User:J.smith/Electronic voice phenomenon/Temp

Electronic voice phenomena (EVP)

Radio interference
Radio interference is often references as being a possible explanation of many of the recorded signals. Faulty or cheep recording equipment can pick up stray signals from TV stations, radio stations, CB operators or analogue portable phones.

Researchers have attempted to reduce the possibility of radio interference. Colin Smythe arranged a test in 1971 using a number of tape recorders shield from interference inside of faraday cages and left to record. On playback a large number of EVPs were still recorded.

Pareidolia
One presented theory to explain EVP is pareidolia. Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being mistakenly perceived as recognizable. White noise, often considered an important part of EVP research, is specifically addressed in the pareidolia theory:

Alexander MacRae, like other researcher, have attempted to compensate for the potential by using a panel of independent listeners. After the listener's observations are recorded, the results are compared. Approximately 56% of the words matched across all the listeners.