Dr Tony Jinks - The Disappearing Object Phenomenon (DOP)

This presentation was recorded at the UFO Research (NSW) meeting held at Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club on the 3 June 2017. Dr Tony Jinks speaks on, what he terms, The Disappearing Object Phenomenon (DOP). Tony is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Social Science and Psychology, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia. Tony is the President, Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research. He has a background in Neuroscience and has published in the field of neuroscience, perception, parapsychology and paranormal belief and experience. He has published two books on paranormal issues: An introduction to the psychology of paranormal belief and experience (McFarland 2011) and The disappearing object phenomenon: an investigation (McFarland 2016). A surprisingly large number of people claim to have lost a personal item in, ‘unusual circumstances’. The typical example involves a household object or possession, such as an apple, spoon, purse or key. These articles are placed in a location and later found to be missing, seemingly, for no apparent reason. There are internet sites dedicated to recounting tales of anomalous object disappearances, as well as mysterious appearances, reappearances and replacements. This presentation will examine various characteristic patterns found in a collection of over 400 case studies, and discuss how these patterns might assist in understanding the origins of the DOP experience. Recent findings from two research studies (conducted in 2015/2016) examining putative psychological traits underlying DOP.