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A Joint Communiqué: The Psi Ganzfeld Controversy
Abstract
The present authors (see PA, Vol 73:5166, 5165, respectively) emphasize their points of agreement on parapsychological research. It is agreed that there is an overall significant effect in this database that cannot reasonably be explained by selective reporting or multiple analysis. The degree to which the effect constitutes evidence for psi is still an area of disagreement, but it is agreed that the final verdict awaits the outcome of future experiments conducted by a broader range of investigators and according to more stringent standards. Recommendations about how such experiments should be conducted and reported are made. Specific recommendations are about randomization, judging and feedback procedures, multiple analysis and statistics, documentation, and the growing role meta-analysis will play in the evaluation of research quality and the assessment of moderating variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... First, it provides a brief review of the substance of the debate as it has persisted from 1982 to the present. Second, it presents a basic assessment of a collection of 59 ganzfeld ESP studies reported in the years following the publication of a stringent set of methodological guidelines and recommendations for ganzfeld research developed by Ray Hyman, a cognitive psychologist and long-time critic of parapsychology, and the late Charles Honorton, a parapsychologist and contributor to the ganzfeld database (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). ...
... The two opposing meta-analyses were refi ned and published together in the Journal of Parapsychology three years later (Honorton, 1985, Hyman, 1985. Instead of remaining in opposing camps, Hyman and Honorton (1986) came together soon afterward to develop a "joint communiqué" that highlighted the issues on which they agreed. In summarizing their agreements, they wrote: ...
... (p. 351) To supplement their agreement regarding future experimentation, Hyman and Honorton (1986) also provided in their communiqué the jointly developed set of methodological guidelines and recommendations. ...
This paper presents a brief review of the debate between parapsychologists and skeptics regarding the issue of replication in experimental tests of extrasensory perception (ESP) using a sensory reduction technique known as ganzfeld. The review is followed by a basic assessment of 59 ganzfeld ESP studies reported in the period following the publication of a stringent set of methodological guidelines and recommendations by R. Hyman and C. Honorton in 1986. The assessment indicates that these 59 studies have a combined hit rate of approximately 30%, which is significantly above the chance expected hit rate of 25%. A comparison of the hit rates across four ganzfeld meta-analyses, as well as across fifteen laboratories, seems to further indicate replication of the ganzfeld ESP effect by a broad group of independent researchers.
Keywords: extrasensory perception (ESP)—ganzfeld—meta-analysis—psi—parapsychology
... After an exchange over the methodological adequacy of past ganzfeld procedures used in psi research, Ray Hyman, a critic, and Charles Honorton, a supporter of psi studies, established what have become recognized guidelines to minimize and prevent criticisms of methodological inadequacy in future studies. The recommendations contained in their famed "joint communiqué" consist of a set of more stringent guidelines that have been since recognized as standard in ganzfeld studies (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). The recommendations put forth in the joint communiqué involve control for sensory leakage, randomization of target images used, procedures used in identifying the target images, problems with multiple analyses and the file-drawer problem, documentation procedures and general statistical analysis issues. ...
... Ben and Honorton (1994) 1 arguing that the ganzfeld procedure has produced a database of studies with replicable effect sizes, conducted a meta-analysis yielding a mean effect size (ES 2 ) of 0.162 (Stouffer Z = 2.52, p = 5.90 × 10 -3 , one tailed) suggesting a significant psi effect in the studies they examined. Milton and Wiseman (1999) subsequently attempted to replicate this meta-analysis by only including studies that presumably met the methodological guidelines set forth by Hyman and Honorton (1986). ...
... Methodological issues concerning the procedure and analysis of psi ganzfeld studies are a source of disagreement between the camp of researchers arguing for the existence and those arguing for the non-existence of psi. Many have addressed numerous procedural criticisms that may contribute to erroneous interpretations of results (Honorton, 1985;Honorton & Hyman, 1986;Hyman, 1985). Still others differed on the methodological decisions made in meta-analyses of psi ganzfeld studies (e.g., which studies to include/exclude in the meta-analyses and the unidirectionality/bidirectionality of psi effects; Milton & Wiseman, 1999, 2001. ...
... Esto permitió que ambos autores no solo llegaran a considerar de común acuerdo una serie de consejos generales para conducir una futura investigación ganzfeld, sino que llegaran ambos a la misma conclusión: "hay un resultado significativo total en la base de datos que no puede ser razonablemente explicada mediante el reporte selectivo de los resultados o el análisis múltiple." (Hyman & Honorton, 1986, p.351). Entonces Honorton y sus colegas en el PRL iniciaron una nueva serie de experimentos ganzfeld con la menor intervencion humana, diseñados para evitar cualquiera de los problemas metodológicos encontrados por Hyman. ...
... Aunque los experimentos automatizados de ganzfeld conducidos en el PRL provocaron una gran controversia alrededor de sus datos (Bem, 1994; Hyman, 1994; Wiseman, Smith, y Kornbrot, 1994), la notoriedad de estos experimentos en principio derivaron de la conquista de un efecto psi consistente y estadísticamente significativo excepcionalmente bien controlado lo mejor formulado posible como para tener en consideración las críticas de los primeros estudios ganzfeld (Hyman y Honorton, 1986). Ya que no todos los experimentos ganzfeld conducidos por todos los investigadores han tenido grandes éxitos (científicamente, sería imprudente esperar esto), debería señalarse que el promedio de éxitos de la base de datos ganzfeld mantiene un nivel significativo positivo muy próximo al que estableció el PRL por primera vez. ...
Attitudes and opinions about parapsychological research are beginning to shift to a more positive approach. A major part of the cause for this shift lies in the development of several procedures that have been reliable in eliciting psi in various laboratories around the world. The ganzfeld is one of the techniques used in laboratory research that has achieved a consistently robust and statistically significant psi effect in conjunction with exceptionally good experimental controls. The ganzfeld is a sensory isolation technique used to reduce normal sensory input and allowing participants to refocus their information processes internally, enhancing participant's abilities to pick up on remotely located target material. It has seen sufficient successful independent replication that it has come to be viewed as one of parapsychology's best techniques for examining psi under controlled laboratory conditions. This paper discusses the history and developments in other, more well established, areas of science. The paper concludes with a discussion of viewpoints from both skeptics and proponents of parapsychology.
... A second major meta-analysis on a set of 'autoganzfeld' studies was performed by Bem & Honorton (1994). These studies followed the guidelines laid down by Hyman & Honorton (1986). Moreover the autoganzfeld procedure avoids methodological flaws by using a computer-controlled target randomization, selection, and judging technique. ...
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 between January 1974 and December 2020 inclusive.
The overall effect size estimated both with a frequentist and a Bayesian random-effect model, were in close agreement yielding an effect size of .099 (.05-.14). This result passed four publication bias tests and seems not contaminated by questionable research practices.
Trend analysis carried out with a cumulative meta-analysis and a meta-regression model with Year of publication as covariate did not indicate a sign of the decline of this effect size.
The moderators' analyses show that selected participants' outcomes were almost three times those obtained by non-selected participants and that tasks that simulate telepathic communication show a two-fold effect size with respect to tasks requiring the participants to guess a target.
The Stage 1 Registered Report can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.24868.3
... The sociopolitical difficulties include typically a highly polarized audience, i.e., confirmed believers versus insistent disbelievers who improperly call themselves 'skeptics.' There is a notable lack of engagement between the two groups, let alone any constructive adversarial collaboration as seen in other areas of mainstream academia and edge science (e.g., Bateman et al., 2005;Cowan et al., 2020;Honorton & Hyman, 1986;Laythe & Houran, 2022). A form of skepticism often confidently presents untested speculations and sometimes even levies ad hominem attacks. ...
The first photograph said to be of the Loch Ness Monster was taken on 12th November 1933 around noon by a local man by the name of Hugh Gray. I say "Loch Ness Monster" because I believe the photograph to be genuine and part of the evidence portfolio. The picture that generally circulates is shown below. The Scottish Daily Record took his picture and Mr. Gray gave the following account to them having been interviewed by Hugh Mackenzie (the future Provost of Inverness), Peter Munro representing Hugh Gray's employers at the British Aluminium Company and a Daily Record staff member: Four Sundays ago, after church I went for my usual walk near where the river enters the Loch. The Loch was like a mill pond and the sun shining brightly. An object of considerable dimensions rose out of the water not very far from where I was. I immediately got my camera ready and snapped the object which was two or three feet above the surface of the water. I did not see any head, for what I took to be the front parts were under the water, but there was considerable movement from what seemed to be the tail, the part furthest from me. The object only appeared for a few minutes then sank out of sight. A contemporary picture of Hugh Gray was printed later which I don't think flatters him much but is shown below to show you the man behind the monster. The tenor of the account suggests some throwing up of spray and water as the presumed tail beat about the waters and hence caused some blurriness around that region of the picture. Mackenzie described Gray as a man highly respected by his fellow workmen, employers and locals. Likewise, the Daily Record had the negative examined by four experts who deemed it as untampered. It caused a stir, was panned by zoologists and faded along with general Nessie-lore as the World entered war six years later. Twenty-two years on, Nessie author, Constance Whyte, visited Hugh Gray in May 1955 who was sticking to his story and still had vivid memories of that day plus he also recounted five other times he claimed to have seen the monster over those decades. Renowned monster hunter, Tim Dinsdale, also recounts how he visited Gray in April 1960 and described him as "a most courteous individual" as he took him to the spot of the sighting[4]. He spoke with "complete conviction" about that day as well as maintaining an accuracy of his account. He also added some detail of his other sightings which partly consisted of rapidly moving bow waves with no visible cause. What remains of the photograph today is uncertain.
... Drawing on published precedents (e.g., Cowan et al., 2020;Honorton & Hyman, 1986;Lange, Greyson, & Houran, 2004), our study underscores the feasibility of adversarial collaborations for normalizing and advancing research on controversial topics. The Drake-esque approach of empirically calculating a net probability for a hypothesized occurrence or event by adding the cumulative weight of conducive conditions or putative evidence and then deducting the maximally established influence of known confounds contributing to Type 1-related errors can likewise help to (a) structure and contextualize the study of many issues in edge science given that proposed explanations are limited by their effects sizes and probabilistic strength, (b) better understand the role of perceptual and cognitive processes within meaning-making of anomalous experiences, and (c) identify and prioritize areas of investigation with perhaps the strongest evidential value for provocative hypotheses. ...
The idea of ‘life after death’ transcends philosophy or religion, as science can test predictions from claims by both its advocates and skeptics. This study therefore featured two researchers with opposite views, who jointly gathered hundreds of research studies to evaluate the maximum average percentage effect that seemingly supports (i.e., anomalous effects) or refutes (i.e., known confounds) the survival hypothesis. The mathematical analysis found that known confounds did not account for 39% of survival-related phenomena that appear to attest directly to human consciousness continuing in some form after bodily death. Thus, we concluded that popular skeptical explanations are presently insufficient to explain a sizable portion of the purported evidence in favor of survival. People with documented experiences under conditions that overcome the known confounds thus arguably meet the legal requirements for expert witness testimony. The equation that led to our verdict can also purposefully guide future research, which one day might finally resolve this enduring question scientifically.
Keywords: anomalous experience, empiricism, paranormal belief, probability, survival
... Drawing on published precedents (e.g., Cowan et al., 2020;Honorton & Hyman, 1986;Lange, Greyson, & Houran, 2004), our study underscores the feasibility of adversarial collaborations for normalizing and advancing research on controversial topics. The Drake-esque approach of empirically calculating a net probability for a hypothesized occurrence or event by adding the cumulative weight of conducive conditions or putative evidence and then deducting the maximally established influence of known confounds contributing to Type 1-related errors can likewise help to (a) structure and contextualize the study of many issues in edge science given that proposed explanations are limited by their effects sizes and probabilistic strength, (b) better understand the role of perceptual and cognitive processes within meaning-making of anomalous experiences, and (c) identify and prioritize areas of investigation with perhaps the strongest evidential value for provocative hypotheses. ...
... Hyman and Honorton together drew up a set of guidelines for further research, which they published in a "joint communiquéé" (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). They recommended rigorous precautions against sensory leakage, extensive security procedures to prevent fraud, full documentation of all experimental procedures and equipment, and complete specifications about what statistical tests were to be used to judge success. ...
It is not always easy to draw a dividing line between true scientific theo- ries, erroneous but verifiable scientific theories and pseudo-scientific ones that are impos- sible to verify. As an example, this paper presents researches on various phenomena of extra-sensory perception, precognition, clairvoyance, distance communication, premonition for receiving SMS messages, phone calls or e-mails, which are classified in the domain of telepathy research. They were conducted within different paradigms, with diverse re- search methodologies and approaches, from anecdotal experiences, case studies and intui- tive reasoning, to careful recording of data and their statistical processing. In recent years, researches have been conducted using state-of-the-art “brain-to-brain” technology, which is used to register brain activities of the research participants. Telepathy has not remained uninteresting even to some modern physicists who find in Einstein’s theory of relativity and the laws of quantum physics the possibility of postulating a new quantum model of telepathy. This new, unconventional approach to the research of telepathy is conditioned by the paradigm shift in the research of this phenomenon and significant shifts from the pseudo-scientific to the scientific approach. This paper aims to point out the necessity of setting a clear demarcation line between scientific and pseudo-scientific research and building the ability of critical thinking, which is a condition for differentiating science from pseudoscience. Using a specific example of the phenomenon of telepathy, we underlined the importance of research in the development of scientific knowledge, but the kind of research that meets the reproducibility and verifiability criteria that clearly differentiate science from pseudoscience.
... A second major meta-analysis on a set of 'autoganzfeld' studies was performed by Bem & Honorton (1994). These studies followed the guidelines laid down by Hyman & Honorton (1986). Moreover the autoganzfeld procedure avoids methodological flaws by using a computer-controlled target randomization, selection, and judging technique. ...
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 between January 1974 and December 2020 inclusive.
The overall effect size estimated both with a frequentist and a Bayesian random-effect model, were in close agreement yielding an effect size of .088 (.04-.13). This result passed four publication bias tests and seems not contaminated by questionable research practices.
Trend analysis carried out with a cumulative meta-analysis and a meta-regression model with Year of publication as covariate, did not indicate sign of decline of this effect size.
The moderators analyses show that selected participants outcomes were almost three-times those obtained by non-selected participants and that tasks that simulate telepathic communication show a two-fold effect size with respect to tasks requiring the participants to guess a target.
The Stage 1 Registered Report can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.24868.3
... And even if the researcher manages to get significant results at every step -as done by Bem (2011) for many years 10 -, there will always be new demands from the mainstream community: more control of the experimental setting, more experiments, more labs, more statistical tools, etc., (Wagenmakers et al., 2015) 11 . Even when proponents manage to agree a clear protocol with skeptics, and then obtain significant results, which has been the case with the Ganzfeld (Hyman and Honorton, 1986;Bem and Honorton, 1994), it is never enough. The underlying problem is that even if a significant effect is found at each step, there is no way to conclude anything about the nature of the effect and consequently no way to produce scientific knowledge about the source of psi (Broughton, 1979;Palmer, 1997): is it from the participants? ...
The replicability crisis in psychology has been influenced by the results of nine experiments conducted by Bem (2011) and presented as supporting the existence of precognition. In this paper, we hope to show how the debate concerning these experiments could be an opportunity to develop original thinking about psychology and replicability. After a few preliminary remarks about psi and scientific epistemology, we examine how psi results lead to a paradox which questions how appropriate the scientific method is to psi research. This paradox highlights a problem in the way experiments are conducted in psi research and its potential consequence on mainstream research in psychology. Two classical experiments - the Ganzfeld protocol and the Bem studies - are then analyzed in order to illustrate this paradox and its consequences. Mainstream research is also addressed in the broader context of the replication crisis, decline effect and questionable research practices. Several perspectives for future research are proposed in conclusion and underline the heuristic value of psi studies for psychology.
... The area of psi research with the most consistent sets of experiments supporting psi phenomena, even after improving the methodology following guidelines coproposed by a psi proponent and a skeptic (Hyman & Honorton, 1986), follows a procedure called the ganzfeld ("full field" in German) to enhance internal focus. It involves sitting in a comfortable chair and, after listening to relaxation suggestions, being exposed to homogeneous visual and auditory stimulation, while trying to detect spatially and/or temporally distant information chosen randomly. ...
... The two debated the overall results of 28 ganzfeld studies, with Hyman (1985) arguing that all significant findings could be accounted for by flaws in the methodology, and Honorton (1985) finding strongly significant results (p < 10 -9 ), robust in consideration of study quality. Shortly after their exchange, Hyman and Honorton (1986) agreed to collaborate and generate a set of experimental protocols designed to alleviate the potential flaws identified in the previous collection of studies. In their joint paper, they argued: ...
Throughout the debate on psi, skeptics have almost universally insisted on different standards for evaluating the evidence, claiming that psi represents a radical departure from our current scientific understanding. Thus, there is considerable ambiguity about what standard of evaluation psi must meet. Little attention has been paid to the possible harm to the integrity of scientific investigation from this resulting inconsistency in testing standards. Some have proposed using a Bayesian framework as an improvement on this dilemma in order to more explicitly model beliefs, assumptions, and background scientific knowledge, especially when evaluating a controversial hypothesis. Recently, Kuhn's notion of paradigms, which constrains scientific research within boundaries believed to be most productive, has been incorporated into a Bayesian framework. Within this framework, I explore a likely paradigm or meta-theory used by skeptics that typically constrains research and makes it difficult for psi evidence to be accepted. It appears that such a paradigm would in many respects have difficulty accounting for consciousness, which is fundamental to an understanding of psi. I discuss why psi data are likely to play a key role in making progress in solving the problem of consciousness. Thus, applying different standards of evaluation to psi data is likely counterproductive.
... A second major meta-analysis on a set of 'autoganzfeld' studies followed (Honorton et al., 1990). These studies adhered to the guidelines laid down by Hyman and Honorton (1986), but the autoganzfeld procedure avoids methodological flaws by using a computer-controlled target randomization, selection, and judging technique. They reported a hit rate of 32.2%. ...
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 meditation); and (iii) standard free-response (nonganzfeld; no noise reduction). These experimental (laboratory-based) designs allegedly elicit a communications anomaly known as extrasensory perception (ESP; a.k.a. psi). For the period 2009 to 2018, a dataset of nine new ganzfeld studies (Category 1) yielded a mean ES = 0.119; 19 new nonganzfeld noise-reduction studies (Category 2) yielded mean ES = 0.045; and 15 new free-response studies (Category 3) yielded mean ES = 0.050. Stouffer Z scores for all three databases were significant, but each new database was not significantly different from its respective database in Storm et al. (2010). The increased ganzfeld database (N = 38) yielded a mean ES = 0.133; the nonganzfeld noise-reduction dataset (N = 37) yielded mean ES = 0.072; and the standard free-response studies (N = 33) yielded mean ES = 0.027. Again, Stouffer Z scores were significant. We did find category differences, and participants (selected vs. unselected) performed differently, but there were no differences between modality (i.e., type of psi), types of target (e.g., film clips, photographs), or experimenter/laboratory. There was also no evidence of a decline effect across the 44-year period. Finally, we conducted a Bayesian analysis and found that the case for a communications anomaly using free-response designs was upheld.
... Also important were papers whose two authors, one a "proponent" of the field (Honorton, 1985), and the other a critic (Hyman, 1985) defended and criticized ganzfeld ESP research. The interaction of these two individuals produced a joint article that, at the time, was considered to have provided a constructive opportunity for dialog and a possible guide for further research collaborations (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). Unfortunately, these efforts, and later special issues of the JP devoted to discussing ganzfeld work (December, 1986, andDecember, 1999), did not significantly bring more acceptance of the research work. ...
This is a short review of the 80 years of existence of the Journal of Parapsychology. Founded in 1937, the journal articulated the experimental research program of J. B. Rhine and his associates at Duke University. Highlights of the journal are discussed, starting with examples of articles reporting experiments of extrasensory perception and psychokinesis. Also discussed are articles about spontaneous cases, the presentation of novel and creative approaches, critiques and discussions, overviews of the field, J. B. Rhine’s use of the Journal of Parapsychology to prescribe for the field, and concepts and theories. The Journal of Parapsychology is seen as an important influence in the development of parapsychology.
... Also important were papers whose two authors, one a "proponent" of the field (Honorton, 1985), and the other a critic (Hyman, 1985) defended and criticized ganzfeld ESP research. The interaction of these two individuals produced a joint article that, at the time, was considered to have provided a constructive opportunity for dialog and a possible guide for further research collaborations (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). Unfortunately, these efforts, and later special issues of the JP devoted to discussing ganzfeld work (December, 1986, andDecember, 1999), did not significantly bring more acceptance of the research work. ...
... The area of psi research with the most consistent sets of experiments supporting psi phenomena, even after improving the methodology following guidelines coproposed by a psi proponent and a skeptic (Hyman & Honorton, 1986), follows a procedure called the ganzfeld ("full field" in German) to enhance internal focus. It involves sitting in a comfortable chair and, after listening to relaxation suggestions, being exposed to homogeneous visual and auditory stimulation, while trying to detect spatially and/or temporally distant information chosen randomly. ...
This article summarizes and integrates research on the relation between altered consciousness (including states and traits, as well as procedures and practices to induce them) and enhanced functioning. The latter include improved psychophysiological control as well as enhanced performance in controlled parapsychological experiments. Multiple studies on meditation, hypnosis, sensory homogenization, psychoactive drug ingestion, and spontaneous alterations of consciousness have demonstrated enhanced physiological (e.g., gastrointestinal and other somatic systems, heart rate and bleeding control, ability to withstand cold temperature and painful stimuli) and psychological (e.g., perceptual sensitivity, attention control and cognitive deautomatization, creativity, enhanced positive affect and personality change) functioning. Parapsychological (psi) research also indicates that when individuals are exposed to techniques to alter the state of consciousness such as sensory homogenization, meditation, hypnosis, and psychedelic drugs, they exhibit stronger evidence of psi functioning than when they are in ordinary waking consciousness, particularly if they are prone to having spontaneous alterations of consciousness and/or have had a mental practice for a long time. Recommendations for further development of research in this area are provided.
... 7 We do not intend to deal with the typical criticisms made against the Ganzfeld design, such as fraud, inadequate randomization, sensory leakage, and other flaws, as these have long been argued as unlikely (see Utts, 1991). Since Hyman and Honorton (1986) produced the so-called Joint Communiqué, Ganzfeld practitioners have made sure that the appropriate controls are implemented. ...
... The text may mention the ESP card test conducted by J.B. Rhine and his colleagues from the 1930's to the 1960's and incorrectly claim that ESP card tests are still representative of contemporary research, whereas anyone even casually familiar with recent journal articles and books knows that such tests have hardly been used for decades. General psychology textbooks, if they discuss the post-Rhine experimental evidence for psi functioning at all, may discuss the results of the remote viewing Ganzfeld experiments Bem, Palmer, & Broughton, 2001;Honorton & Harper, 1974;Hyman & Honorton, 1986). ...
... "Between 1974 and 1981 there were in all 42 published ganzfeld-ESP experiments of which 19 [about 55 %] gave significant evidence for psi; it seemed that psi in the ganzfeld is a highly replicable effect" (Rao, 2001, p. 35). In 1985, psychologist Ray Hyman (1985 raised questions about the adequacy of the procedures and statistical analyses used in the ganzfeld experiments, and a new setup called autoganzfeld now replicates the ESP ganzfeld effect meeting the "stringent standards" requirement as recommended by Hyman and Honorton (1986) in their joint communiqué. ...
... The parapsychological effect in question was the hypothesised facilitation of ESP by a technique of sensory restriction known as the Ganzfeld. The result of the collaboration was an agreement there was an anomalous effect here to be explained, whether or not the underlying process is truly paranormal (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). It is regrettable that similar fruitful collaborations between parapsychologists and their critics have been so rare in the ESP debate. ...
Parapsychologists purport to apply scientific method to the investigation of the bases of commonly reported parapsychological experiences such as extrasensory perception. Despite over a hundred years of associated research effort the status of parapsychology as a scientific endeavour is disputed by a substantial section of the contemporary mainstream scientific community. This paper identifies some of the major chronological shifts in the rationale for dismissing parapsychology as nonscientific, examining several historical attempts by parapsychologists to establish the scientific legitimacy of their discipline and the concomitant strategies of orthodox scientists to marginalise the findings of parapsychological research as rejected knowledge. Some experiences in everyday life appear, at least superficially, to be paranormal—that is, the experiences are commonly taken by lay people to indicate the operation of factors currently unknown to, or unrecognised by orthodox science. Ostensibly paranormal experiences include those popularly designated as extrasensory perception (ESP), 'mind over matter' phenomena such as psychokinesis (PK) and psychic healing, and experiences that seem to imply the existence of the spirit or some such nonphysical element of human existence (e.g., out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, apparitional experiences, and past-life experiences). Parapsychology is the scientific investigation of putatively paranormal experiences. More formally, parapsychology has been defined by its proponents as the study of " apparent anomalies of behavior and experience that exist apart from currently known explanatory mechanisms that account 1 The preparation of this paper was initiated at the suggestion of Prof. Olav Hammer (University of Southern Denmark). In addition, Dr. Caroline Watt (University of Edinburgh) drew the attention of the author to a publication on the debate over meta-analysis. Both of these contributions are acknowledged with gratitude.
... These experiments were used for the first meta-analysis ever done on psi experiments (Honorton, 1985). This meta-analysis eventually resulted in a joint report of a well-known sceptic of the paranormal and a major psi researcher in the field of ganzfeld studies (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). In the report both authors concluded that the overall results differed from chance expectation, but there remained a difference of opinion about the interpretation of this difference. ...
... If their results do in fact reflect a genuine remote viewing effect, they have also given those researchers a head start in achieving success in their studies, by means of their processoriented approach. Just as a collaborative critique of ESP ganzfeld studies (Hyman & Honorton, 1986) helped to raise standards of experimental conduct and reporting in that area of research, we hope that the joint effort reported here will have a similar effect for the future remote viewing studies that are bound to follow. ...
The American Institutes for Research (AIR) recently produced a report on the effectiveness of US government-funded research in demonstrating the existence of a remote viewing effect that could be used for intelligence-gathering purposes. The most recent studies in this program were carried out by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and these studies were the focus of the assessment. The evaluators concluded that the ten SAIC studies reviewed contained no obvious flaws. One of the evaluators used eight methodological criteria to assess the studies, and chose one of the experiments - Experiment One - to demonstrate the use of the criteria: the experiment appeared to satisfy all eight. The publication of this report prompted the first author (R. W.) to become interested in attempting to replicate the SAIC research into remote viewing. Before doing so, R. W. examined the protocol used in Experiment One as a potential template for the replication. This examination uncovered a number of possible pathways of information leakage apparently present in the study. In addition, problems were encountered by the SAIC team in reconstructing a number of unrecorded procedural details concerning Experiment One. The implications of this assessment for Experiment.
... At the beginning of the SPR, the contribution of skeptics such as Podmore showed that it was not just a partisan club. In recent history, one of the high points in psi research occurred when a proponent and a critic worked together on guidelines for ganzfeld research (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). On professional and ethical grounds, the field should encourage more collaborations and greater dialogue with those who hold a different perspective than ours, as long as they are ethical, honest, and respectful. ...
... 7 We do not intend to deal with the typical criticisms made against the Ganzfeld design, such as fraud, inadequate randomization, sensory leakage, and other flaws, as these have long been argued as unlikely (see Utts, 1991). Since Hyman and Honorton (1986) produced the so-called Joint Communiqué, Ganzfeld practitioners have made sure that the appropriate controls are implemented. that it is impossible to observe and positively define the alleged phenomenon (i.e., psi) in the Ganzfeld. ...
... Hyman and Honorton [30] issued a " joint communiqué " on the psi ganzfeld debate. In it they agree that such considerations as selective reporting or multiple analyses cannot reasonably explain away the overall significance of the effect. ...
... Following a series of criticisms and methodological recommendations jointly agreed between Honorton and skeptical researcher Ray Hyman (Hyman & Honorton, 1986), Honorton conducted a second major meta-analysis on a series of autoGanzfeld studies that followed a more strict procedure (Bem & Honorton, 1994) reporting a significant hit rate of 32.2% (Stouffer's z = 3.8, p = 5 x 10 -5 ). Storm and Ertel (2001) also report a significant effect size of 0.138 (Stouffer's z = 5.59, p = 1,14 x 10 -8 ) in a meta-analysis of 79 Ganzfeld studies. ...
In this paper we present a method for participant classification, based on trait and state, in the experimental evaluation of ESP (extrasensory perception). We conducted three Ganzfeld experiments with a sample of 237 participants. In experiment I (N = 60) twenty participants ranked the target stimulus in the first position, achieving a non-significant rate of correct guesses of 33.3% (z = 1.48, p =.07, one tailed). In experiment II (N = 90) only 26.6% of the participants' guesses were correct (z =.35, p =.36, one tailed). Weighting trials in the second experiment on the basis of the most successful predictors of the participants' performance in the first experiment increased the rate of correct guesses from 26.6% to 36.4%. Results in a confirmatory experiment (N = 87) were not significant (32.7%, z = 1.32, p =.09, one tailed). However, overall results in this study were consistent with the effects sizes data reported in previous meta-analyses.
... 7 We do not intend to deal with the typical criticisms made against the Ganzfeld design, such as fraud, inadequate randomization, sensory leakage, and other flaws, as these have long been argued as unlikely (see Utts, 1991). Since Hyman and Honorton (1986) produced the so-called Joint Communiqué, Ganzfeld practitioners have made sure that the appropriate controls are implemented. ...
Historically, psi effects have been linked to altered states of consciousness (ASCs; Bem & Honorton, 1994). In this context, arguably the most widely used technique is the Ganzfeld. However, in recent times, scholars (e.g., Alvarado, 1998; Braud, 2005; Scimeca, Boca, & Iannuzzo, 2001) have formulated cogent arguments that cast doubt on whether the Ganzfeld is, in fact, an ASC that is psi-conducive. Consequently, it may prove prudent to investigate other conditions that induce ostensible ASCs that are purportedly psi-conducive, and it would be wise to get feedback from test participants in these states. In this theoretical paper, we propose that psi effects may be enhanced (i.e., strengthened) using a shamanic-like treatment. On that basis, we argue that parapsychologists must go beyond the assumption that psi effects are optimised under conditions that are inherently passive procedures, and foster techniques that require cognitive action from test participants.
... In the quarter century following its introduction into parapsychology, there have been many reports of studies using manual or automated ganzfeld procedures in psi studies, numerous debates by its advocates and counteradvocates as to its psieffectiveness, and several meta-analyses of the replicability of its accompanying psi-scoring (see Bem & Honorton, 1994;Honorton, 1985;Hyman & Honorton, 1986;Milton & Wiseman, 1999, 2001Schmeidler & Edge, 1999;Stanford, 1984Stanford, , 1987Utts, 1996). ...
Under which circumstances is psychic functioning most and least likely to occur? The identification of psi-favorable and psi-antagonistic conditions can allow greater practical applications of psi and also increased understanding of its nature and underlying processes. An adequate account of psi-favorable conditions would be an inclusive, systemic one that would address an extensive range of influencing factors. These would include not only the characteristics of the individuals who are experiencing psi, but also environmental, familial, societal, cultural, planetary, and extraplanetary influences. This chapter will honor the systems approach to some degree, but will emphasize the psychological (and related physiological) characteristics of the individual psi experiencer. If a given factor is identified as psi-favorable, that factor's opposite, complement, or absence might be considered to be psi-antagonistic. This may be so in many, but not all, cases. The contraries or absences of psi-conducive conditions might be neutral with respect to psi or, paradoxically, might even, themselves, be psi favorable. Possible examples of the latter would be cases in which an extreme opposite might result in a compensatory overreaction (or enantiodromic conversion) in the direction of the This paper originally was published as the following book chapter: Braud, W. (2002). Psi-favorable conditions. In V. G. Rammohan (Ed.), New frontiers of human science: A Festschrift for K. Ramakrishna Rao (pp. 95-118). Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland. This material is copyright © 2002 V. Gowri Rammohan. All rights reserved. It is used with permission.
... For this reason the ganzfeld also appealed to parapsychologists who had been finding extrasensory effects in other altered states, such as dreaming sleep (Child, 1985), and hypnosis (Stanford, 1992)., under the assumption that it might similarly "reduce the noise" of waking consciousness and allow more access to pre-conscious and potentially extrasensory material. Enough studies on the procedure have accumulated that it may be said to have a certain capacity to elicit ESP effects recurrently, although the size of the expected effect and the degree of its reliability are still matters of debate (Bem & Honorton, 1994;Hyman & Honorton, 1986;Milton and Wiseman, 1999;Storm and Ertel, 2002). Because of this widespread interest, it has come to be a stable platform for a comparative research program across laboratories much as card-guessing was in earlier decades (Mauskopf & McVaugh, 1980). ...
HEADING) This study is a follow-up to an earlier report (Carpenter, 2001) in which transcripts of 364 ganzfeld sessions that had been collected previously in several laboratories were analyzed using a set of 36 rating scales developed to implicitly assess the approach and quality of experience of the percipient in the situation. A number of significant, apparently meaningful, and somewhat internally consistent relationships were observed in that sample. Multiple regression analysis was applied to the data in order to generate a cluster of items, which if pooled, might be expected to be a useful predictor of ESP success in a new sample. An additional, independent sample of 251 ganzfeld sessions drawn from 3 previously conducted studies is analyzed here in terms of this predictive cluster, and a significant discrimination of hitting and missing sessions is found. All data were then pooled and subjected to correlation and regression analyses. A significant portion (N = 241) of the sample was contributed by persons active in the arts who scored more highly than the non-artists. The 2 groups are analyzed separately, as well as pooled. Hitting was predicted primarily by neutral or positive physical/emotional experiences in the session and by imagery suggestive of a capacity for self-transcendence, emotional closeness and deep trust. Missing was predicted mainly by excessive verbosity, an overly cognitive, intellectualized approach to the task, anxiety and attendant defenses against anxiety, and (for persons in the arts) by more indirect indications of an unhappy adjustment to the situation. Ways in which such findings may guide future research are mentioned.
... This debate is not yet concluded with a clear-cut victory of one of the two camps. However Meta analysis of empirical research (Hyman andHonorton,1986 &Radin andNelson, 1987) tends to validate the claim that the phenomena are replicable to some degree. ...
Physical laws are inherently time symmetric. It is generally assumed that the fact that we experience only one direction of time development is related to constraints like those imposed on the universe at the time of the 'big bang'. The unilateral time direction is directly related to human perception of 'causality'. A cause precedes its effect. In the paper the consequences of a less restricted view on time are discussed. It is argued that a) there is empirical evidence that effects can precede causes (or more precisely: that distributions of chance events might be biased contingent on future context) , b) there is no necessary logical paradox related to these phenomena, c c) that these findings might be interpreted as an extension of the recent interpretation of Quantum Physics but d) that the implications are far-reaching in as far the western scientific paradigm is concerned.
... In particular, the Ganzfeld situation of reduced sensory input is held to be more conducive for anomalous information acquisition than simpler freeresponse protocols, although this expectation is based largely on theoretical considerations rather than on specific comparisons. The strongest set of these experiments is a database generated in a design meeting stringent criteria discussed in the Honorton-Hyman debates and description of ideal protocols (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). It is referred to as autoganzfeld and incorporates excellent controls (Honorton et al., 1990). ...
Comparing the yields in different anomalies experiments is important for both theoretical and practical purposes, but it is problematic because the effects may be measured on differing scales. The units in which experiments are posed vary across digital and analog measures recorded in a wide range of uniquely defined trials, runs, and series. Even apparently fundamental units such as bit rates may lead to disparate calculated effect sizes and potentially misleading inter-experiment comparisons. This paper seeks to identify a study unit that can render the results from various types of anomalies experiments on a common scale. Across several databases generated in the consistent environment of the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory, yield per unit of time is the most promising of several measures considered. The number of hours during which participants attempt to produce anomalous effects can be consistently defined, and the time- normalized yield Y(h) ¼ Z /hours is demonstrably similar across a number of human/machine experiments, with a magnitude of about 0.2. On both practical and heuristic grounds, this constitutes a prima facie case for regarding the time- normalized yield as a natural metric for anomalous effects of consciousness. Application to a broad range of experiments, including examples from other laboratories, confirms the viability and utility of a time-based yield calculation. A v2 test across 12 local and remote databases from PEAR's human/machine experiments indicates strong homogeneity. Inclusion of the remote perception database, which has a significantly larger yield at Y(h) ¼ 0.6, immediately renders the distribution of effect sizes heterogeneous. These and other appli- cations return reasonable and instructive results that recommend the simple, time-normalized yield as a natural unit for cross-experiment comparisons per- mitting an integrated view of anomalies research results.
... 'Some parapsychological papers published since 1980 that should be of interest to skeptical scientists are: Alcock (1987); Bern and Honorton (in press); Braud (1990); Braud and Schlitz (1990); Dunne, Nelson, and Jahn (1988);Honorton (1985Honorton ( , 1987; ; Honorton and Ferrari (1989); Honorton, Ferrari, and Bem (1992); Hyman and Honorton (1986); Jahn (1982); Jahn and Dunne (1986); May, Humphrey, and Hubbard (1980); Mc ...
The author regards as "enemies" of parapsychological research (1) those critics who confuse parapsychology with popular superstition, (2) those parapsychologists who know all the pieces of evidence for the reality of psi effects but who lack the capacity to integrate and to evaluate that evidence as a whole, and (3) those professional psychics whose faltering attempts to apply psi for profit give the field a bad name. The author believes that para- psychology's urgent task is to bring mutual understanding between scientists and the public by exploring the obscure but real psi phenomena that give rise to popular superstition. He sees extrasensory perception and psychokinesis as evocable, operationally-defined psi phenomena. However, he rejects as a reli - gious endeavor the search for logical proof of their reality and advocates, in - stead, a Bayesian summation of countervailing intuitive probabilities. The author rejects blind empiricism as a practical path to the utilization of psi. He offers several speculations regarding future discoveries in parapsychology, three of which are: (1) Healing by self-hypnosis, as opposed to noncontact therapeutic touch, may be normal in an evolutionary sense. (2) Psychoneuroimmunology and psi may play complementary roles. (3) The principal future importance of parapsychology may be to allow scien- tific understanding of psi processes occurring within the human body.
In this chapter, we reflect on the relative absence of academic study about the body in paranormal research and outline an argument for its significance in understanding how people make sense of unexplained events. To illustrate this, we draw upon three areas of research: Ian Stevenson’s pioneering research on reincarnation; experimental studies using the ganzfeld experiment and accounts of intersubjectivity and telepathy in psychotherapy. We use these studies to demonstrate the significance of the body to the study of paranormal experience; however, we also illustrate the absence of research which explores the interactional practices that underpin these embodied accounts. In the final section of this chapter, our interest in the embodied interactional practices of paranormal investigation groups is detailed, and empirical evidence is presented to illustrate how the body is used as a site for, and tool in, the interpretation of paranormal events on a moment-by-moment basis.
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 studies published between January 1974 and June 2020 inclusive. The overall effect size will be estimated using a frequentist and a Bayesian random-effect model. Moderators analyses will be used to examine the influence of level of experience of participants, the type of task and the peer-review level. Publication bias will be estimated by using four different tests. Trend analysis will be conducted with a cumulative meta-analysis and a meta-regression model with Year of publication as covariate.
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 studies published between January 1974 and June 2020 inclusive. The overall effect size will be estimated using a frequentist and a Bayesian random-effect model. Moderators analyses will be used to examine the influence of level of experience of participants, the type of task and the peer-review level. Publication bias will be estimated by using four different tests. Trend analysis will be conducted with a cumulative meta-analysis and a meta-regression model with Year of publication as covariate.
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 studies published between January 1974 and June 2020 inclusive. The overall effect size will be estimated using a frequentist model and a Bayesian random model. Moderator analysis will be used to examine the influence of level of experience of participants and the type of task. Publication bias will be estimated by using three different tests. Trend analysis will be conducted on the cumulative database.
Several studies on scientific replication and meta-analytic approaches have illustrated the issue of low reproducibility or low effect size in psychology and related fields. Herein, the author described not only the problems generally underlying fields (e.g., questionable research practices and misconduct) but also problems specific to cognitive psychology. Reproducibility or effect size of experimental studies has gathered little attention from researchers in cognitive psychology. In addition, the lack of cognitive studies on researchers in cognitive psychology is related to the disregard for motivational factors on the reproduction/replication problems. Based on the understanding of these issues, the author discusses how future cognitive psychology can overcome them.
Subjective Bayesianism is a major school of uncertain reasoning and statistical inference. It is often criticized for a lack of objectivity: (i) it opens the door to the influence of values and biases, (ii) evidence judgments can vary substantially between scientists, (iii) it is not suited for informing policy decisions. My paper rebuts these concerns by bridging the debates on scientific objectivity and statistical method. First, I show that the above concerns arise equally for standard frequentist inference. Second, I argue that the involved senses of objectivity are epistemically inert. Third, I show that Subjective Bayesianism promotes other, epistemically relevant senses of scientific objectivity---most notably by increasing the transparency of scientific reasoning.
This article analyses the precognitive anomalous experience of Umbanda´s mediums in two complementary approaches: phenomenological and ontological. The first approach was considered under the subjects point of view, their cultural meanings and psychosocial functions. The second approach was the objective evaluation of existence of anomalous process and possible psychological variables correlated to this process. The phenomenological evaluation was accomplished through interviews with 15 mediums and used the Attribution Theory. The ontological analysis was accomplished through an experimental study with 52 Umbanda´s mediums. The main hypothesis of the study is that anomalous experiences are not based in anomalous processes, but in a believe system culturally provided. The hypothesis was confirmed and the results were discussed under the psychosocial processes.
This chapter discusses the distinctive challenges posed by what appear to be the incoherence of parapsychology's objectives. This incoherence can be understood by looking at the origins of parapsychology and its aspirations to demonstrate the reality of psychic phenomena by the application of scientific methodology. During its first 50 years, The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) sponsored many investigations of spirit mediums, alleged psychics, prophetic dreams, haunted houses, poltergeists, and a variety of other instances of apparent paranormal phenomena. In 1934, J. B. Rhine had introduced the term Parapsychology to refer to his laboratory-science-oriented program to gather proof for the existence of clairvoyance, telepathy, and precognition, the three forms of extrasensory perception (ESP). The Holy Grail for parapsychologists is the replicable experiment. Both the founders of the SPR and the pioneers of parapsychology wanted to produce results that would be accepted by orthodox scientists.
I was always surprised and confused by the unscientific nature of the’ scientific’ discussion of homoeopathy. In the main, it is not a discussion of the principles, characteristics and implications of homoeopathy but of the question “do potencies and in particular, high potencies, have a specific effect?” The translation of this question into clinical research leads to the question posed by David Reilly in the title of his famous hayfever trial published in Lancet in 1986: “Is homoeopathy a placebo response?” (Reilly et al. 1986).
Imagine that you have been assigned to evaluate a parapsychological claim. The assignment could be from a journal editor or from a media outlet. Or it could come from a granting agency or an instructor. You might be faced with such a task in your role as a referee for a professional journal. Or you might take on the assignment out of curiosity. How would you proceed? Your first step might be to decide on the scope of the parapsychological claim. Are you dealing with a specific claim based on one experiment? Or is the claim based on evidence from a series of experiments? Perhaps you want to assess the status of the entire field of parapsychology. What, indeed, makes a claim “parapsychological?” The term parapsychology was borrowed by J. B. Rhine to refer to what previously had been called psychical research. With the new label, Rhine wanted to promote an experimental science. Previous to Rhine, psychical research had focused on field investigations of haunted houses, tests of spiritualist mediums, surveys of premonitory dreams, and other dramatic, but controversial, paranormal claims. Rhine wanted parapsychology to focus on quantitative evidence obtained in controlled, laboratory settings. Beginning in the 1930s, parapsychologists started accumulating experimental evidence for the existence of extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK). According to the glossary in the back of The Journal of Parapsychology, ESP is defined as “Experience of, or response to, a target object, state, event, or influence without sensory contact.” ESP includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
In this double-blind exploratory study 74 subjects participated forming 37 couples (sender/receiver). The sender watched a video and tried to send it to the receiver, who was located 120 meters away. At the end of the sending/receiving period (28 min.) the receiver watched four videos and tried to identify which one had been sent. There were two experimental conditions. In the Ganzfeld (GZ) condition the researchers and subjects heard a 20-minute relaxation induction. The receiver's eyes were covered with halved Ping-Pong balls, upon which two red lights were projected, and they listened to "white noise" during the experimental session. In the non-Ganzfeld (NGZ) condition, neither the Ping-Pong balls nor the "white noise" were used and there was no relaxation induction. From July of 2001 to March of 2002, 108 trials (54 GZ and 54 NGZ) were carried out. There was no overall significance (hit rate 25,93%), Z=0.11, π=0.51. The NGZ and GZ hits (18,52%, Z=-0.94, π=0.41 and 33,33%, Z=1.26, π=0.60 respectively) did not reach significance. However the GZ hits were in the direction of the findings reported in the Ganzfeld meta-analysis by Bem and Honorton (1994). The difference between the GZ and NGZ hits was significant, p=.0228 one-tailed. We also found that the targets that were hit were evaluated by receivers (in terms of personal preference and personal meaning) higher than the targets that were not hit. Analysis of the qualitative content of hits and misses suggested that in future studies the qualitative results should be considered along with the conventional methodology of hits vs. misses. These results seem to be similar to the qualitative findings found by Parker.
Conjurors have written books on the paranormal since the 1500s. A number of these books are listed and briefly discussed herein, including those of both skeptics and proponents. Lists of magicians on both sides of the psi controversy are provided. Although many people perceive conjurors to be skeptics and debunkers, some of the most prominent magicians in history have endorsed the reality of psychic phenomena. The reader is warned that conjurors' public statements asserting the reality of psi are sometimes difficult to eval- uate. Some mentalists publicly claim psychic abilities but privately admit that they do not believe in them; others privately acknowledge their own psychic experiences. Thme current books are fully reviewed: EntraSensory Deception by Henry Gordon (1987), Forbidden Knowledge by Bob Couttie (1988), and Secrets of the Supernatural by Joe Nickel1 (with Fischer, 1988). The books by Gordon and Couttie contain serious errors and are of little value, but the work by Nickel1 is a worthwhile contribution, though only partially concerned with psi.
In this article we study how reported speech markers are used as procedural resources in a laboratory based parapsychology experiment to investigate forms of anomalous communication, such as extrasensory perception. In particular, we focus on how specific activities in a key part of the experiment are mediated by the use of `you said' formulations which project that whatever is said next is a paraphrase or a verbatim report of what the recipient had said earlier. We identify two uses of reported speech markers. First, they are used in utterances that initiate some form of repair, such as correction or clarification. Second, they cluster in sequential locations that mark, after a temporary suspension, the resumption of key activities in the experiment. In this we hope to contribute to the study of the institutional properties of reported speech. We conclude by discussing the ways in which broader cultural understandings of the inferential force of `you said' formulations inform their use in this institutional setting, and reflecting on the significance of these findings for parapsychological investigation of anomalous communication in this setting.
A sample of 64 introductory psychology textbooks published between 1980 and 1989 were reviewed for the amount and type of coverage of parapsychology. Approximately two thirds of the textbooks discussed the topic, but most of the coverage was cursory and judged not to represent work conducted by parapsychologists during the past 10 to 15 years. Various errors in presentation appeared to result from an overreliance on secondary sources. Two general attitudes pervaded most authors' summary statements on the subject—skepticism about the existence of ESP and open-mindedness—with the hope that future research will resolve the question.
Argues that many skeptics of parapsychology adopt an uncritical attitude toward conventional explanations for ostensible psychic events (OPEs). A nonpejorative label for this group of critics would be the term conventional theorists, which does not assume an unbiased attitude. Examples from the literature of the uncritical bias of this group of critics and why their approach cannot resolve the psi controversy are discussed. A new direction is called for toward criticizing all the current explanations of OPEs, recognizing that none are satisfactory, and maintaining faith in the ability of the scientific method to eventually provide the correct ones. This would require research from both paranormal and conventional perspectives. It is proposed that this approach be called progressive skepticism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This book is intended to afford a complete review of the recent research in extra-sensory perception (ESP), in the light of all of the criticisms that it has drawn. It is the purpose of the authors to include in this survey everything that is of importance to know in deciding whether ESP occurs, and what it is like if it does occur. It is their hope that the presentation will be clear enough to permit a view of the work in proper perspective, and yet technical enough to answer all the relevant questions as far as they have been answered by the results of experiments. The authors have attempted to condense: (a) all the experimental and evaluative methods by which the research has been done and by which its adequacy must be judged; (b) all of the results obtained--grouped, classified, and analyzed so as to enable them to be assayed critically from the point of view of all possible alternatives; (c) a thorough digest of the criticisms, both constructive and otherwise; and (d) all of these as they bear upon the clarified question about which the research is concerned, with as much of an answer to that question as the assembled material permits. In addition--and assuming that ESP occurs--there is given here a summary of all the established and partially established relations of ESP to better-known processes, indicating the relations between ESP and the individual, the relation of ESP to the conditions under which it is tested, indications of its place in the physical and mental worlds, as far as these are shown by the results. And last, for the student, the experimenter, and the forward-looking follower of these experiments, there is a sketch of the outstanding problems that still remain unsolved, the methods under contemplation by which they may possibly be solved, and the further needs and prospects which confront investigators now dealing with ESP and associated problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Describes procedures, based on the Bonferroni inequality, for avoiding increases in Type I errors that typically occur when an increasing number of contrasts is to be computed. The 3 types of Bonferroni tests differ in the degree to which the planned contrasts are specified beforehand and the relative importance attached to each one. This system of procedures is recommended for its flexibility, simplicity, and generality. When the power of the basic Bonferroni method is focused (by ordering the contrasts or other tests of significance by their importance), the disadvantage of conservatism can be overcome. Calculations are appended. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Describes a critical evaluation of 42 ganzfeld psi studies from 34 reports written or published from 1974 through 1981. Allegedly, 55% of these studies achieved significance on the primary index of psi. Taking into account ambiguities and inconsistencies in what is counted as an independent ganzfeld study, and citing evidence suggestive of a bias in reporting the studies, it is argued that the actual rate of success was at most 30%. The author calculates that, because of multiple testing, the true significance level was much higher than the assumed .05 level, perhaps .25 or higher. The author also reports a number of procedural flaws involving inadequate randomization, potentials for sensory leakage, and statistical errors. A meta-analysis based on indices of significance and effect size as they relate to the various categories of flaws is presented. The flaws of inadequate security, possible sensory leakage, and multiple testing did not correlate with significance and effect size. Flaws involving inadequate randomization and insufficient documentation, however, did correlate with these indices. It is noted that both effect size and
Z scores become approximately zero when regression equations are used to predict their values for the case in which these latter types of flaws are zero. It is concluded that this data base is too weak to support any assertions about the existence of psi. A list of the studies examined is appended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Randomization and tests for randomness
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Response to Hyman's critique of psi ganzfeld studies
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Does the ganzfeld experiment answer the critics' objections?
- R Hyman
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