The first American Society for Psychical Research was formed in 1885, in consequence of a visit by Sir W. F. Barrett to the United States. In 1887 the Society invited Richard Hodgson, A.M.,L.L.D., a lecturer at Cambridge, to become Executive Secretary, and he accepted.

The ASPR later became a branch of the English SPR under the guidance of Dr. Hodgson until his death in 1905. The American Society for Psychical Research was then re-established with James H. Hyslop, PhD., formerly Professor of Logic and Ethics at Columbia University, as its Secrretary and Director.

The ASPR is involved in the investigation of telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, veridical hallucinations and dreams, psychometry, and other forms of paranormal cognition; of phenomena bearing upon the hypothesis of the survival of bodily death; of claims of paranormal physical phenomena such as psychokinesis and poltergiests; the study of automatic writing, trance speech, alterations of personality, and other subconscious processes insofar as they may be related to paranormal processes; in short, all types of phenomena called parapsychological or paranormal.