Senior Lecturer

0131 650 3372

F34 (7GS)

Historical and conceptual issues in psychology, especially history of unorthodox psychology. History and psychology of magic and the paranormal. Discursive psychology of beliefs about the paranormal.

Representative Publications

1. Lamont, P. (2010). Reflexivity, the role of history and the case of mesmerism in early Victorian Britain. History of Psychology,13(4), 393-408. 
2. Lamont, P. (2010). Debunking and the psychology of error: a historical analysis of psychological matters. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 7(1), 34-44.
3. Lamont, P., Henderson, J. M., & Smith, T. (2010). Where science and magic meet: the illusion of a ‘science of magic’. Review of General Psychology, 14(1), 16-21.
4. Lamont, P. & Bates, C. (2007). Conjuring images of India in nineteenth century Britain. Social History, 32(3), 309-325.
5. Lamont, P. (2007). Paranormal belief and the avowal of prior scepticism. Theory and Psychology, 17(5), 681-696.
6. Spiritualism and a mid-Victorian crisis of evidence. Historical Journal, 47(4), 897-920.

Publications

Books

• Lamont, P. (2013) Extraordinary beliefs: a historical approach to a psychological problem (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
• Lamont, P. (2005). The first psychic: the peculiar mystery of a notorious Victorian wizard (London: Little, Brown)
• Lamont, P. (2004) The rise of the Indian rope trick: biography of a legend (London: Little, Brown)
• Lamont, P. & Wiseman, R. (1999). Magic in theory: an introduction to the theoretical and psychological elements of conjuring (Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press)

Articles

• Lamont, P. (2012). The making of extraordinary psychological phenomena. Journal of the History of Behavioral Sciences, 48(1), 1-15.
• Lamont, P. (2011). Spectres of the self [book review]. English Historical Review, 126(153), 1541-1543.
• Lamont, P. (2010). Reflexivity, the role of history and the case of mesmerism in early Victorian Britain. History of Psychology,13(4), 393-408.
• Lamont, P. (2010). Debunking and the psychology of error: a historical analysis of psychological matters. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 7(1), 34-44.
• Lamont, P., Henderson, J. M., & Smith, T. (2010). Where science and magic meet: the illusion of a ‘science of magic’. Review of General Psychology, 14(1), 16-21.
• Lamont, P. & Henderson, J. M. (2009). More attention and greater awareness in the scientific study of magic. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, advance online publication (correspondence), 29 January, doi:10.1038/nrn2473-c1.
• Lamont, P., Coelho, C. & McKinlay, A. (2009). Explaining the unexplained: justifying disbelief in the paranormal. Discourse Studies, 11(5), 543-559.
• Lamont, P. (2009). A brief history of extraordinary psychological feats. The Psychologist, 22(4), 366-367.
• Coelho, C., Tierney, I., & Lamont, P. (2008). Contacts by distressed individuals to UK parapsychology and anomalous experience research units - a retrospective survey looking to the future. European Journal of Parapsychology, 23(1), 31-59.
• Lamont, P. (2007). The Indescribable Phenomenon [book review]. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 71(2), 109-110.
• Lamont, P. (2007). Parapsychology. Dictionary of the Unexplained (London: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd), 515-518.
• Lamont, P. & Bates, C. (2007). Conjuring images of India in nineteenth century Britain. Social History, 32, 3, 309-325.
• Lamont, P. (2007). Paranormal belief and the avowal of prior scepticism. Theory and Psychology, 17(5), 681-696.
• Lamont, P. (2007). Discourse analysis as a method in the history of psychology. History and Philosophy of Psychology, 9(2), 34-44.
• Tierney, I., Coelho, C. & Lamont, P. (2007). Distressed by anomalous experience: early identification of psychosis. Clinical Psychology Forum, 170, 37-39.
• Lamont, P. (2006). Magician as conjuror: a frame analysis of Victorian mediums. Early Popular Visual Culture, 4(1), 131-142.
• Lamont, P. & Murphy, M. (2006). The origins of the first psychic and other misrepresentations. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 70, 176-180.
• Lamont, P. (2006). Critically thinking about paranormal belief. In S. Della Sala (ed.), Tall tales about the mind and brain (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 23-35.
• Lamont, P. (2005). Seeing things. MAP: Journeys in Contemporary Art, 3, 34-37.
• Lamont, P. (2004). The history of an illusion. History Today, 54, 5-6.
• Lamont, P. (2004). Spiritualism and a mid-Victorian crisis of evidence. Historical Journal, 47(4), 897-920.
• Lamont, P. (2002). Anomalous phenomena and the innocuous past. Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association international conference, Paris.
• Lamont, P. & Wiseman, R. (2001). The rise and fall of the Indian rope trick. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research , 65, 175-93.
• Lamont, P. (1999). How convincing is the evidence for D. D. Home? Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association international conference, San Francisco.
• Lamont, P. (1997). Understanding misdirection: the pseudo-psychic’s invisible assistant. In R. Wiseman (ed.), Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association international conference, Brighton.
• Wiseman, R. & Lamont, P. (1996). Unravelling the rope trick. Nature, 383, 212-13.

Newspaper articles

• Lamont, P. (2003). A magical history tour [book review]. Scotsman, 20 December, 9-10.
• Lamont, P. (2005). A Scot in more than spirit. Scotsman, 18 August, 31-32.
• Lamont, P. (2005). Buried Treasure: Report on Spiritualism. Times, 19 November, 20.
• Lamont, P. (2005). The List: books on magic. The Week, 12 November, 31.
• Lamont, P. (2006). The truth is in here [book review]. Scotland on Sunday, 17 December, 7.
• Lamont, P. (2008). The Gold Leaf Lady and Other Parapsychological Investigations [book review], Times Literary Supplement, 28 March, 30.

Grants

Since 1996, my research has been funded primarily by external grants from both private and public bodies. Successful grants include: Institut fur Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene (£50,084); Wellcome Trust/Arts Council of England (£10,000); Society for Psychical Research (£3,000); Arts and Humanities Research Council (£54,000); Fundacao Bial (£21,000).

Affiliations

I am Secretary of the British Psychological Society (History and Philosophy Section). I am a member of the Society for Psychical Research, a Fellow of the Institute for Cultural Research, an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle, and a former President (and Honorary Member) of the Edinburgh Magic Circle. I am a reviewer for several academic journals, including History of Psychology, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences and History of the Human Sciences. I also write a column for Genii: the conjurors’ magazine, and am co-founder of the Edinburgh Secret Society.

Teaching

Undergraduate:

• Historical and conceptual issues in psychology (second year)
• Qualitative methods in psychology (third year)
• History of unorthodox psychology (fourth year)

Postgraduate:

• Programme Director of the MSc in History and Theory of Psychology
• Psychological research skills (MSc)
• PhD supervisor