Patrizio Tressoldi

University of Padova - Italy · Studium Patavinum

The issue of the role of number words in preschoolers’ arithmetic development is still open. The development ofwriting Arabic numerals 1 to 9 under dictation was investigated longitudinally, testing a cohort of 20 children atsix-month intervals from age 3.5 to 5.5 years. The specific aim was to examine how children arrive at a correctrepresentation...

Differently from humans, the investigation of the survival of animal identity after their body death is a neglected area of investigation. Our study is the first to use a triple-blind protocol to test the mediumship for pets. The information obtained by the six expert mediums included in the 20 readings was evaluated by the sitters for their overal...

This study is the first to use a triple-blind protocol to test the mediumship for pets. The information obtained by the six expert mediums included in the 20 readings was evaluated by the sitters for their overall accuracy, global score, and reading identification. With respect to the control readings, the intended readings obtained a high percenta...

The decline effect (DE) has been discussed in “psi” research since the early times of experimental investigations, and many causes have been advanced from: individual psychology, social attitudes, electromagnetic fields, experimental artifacts, or physical properties often related to quantum physics. Bierman (2001) found small and statistically sig...

This review aims to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the modern methodological and statistical procedures adopted in the last 25 years to test scientifically the source of mediumship and channeling information and suggest the minimum methodological standards to adopt in this research field. For mediumship, the recommended minimum methodolog...

Highlights  The decline effect (DE) in parapsychology is a phenomenon where the extra-sensory perception and mind-matter interaction effect decreases over time.  The results of this study indicate that only one of the five experimental protocols related to extra-sensory perception showed a statistically significant slope coefficient, which sugges...

The aim of this study is to gain detailed information about the afterlife, and how discarnate entities live there by using for the first time 15 independent sources of information comprising seven selected participants and eight books written by different authors who claimed to be able to visit or communicate with entities from this dimension.The i...

This meta-analysis is an investigation into anomalous perception (i.e., conscious identification of information without any conventional sensorial means). The technique used for eliciting an effect is the Ganzfeld condition (a form of sensory homogenization that eliminates distracting peripheral noise). The database consists of studies published be...

This research examines the placebo effect on intuitive guessing within forced-choice tasks, specifically using the Zener cards test and a sound stimulus as the placebo inducer.Results from 100 naive participants demonstrated that the 'Placebo' condition achieved significantly higher correct response rates than expected by chance, with 22.3% success...

A survey of renowned experts in remote viewing was conducted to gather their opinions on the best procedures and conditions for obtaining the best results in clairvoyance and precognition tasks. The main recommendations from the eleven experts who responded are that participants had at least one year of experience in remote viewing protocols, were...

The aim of this study was to verify, for the first time, whether it was possible to intentionally share the contents of dreams in a selected group of people following specific training.The results obtained by the five participants in this study in three series of five sessions of three days each, for a total of 45 days, demonstrate that it is possi...

In this study, we investigated if self-defined mediums could retrieve information about specific deceased persons in an unconventional way, that is, without retrieving the information from the parents or friends of the deceased person or by other conventional means. To our knowledge, this is the first registered report related to this phenomenon.Ou...

This meta-analysis is an investigation into anomalous perception (i.e., conscious identification of information without any conventional sensorial means). The technique used for eliciting an effect is the Ganzfeld condition (a form of sensory homogenization that eliminates distracting peripheral noise). The database consists of studies published be...

Photons emitted by the human body are called biophotons. Multiple types of research show that this kind of electromagnetic emission can help science improve knowledge on the status of biological systems and human health. This study aims at investigating the emission of biophotons in relation to perceived well-being. To analyse this relation, t...

The decline effect (DE) has been discussed in “psi” research since the early times of experimental investigations, and many causes have been advanced from individual psychology, social attitudes, electromagnetic fields, experimental artifacts, or physical properties often related to quantum physics. Bierman (2001) found small and statistically sign...

This study aims to investigate the sources of information some people consider to be provided by external discarnate spiritual entities (SEs). Specifically, we aimed to test whether the information derives from conscious or unconscious sources of channelers or real discarnate SEs. Previous research has used surveys and interviews to gather informat...

Background and Objectives. This exploratory study aimed to evaluate the potential usefulness of channeled information for ten questions from scientists. The study’s objectives were to 1) assess the correspondence of channeled and non-channeled answers within questions, 2) evaluate the correspondence of different channelers’ responses for each quest...

This is the first meta-analysis of all studies related to remote-viewing tasks conducted up to December 2022. After applying our inclusion criteria, we selected 36 studies with a total of 40 effect sizes. Both frequentist and Bayesian meta-analyses revealed a strong average effect size of .34; 95% confidence interval: .22 -.45, after the exclusion...

This meta-analysis is an update of Storm, Tressoldi, and Di Risio (2012); a meta-analysis on forced-choice ESP studies (1987 to 2010), which use targets such as card symbols, pictures, and letters. We formed two datasets: New Studies #1 (studies that included actual hit rates) and New Studies #2 (Reaction Time [‘RT’] Studies; which are studies that...

The aim of this study is to replicate Long & Perry’s (2016) God study using a more updated database and different inclusion criteria. The descriptions of God’s and Jesus’ characteristics as observed by 303 Near-death or Near-death-like experiencers were analyzed for their frequency both in the whole sample and divided by the participants’ religious...

The aim of this study is to replicate Long & Perry’s (2016) God study using a more updated database and different inclusion criteria. The descriptions of God’s and Jesus’ characteristics as observed by 303 Near-death or Near-death-like experiencers were analyzed for their frequency both in the whole sample and divided by the participants’ religious...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191375.][This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2500.].

Which is our fundamental essence? Are we biological machines or spiritual eternal beings? In this essay, I attempt to demonstrate that our essence is nothing else than conscious eternal, infinite, nonjudgmental, unconditional love. This eternal, infinite, non-judgmental unconditional love expresses itself as a never-ending creative force that gives...

The descriptions of God’s and Jesus’ characteristics as observed by 303 Near-death or Near-death like experiencers were analyzed for their frequency both in the whole sample and divided by the participants’ religious experience. Both in the whole group and in the subgroups, the main observed characteristics (approximately 70%) were a special Light...

We used a multiteam system approach (MTS) to map the critical and constructive feedback from four invited Commentaries on Rock et al.’s (2023) probabilistic analysis of purported evidence for postmortem survival. The goal was to mine actionable insights to guide future research with the potential for important learnings or breakthroughs about the n...

This participatory team science project extended Laythe and Houran’s (2022) prior application of a famous probabilistic argument known as the "Drake equation" to the question of postmortem survival. Specifically, we evaluated effect sizes from peer-reviewed, empirical studies to determine the maximum average percentage effect that ostensibly suppor...

To analyze the first-person phenomenological Spiritually Transformative Experiences (STEs) of a sample of scientists and academics, the first-person phenomenological accounts of 40 scientists’ and/or academics’ Spiritually Transformative Experiences were analyzed with respect to their perceived changes in the nature of the personal self and the nat...

This is the first meta-analysis of all studies related to remote viewing tasks conducted up to December 2022. After applying our inclusion criteria, we selected 36 studies with a total of 40 effect sizes. Both frequentist and Bayesian meta-analyzes revealed a strong average effect size of a minimum of .34; 95% confidence intervals.22 -.45, after...

This meta-analysis is an investigation into anomalous perception (i.e., conscious identification of information without any conventional sensorial means). The technique used for eliciting an effect is the ganzfeld condition (a form of sensory homogenization that eliminates distracting peripheral noise). The database consists of studies published be...

The low reproducibility rate in social sciences has produced hesitation among researchers in accepting published findings at their face value. Despite the advent of initiatives to increase transparency in research reporting, the field is still lacking tools to verify the credibility of research reports. In the present paper, we describe methodologi...

The accuracy of information obtained by 28 self-claimant mediums related to 100 readings obtained with a triple level of blinding was examined across three indices: percentage of correct reading identified by the sitters, global score of readings and percentage of difference between correct and incorrect information. All three indices showed statis...

By using the descriptions of the Out-of-Body experiences of 13 participants, we aimed to have a picture of what it is like to be in this particular state of consciousness. All information was grouped according to the following topics: consciousness status, self-boundaries, object perception, color perception, other types of perceptions, interacti...

This is a systematic review of all veridical near-death experiences, published in scientific journals up to October 2022.Nine studies reporting 10 single cases veridical near-death experiences during or concomitant with severe illnesses in a clinical condition of general anesthesia or cardiac arrest, were included in the review.Nine of the ten case...

The aim of this systematic review is to quantitatively review all evidence related to non-ordinary perception and mind matter interaction exceptional performances of selected gifted participants, and to compare their results with those obtained by unselected participants.The effect size ratio between the performances of the selected participants an...

By using the descriptions of the Out-of-Body experiences of 13 participants, we aimed to have a picture of what it is like to be in this particular state of consciousness. All information was grouped according to the following topics: consciousness status, self-boundaries, object perception, color perception, other types of perceptions, interaction...

The correct information identified in 100 readings obtained by 28 self-claimant mediums, applying a triple level blind protocol, were classified into two categories: information that the medium declared to be received interacting with the deceased and information without such interaction.Among the 1295 correct information identified in the 100 read...

Changes in statistical practices and reporting have been documented by Giofrè et al. PLOS ONE 12(4), e0175583 (2017), who investigated ten statistical and open practices in two high-ranking journals (Psychological Science [PS] and Journal of Experimental Psychology-General [JEPG]): null hypothesis significance testing; confidence or credible interv...

The accuracy of information obtained by 28 self-claimant mediums related to 100 readings obtained with a triple level of blinding was examined across three indices: percentage of correct reading identified by the sitters, global score of readings and percentage of difference between correct and incorrect information.All three indices showed statist...

This pilot study explored the possibility of (a) mentally producing, at a geographical distance, predefined images on digital sensors within modern professional-grade photographic equipment, and with (b) sufficient resolution to be objectively verified via a Structural Similarity Index by specialized software for pattern recognition. Three particip...

The international multi-labs, Transparent Psi Project by Kekecs et al. (2022), did not confirm the results of one of the most known Bem’s experiments.In Bem’s experiment, unselected participants were able to predict correctly 53.1% of the time, the location of erotic images shown randomly beyond a left or a right curtain presented on a pc screen.Th...

We assessed the 29 winning essays of the Bigelow Institute of Consciousness Studies (BICS) contest using an evidence hierarchy approach adopted by many scientific fields. Two independent judges rated the target essays for their quality of scientific evidence, reproducibility, and replicability using an evidence hierarchy adapted from several publis...

Background and Objectives The type of channeling in which we enter a trance has been called by various names throughout history, such as prophecy, oracle, spiritual communication, and spirit possession. One potential reason channeling has persisted over human history is that channeling is believed to transmit valid and vital information in many cul...

This is a scoping review of all experimental methods related to mind-matter interaction at distance with physical and biological targets carried out up 2020.Our review shows that it is possible to study the effect of mental interaction at distance with almost any kind of physical to biological materials, both of micro and macro dimensions. Our hope...

Channeling experiences are often compared with Dissociative Trance/Possession Disorders and Dissociative Identity Disorders and more recent diagnostic criteria presented in the DSM 5 and ICD-11. From this comparison, it emerges quite clearly that, for most cases, channeling can either be considered an exceptional non-ordinary mental experience or a...

According to most neuroscientists, phenomenological first-person experience is an intrinsic or emerging property of brain activity. In this paper we analyze eleven explanations of how brain activity generates the subjective qualitative experience of our first-person phenomenological experience.Eight explanations attribute qualitative phenomenologic...

The primary aim of the study was to test the alleged facilitating role of insight-like strategy in the detection of masked solutions Compound Remote Associates problems (CRA). A sample of 114 participants solved 19 CRA problems presented online. Participants were requested to solve the problems in which either the solution to the CRA was randomly p...

Background Shared-death-experiences (SDEs) and after-death-communication-experiences (ADCEs) are non-ordinary mental experiences related to the death of a known or unknown person. Methods These experiences were investigated by surveying four samples with different cultural backgrounds: Italian, Mexican, Brazilian and Taiwanese people. One-hundred-...

Shared-death-experiences (SDEs) and after-death-communication-experiences (ADCEs) are non-ordinary mental experiences related to the death of a known or unknown person. These experiences were investigated by surveying four samples with different cultural backgrounds: Italian, Mexican, Brazilian and Taiwanese people. One-hundred-twenty-one participa...

The aim of this study was to examine the strength of scientific evidence, reproducibility and replicability of the 29 essays of the winners of the Bigelow contest.Six essays (20.5%) were included in the category with the high strength of scientific evidence. Four essays (14%) were included in the category with medium strength of scientific evidence...

The aim of this study is the investigation of the perceptual and cognitive characteristics of Out-of- Body Experiences (OBEs) induced by hypnotic induction.Five participants selected for their experience with hypnotic inductions were induced into an OBE and were requested to verbally describe six selected images, either one or two per session, that...

By using special hypnotic suggestions, four selected participants were induced in a channeling condition allowing to interview the purported channeled entities about the topic of human body characteristics, the supreme Being, the spiritual evolution through multiple lives, after death experiences, mediumship, channeling and who are we really. The i...

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the results of all meta-analyses on anomalous cognition conducted between 1989 and 2021 in order to find moderators associated with greater effect sizes. Method: We included all meta-analyses of studies related to anomalous cognition published up to 2021. Results: Our dataset, accumulated over more tha...

Machine learning approaches have been fruitfully applied to several neurophysiological signal classification problems. Considering the relevance of emotion in human cognition and behaviour, an important application of machine learning has been found in the field of emotion identification based on neurophysiological activity. Nonetheless, there is h...

Machine learning approaches have been fruitfully applied to several neurophysiological signal classification problems. Considering the relevance of emotion in human cognition and behaviour, an important application of machine learning has been found in the field of emotion identification based on neurophysiological activity. Nonetheless, there is h...

Associative Remote Viewing (ARV) is a psi-based methodology used by individuals and for-profit organizations to predict such things as sporting-event outcomes, stock market moves, and for research purposes. Documented studies have shown the successful application of psi using ARV to predict future events, leading to profits, and unsuccessful applic...

This is a review of the Anil Seth's book "Being You. A New Science of Consciousness".

The changes in statistical practices and reporting have been documented by Giofrè et al. (2017), who investigated ten statistical and open practices in two high ranking journals (Psychological Science [PS] and Journal of Experimental Psychology, General [JEPG]): Null hypothesis significance testing; confidence or credible intervals; meta-analysis o...

By using the description of the Out-of-Body experiences of 14 participants, we aimed to have a picture of what it is like to be in this particular state of consciousness. All information was grouped according to the following topics: consciousness status, self-boundaries, objects perception, colour perception, other types of perceptions, interactio...

The definition of what is the matter is fundamental not only for those supporting a materialist point of view of reality including our mental experiences, but also for those who support an alternative view. Starting from a brief historical overview of the ideas of what is the matter up to the more recent scientific theoretical and empirical contrib...

Aims : assess if mediums could give accurate information about the deceased in a triple-blind protocol and to investigate the source of information using a quantitative and qualitative analysis. Methods : nine mediums produced thirty-eight readings related to thirty-eight deceased individuals chosen by thirty-six sitters using a triple-blind proto...

Even if mediumship is a practice that probably originated at the outset of human history and is embedded in many cultural and religious traditions, scientific investigations into mediumship are quite recent. In this study, we aim to investigate if self-defined mediums can retrieve information about specific deceased persons in an unconventional way...

Even if mediumship is a practice that probably originated at the outset of human history and is embedded in many cultural and religious traditions, scientific investigations into mediumship are quite recent. In this study, we aim to investigate if self-defined mediums can retrieve information about specific deceased persons in an unconventional way...

The debate about the nature of consciousness revolves around two opposing theories: a) consciousness is a byproduct of the brain; b) consciousness is primary and manifests some, but not all its characteristics, by using the brain that functions as a filter. Although ostensibly odd from the materialist standpoint, the idea of the primacy of consciou...

Aim of this paper is to review the state of the art of so⎼called altered states of consciousness, anomalous experiences, and exceptional human experiences, showing the need for reappraising the whole topic and gather them under one roof. The term Non⎼Ordinary Mental Expressions (NOMEs) and a new classification of non⎼pathological ostensibly odd phe...

This meta-analysis is an investigation into anomalous perception (i.e., conscious identification of information without any conventional sensorial means). The technique used for eliciting an effect is the ganzfeld condition (a form of sensory homogenization that eliminates distracting peripheral noise). The database consists of studies published be...

Channeling experiences are often compared with Dissociative Trance/Possession Disorders and Dissociative Identity disorders and more recent diagnostic criteria presented in the DSM 5 and ICD-11.From this comparison, it emerges quite clearly that, for most cases, channeling can either be considered an exceptional non-ordinary mental experience or a...

Two experiments involving an international collaboration of experimenters sought to replicate and extend a previously published psi experiment on precognition by Daryl Bem that has been the focus of extensive research. The experiment reverses the usual cause–effect sequence of a standard psychology experiment using priming and reaction times. The p...

This meta-analysis is an investigation into anomalous perception (i.e., conscious identification of information without any conventional sensorial means). The technique used for eliciting an effect is the ganzfeld condition (a form of sensory homogenization that eliminates distracting peripheral noise). The database consists of peer-reviewed studie...

The main aim of this paper is to support a metaphilosophical and metascientific approach to the study of Consciousness.After a brief historical resume of the debate between the mind-brain-body relationship, we discuss how the apparently irreducible contention between a physicalist and an anti-physicalist interpretation of Consciousness can be overc...

Over the past 10 years, Oosterhof and Todorov’s valence–dominance model has emerged as the most prominent account of how people evaluate faces on social dimensions. In this model, two dimensions (valence and dominance) underpin social judgements of faces. Because this model has primarily been developed and tested in Western regions, it is unclear w...

With this study we tested whether the solutions to the Compound Remote Associate problems (CRAp) can be facilitated when presented masked. One-hundred-fourteen participants solved 19 CRA problems presented online. Participants were randomly assigned to a condition in which either the solution to the CRA problems was presented in a masked condition...

In this study 9 mediums produced 38 pairs of results for readings related to 38 deceased individuals chosen by 36 sitters using a triple-blind protocol with no direct interaction with the sitters themselves. In this protocol, the medium was only provided with the deceased’s name by the interviewer, the latter having no further knowledge about the d...

This brief study presents the accumulated evidence for a range of meta-analyses on nonlocal (anomalous) perception (a.k.a. a communication anomaly) conducted between 1935 and 2020. What emerged from thirteen meta-analyses related to six different states of consciousness, is a more than tenfold gap in effect size (ES), ranging from the lowest ES for...

The primary purpose of this review and exploratory survey of experienced remote viewers was to discover which types of projects they are engaged with today, and to what extent, and to understand their backgrounds, methods, approaches, practices, philosophies, beliefs, and phenomenological experiences related to this work. Another goal was to discov...

This meta-analysis is an investigation into anomalous perception (i.e., conscious identification of information without any conventional sensorial means). The technique used for eliciting an effect is the ganzfeld condition (a form of sensory homogenization that eliminates distracting peripheral noise). The database consists of peer-reviewed studie...

The term “retroactive avoidance” refers to a special class of effects of future stimulus presentations on past behavioral responses. Specifically, it refers to the anticipatory avoidance of aversive stimuli that were unpredictable through random selection after the response. This phenomenon is supposed to challenge the common view of the arrow of t...

Four participants, chosen for their experience in reaching an Out-of-Body state of consciousness via hypnotic induction, were asked to describe five different and unknown locations, at first using Remote Viewing conditions in an ordinary state of consciousness and then again using Remote Viewing in Out-of-Body state of consciousness. According to a...

This meta-analysis is an investigation into anomalous perception (i.e., conscious identification of information without any conventional sensorial means). The technique used for eliciting an effect is the ganzfeld condition (a form of sensory homogenization that eliminates distracting peripheral noise). The database consists of peer-reviewed studie...

Background and purpose: Mediumship is the ostensible phenomenon of human-mediated communication between deceased and living persons. In this paper, we perform a meta-analysis of all available modern experimental evidence, specifically from 2001 to December 2019, investigating the accuracy of apparently anomalously received information provided by m...

This study was aimed at verifying the possibility of mentally influencing from a distance an electronic device based on a True Random Number Generator (TRNG).Thirteen adult participants contributed to 100 trials, each comprised of three samples of data each of 15 minutes’ duration: one for pre-mental interaction, one for mental interaction, and one...

We report the results of an update to the meta-analysis by Storm, Tressoldi, and Di Risio (2010). Three types of free-response design were assessed: (i) ganzfeld (a technique that enhances a communication anomaly referred to as ‘psi’); (ii) nonganzfeld noise reduction using alleged psi-enhancing techniques (e.g., dreaming, hypnosis, relaxation, and...

The aim of this pilot study was to determine the possibility of mentally producing, from a geographical distance, predefined images on modern digital sensors of professional commercial photographic cameras, and to do it sufficiently well for the images to be recognized by a special software. Three participants experienced in distant mind-matter int...

Four participants, chosen for their experience in reaching an Out-of-Body state of consciousness via hypnotic induction, were asked to describe five different and unknown locations, at first using Remote Viewing conditions in an ordinary state of consciousness and then again using Remote Viewing in Out-of-Body state of consciousness. According to a...

The following is the result, as of the 11th March 2020, of 11 dialogues totalling more than 7 hours with 3 entities channelled by V.R. in an OBE state induced by Luciano Pederzoli using hypnotic techniques. The procedure for inducing an OBE state via hypnosis is described in the work titled “A Guide to OBE Induction” (see: http://www.evanlab.org) A...

Machine learning approaches have been fruitfully applied to several neurophysiological signal classification problems. Considering the relevance of emotion in human cognition and behaviour, an important application of machine learning has been found in the field of emotion identification based on neurophysiological activity. Nonetheless, there is h...