Ian Stevenson

Ian Stevenson (1918–2007) was a Canadian-American psychiatrist who investigated children’s reports of apparent memories of previous lives. He collected cases and assessed them as possible evidence for reincarnation.

Case study: An in-depth investigation of a person, group, event, or phenomenon in its real-world context. Stevenson built his research around detailed investigations of individual children and alleged previous-life matches.
University of Virginia Division of Perceptual Studies: A University of Virginia research unit that studies unusual experiences and claims about consciousness. Stevenson founded and led the unit that became the institutional base for his investigations.
Erlendur Haraldsson: An Icelandic psychologist known for empirical studies of paranormal claims and religious experiences. Haraldsson collaborated with Stevenson in investigating children’s claimed past-life memories in Sri Lanka and Lebanon.
Cryptomnesia: A memory whose source has been forgotten and is mistakenly experienced as new or independently acquired. Unrecognized exposure to information could explain some accurate details in children’s reports.
Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect: Stevenson’s two-volume work examining claimed links between birthmarks, birth defects, and previous-life reports. The book extended his case method from reported memories to physical features.
Reincarnation case: A documented report of a person’s apparent memories or behaviors attributed to a previous life. This was the basic unit of evidence Stevenson collected and evaluated.
Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation: Stevenson’s book presenting investigations of children who reported memories attributed to previous lives. This early major publication introduced his comparative case approach to a broad audience.
Jim B. Tucker: An American psychiatrist who studies children’s reports of apparent memories of previous lives. Tucker continued this research program at the University of Virginia after Stevenson’s death.
False memory: A recollection that feels real but is inaccurate or did not occur as remembered. This provides a psychological alternative to treating a child’s account as a memory of another life.
Survival research: Research that examines evidence for the continuation of personal identity or consciousness after death. Stevenson’s work became a prominent modern program within this broader field.

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