew Denovan, and Kenneth Graham Drinkwater (2023). Longitudinal Assessment of the Temporal Stability and Predictive Validity of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 1094701. 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1094701
Lange, Rense, Harvey J. Irwin, and James Houran (2000). Top-Down Purification of Tobacyk’s Revised Paranormal Belief Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 29(1), 131-156. 10.1016/S0191-8869(99)00183-X

Updated: 2025-10-02