Passive abilities generally deal with the mind and/or nervous system. This area is generally considered to include telepathy (Sensing or affecting thoughts), empathy (sensing or affecting emotions), precognition (predicting future events), remote viewing (seeing a location without the use of physical eyes), and nervous system-related effects (sensing or affecting the senses and/or nerves of others).

Psionics that affect the physical world are sometimes broadly referred to as psychokinesis or PK, but different sources may have slight differences in terminology. The claims of a select few to be able to move small objects with their minds is controversial and many experiments have been attempted to assess the validity of these claims.

Psionics in fiction take on nearly as many forms as magic, and are often deeply entwined with many related paranormal or science fiction phenomena.

The most widely utilized psionic ability in fiction is telepathy, which is often attributed to magical or highly technologically or mentally advanced cultures as a matter of course. As an example, the Star Trek Vulcans were given limited telepathic abilities in order to make them appear more alien. Psionic abilities are often displayed by beings who do or are in process of trancending their physical existence (e.g. humans in the SF classic, Childhood's End).

Telekinesis and precognition, as exibited by the Jedi in Star Wars is also quite common in fictional psionics.

Psionics are used in a wide variety of role-playing games including the popular d20 System, often as a substitute for magic. One of the base classes under this system is the psion.

Psionics were utilised as a paranormal power of agents in the X-COM series of computer games by MicroProse, which was inspired by popular-culture appreciation of psionic abilities of aliens. Psionic abilities included mind control and telekenesis.

Some characters in the SNES RPG Earthbound (Mother 2 in Japan) used an ability called "PSI" as a science-fiction variant of magic.

In the video game Second Sight, the research of parapsycology for soldiers and children is strongly brought into affect. Your role as the protagonist allows you to even utilize these psycic powers in certain levels. The game is often viewed as realistic (Realistic Science-Fiction)