CPI Witness Psychology & Debunking Flashcards
6 cards from real CPI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 CPI Witness Psychology & Debunking flashcards as text
What is infrasound, and how can it contribute to false paranormal reports?
Answer: Sound frequencies below 20 Hz that humans cannot consciously hear but can cause feelings of unease, dread, or visual disturbances
Infrasound (below 20 Hz) is inaudible to conscious hearing but can cause feelings of dread, unease, and even visual disturbances in eyeball resonance, leading people to believe locations are haunted.
Which debunking step should an investigator perform when a client reports cold spots in a specific room?
Answer: Check for drafts, HVAC vents, window gaps, and use a thermal camera to map temperature distribution before attributing it to paranormal causes
Cold spots should first be investigated for mundane sources such as HVAC vents, drafts, or thermal bridging using a thermal camera before any paranormal attribution is considered.
What role does 'sleep paralysis' play in some paranormal witness reports?
Answer: It is a neurological state where a person is conscious but cannot move, often accompanied by vivid hallucinations of figures or presences, which can be misinterpreted as paranormal encounters
Sleep paralysis is a neurological state in which the body remains immobilized upon waking while the mind is conscious, frequently producing vivid hallucinations that witnesses may interpret as paranormal entities.
A client reports lights flickering and believes it is a paranormal sign. What should an investigator do first?
Answer: Inspect the electrical system, check for loose connections, aging wiring, or a failing ballast before considering paranormal causes
Flickering lights should first be evaluated for electrical causes such as loose connections, aging wiring, or failing bulb ballasts before any paranormal interpretation is entertained.
What is the 'Texas sharpshooter fallacy' and how might it affect paranormal evidence analysis?
Answer: The tendency to identify patterns in random data after the fact and attribute significance to them, such as selecting only the best-seeming EVPs while ignoring hundreds of unremarkable recordings
The Texas sharpshooter fallacy occurs when investigators cherry-pick compelling anomalies from large data sets while ignoring the vast number of unremarkable recordings, inflating the apparent significance of findings.
Which best practice helps ensure witness accounts are not contaminated before an investigation begins?
Answer: Interview all witnesses separately and before they can discuss experiences with each other
Interviewing witnesses separately before they compare stories prevents cross-contamination of accounts through social suggestion and preserves the independence of each testimony.