Deja vu it is (FINAL DRAFT)

The Psychological and Scientific Perspective on Deja Vu

A Research Paper Presented to

The English Resource Center

School of Multimedia Arts

Asia Pacific College

Magallanes, Makati

In Partial Fulfilment

of the Requirements for the Course

ERESWRT – Research Writing

Tricia Marie R. Tuico

April 2014

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Deja Vu is a feeling of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past, whether it has actually happened or not. People most probably say that 'this is Deja Vu' when for an instance, they're currently in a place where they really think they've been in the past. Some people may find it weird and eerie when experiencing this while others find it interesting.

Lee Ann Obringer wrote an article entitled, "What is Deja Vu?" According to this article, Deja Vu is a word which literally means, ''already seen.'' It said that those who have experienced the feeling describe it as an overwhelming sense of familiarity with something that shouldn't be familiar at all.

Obringer says, "The phenomenon is rather complex, and there are many different theories as to why déjà vu happens." (http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/extrasensory-perceptions/question657.htm)

In the same idea, another article is written by Charles Q. Choi entitled "Been there, done that." According to this article, most probably people think that it is Deja Vu when they're having this feeling where something is familiar where actually, it may be just because you've been in a place in the past that has a resemblance where you are currently in. So it does not necessarily mean that you've been in that same situation in the past before. 

Choi said that, "Previous studies of Déjà Vu suggested the bizarre feeling most commonly concerns places."(http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/deja-vu-found-originate-similar-scenes/)

This Deja Vu is sometimes confused with pre-cognitive dreaming, too. Some people said that these are just the same since its basis are just having the feeling of familiarity. But, what they don't actually know is there is a difference between the two. Which is the reason why they misunderstood the two.

An article written by Lee Ann Obringer entitled "How Deja Vu Works." According to this article, the difference between the two is that pre-cognitive experience is where someone gets a feeling that they exactly know what's going to happen next while Deja Vu is the familiar feeling experience during an event. 

Obringer said that, "Precognitive experiences -- if they are real -- show things that will happen in the future, not things that you've already experienced." With that being said, it is just clearly shown that the two is different from each other."(http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/extrasensory-perceptions/deja-vu.htm)

Though there are lots of studies and theories regarding deja vu, still there are some people who stick to believing that Deja Vu is connected to reincarnation. They believe that those people in the present earth-life meet up with someone whom he/she have shared deep experiences in a former earth-life. For them, people experience deja vu for a reason, may it be an unfinished business or whatsoever. That maybe they experience deja vu to set things right and get things done. 

Art Funkhouse wrote an article called, "Explanations for deja vu experiences." in this article, Funkhouse discusses how some people believes that deja vu is connected to reincarnation. They believe that the experience of deja vu is connected to the cycle of reincarnation that persists until resolutions have been made.

Funkhouse writes, "I indicated that reincarnation was probably the earliest explanation for déjà vu, at least in western literature" (http://www.deja-experience-research.org/index.php/explanations?start=5).

The researcher observes that many popular beliefs about Deja Vu are either wrong or are based on superstition. A problem that the researcher can derive is that some beliefs about Deja Vu may lead to bad decisions. Especially if this decisions are based on superstitious beliefs and not actual facts. 

For example, a girl is engaged. Then one day while walking, she come across a guy when she suddenly feel he's familiar, Deja Vu. Then she starts thinking that maybe that guy is her soul mate. Now, things may get worse, where probably she will break up with her fiance and just date her so-called soul mate. This shows that a misunderstanding of what Deja Vu is can lead to big mistakes.

The information found in this paper is important because it will help the reader gain a better understanding of what a deja vu is. A scientific or psychological approach to the topic is necessary to break the superstitious misconceptions about deja vu that can lead to bad decisions.

Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explain deja vu from a psychological and scientific perspective.

B. Statement of the problem

This study aims to answer this question:

1.) What is the psychological and scientific perspective on Deja Vu?

C. Significance of the study

People who believe in Deja Vu. This research paper will help the people who believe in Deja Vu because this paper is discussing that beliefs in Deja Vu are either wrong or are superstitions. This can help them have a better understanding of what Deja Vu is and also make them aware that misunderstanding on its beliefs may lead to big mistakes.

Psychology Students. Psychology students can benefit from this research paper because they can study about the way of thinking of those people who believe and don't believe in Deja Vu. Also, they could use this as their basis on their studies on what possible ways they could do to make people understand more about Deja Vu.

Future Researchers. This study can help future researchers to make similar studies especially when it’s about beliefs in Deja Vu. They can base some of their topics with this study. A lot of people is experiencing deja vu so this paper can help researchers who wants to study about deja vu just because they're also experiencing it. This study can also be a source for the formats or concepts when it comes to research paper writing.

D. Scope and Delimitation

This study focuses on the reasons on the different beliefs of people in Deja Vu. It is also discussed in this paper why Deja Vu can lead to misunderstandings and big mistakes.

Due to time constraints, this study will no longer discuss further about reincarnation. It will not also discuss the benefits of those people who believe in Deja Vu due to lack of factual, reliable sources and time constraints.The respondents can be the ones who consider Deja Vu as one of their basis in decision making. I chose them to be one of my respondents so that I could know their perspectives on this.

E. Materials and Methods

This research employs an informative method since the researcher aims to inform and discuss the beliefs of people in Deja Vu. This is also to inform the people that misunderstandings on it can lead to big mistakes.

Relevant informations to the study were gathered from various reference materials such as online articles and different knowledgeable websites like content.time.com or tumblr.com. Surveys on psychology students will be implemented for this research to strengthen this study.

F. Definition of Terms

1.) Déjà vu - The feeling that you have already experienced something that is actually happening for the first time.

2.) Pre-cognitive - Where someone gets a feeling that they exactly know what's going to happen next.

3.) Psychology - The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context.

4.) Reincarnation - The idea or belief that people are born again with a different body after death.

5.) Sensation - A particular feeling or experience that may not have a real cause.

Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

What is the psychological and scientific perspective on Deja Vu?

I. Definition of Deja Vu

Deja Vu is the eerie feeling when we are experiencing something that is already experienced before. Lots of people are said to have had experience this before. Many researchers had been studying about Deja Vu since there is no concrete explanation why this happens. Numerous people have different beliefs in this phenomenon's existence. Presently, some people are still eager to dig deeper about it because there's no theory that has been successfully proven yet.

An article is written by Mike Mowbray entitled, "Deja Vu." According to this article, though people don't have enough knowledge about Deja Vu, still they believe in it. Others considered it as a "supernatural beliefs." These superstitions are the things we practice and believe in even if it's not yet proven. These can either help us in our daily live or it can be a problem as well.

Mowbray says, "Psychological explanations of the phenomenon tend to centre on issues of individual perception and memory, though more mysterious (or metaphysical) aspects of a possible ‘sixth sense’ have at times been invoked to account for this disconcerting feeling." (http://sixthsensereader.org/about-the-book/abcderium-index/deja-vu/)

II. Potential Problem for Superstitious Belief in Deja Vu

1. Bad Decisions

Superstitions can also lead us to negative life. Believing in it can be a disadvantage that can really affect our lives. It is when we got influenced by these beliefs and on how we will apply it in our daily life. Some people are almost basing their decisions in superstitions. Which is shouldn't be done. These superstition beliefs are just false practices and belief, they are not proven yet. People shouldn't just base their lives in this because it will do them no good. Having not enough knowledge about Deja Vu is just one good reason why people shouldn't be basing their decisions here. Misunderstandings can lead to bad decisions.

Mona Ericson wrote an article entitled, "Towards a sensed decision-making approach." In this article, it is said that it aims to neglect in strategic decision-making. It said that it is better to deal with the problems through meeting talk that entwine with emotions not just communicate sense through believing in.

Ericson says, "It also draws inspiration from Polanyi's work on tacit dimension and knowing, furthering an understanding of how retrospective and prospective orientation unfold in connection with a tacit relation, constituting a so-called sense-made reality." (http://www.researchgate.net/publication/247618467_Towards_a_sensed_decision-making_approach__From_dj_vu_to_vu_jd)

III. Deja Vu: A Scientific & Psychological Perspective

A. Psychological Perspective

Many people know Deja Vu, but not everyone knows that there is something more about it. And this can give you a better and clearer knowledge about Deja Vu. We know that this is a feeling where something has been experienced already. As what the people know about Deja Vu is that is just a superstition, a false belief But then, since some people are eager to know more about it, they tend to do researchers, and found out that there are 3 types of Deja Vu.

In the article, "Never Heard About" written by Anna Lemind, it is said that according to Arthur Funkhouser, there are 3 kinds of Deja Vu experiences. These are Deja Vecu, Deja Senti and Deja Visite.

1. Deja vecu 

It is when a person is almost always speaks of deja vu when he really means deja vecu. It can be translated as "I have already experienced this." Deja vecu experience involves much more than simple visual stimuli. This is the reason why it is said that the term deja vu is always misused because it means "I have already seen this" which is wrong. This should contain much more detail and information, and the person experiencing it feels that everything is exactly as it was in the past. Deja vecu is the most common and interesting case of Deja vu. This is suppported by the number of studies, experiments and surveys that explains the phenomenon.

2. Deja Senti

These are experiences that has something to do with human emotions. It can be translated as "I have allready felt this." This type is unlike the other two types of deja vu, deja senti does not include any paranormal and is something completely natural. And many epileptic patients often experience deja senti, something that can help in the research of the other two types of deja vu experiences.

3. Deja Visite

It is the paradoxical feeling that we know a place we have never visited before. Also, this is a more specific feeling. It is for example, you visit a city for the first time then you know the exact way to get to his destination knowing that it is impossible.

Lemind says, "What is called 'deja vu' is not in reality deja vu, but only a type of it." (http://www.learning-mind.com/3-types-of-deja-vu-you-have-never-heard-about/)

B. Scientific Perspective

People were not contented with the studies they've made about Deja Vu which caused them do dig more. And with that, they found out the Deja Vu has something to do in our brains, literally. This is just one of the perspectives on Deja Vu. This does not say that Deja Vu is a disease or a kind of abnormality. These perspective are the following:

1. Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

An article is written by Marc Lallanilla entitled, "Deja Vu and Epilepsy." According to this article, Deja vu probably comes from studies of epilepsy. The strong and consistent link between Deja vu and the seizures occur in people with medial temporal lobe epilepsy, a type of epilepsy that affects the brain's hippocampus. Also, he said that Deja vu is like an epileptic seizure, may be the result of a neural misfiring when the tneurons in brain transmits signals which causes people to experience a false sense of remembered familiarity.

Lallanilla says, "Déjà vu has been under investigation for years by scientists, who have yet to offer a complete explanation for the phenomenon, though it's reportedly experienced by more than 70 percent of people at some point." (http://www.livescience.com/38280-what-is-deja-vu.html)

2. Brain's memory

According to the article "Explaining Deja Vu" by Michael D. Lemonick, a team of neuroscientists at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has solved the mystery behind Deja vu. Thomas McHugh, one of the researcher have uncovered a specific memory circuit in the brains of mice that probably cause the weird sensation which probably turns out to be a sort of memory-based analogue of optical illusion. They've also realized that memory is made up of different components which are the long and short term, memories of events and fact based that takes place in different parts of the brain.

Another researcher, McHugh who tried to untangle the neurological circuity of the hippocampus, a part of the brain where new memories are formed. Where they believe that it is actually the groups of brain cells linked by strong chemical connections that causes to have memories. Also, it is said that scientists are convinced in a mechanism they call pattern completion. Wherein a new experience that's merely similar to an older one seems identical.

Lemonick says, "Despite of those phenomenon's universal study, no one has still offered a convincing explanation for why it happens." (http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651507,00.html)

IV. How a Scientific & Psychological Understanding of Deja Vu Can Help People

.

Having more knowledge about something is a good, right? The Scientific and Psychological perspectives can give us a better understanding in Deja Vu. People would know that Deja Vu is not just a superstitious belief for us to base our decision-making in it. Also, this would avoid misunderstandings and confusions on how to deal with it when experiencing it. This would also somehow help the people psychologically as a guide in our daily lives. Just like in a situation where you are lost, and you randomly thought that "I've been here before." Chances are it will boost your confidence and will somehow boost your self-assurance which can help you not to panic because of the thought that you know that place and you can find a way out.

Chapter 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

This paper is intended to know the effects of the superstitious beliefs, and psychological and scientific perspectives of Deja Vu in our daily lives.

The research design used in this study was informative method where data were gathered from various reference materials such as online article, knowledgeable websites and related blogs was used to answer the following research question that was stated. The research findings are the following:

1. Deja Vu is a feeling of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past, whether it has actually happened or not.

2. Though there are lots of studies and theories regarding deja vu, still there are some people who stick to believing that Deja Vu is connected to reincarnation. 

3. This Deja Vu is sometimes confused with pre-cognitive dreaming, too. Pre-cognitive experience is where someone gets a feeling that they exactly know what will happen next while Deja Vu is the familiar feeling experienced before.

4. This phenomenon is left unexplained that's why it is considered as a superstition.

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusion are drawn:

1. Through different researchers made, Deja Vu is still left unexplained and is still considered as a superstition. But mind you that superstitions has its advantages and disadvantages.

2. This is a belief that those people in the present earth-life meet up with someone whom he/she have shared deep experiences in a former earth-life.

3. The difference between the two is that, pre-cognitive experience is where someone gets a feeling that they exactly know what will happen next while Deja Vu is the familiar feeling experienced before.

4. Deja vu as a superstition affects the daily lives and behavior of an individual.

RECOMMENDATIONS

After coming up with the conclusions, the researcher hereby makes the following suggestions/recommendations:

1. Never ever use Deja Vu as your basis in decision-making.

2. Superstitions has its disadvantages. It affects peoples live accordingly on what their attitude is and on how they deal on it. The researcher therefore concludes that people should not pay too much attention on it.

3. Scholars and future researchers could conduct more studies about its origin and on what other psychological and scientific effects can happen in believing in this superstition.

REFERENCES:

Electronic Media

"What is Deja Vu?" by Lee Ann Obringer (http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/extrasensory-perceptions/question657.htm)

"Been there, done that" by Charles Q. Choi (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/deja-vu-found-originate-similar-scenes/)

"How Deja Vu Works?" by Lee Ann Obringer (http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/extrasensory-perceptions/deja-vu.htm)

"Explanation for Deja Vu experiences" by Art Funkhouse (http://www.deja-experience-research.org/index.php/explanations?start=5)

"Deja Vu" by Mike Mowbray (http://sixthsensereader.org/about-the-book/abcderium-index/deja-vu/)

"Towards a sensed decision-making approach" by Mona Ericson (http://www.researchgate.net/publication/247618467_Towards_a_sensed_decision-making_approach__From_dj_vu_to_vu_jd)

"Never Heard About" by Anna Lemind (http://www.learning-mind.com/3-types-of-deja-vu-you-have-never-heard-about/)

"Deja Vu and Epilepsy" by Marc Lallanilla (http://www.livescience.com/38280-what-is-deja-vu.html)

"Explaining Deja Vu" by Michael D. Lemonick (http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651507,00.html)