Society for Psychical Research
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| Abbreviation | SPR |
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| Formation | 1882 |
| Legal status | Non-profit organisation |
| Purpose | Parapsychology |
| Location |
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Region served
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Worldwide |
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Membership
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Psi researchers |
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President
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Prof John Poynton |
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Main organ
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SPR Council |
| Website | SPR |
The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a non-profit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to conduct organised scholarly research into human experiences that challenge contemporary scientific models." It does not however, since its inception in 1882, hold any corporate opinions: SPR members assert a variety of beliefs with regard to the nature of the phenomena studied.
The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) originated from a discussion between journalist Edmund Rogers and the physicist William F. Barrett in autumn 1881. This led to a conference on the 5 and 6 January 1882 at the headquarters of the British National Association of Spiritualists which the foundation of the Society was proposed. The committee included Barrett, Rogers, Stainton Moses, Charles Massey, Edmund Gurney, Hensleigh Wedgwood and Frederic W. H. Myers. The SPR was formally constituted on the 20 February 1882 with philosopher Henry Sidgwick as its first president.
The SPR was the first organization of its kind in the world, its stated purpose being "to approach these varied problems without prejudice or prepossession of any kind, and in the same spirit of exact and unimpassioned enquiry which has enabled science to solve so many problems, once not less obscure nor less hotly debated."
Other early members included the chemist William Crookes, physicist Oliver Lodge, Nobel laureate Charles Richet and psychologist William James.
Members of the SPR initiated and organized the International Congresses of Physiological/Experimental psychology.
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