PsychicPowers
PsychicPowers
March, 2004
This
is the first update of my ganzfeld/remote viewing database. For
the most part I've been filling in details on earlier experiments or tidying
up mistakes, but I have found several new experiments to add to the database.
I've also removed the "effect size" where possible (ie, when I have
the data regarding trials and hit rate) since there are many different "effect
sizes" and the papers are not always clear which one is being used.
If you have any comments about inaccuracies or omissions, please contact me and I’ll try and make sure these are rectified in the following version.
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Analysis of Remote Viewing Experiment URDF-3
Recently approved-for-release
report into the remote viewing of a Russian base (URDF-3) by Pat Price that
took place in July 1974. This example of remote viewing is often cited in
RV literature as being an example of the early impelling evidence in favour,
eg Jessica Utts (writing in 1995) said “The third reported operational success
concerned an accurate description of a large crane and other information
at a site in Semipalatinsk, USSR. Again the viewer was provided with only
the geographic coordinates of the site and was asked to describe what was
there.” Reading the official report demonstrates that the crane was the
only hit of any note, and that Pat Price was asked to talk about a crane
that he'd mentioned on the previous day. He was then asked to draw it.
Neither Price's drawing nor the sketch of the Soviet original deviated
from a typical gantry crane. Can such a safe bet (considering
he'd been lead to describe this part of the target) can be considered so unlikely as to be evidential?
Similarly, Utts has been misinformed as to the original data that Pat Price
had to work with, since he was given coordinates, shown the site on a map
and told it was a Soviet base.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB54/st36.pdf
Braud
Free response GESP performance during an experimental hypnagogic
state induced by visual and acoustic GF techniques: A replication and extension
JASPR 69(2) 105-113
Eff: 0.31
Palmer, Leiberman
The influence of psychological set on ESP and OBE JASPR 69(3) 193-213
Tested 40 Ss to explore a technique for inducing out-of-body experiences
(OBEs) and its effect on a free-response ESP test. The induction method consisted
of a progressive relaxation technique followed by 91/2 min of monotonous
auditory stimulation and a ganzfeld. 20 Ss were told to imagine leaving their
bodies during this period and traveling to the next room to see the ESP target
(OB condition) while 20 were told merely to allow relevant imagery to enter
their minds spontaneously (control condition). 65% of Ss in the OB condition
reported having OBEs during the session, but only 20% of the controls. Ss
reporting OBEs scored significantly higher on the ESP task than those not
reporting OBEs. Contrasts between the findings of this experiment and those
of a previous one are discussed.
Trials: 20, Hits: 2
Raburn
Expectation and transmission factors in psychic functioning (unpub. thesis )
Trials: 10, Hits: 9
Raburn
As above
Trials: 10, Hits: 4
Barker, Messer, Drucker
Internally-Deployed Attention States : Relaxation. A Group Majority Vote Procedure with Receiver Optimization
This experiment, carried out at the Maimonides Medical Center explored the
use of ganzfeld/non ganzfeld in psi, and used several recievers for each
target who would then discuss there ideas about the target. These ideas
would then be coded into ten binary responses based on the presence/absence
of certain elements. These ten responses were based on: color, activity,
mythical characters, animals, human characters, artifacts, food, body parts,
architecture, nature scenes. (The target pool having been carefully constructed
to include all possibilities from 0000000000 - absence of all elements -
to 1111111111 - inclusion of all elements.)
The session would begin with the group being taken through a relaxation technique
before a third unattached member of staff chose one of the 1024 opaque envelopes
containing a target, gave it to Patricia Barker who then passed it on to
Ellen Messer, the sender. The session of actual remote viewing lasted
between 5 to 10 minutes. Barker (who remained in the room with the
recievers) asked them to discuss their findings and complete the 10 "yes/no"
questions. Then Messer returned to the room, a slide of the target
was projected onto the wall, and the recievers discussed how accurate they
felt they had been on each of the ten binary choices.
The pilot session (which used between nine and sixteen recievers) completed
eight sessions and scored 6.62 while 5 was the presumed chance result. Five
of the sessions were done under the ganzfeld state, while the other three
simply used relaxation. No details are given regarding differing scores
between the two states.
The formal experiments were in six groups of fifteen sessions each. One
of the sessions was "nul" (no target? breakdown in protocol? The paper
doesn't specify) and the score for the 59 session was 6.1.
Rogo
ESP in the GF: an exploration of parameters RIP 75 174-176
Trials: 28, Hits: 8
Rogo
As above RIP 75 174-176
Trials: 10, Hits: 4
Rogo
The use of short duration GF to facilitate psimediated imagery EJP 1 72-77
Trials: 20, Hits: 7
Terry
Psi information retrieval in the GF: 2 confirmatory studies JASPR 70(2) 207-217
"In each of 2 confirmatory studies of psi retrieval involving ganzfeld procedures
the Ss were divided into sender-receiver teams. Auditory and visual perceptual
input to the receivers was regulated via ganzfeld stimulation. While the
receiver gave a mentation report following instructions to "think out loud,"
the sensorially-remote sender viewed a series of thematically related stereoscopic
slides in an attempt to influence receiver mentation. At the end of each
session, the receiver blind-rated 4 different sets of slides in order of
perceived correspondences with his or her mentation during the session. Statistically
significant results were obtained in both studies. Exp I involved 27 sessions
with a high level of accuracy of target retrieval. Exp II involved 60 sessions
with a high level of accuracy. Obvious correspondences between targets and
receiver mentation were observed in both studies. The results replicate the
earlier ganzfeld studies. It is concluded that the ganzfeld procedure effectively
promotes the detection and accurate recovery of sensorially remote stimuli
(i.e., ESP)."
12 undergraduate students were used for the 27 sessions
No. of sessions: 27, hit rate, 41%
Terry
As above, except this time sender-receiver pairs contributed 10 sessions each
The two experiments carried out by Terry were criticised by Hyman and Ackers
for allowing the possibility of handling cues. The view-master slides
used by the sender were the same ones given, along with the three decoys,
to the receiver for the judging procedure.
No of sessions, 60, hit rate, 45%
Honorton
Length of isolation and degree of arousal as probable factors influencing information retrieval in the GF
This seven-session experiment was a collection of demonstrations for various television stations of the ganzfeld set-up.
Trials: 7, Hits: 6
Palmer
Scoring Patterns in an ESP GF experiment JASPR 71(2) 121-145
30 volunteers participated in an ESP ganzfeld experiment, preceded by an
EMG training session. The ganzfeld lasted 35 min, during which the experimenter
transcribed the S's ongoing mentation reports. During 1 of 3 5-min periods
within the session, an agent in another room concentrated on a randomly selected
pictorial slide from a binary target pool. After the session, the S completed
a rating scale describing his experiences during the session. After indicating
which content categories of the binary system he thought were present in
the target, he rated 4 slides, including the target, according to their correspondences
to his mentation. The ratings were double-blind. Later, 2 independent judges
rated each transcript against the same slides as well as slides designated
for another S. These ratings provided additional ESP deviation scores, as
well as a displacement measure. The overall mean ESP score was below chance,
significantly so by the judges' ratings. There was a significant negative
correlation between ESP scores and reported alternation of consciousness
in the ganzfeld, indicating that pronounced altered states of consciousness
were associated with psi-missing. A previous finding of a positive relationship
between ESP scores and time contraction in the ganzfeld was replicated.
No of sessions: 30, hit rate, 23%
Wood
Free response GESP performance following gf stimulation..... EJP 1 80-93
Sessions: 48, Hits: 10
York
The DMT as indicator of psychic performance as measured by a .... RIP 75 48-49
Eff: 0.40
Braud, Wood
The influence of immediate feedback on free-response GESP performance during ganzfeld stimulation
In an attempt to apply immediate sensory feedback for "correct" (i.e., target-relevant)
responses in a free-response generalized ESP experiment conducted under ganzfeld
conditions, 2 independent groups of Ss tried to gain impressions of slides
viewed by an agent in another room. The series for feedback Ss (FSs) was
as follows: a no-feedback pretest which followed 30 min of ganzfeld stimulation;
4 practice sessions, each consisting of 2 feedback periods followed by a
no-feedback test (all conducted under ganzfeld stimulation); then a no-feedback
posttest identical to the pretest. During practice sessions the S received
immediate sensory feedback for any mention of target slide content. Psi scores
were quantified by (a) correspondences between target and mentation codings
and (b) a target ranking procedure. The series for control Ss (CSs) was the
same for FSs, except that feedback was never provided during the practice
sessions. For the target exposure period coding measure, the FSs and CSs
evidenced no psi during the pretest and did not differ from each other. By
the time of the posttest, the FSs had improved significantly, now
evidenced psi-hitting, and were significantly superior to the CSs, which
still showed no psi and did not differ from their pretest value. Similar
trends were seen in the other 2 psi measures.
Schmitt, Stanford
Free Response ESP during GF stimulation: The possible influence of menstrual cycle phase JASPR 72(2) 177-182
20 college-age women participated in a free-response ganzfeld study of ESP.
During testing the experimenter was blind as to the phase of the women's
menstrual cycle, but later they were classified according to whether they
were in the preovulatory or postovulatory phase of that cycle. 15 of the
women had been tested during the preovulatory phase; 11 of these, after the
ESP-ganzfeld session, blindly ranked their target picture as most similar
to their ganzfeld mentation as compared with 3 control pictures. Only 1 of
the 5 women tested during the postovulatory phase of their cycle produced
a hit (nonsignificant). The difference between the performances of the women
tested during the preovulatory and postovulatory phases approaches significance
( p = .054). The overall results of the study, all Ss included, are
statistically significant. The discussion emphasizes certain limitations
of the study and the potential value of continued research in this area.
Sessions: 20, Hits: 12
Child
Psi missing in free response settings
Abstract: "In psi experiments with simple target alternatives, such as the
5 figures on ESP cards, individuals or groups have at times shown consistently
negative scoring. To this phenomenon of systematic lack of correspondence
between targets and guesses, the term "psi-missing" has been applied. In
3 recent experiments with complex qualitative materials, quantitative analysis
has also revealed evidence of psi-missing. The present paper reports a class
demonstration which is a 4th instance, occasioning a general review of the
concept of psi-missing. Theories that have been developed for the forced-choice
data might guide research on free-response psi-missing; the latter research
seems likely to be more directly applicable to commonly reported phenomena
of everyday life that seem to involve psi-mediated imagery. Analysis of the
circumstances under which the present data were collected suggests that the
social situation and the motives to which it gives rise are of key importance."
Eff size "h": -0.93
Palmer
An ESP GF experiment with transcendental meditators JASPR 73(4) 333-348
20 graduates of transcendental meditation were tested in a single-session
free-response experiment while experiencing 35 min of perceptual deprivation
(ganzfeld). Immediately afterwards, they completed a rating scale describing
their experiences and expectations and blind-rated the target picture and
3 controls in terms of their imagery. The mean ESP Z -score was in the
psi-missing direction, but was not significant. However, average ratings
of the Ss' transcripts by 2 independent judges produced a mean Z -score
in the psi-hitting direction that was significantly higher than the mean
based on the Ss' ratings. This illustrated the effect that judging can have
on the outcomes of free-response ESP experiments. When the experiential rating
scale was factor analysed, 2 factors emerged that reflected the degree to
which Ss reported being in an altered state of consciousness during the experiment.
One of these scales, representing the hypnagogic nature of the experience,
correlated positively and significantly with the ESP scores based on the
independent judges' ratings. This correlation confirmed the finding that
the most extreme ESP deviations occurred among Ss reporting the most pronounced
alterations of consciousness.
Trials: 20. Reported effect size "h" is -0.40, which would indicate a hit rate of just 5%.
Snowdon
Effect of associations and feedback on psi in the gf: is there more than meets the judges eye? JASPR 73(2) 123-150
Abstract: In a preliminary study 10 Ss in each of 2 independent groups gave free responses,
while in 35-min ganzfeld isolation, during 5 generalized ESP sessions with
randomly selected target pictures. Their mentation was transcribed by the
experimenter through a 1-way intercom. The Ss later ranked 4 pictures (double-blind)
in order of target likelihood. The Association group had 4 sessions without
feedback, associating mentation to each picture before ranking. The Feedback
group had 4 sessions without associating, and feedback after ranking. Both
groups had a 5th session with associations and feedback. Two independent
judges blind-ranked all sessions. Each of the 60 relevant sessions was judged
with and without associations. A total of 41 direct hits was found ( p <
.0004). The Association group had 28 hits ( p < .00001) while the Feedback
group scored at chance. Significant differences between groups were found
for hits per session and hits per S. Independent judges' scores were significant
only when the association material was available ( p < .02). A striking
decrease in hit rate was found when sessions per day run by the experimenter
increased. Strong qualitative correspondences are reported, with implications
for cognitive processing of ESP information.
Numbers of trials: 100, Number of hits, 41
Karnes, Edward W.; Ballou, Julie; Susman, Ellen P.; Swaroff, Philip.
Remote viewing: Failures to replicate with control comparisons. Psychological Reports, 1979 Dec, v45
Abstract:
Investigated the paranormal phenomenon termed "remote viewing" (RV)
by using procedures employed in successful demonstrations of the phenomenon.
20 college students, selected as receivers because of their personal experiences
with ESP, were given 2 RV trials. A control condition was used on Trial I
to evaluate chance factors in RV. Independent judges and receivers evaluated
the accuracy of RV by comparing receivers' protocols to senders' descriptions
and by visits to the target sites. Results do not support an RV hypothesis.
Means for judgments of correct receiver protocols were not significantly
different between experimental and control receivers and were not significantly
different from judgment means for incorrect receiver protocols. A psychic/nonpsychic
interpretation of judgment successes is discounted by the finding that successes
could be accounted for in terms of differences among rating means for targets
or differences among rating means for individual judges.
40 trials. 20 viewers, 2 trials each.
"Results do not support an RV hypothesis."
Karnes, Edward W.; Susman, Ellen P.
Remote viewing: A response bias interpretation. Psychological Reports, 1979 Apr, v44
90 undergraduates were used in an experimental condition designed to measure
the accuracy of RV and 25 served in a control condition designed to provide
a baseline for guessing or response bias.
Results offered no statistical support for RV
The finding that successful receivers offered reliably more selection responses
or guesses than did nonsuccessful receivers provided a basis for possible
interpretation of success in demonstrations of RV.
Dunne, Brenda J.; Bisaha, John P.
Precognitive remote viewing
in the Chicago area: A replication of the Stanford experiment. Journal of
Parapsychology, 1979 Mar, v43
Novice viewers, RVing sites to be visited at a specified time in the future.
8 trials, judged 8 times
Results of this matching indicate a high degree of accuracy.
Judges were, however, given photographs to judge the accuracy of session
notes to target, with the photo of the target being taken on the day of the
experiment, thus seasonal or temporal clues could well be evident. Some
results from these trials were used again in the PEAR PRP trials (see 2002).
Stanford
The influence of auditory ganzfeld characteristics upon free-response ESP performance.
Attempted to refine the noise-reduction hypothesis traditionally used to
explain the supposed value of ganzfeld stimulation in enhancing performance.
80 Ss were randomly assigned to the independent groups of a 2 by 2 design.
Independent variables were type of auditory ganzfeld (pink noise or organ
note) and whether the ganzfeld was interrupted, midsession, by an unexpected
auditory stimulus. Each S's ESP score was derived from blind ratings by 3
independent judges of similarity of ganzfeld utterances to a target and 3
control pictures randomly assigned to that S. As hypothesized, the interruption-noninterruption
variable interacted significantly with type of auditory ganzfeld: interruption
of the pink-noise ganzfeld deterred ESP performance, whereas interruption
of the organ-note ganzfeld tended to enhance it. Questionnaire responses
concerning ganzfeld-related experiences converged with the ESP results to
suggest that any interpretation of how ganzfeld stimulation influences ESP
performance must consider the cognitive consequences of such stimulation.
Targ
Remote Viewing Replication: evaluated by concept analysis
"This is the first publication of a carefully conducted series of remote-viewing
trials carried out at SRI International in 1979. In this formal experiment,
we incorporated all the revisions in methodology suggested by critics of
our earlier published experiments. We worked with six inexperienced volunteer
subjects, each of whom attempted to describe six randomly selected distant
locations visited by the experimenters. Four of these subjects achieved independent
statistical significance in their six trials, evaluated by rank ordering
of the six transcripts. The one-tailed probability of finding four percipients
significant at p < 0.05 out of the six in this experiment is p < 8
x 10-5. This corresponds to a z score of 3.76 standard deviations from chance
expectation, one-tailed. When we divide this by the square root of the number
of trials (36) we obtain an effect size of 0.63. This effect size is comparable
to that of prior studies from our laboratory."
Sargent
Exploring psi in the ganzfeld Paraps.Monogr. 17
Sargent split his trials into different parts according to whether he felt
the method was ‘adequate’ or ‘inadequate’. He completed eleven series ‘adequately’,
six of which where statistically significant. None of the insignificant
results are given.
Eff:0.42
0.42
0.58
0.18
Schlitz, Marilyn; Gruber, Elmar.
Transcontinental remote viewing. Journal of Parapsychology, 1980 Dec, v44
Two experimenters carried out a long-distance remote-viewing experiment,
with one of them, in Detroit, Michigan, acting as percipient and the other,
in Rome, Italy, as the agent.
10 trials, 5 judges
Analysis of the results by a direct-count-of-permutations method yielded
a p of 4.7 * 10-super(-6 ) for judges' ratings and 5.8 * 10-super(-6) for
rankings.
These results were rejudged the following year (see below)
Blackmore
Extrasensory Perception as a cognitive process, unpublished thesis
Used emotionally close participants, and relaxation techniques as preparation
Results “at chance”
Ashton, Hugh, Dearly, Sargent
A 4-subject study in the GF. JSPR 51(787) 12-21
The 4 authors of this study each completed 8 Ganzfeld sessions using randomly
selected pictorial targets and a general ESP judging procedure. From the
abstract: "There were 4 [this is typing mistake, it should be 14] direct hits in the session, six more than mean chance
expectation, which is a significant deviation (p = .012). A sum of ranks
analysis also yielded significant evidence of overall psi-hitting (p = .009).
There was a significant mean correlation of session duration with ESP performance
(rs = + .3575, p < .006), which is supportive of Honorton's model of Ganzfeld
psi-optimization. Many of the hits were qualitatively impressive and examples
of some are given, together with a discussion of the role of the agent in
Ganzfeld GESP experiments and a speculation about the possibility of PK-optimization
in Ganzfeld. It is concluded that the study provides further evidence for
the ESP-optimizing power of Ganzfeld. We were also able to replicate our
previously found ESP/extraversion correlation (rs = + 1.0, p = .042), and
this correlation deserves further study"
C.E.M. Hansel criticised this experiment, pointing out that after the session
there was an opportunity for the experimenter (who was with the RVer during
the session) to check the office where the duplicate target set was left by
the sender and the remaining unchosen target letters (A,B,C or D) were kept.
By looking through these, he could deduce which was the target, since the
duplicate set of pictures was also labelled A, B, C, D on the back. He was then
able to return to the RVer with the duplicate set and help him to talk through
his session notes and choose the target.
No of sessions, 32, hit rate, 44%
Sargent
GF psi optimisation in relation to session duration RIP 80 82-84
Eff: 0.07
Sargent
GF ESP Performance with variable duration testing RIP 81 159-160
Eff: 0.44
Sondow
Target qualities and affect measures in an exploratory psi gf RIP 81 82-85
Eff: 0.18
Schlitz, Marilyn; Gruber, Elmar.
Transcontinental remote viewing: A rejudging. Journal of Parapsychology, 1981 Sep, v45
The 1980 trails are criticised for including clues in the transcript. These clues are removed and rejudged by two judges.
Results of the rejudging were significant. A comparison of the 2 sets of
judgments yielded no significant difference. (NB, others pointed out that
the rejudged results were greatly less than the original by, according to
Hansen, Utts, Markwick, Journal of Parapsychology v.56, no.2, a factor of
300)
Sargent et al
Response structure and temporal incline in GF free response gesp testing JoP 46(2) 85-110
16 naive and 16 experienced Ss completed a ganzfeld ESP (GESP) free-response
test session using pictorial targets. 16PF scores and questionnaire data
on mood, expectancy, and motivation were available for the Ss, who were requested
to classify the bias of their responses. The overall scoring rate was significantly
above chance, with experienced Ss showing an independently significant deviation.
After transcripts were divided into 2 halves with an equal number of responses
in both, only the transcript material from the 2nd halves of the sessions
showed psi-hitting at a significant level. This effect was independently
significant only for naive Ss. Data do not support predictions concerning
auditory imagery and extraversion. Although response-bias effects (insignificant)
were present and more low-bias responses occurred later rather than earlier
in the session, techniques were too crude to explore R. G. Stanford's (1978)
model of GESP optimization. Scoring on responses labelled "clear" and "not
clear" differed significantly, but the direction of the effect was opposite
for the naive and experienced Ss.
Eff: 0.07
Targ, Russell; Morris, Robert L.
Note on a reanalysis of the UCSB remote-viewing experiments. Journal of Parapsychology, 1982 Mar, v46
A reanalysis of the 1st 6 of the 12 remote-viewing experiments carried out
at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 1975
Rejudging by three judges indicates that these six trials indicate remote viewing.
The failure of the other six trials is put down to fatigue and distraction from forthcoming exams.
Stanford, Roig
Toward understanding the cognitive consequences of the auditory stimulation used for ganzfeld: Two studies.
Conducted 2 experiments to further test the hypothesis that the random noise
traditionally used in ganzfeld has special value in reducing cognitive constraints
that can interfere with ESP. Exp I, with 56 college-age students, used discrete
word association; and Exp II, with 48 Ss, used continuous association in
independent-groups designs to assess the cognitive consequences of noise
as contrasted with tone (188 Hz) during ganzfeld. Exp I yielded significant
evidence that noise produced more divergent responses to words and fewer
superordinate responses than did tone. Exp II showed that noise produced
a longer mean interresponse interval and fewer synonym, subordinate, and
abstract-adjective responses than did tone. A finding compatible with the
hypothesis but not predicted from it was that noise produced more concrete-adjective
responses than tone when tone was used as auditory ganzfeld stimulation.
Sargent
A ganzfeld GESP experiment with visiting subjects
20 journalists, students, and friends of the experimenters completed 1 35-min
ganzfeld general ESP (GESP) free-response trial. The target materials were
pictures and the statistical measure was a 4-way choice method. The overall
results were not significant by direct hit or by rank-sum analysis, although
the latter method was only just short of significance. The 10 visiting journalists
performed better than the other Ss. Analysis of questionnaire material showed
that, as predicted, Ss who reported that the ganzfeld was successful in changing
their states of consciousness were significantly more likely to be successful
in the ESP task than those who did not report this. Successful Ss were also
significantly more relaxed, both before and after the session; experienced
significantly more bizarre imagery and time contraction; and approached the
session in a significantly better mood than unsuccessful Ss. Results confirm
the prevailing picture of successful ganzfeld ESP performance.
Bierman
The effect of GF stimulation and Feedback in a clairvoyance task. RIP 83
Subjects attempted to RV a static target whilst (a) listening to relaxing
music, or under ganzfeld conditions, and (b) with or without feedback on
results.
All data: N=64, hit=26.5%
Ganzfeld only: N=32, hit=34% Eff: 0.21
GF with feedback: N=16, hit=25%
GF w/out feedback: N=16, hit=43%
Music with feedback:N=16, hit=25%
Music w/out feedback: N=16, hit=12.5%
Milton
The effect of agent strategies on the percipients experience in the ganzfeld RIP 84 1-4
No result given
Stanford
Cognition and mood during GF: the effects of extraversion and noise vs silence RIP 84 4-7
No result given
Stanford, Angelini
Effects of noise and the trait of absorption on ganzfeld ESP performance.
Examined the hypothesis that random noise during ganzfeld sessions favors
ESP performance by reducing the cognitive constraints thought to interfere
with ESP. Correlations of Ss' scores on the Absorption scale of the Differential
Personality Questionnaire with the internal-state consequences and extrasensory
outcomes of ganzfeld stimulation were also examined. 100 Ss (predominantly
university students) were randomly assigned to either pink noise or silence
conditions during ganzfeld. The task was embedded in a discrete free-association
task. Non-psi cognitive measures were developed from word association data,
and a 5-item postganzfeld questionnaire was administered. The noise-silence
manipulation did not significantly influence the cognitive measures. The
absorption measure correlated significantly with the subjective sense of
the mean length of the interstimulus interval, and it correlated at a suggestive
level with self-reported relaxation during ganzfeld. It is concluded that
absorption may be a useful measure for ganzfeld ESP research, but the hypothesis
that noise (as contrasted with silence) reduces cognitive constraints was
not supported
Targ, Russell; Targ, Elisabeth; Harary, Keith.,
Moscow-San Francisco remote viewing experiment. PSI Research, 1984 Sep-Dec, v3
A famous Soviet healer described 2 San Francisco, California, locations where a confederate was "hiding."
No result given
Hill, Scott.
Applied psi: Remote internal viewing: Methodology and preliminary results. PSI Research, 1984 Jun, v3
Diagnosing patients by RV.
Positive results.
Schlitz, Marilyn J.; Haight, JoMarie.
Remote viewing revisited: An intrasubject replication. Journal of Parapsychology, 1984 Mar, v48
10 trials, two judges
Analysis of the results by a direct count-of-permutations method indicated successful replication of the previous experiment.
Haraldsson et al
Perceptual defensiveness, GF and the percepientorder effect EJP 6(1) 1-17
Tested the capacity of the Defense Mechanisms Test (DMT) to predict performance
of a free-response ESP task in the ganzfeld. The percipient-order effect
hypothesis found by the 1st author (1972) in a previous study predicts that
the scores of the 1st percipient will be lower than that of the 2nd percipient
in each pair of Ss to participate in a session. After a pilot study with
8 Ss, 30 Ss with high and low scores on the DMT participated in 38 ganzfeld
sessions. 10 direct hits and 28 misses were obtained. Results do not support
the hypothesis; in fact, the relation of ESP and DMT scores was in a direction
opposite to that found in forced-choice ESP experiments.
Eff: 0.08
Honorton
First timers: an exploration of factors affecting initial psi GF performance RIP 85 28-32
Eff: -0.02
Targ, Elisabeth; Targ, Russell; Lichtarge, Olivier.,
Realtime
clairvoyance: A study of remote viewing without feedback. Journal of the
American Society for Psychical Research, 1985 Oct, v79
Attempted to isolate clairvoyance from precognition or telepathy in an experiment
in which 2 experienced viewers were asked to describe slides that were projected
in a neighboring room during the experiment.
Six trials were carried out with each S. Although scores on the trials with
feedback did not achieve significance, the findings with regard to rank-order
judging suggested that extrachance factors were operating in the nonfeedback,
pure clairvoyance trials.
Subjects were not able to perceive colours.
Honorton
GF target retrieval with an automated testing system: a model for initial GF success. RIP 86 36-39
Eff: 0.22
Sudhakar,-U.-Vindhya; Rao,-P.-Krishna
Belief and personality factors of participants: A study in an ESP/ganzfeld setting
Used the ganzfeld technique for ESP elicitation to examine the role of belief
in ESP, personality factors, and the interaction between the 2 in 50 university
students (aged 19-30 yrs) who acted as experimenters or Ss. The ganzfeld
technique facilitated the manifestation of ESP. The personality factor A
of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) (aloof vs good-natured)
of experimenters was significantly and positively related to the ESP scores
they elicited from their Ss. The length of Ss' mentation reports and their
ESP scores as elicited by the experimenters were found to be related positively
and significantly. Ss who reported more spontaneous, dreamlike mental activity
during the ganzfeld obtained the highest ESP scores. Ss' expectations of
success at the beginning and end of the ganzfeld session correlated negatively
with their ESP performance.
Stanford
Toward understanding the role of noise in ganzfeld-ESP research
Summarizes research on whether the type of sound that an S hears during ganzfeld
research has any role in the apparent ESP favorability of that setting. Findings
support the hypothesis that the character of the auditory stimulation influences
cognitive processes during ganzfeld. Extraversion also has an effect on ESP
performance
Stanford
Psychological response to the GF-esp setting: the role of noise vs silence ... RIP 87 36-40
No result given
Dalen
A prototypical GF psi experiment with a control condition RIP 87 40-43
No result given
Munson
FRNM Ganzfeld: an attempted replication RIP 87 44-47
[The]
aim of the present work was to contribute a data set as a planned replication
series in Ganzfeld research / method / results and discussion
Eff: -0.41
Bierman
A test on possible implications of the OT's for GF research EJP 7 1-11
N=16, series judged twice, once by subject and again by external judge.
Hit by subject=37.5%
Hit by independent judges=50%
(experimenter aiding those doing the judging was not target-blind, Bierman
admits some non-verbal sensory leakage may have occurred)
Eff: 0.27
Checked to see if target set could be detected from decoy set. N=16, Hit=62.5% (chance=50%) p=0.23
Correct identification when picture was hit=50% p=0.5
Correct identification when picture was miss=83% p<0.11
Haraldsson,-Erlendur; Gissurarson,-Loftur-R
Does geomagnetic activity effect extrasensory perception?
Data from experiments by the present authors (see PA, Vol 74:9087) for ESP
were retrospectively analyzed for possible relationships with local geomagnetic
activity. ESP scores from 70 Ganzfeld sessions (telepathy-clairvoyance) were
significantly related to high geomagnetic activity of the day prior to the
experimental sessions but not to the geomagnetic activity of day of the sessions.
The same relationship was found in experiments that consisted mostly of 80-trial
clairvoyance computer games/S. Results partially confirm M. A. Persinger's
(1985) contention that spontaneous paranormal experience tends to occur on
a day of low geomagnetic activity that is preceded by days of high geomagnetic
activity.
Broughton, Kanthamani, Khiji
Assessing the PRL success model on an independent database RIP 89 32-35
No of trials: 120, no of hits: 35
Honorton
Psi GF experiments using an automated testing system: an update... RIP 89 25-32
Eff: 0.21
Hearne, Keith M.,
A forced-choice remote-viewing experiment. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 1989 Jan, v55
a 35-yr-old woman attempted, at 12 specific times, to locate her 38-yr-old
male friend who was positioned at 1 of 2 randomly selected places familiar
to both Subjects.
“The results at face value provided no evidence to support her claim.”
Milton
A possible "directive" role of the agent in the ganzfeld
12 19-35 yr old percipients took part in 3 ganzfeld sessions each in a within-Ss
comparison of ESP performance with an agent, without an agent, and with an
agent in the presence of control pictures as well as the target. Contrary
to prediction, scoring in the 1st condition was not significantly higher
than in the 2nd, and there were only indirect indications that predicted
displacement effects had occurred in the 3rd condition. As predicted, scoring
was significantly higher on surprising than unsurprising mentation, although
2 other predictions concerning mentation types were not fulfilled.
Eff: 0.29
Houtkooper,-Joop-M.; Gissurarson,-Loftur-R.; Haraldsson,-Erlendur
Why the ganzfeld is conducive to ESP: A study of observational theory and the percipient-order effect.
Tested a model, in which the observer of the correspondence between target
and call is assumed to play a crucial role, using a ganzfeld experiment to
test this explanation against the classical explanation based on a transmission
model of ESP. 20 experienced Ss participated in pairs in the experiment on
2 occasions. Each occasion consisted of 2 ganzfeld sessions. In one session,
the S had a role of percipient and in the other of agent. Results give no
indication of ESP. Eff: 0
Stanford,-Rex-G.; Frank,-Sheryl; Kass,-Gayle; Skoll,-Sharon
Ganzfeld
as an ESP-favorable setting: I. Assessment of spontaneity, arousal, and internal
attention state through verbal transcript analysis.
Used objective verbal indices derived from ganzfeld-session transcripts (e.g.,
R. G. Stanford, 1987) to (1) study arousal-related consequences of noise,
(2) test the hypothesis that noise enhances spontaneity, and (3) identify
objective, time-linked verbal indicators of the presence of an internal attention
state during ganzfeld. Stimulation level was manipulated by contrasting noise
at 77 dB with silence. 56 male and 56 female undergraduates participated.
Noise in ganzfeld enhanced arousal and affected enjoyment of the session
and average length of utterances. Noise favored greater spontaneity than
silence. Features of the time course of verbal utterances in ganzfeld provide
objective indicators of entry into an internal attention state.
Stanford,-Rex-G.; Frank,-Sheryl; Kass,-Gayle; Skoll,-Sharon
Ganzfeld
as an ESP-favorable setting: II. Prediction of ESP-task performance through
verbal-transcript measures of spontaneity, suboptimal arousal, and internal
attention state
Examined whether ESP-task performance in 112 university students could be
predicted from session-based verbal indices deemed to reflect (1) spontaneity,
(2) arousal, and (3) entry into an internal attention state (IAS). These
3 indices were selected on the basis of the authors' (1989) previous findings.
Ss were tested under 77 dB of noise or in silence. Blind ratings by 2 experienced
outside judges indicate that ESP-task success was (1) favored by greater
spontaneity of utterance and (2) disfavored by the suboptimal arousal that
can develop under silence owing to reduced stimulation and sensory adaptation.
Results also suggest that an IAS is neither necessary to nor sufficient for
ganzfeld ESP-task success and that it sometimes can disfavor such success.
Rogo
"Ganzfeld as an ESP-favorable setting: II. Prediction of
ESP-task performance through verbal-transcript measures of spontaneity, suboptimal
arousal, and internal attention state": Comment.
Comments that R. G. Stanford et al (see PA, Vol 77:13638) fail to address
a confounding problem concerning a lack of correlation between measures of
internal state deployment and positive scoring in their study on the ability
of verbal indices to predict ESP-task performance.
Stanford
"Ganzfeld as an ESP-favorable setting: II. Prediction
of ESP-task performance through verbal-transcript measures of spontaneity,
suboptimal arousal, and internal attention state": Reply.
Responds to D. S. Rogo's (see PA, Vol 78:9) recommendation for a reanalysis
of data used by R. G. Stanford et al (see PA, Vol 77:13638) in their study
on the ability of verbal indices to predict ESP-task performance. The reanalysis
of the data does not support Rogo's hypothesis concerning the relationships
of internal-attention-state-relevant variables and ESP-task performance.
Palmer et al
A GF experiment with subliminal sending RIP 90? 50
The main objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of a "subliminal
sending" strategy on ganzfeld reception. Twenty-eight subjects participated
in pairs, where the percipients (Pa) received standard ganzfeld stimulation.
The agents (As) viewed the target slides tachistoscopially for 1 ms, 10 times
during the sending period, and in the remaining time competed in the RNG
"P-OINK" game against the agent's experimenter (AE).
Two outside judges blind-rated the transcribed mentations against sets of
four targets. Their combined ratings yielded only two direct hits in 22 trials
(9.1%; MCE = 25%; p = .94, one-tailed), which is contrary to the prediction.
However, the ESP scores interacted with the JP scale of the MBTI (p <
.05), in that the "judging" Ps were more negative than the "perceptive" Ps.
The combined PK scores of A and AE on the P-OINK games were close to chance
for the feedback data, but significantly below chance for the unexposed "silent"
data (p < .05). "Internal" As on the Rotter scale rated the subliminal
sending strategy more positively than did "external" As (p< .05).
Eff: -0.43
Kanthamani et al
An experiment in GF & dreams: confirmatory study RIP 90? 56-61
Eff: 0.00
Schlitz
ESP & Creativity in an exceptional population RIP 90 45-49
No result given
Honorton
Psi Communication in the Ganzfeld ... JoP 90, 54, 99-139 (dynamic targets alone)
This result given again in "Does Psi Exist" (1994, see below)Eff: 026
Stanford, Frank
Prediction of ganzfeld ESP-task performance from session-based verbal indicators of psychological function: A second study.
Attempted to replicate findings by R. G. Stanford et al (see PA, Vol 77:8812
and 77:13638) showing that temporal trends in the characteristics of ganzfeld
utterances were indicators of arousal, spontaneity, development of an internal
focus of attention, and predictors of free-response ESP-task performance
in a study with 60 female undergraduates. Results did not replicate the previous
findings. The replication failure may be linked, in the case of internal-attention
findings, to a difference in Ss' disposition to internal-attention focus.
N=58, hit rate= 19%
Schiltz, Honorton
Ganzfeld psi performance within an artistically gifted population.
(This is the Juillard sample, and the results are again given in Honorton’s “Does Psi Exist’” paper in 1994.)
Investigated the relationship between Ganzfeld psi functioning and artistic
talent. 20 Ss (aged 17-26 yrs), students at an institute for the performing
arts, participated in an experiment involving a free-response ESP task within
the context of an internal state induction technique. The experimental procedures
were identical to those previously described by C. Honorton et al (see PA,
Vol 78:17109). 50% of Ss correctly identified the target from a judging set
consisting of the target and 3 decoys. Students of music showed the highest
number of hits. No significant relationships were observed between ESP performance
and other personality and creativity measures. As a group, the Ss' performance
was superior to that of the general population.
Kanthamani, Palmer
A Ganzfeld Experiment With "Subliminal Sending".
Abstract: "The main objective of this study was to test the effectiveness
of a "subliminal sending" strategy on ganzfeld reception. Twenty-eight subjects
participated in pairs, where the percipients (Pa) received standard ganzfeld
stimulation. The agents (As) viewed the target slides tachistoscopially for
1 ms, 10 times during the sending period, and in the remaining time competed
in the RNG "P-OINK" game against the agent's experimenter (AE).
Two outside judges blind-rated the transcribed mentations against sets of
four targets. Their combined ratings yielded only two direct hits in 22 trials
(9.1%; MCE = 25%; p = .94, one-tailed), which is contrary to the prediction.
However, the ESP scores interacted with the JP scale of the MBTI (p <
.05), in that the "judging" Ps were more negative than the "perceptive" Ps.
The combined PK scores of A and AE on the P-OINK games were close to chance
for the feedback data, but significantly below chance for the unexposed "silent"
data (p < .05). "Internal" As on the Rotter scale rated the subliminal
sending strategy more positively than did "ex ternal" As (p< .05)."
No of trials: 22, no of hits: 2
Lantz, Wanda, Luke, Edwin (SAIC)
Target and sender dependencies in anomalous cognition experiments
Series one completed in 1992, series two in 1993
Series one: 5 experienced receivers did 40 trials each.
Testing subject/non subject, and dynamic/static.
Static targets were all emotively neutral, and taken from National Geographic magazine
Static targets did not contain any people, animals or machinery
Dynamic target contained range of clips taken from TV or films
Judges had to chose target from five possible targets
Static results: N=100, p=<0.0073 (Average rank (3 by chance) = 2.65)
Dynamic results: N=100, p=0.5 (average rank (3 by chance) = 3)
No difference in sender/non-sender
Hypothesis posited that difference in subject material in the dynamic target pool had caused the results
Series two: 4 experienced receivers, 20 trials each
Testing dynamic/static. No sender.
Dynamic and static targets were now thematically homogenous, with a Nat Geo theme as before
Emotively neutral subject matter
Judges had to chose target from five possible targets
Static results: N=40, average rank, (3 by chance) = 2.22
Dynamic results: N=40, average rank, (3 by chance) = 2.22
McDonough, Don, Warren
EEG in a ganzfeld psi task
Twenty artist, one trial each.
Results: N=20, hit=30%
EEG results: hitters had more alpha and beta bands than missers, while the missers had more theta and delta bands.
Williams, Roe, Upchurch, Lawrence
Senders and Geomagnetism in the Auto-Ganzfeld
42 trials, checking for sender role, using no sender, one sender and two senders
evidence was found to support the previous research showing that ESP functioning
is best at times of low geomagnetic activity (as measured by global aa indices
of geomagnetic flux). However, a post hoc analysis of local measures of geomagnetic
field intensity (using previously unreported F values of total field intensity)
showed a suggestive negative correlation between ESP and geomagnetic field
strength.
Results: large missing effect z=-2.31, p<0.05, hit rate=11.9%
Dalton
A Report on Informal Ganzfeld Trials and Comparison of Receiver/Sender Sex Pairing: Avoiding the File Drawer
Twenty-seven participants contributed 29 trials
The often neglected question of receiver/sender sex pairing is also considered,
including relevant data from two other similar ganzfeld studies.
Twelve of the 29 trials in this study (41.3%) had the target correctly identified
from the judging set of art prints which consisted of the target and three
decoys. This result is significantly above the null hypothesis expectation
of 25%, exact binomial p = .04, z = 1.76. (All p-values are one-tailed unless
otherwise specified). The effect size, Cohen's h (Cohen, 1977), is .35 and
the 95% confidence interval (CI) is a hit rate from 26% to 57%.
A comparison of sex pairing in the telepathy condition of this series was
conducted with data from two other successful, small n telepathy ganzfeld
studies by female investigators: the Schlitz study (1992), and a study by
S. Cunningham (Morris, et al, 1993). The study by Cunningham was presented
as one of two ganzfeld studies with Morris, Taylor, and McAlpine (1993).
This comparison was conducted in an effort to examine a suspected relationship
between sex pairing and the ratio of direct hits, with the receiver/sender
pairings of female/female expected to produce a higher ratio of hits for
female investigators. When all three studies were combined, the following
effect sizes were obtained: male/female = .61; female/male = .52; female/female
= .35; male/male = .30. As can be seen, the suspected relationship was not
supported, with the mixed sex pairings producing the largest effect sizes,
and the same sex pairings producing the lowest.
Bierman, Wezelman
Amsterdam Ganzfeld series 4
Series 4a examined target emotionality, series 4b examined target ‘openness’
All data: N=68, hit=26.5%
Series 4a: N=36, hit=36.1%
Series 4b: N=32, hit=15.6%
Utts
An assessment of the Evidence for Psychic Functioning
This paper talks about the government sponsored investigation into esp, pk,
etc. that took place between 1974 and 1995. From 1974-1989 the research
was run by the Stanford Research Institue (SRI), and from then on by the Science
Applications International Corporation (SAIC). The paper talks specifically
about the most recent work from SAIC. It mentions in passing some early
successes of SRI, repeating the erroneous data regarding the URDF-3 sessions
(see 1974).
All experiments (expect the earliest SRI work) was judged by rank-order.
With four decoys to each target, this would give a range of 1-5.
Many of the SRI and SAIC trails used the same target set: 100 photos taken from National Geographic magazine.
Of the ten experiments detailed in the paper, six concern remote viewing.
Experiment 1: Target and Sender Dependencies
test for sender/non-sender and dynamic/static targets.
This trial was released as series one, in the paper “Target and sender dependencies
in anomalous cognition experiments”. See 1994 for details.
Overall Results: Effect size 0.124, p=0.04
Experiment 4: Enhancing Detection of AC with Binary Coding
to see if information could be passed, according to the presence of absence of five features at a given target. 40 trials.
Results: Unsuccessful; effect size –0.067, p=0.664
Experiment 5: AC in Lucid Dreams (Baseline)
three novices attempted to RV whilst dreaming.
24 trials. One subject scored an effect size of 0.265, although with so
few trials (8 per subject), this is not considered significant. Details of
other two are not given.
Effect size: 0.088
Experiment 6: AC in Lucid Dreams (Pilot)
Use of lucid dreaming to enhance remote viewing. Seven subjects: four experienced
RVers and three experienced lucid dreamers. Subjects took the target photo
home with them (in an opaque tamper-proof envelope).
21 trials
Effect size: 0.368. p=0.046
Experiment 9: ERD AC Behavior
Test to see if EEG changed in an RVer when the target they were describing
was shown on a computer screen in a distant room. No details regarding the
EEG results are given. 70 trials.
Experiment 0.303. p=0.006
Experiment 10: Entropy II
A further test for sender/non-sender and dynamic/static targets with a refined dynamic target set.
This trial was released as series two, in the paper “Target and sender dependencies
in anomalous cognition experiments”. See 1994.
Overall results: effect size 0.550, p=0.000000091
Sherman, Trost, Bem
Cornell Ganzfeld Replication
Tested the difference between meditators and non-meditators in a ganzfeld
esp test. 25 trials of each condition. Self-judging and external
judging used.
Self judging:
Meditators' hit rate: 36%, p=0.15
Non-meditators' hit rate: 8%, p=0.03
External judging:
Meditators' hit rate: 36%, p=0.15
Non-meditators' hit rate: 16%, p=0.21
Bierman
Amsterdam Ganzfeld series 5
Checked for cannabis effect, cannabis users did better than non-users.
Twenty trials, judged twice.
"We expected to find an increase in scoring rate in the Cannabis condition
to a value clearly above the true effect size found in the normal population
of around 33%. Instead, we found a quite similar effect size. To our surprise
however the effect size for the untreated condition which should be 33% dropped
to a near significant negative score of 15%. One might explain this by postulating
that some subjects may have a preferred condition and use their ESP in the
non preferred condition to exhibit psi-missing. This however, seems to us
straight nonsense."
Self judged: 1 hit, 5%
Externally judged: 7 hits, 35%
N=40, hit rate 20%
Bierman
Amsterdam Ganzfeld series 6
Testing different mental states, use of cannabis, meditation and psilocybine treatment
Psilocybine chosen because it increases in empathy with others
20 subjects, 40 trials, one under influence of cannabis, one not.
7 subject, 7 trials, using meditation
12 subjects, 6 trials, under influence of psilocybine
(Two subjects, both treated with psilocybine, focused on one target. Judges
later told to give priority to any overlapping descriptors, but scored each
transcript individually, so there were effectively 12 trials)
All subjects were experienced in their respective altered states
Cannabis/non cannabis hit rate 25%
Meditation hit rate 14.3%
Psilocybine hit rate 58.3%
Emotive target material used. Dynamic targets used.
Self judging did better than external judging
N=59, hit=30%
http://www.psy.uva.nl/resedu/pn/PUB...a97/gfpa97.html
(This link is for the University of Amsterdam's three later ganzfeld experiments,
with a look at the results from all six. The meditation and psilocybine
results are omitted from the paper because they were exploratory.)
Dalton
Exploring the Links: Creativity and Psi in the Ganzfeld
Artists, musicians, actors and writers tested
32 subjects for each group, one trial each, 128 trials.
Musicians hit rate 56%
Artists hit rate 50%
Writers hit rate 41%
Actors hit rate 41%
Overall hit rate 47%
Symmonds, Morris
(title not known)
Used drums instead of static/white noise as the auditory stimulus in the ganzfeld set-up
No of trials: 51, No of hits: 23
Parker, Grams, Petterson
Further variables relating to psi in the ganzfeld
ABSTRACT: Four studies (each with N = 30) using a manual Ganzfeld are reported
here. The studies incorporated measures of belief, personality, cognitive
function, and target variables, all of which had been hypothesized to relate
to the occurrence of psi in the ganzfeld. A nonauditory monitored series
gave a 20% hit rate, but the three subsequent auditory-monitored studies
gave a combined hit rate of 40%. Participants reporting subjective paranormal
experiences (recruited from New Age groups and via an advertisement for those
having paranormal experiences) scored at a much higher rate than psychology
students. The repeaters (who came back for a second session) also did well.
Further analysis found psi-hitting to relate to scores on the Sheep-Goat
Scale and to scores on both subscales of the Magical Ideation Scale. Whereas
Defense Mechanism Test scores failed to relate significantly to psi scores,
"Feeling" as a personality type on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator did. A
target factor of "change in emotional tone" was also found to relate significantly
to psi-hitting. Knowledge of these contingencies may help to explain the
varying success of ganzfeld replications.
No difference if sender was emotionally close to the receiver or not.
Study one, 6 hits, 20%
Study two, 11 hits, 37%
Study three, 11 hits, 37%
Study four, 14 hits, 47%
N=120, hit=35%
(A further trial was completed later.See 2000)
Alexander, Broughton
CL-1 ganzfeld study: a look at brain hemisphere differences
Abstract: The CL1-Ganzfeld study was designed to examine the relationship
between brain hemisphere differences and ESP performance in the ganzfeld,
particularly how the right hemisphere may interact with psi abilities. The
design also allowed for exploration of the relationship between ESP scores
and other variables such as personality factors, geomagnetism, and local
sidereal time (LST). Fifty selected subjects individually participated in
two separate testing sessions. In the first testing session, subjects completed
the Cognitive Laterality Battery (CLB)--the cerebral hemisphere dominance
measure--and in the second session they participated in the ganzfeld procedure.
All subjects completed a Participant Information Form (PIF) and Form G of
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
The CL1-Ganzfeld study produced a total of 18 hits in 50 sessions for a hit
rate of 36% (z = 1.60, p = .055). Although this scoring rate falls just short
of statistical significance, the effect size ([pi] = .63) is in the upper
part of previously predicted ranges. Subjects exhibiting right cerebral hemisphere
dominance, as measured by the CLB, scored fewer direct hits in the ganzfeld
than those exhibiting left cerebral hemisphere dominance. The difference
between the two scoring rates was not significant.
N=50, number of hits=18
2000
Roe, Flint
Remote viewing pilot study
"Fourteen pairs of participants
were tested with one member of the pair acting as the remote viewer and the
other as sender/agent. A target location was selected randomly with replacement
from an array of eight selected by the first author that were qualitatively
different but could be reached from the laboratory within 15 minutes on foot.
The agent was given a sealed envelope that contained a description of the
target site including instructions on how to reach it from the laboratory.
The agent was instructed to open this envelope once they had left the building
and proceed directly to the target site. [...] The ranks given to the actual
target location can be combined to give a binary score by treating all rank
positions from 1-4 as a 'hit' and ranks 5-8 as a 'miss'. On this measure,
12 of the 14 trials were hits, which is significantly above chance expectation
(p <.02, 2-tailed). Considering the weighted sum of ranks, where more
credit is given for higher ranks to give a more sensitive measure, the observed
value of 42 is highly significant (p = .008, Milton & Stevens, 1997)."
14 trials
All targets within walking distance of the lab.
Order ranking between 1 – 8. 12 trials scored over 4
Smith, Fox Williams
Developing a digital autoganzfeld testing system
"The system [...] incorporates two Apple Macintosh computers linked via modem
through a telephone line. This allows the easy networking of computers between
any two locations. The system presents materials in Apple Computer's Quicktime
technology, thus allowing a variety of target types to be used, examples
being static targets (digital photographs), dynamic targets (movie clips),
and audio clips (music). The system also controls target randomization, target
presentation, and data storage. [...]We also report data from a 55-trial
pilot project using the above system. Data were collected as part of undergraduate
student projects exploring relationships between a number of psychological
variables and ESP performance in the ganzfeld. The overall hit-rate did not
differ significantly from mean chance expectation (13 observed hits, 13.75
expected). However, reasonable relationships were observed between some of
the process variables and performance."
55 trials, 13 hits
Simmonds, Roe
Personality correlates of subjective anomalous experiences and psi performance in the ganzfeld
Searched for personality traits in the receiver and emotionality of targets
"Personality types assessed in this investigation were schizotypy and temporal
lobe lability. Schizotypy is considered by some researchers to be a personality
dimension along which the normal population may be ranged. Thus, high scoring
but non-clinical - 'benign' or 'happy' schizotypes seem to be the well-adjusted
analogues of their clinical schizophrenic counterparts. This group has been
found to exhibit less extreme manifestations of schizophrenic cognition,
including anomalous beliefs and a range of anomalous experiences. There is
little in the literature assessing the possible link between schizotypy and
veridical psi performance, however, schizotypy has been found to be a predictor
variable in attaining telepathy hits in the Ganzfeld paradigm."
"A Ganzfeld investigation was undertaken in the Division of Psychology at
University College Northampton to assess the relationship between the personality
variables of schizotypy and temporal lobe lability and both objective and
subjective psychic experiences. [...] Other variables assessed included the
emotionality of the target, the relationship of sender to receiver, the personality
of the sender, previous psychic experiences belief of success and several
indices of the hypnagogic state [..] The investigation comprised 12 pilot
sessions and 40 experimental sessions. The overall hit rate was 30%. The
results were analysed by a sum of ranks analysis which was not found to be
significant overall. It was found that emotional valence correlates negatively
with psi, i.e. the more extremely negative in terms of emotionality the more
likely it is that the target will be rated highly by the receiver (ratings
were converted into z scores). Results were not as expected in that neither
schizotypy (or any of the subscales of schizotypy) or temporal lobe signs
correlated significantly with telepathy. Although there were weak but non
significant correlations with the z score of the target rating in the cases
of Cognitive Disorganisation, Introvertive Anhedonia and Temporal Lobe lability.
Schizotypy was also positively and significantly correlated with the hypnagogic
index of time distortion. There were no correlations between any subjective
measures of success in the psi task and actual performance although several
subjective measures inter-correlated."
52 trials, 12 pilot, 40 experimental session
30% hit rate
negative emotionality of target gives high hit rate
Parker
A Review of the ganzfeld work at Gothenburg University
A paper that collects the results from all previous ganzfeld work done by
Parker et al, and adds the results of the latest. For previous results see
1998.
Abstract: The results of five standard ganzfeld studies and one multiple
target ganzfeld (the serial ganzfeld) study are reported. The standard ganzfeld
studies form a highly significant and consistent data base with an overall
hit-rate of 35% (39% in the case of auditory monitored studies) and a mean
effect size of .24 (.33 in the case of the monitored studies). This database
has been used to study psychological correlates of psi in terms of psychometric
tests. The most successful of these tests are the Australian Sheep Goat Scale,
the Magical Ideation Scale, and "Feeling" scores on the Myers-Briggs Inventory.
Other scales that were used as predictors of psi-scores with varying degrees
of success included the Transliminality Scale, the Defence Mechanism Test,
and the Tellegen Absorption Scale. A further investigation suggests on the
basis of confidence ratings made before and after ganzfeld relaxation, that
there may be some awareness of the psi-content of the imagery generated during
the ganzfeld state. The report includes a review of current work in developing
the ganzfeld into a portable digital technique for process-orientated research
Results:
Study five - trials: 30. Hits: 12. Hit rate: 40%
Total for all Gothenburg studies:
Trials: 150. Hits: 54. Hit rate: 36%. Z score: 3.02 Effect size: 0.25
Serial study: 30 sessions, 23% hit rate
Bierman
An attempted replication of his earlier success with remote viewing and psilocybine
users (see 1997). 40 trials were completed, 20 with people who'd taken
psilocybine half an hour before, and 20 with the same people who had not.
Results: psilocybine state: 25%
control state: 20%
Roe, et al.
Sender and receiver creativity scores as predictors of performance at a ganzfeld esp task
A ganzfeld study was conducted in an attempt to confirm the proposed link
between creativity and psi (cf. Dalton, 1997). Twenty-four pairs of participants
volunteered to be tested, with one member of each pair acting as the receiver
and the other as sender. Among a number of measures, all participants initially
completed the three activities that make up the figurai form and activities
5, 6 and 7 of the verbal form of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking
(Torrance, 1974). Two experimenters (EM and AA) were present for each trial
with one being assigned to the sender (Es) and one to the receiver (Er).
Once the pre- measures had been completed, the sender was escorted by Es
to the sender's room, where they were shown the target image. All targets
and dummies were static pictures drawn by CR from the internet - EM and AA
had no prior knowledge of the target pools and CR had no contact with the
sender or receiver. The sender and Es remained in the sender's room until
after the trial was completed. The receiver was taken to a sound attenuated
room where they went through a standard ganzfeld procedure. After 25 minutes
the receiver was asked to review their mentation with Er and then view the
four pictures that formed the target pool, awarding each a similarity rating
(between 0 and 100). The four pictures were rank ordered according to these
ratings. There was no time limit to this stage. Once a judgment had been
made, the receiver's experimenter collected the sender and the identity of
the actual target was revealed. Of the 24 trials, only five resulted in a
'hit' (a rank of 1) which is slightly below chance expectation. An ESP performance
score was derived by calculating the z-score of the target picture rating
relative to the other three pictures in the pool. This measure was then used
to look for covariation in performance with overall measures of senders and
receivers' verbal and figurai creativity. Three of the four correlations
gave coefficients greater than .3 and are broadly in keeping with previous
findings, although none was statistically significant once corrected for
multiple analyses. Different patterns of association with creativity subscales
were evident for senders and receivers that may suggest that the two roles
require different aptitudes.
Persinger, Roll, Tiller, Koren, Cook Koren, Persinger
Remote viewing with the artist Ingo Swann: neuropsychological profile, electroencephalographic
correlates, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and possible mechanisms
This
paper is more concerned with the effects of magnetic fields on brain activity,
and as such it takes the reality of remote viewing somewhat for granted.
Ingo Swann, in this paper, completes two types of remote viewing experiment.
One of which was with physical targets (two targets from a pool of
nine possible targets) and the other was 20 photographs/small objects.
While it is clear that Swann did not know the exact content of the possible
physical targets, it is not known if he knew the targets were within twenty
minutes of the institute. This knowledge would allow him to hedge his
bets towards urban/suburban descriptions.
In judging the physical target, the notes written by Swann were shown to
a group of students who had lived in the city a number of years, along with
the target and a number of decoys. It is not made clear if the person
organising this judging was blind to the target. Some of the choices
seem a little peculiar. According to the paper, in the first session most
of the students "identified the structures and the orientation over the lake
as Science North (the actual stimulus)" which is a little confusing, since
Swann's notes make no mention of a lake. The second session was unanimously
selected as a grade or high school (it was an elementary school) and mentions
the strange shape of the roof, bicycle racks and tracks as correlating details.
But Swann's notes mention no roofs, bicycles, nor tracks, and in fact
make a couple of mentions that it is a church.
The photographs were judged by three raters comparing Swann's notes to the
target directly and judging on a scale of 1 to 7 (1=no information/totally
inaccurate, 4=ambiguous, 7=identical/obvious congruence). There were
three methods of judging. The first, by correlating notes to the images
got an average of 3.5, the second, by "denotative" definition of the words
compared to the target got 3.7, and the third, by emotional correlation to
the target got 4.1.
Possible disruption of remote viewing by complex weak magnetic fields around
the stimulus site and the possibility of accessing real phase space: a pilot
study.
"In 2002 Persinger, Roll, Tiller, Koren, and Cook considered whether there
are physical processes by which recondite information exists within the space
and time of objects or events. The stimuli that compose this information
might be directly detected within the whole brain without being processed
by the typical sensory modalities. We tested the artist Ingo Swann who can
reliably draw and describe randomly selected photographs sealed in envelopes
in another room. In the present experiment the photographs were immersed
continuously in repeated presentations (5 times per sec.) of one of two types
of computer-generated complex magnetic field patterns whose intensities were
less than 20 nT over most of the area"
This is the second paper concerning Ingo Swann tested at Laurentian University.
Swann was asked to remotely view eight targets, all photographs, in
a neigbouring room. The notes were rated by two people comparing the
notes directly to the target. They were asked to judge on a scale from
0
(no response/no obvious congruence) to 10 (comments reflected the basic
structure and theme of the stimuli). The average score across the eight
sessions was 5.5 and using Windows based programs in the procedure gave worse
results than programs running in MS-DOS (!)