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A Joint Communiqué: The Psi Ganzfeld Controversy

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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)

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... In reply, Honorton (1985) argued that the studies, although not perfect, nevertheless supported the existence of psi. The debate ended with Hyman and Honorton (1986) coauthoring an article in which they concluded We continue to differ over the degree to which the effect constitutes evidence for psi, but we agree that the final verdict awaits the outcome of future experiments conducted by a broader range of investigators and according to more stringent standards (p. 351). ...
... Most parapsychological laboratories with an interest in extrasensory perception research have conducted ganzfeld studies in the 10 years since the publication of Hyman and Honorton's (1986) guidelines. We are now therefore in a position to discover whether a "broader range of investigators" has successfully replicated the autoganzfeld results while paying the same attention to methodological stringency. ...
... Only studies that began in 1987 or later (the date established by writing to the authors, if necessary) and published by February 1997 when our survey was completed were included in our analysis in order that the studies' designers would have had access to Hyman and Honorton's (1986) guidelines for ganzfeld research. As with the earlier studies before them, the 11 autoganzfeld studies varied considerably in procedure, so it would not have been possible to restrict the meta-analysis to examining exact replication attempts of the autoganzfeld work, nor is it known which, if any, procedures that might have been common to all of the autoganzfeld studies might have been crucial to success, ruling out the possibility of seeking a database of studies that replicated the autoganzfeld studies in their essentials. ...
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D. J. Bem and C. Honorton (1994) recently presented in this journal a set of ganzfeld extrasensory perception (ESP) experiments conducted by C. Honorton that appeared to support the existence of a communication anomaly. In this article, the authors present a meta-analysis of 30 ganzfeld ESP studies from 7 independent laboratories adhering to the same stringent methodological guidelines that C. Honorton followed. The studies failed to confirm his main effect of participants scoring above chance on the ESP task, Stouffer z = 0.70, p = .24, one-tailed; M effect size (z/N1/2) = 0.013, SD = 0.23. The new studies included replication attempts of 3 out of 5 internal effects reported as statistically significant by D. J. Bem and C. Honorton. Only 1 was confirmed, and the authors found that D. J. Bem and C. Honorton were mistaken in describing the original effect as being statistically significant. The authors conclude that the ganzfeld technique does not at present offer a replicable method for producing ESP in the laboratory.
... 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. ...
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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
... This divergence was also reflected in our narrative data, where skeptics (both academic and lay) singled out the importance of reproducible, experimental evidence for psi, which they consider to be lacking, and discounted the relevance of personal experience. Despite historic disagreement and even vitriol, members of the two groups have previously conducted successful and informative "skeptic-proponent collaborations" (Hyman and Honorton, 1986;Schlitz et al., 2006), highlighting areas of agreement including methodological improvements for future psi studies. These collaborative efforts have been acknowledged as valuable to the field by the psi researcher community (Roe, 2017;Parapsychological Association, 2023). ...
... These collaborative efforts have been acknowledged as valuable to the field by the psi researcher community (Roe, 2017;Parapsychological Association, 2023). Over time, such engagements have contributed to a shift in the nature of the disagreement, moving from disputes about "the existence of [anomalous] effects to their interpretation" (Hyman and Honorton, 1986;Honorton, 1993). ...
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Introduction: Belief in psi, which includes psychic phenomena such as extra-sensory perception and post-mortem survival, is widespread yet controversial. According to one of the leading and perhaps most tested hypotheses, high belief in psi can be explained by differences in various aspects of cognition, including cognitive styles. Most of this research has been conducted with lay individuals. Here, we tested the hypothesis that academic researchers who investigate psi may exhibit different cognitive styles than lay individuals interested in psi, and are more similar to skeptics. Methods: We measured two cognitive styles—actively open-minded thinking (AOT) and the need for closure (NFC)—and assessed differences among four heterogeneous groups regarding belief in psi and involvement in related research. Specifically, our study included academic psi researchers (N = 44), lay individuals who believe in psi (N = 32), academics who are skeptics of psi (N = 35), and lay individuals who are skeptics (N = 33). Results: We found group differences in AOT (p = 0.003) but not in NFC scores (p = 0.67). Post hoc tests showed no significant difference in AOT scores between academics who conduct psi research (4.5 ± 0.3) and academic skeptics (4.5 ± 0.3; p = 0.91) or lay skeptics (4.5 ± 0.4; p = 0.80). The lay psi group had significantly lower AOT scores (4.2 ± 0.4) than the other three groups (ps: 0.005–0.04), indicating a decreased willingness to consider a range of evidence when forming an opinion, including evidence that challenges their beliefs. AOT was negatively associated with psi belief in the two skeptic groups combined (r = −0.29, p = 0.01), but not in the psi groups (r = −0.03, p = 0.78). Discussion: Our research shows that academics who work with psi differ from lay psi individuals, but not from skeptics, in actively open-minded thinking. In other words, despite their high belief in psi phenomena, psi researchers demonstrate a commitment to sound reasoning about evidence that is no different from that of skeptics.
... This divergence was also reflected in our narrative data, where skeptics (both academic and lay) singled out the importance of reproducible, experimental evidence for psi, which they consider to be lacking, and discounted the relevance of personal experience. Despite historic disagreement and even vitriol, members of the two groups have previously conducted successful and informative "skeptic-proponent collaborations" (Hyman and Honorton, 1986;Schlitz et al., 2006), highlighting areas of agreement including methodological improvements for future psi studies. These collaborative efforts have been acknowledged as valuable to the field by the psi researcher community (Roe, 2017;Parapsychological Association, 2023). ...
... These collaborative efforts have been acknowledged as valuable to the field by the psi researcher community (Roe, 2017;Parapsychological Association, 2023). Over time, such engagements have contributed to a shift in the nature of the disagreement, moving from disputes about "the existence of [anomalous] effects to their interpretation" (Hyman and Honorton, 1986;Honorton, 1993). ...
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Introduction Belief in psi, which includes psychic phenomena such as extra-sensory perception and post-mortem survival, is widespread yet controversial. According to one of the leading and perhaps most tested hypotheses, high belief in psi can be explained by differences in various aspects of cognition, including cognitive styles. Most of this research has been conducted with lay individuals. Here, we tested the hypothesis that academic researchers who investigate psi may exhibit different cognitive styles than lay individuals interested in psi, and are more similar to skeptics. Methods We measured two cognitive styles—actively open-minded thinking (AOT) and the need for closure (NFC)—and assessed differences among four heterogeneous groups regarding belief in psi and involvement in related research. Specifically, our study included academic psi researchers (N = 44), lay individuals who believe in psi (N = 32), academics who are skeptics of psi (N = 35), and lay individuals who are skeptics (N = 33). Results We found group differences in AOT (p = 0.003) but not in NFC scores (p = 0.67). Post hoc tests showed no significant difference in AOT scores between academics who conduct psi research (4.5 ± 0.3) and academic skeptics (4.5 ± 0.3; p = 0.91) or lay skeptics (4.5 ± 0.4; p = 0.80). The lay psi group had significantly lower AOT scores (4.2 ± 0.4) than the other three groups (ps: 0.005–0.04), indicating a decreased willingness to consider a range of evidence when forming an opinion, including evidence that challenges their beliefs. AOT was negatively associated with psi belief in the two skeptic groups combined (r = −0.29, p = 0.01), but not in the psi groups (r = −0.03, p = 0.78). Discussion Our research shows that academics who work with psi differ from lay psi individuals, but not from skeptics, in actively open-minded thinking. In other words, despite their high belief in psi phenomena, psi researchers demonstrate a commitment to sound reasoning about evidence that is no different from that of skeptics.
... Research on ganzfeld has been meta-analyzed repeatedly and is the most consistently supportive database for psi of the last few decades. The methodological development of ganzfeld research followed a joint communiqué by psi-critic Ray Hyman and psi-proponent Charles Honorton (Hyman & Honorton, 1986) on how to conduct the experiments. The most recent and comprehensive meta-analyses of the database by Storm et al. (2010b) and Williams (2011) supported a psi effect. ...
... In addition, this is such a small field that most researchers know who is researching what and can inquire about unpublished data to conduct meta-analyses. There are also known complete psi data sets that support the psi hypothesis (Baptista et al., 2015), and a psi critic wrote that selective publication is less evident in psi than in other areas (Hyman & Honorton, 1986). Furthermore, it should not be assumed that failures to replicate are not submitted for publication, whereas supportive experiments are. ...
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This article presents a comprehensive integration of current experimental evidence and theories about so-called parapsychological (psi) phenomena. Throughout history, people have reported events that seem to violate the common sense view of space and time. Some psychologists have been at the forefront of investigating these phenomena with sophisticated research protocols and theory, while others have devoted much of their careers to criticizing the field. Both stances can be explained by psychologists’ expertise on relevant processes such as perception, memory, belief, and conscious and nonconscious processes. This article clarifies the domain of psi, summarizes recent theories from physics and psychology that present psi phenomena as at least plausible, and then provides an overview of recent/updated meta-analyses. The evidence provides cumulative support for the reality of psi, which cannot be readily explained away by the quality of the studies, fraud, selective reporting, experimental or analytical incompetence, or other frequent criticisms. The evidence for psi is comparable to that for established phenomena in psychology and other disciplines, although there is no consensual understanding of them. The article concludes with recommendations for further progress in the field including the use of project and data repositories, conducting multidisciplinary studies with enough power, developing further nonconscious measures of psi and falsifiable theories, analyzing the characteristics of successful sessions and participants, improving the ecological validity of studies, testing how to increase effect sizes, recruiting more researchers at least open to the possibility of psi, and situating psi phenomena within larger domains such as the study of consciousness.
... Accordingly, that is the nature of our analyses in our first pass effort to examine the likelihood that methodological flaws are driving the results of the ganzfeld studies to an appreciable degree. Hyman (1985) and Honorton (1985) were agreed (Hyman and Honorton, 1986) that new studies were needed that would take account of the flaws they had found in their critiques of earlier research. Since our present paper was completed we have learned of a series of 10 new studies conducted by Honorton, one of the four investigators singled out by the Committee on Techniques for the Enhancement of Human Performance as among the best in the country (Druckman and Swets l 1988, p. 22). ...
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Monica J. Harris and Robert Rosenthal were commissioned by the National Research Council to conduct meta-analyses and review five areas of potential human enhancement. Despite finding that ganzfeld psi research followed the most rigorous protocols they were pressured to withdraw their supportive evaluation of psi, but refused to do so. This is their original report, with only very minor formatting changes. Among other things, Harris and Rosenthal concluded that “it would be implausible to entertain the null given the combined p from these 28 studies… when the accuracy rate expected under the null is 1/4, we estimate the obtained accuracy rate to be about 1/3.” They were then asked to analyze the effect of potential design and procedure flaws and, after doing so, they concluded that: “Our analysis of the effects of flaws on study outcome lends no support to the hypothesis."
... Again, no evidence of artifacts. 21 For the Ganzfeld domain, significant declines over time have been observed (see Bierman, 2001;Milton & Wiseman, 1999), but ostensible declines 22 existed long before Hyman and Honorton (1986) implemented guidelines that focussed on qualitatively improving the Ganzfeld methodology, so it cannot be assumed that study quality was single-handedly responsible for those declines. As Palmer (1986) pointed out, it should not be assumed that declines result from removal of flaws, just as it is presumptuous to claim that past Ganzfeld successes were due to the presence of flaws. ...
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In this paper, the phenomenology of the Trickster (its ‘darker’ side) is explored. The archetypal Trickster is shown to manifest as psychosociological aberrations and bizarre physical effects often associated with unique individuals during certain emotionally charged states. Though the Trickster and its many variants have mythological roots, the modern-day equivalent (free, for example, from anthropomorphization) can be seen as an activated psychological proneness to err in thinking when a liminal phase is entered into—that borderland between doubt and certainty. Mainstream academia considers the field of parapsychology to be controversial—it is marginalized because the phenomena it studies (the paranormal) is mostly illusive, usually weak even when proved to be statistically anomalous, and the psi process itself has not been theoretically explained. This state of affairs propagates uncertainty which can trigger ‘tricksterish’ (spurious) interpretations of parapsychological data and findings: Long-term experimenter psi and chronological decline effects are cases in point. Due caution and bias-free analysis of the data and findings may help ameliorate, perhaps even dissolve, the problem of the Trickster.
... The ganzfeld method for studying telepathy is also important because much of its methodology has been influenced through collaboration between Charles Honorton, a psi advocate, and Ray Hyman, a skeptic. After debating the overall results of 28 ganzfeld studies, Honorton and Hyman agreed to collaborate and generate a set of experimental protocols designed to alleviate the potential flaws identified in the previous collection of studies (Honorton and Hyman, 1986). ...
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Some skeptics of the psi data have considered David Hume’s argument in his essay _On Miracles_ as a potent weapon against the psi evidence. Following their interpretation of Hume, they typically argue that, because the findings on psi must be viewed as violations of the laws of nature, the most likely interpretation is the presence of questionable research methods or fraud. For a number of reasons, I argue that the psi critics who use Hume in this way have misunderstood his arguments, and that his famous chapter concerning miracles does not offer the resources to dismiss the psi data. In particular, I discuss how Hume’s arguments on the nature of causality do not support the sorts of “laws” that psi skeptics have in mind. Another key problem for psi critics is that their core argument generally hinges on establishing principles from a particular domain of inquiry in order to constrain or limit allowable findings in another domain that may have different characteristics and properties. I also explore how Hume’s arguments linking our understanding of the world’s causal nature with custom and sentiment support a Kuhnian framework that describes scientific practice in terms of paradigms. I then turn to how we might understand the debate around psi through Hume’s arguments that our beliefs on matters of fact are to a degree constructed through habit and sentiment.
... A few years ago, I was performing a study examining the effects of meditation on the performance of psi tasks. One of the tasks was a Ganzfeld session that followed the standard auto-Ganzfeld protocol developed by Honorton and Hyman (1986). One exception is that the sessions did not include a sender, but instead required the participant to demonstrate clairvoyant or precognitive abilities, depending upon your interpretation of the GESP session. ...
... We nonetheless adopt Schooler et al.'s (2018, p. 63) perspective of "entertaining without endorsing" for the sake of the present exercise. Thus, our analysis of LAP relative to the survival hypothesis is conducted from an impartial stance that continues previous adversarial or cross-disciplinary collaborations in psi research (e.g., Honorton & Hyman, 1986;Kennedy, 2004;Laythe et al., 2021;Laythe & Houran, 2022;LeBel et al., 2022;Parnia et al., 2022;Schlitz et al., 2006;Tressoldi et al., 2022). At the same time, we emphasize that our proposed analysis does not directly test the survival hypothesis. ...
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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 supports (i.e., "anomalous effects") or refutes (i.e., "known confounds") the survival hypothesis. But unlike the earlier application, this research included a study-specific estimate of the hypothesized variable of "living agent psi" via a new meta-analysis of empirical studies (N = 17) with exceptional subjects vs participants from the general population. Our updated analysis found that putative psi was a meaningful variable, although it along with other known confounds still did not account for 30.3% of survival-related phenomena that appear to attest directly to human consciousness continuing after physical (biological) death. Thus, the popular conventional variables that we measured here are seemingly insufficient to account for a sizable portion of the purported empirical data that has been interpreted as evidence of survival. Our conclusion is nonetheless tempered by several assumptions and limitations of our speculative exercise, which ultimately does not affirm the existence of an ‘afterlife’ but rather highlights the need for measurements with greater precision and/ or a more comprehensive set of quantifiable variables. Therefore, we discuss how our probabilistic approach provides important heuristics to guide future research in this highly controversial domain that touches both parapsychology and transpersonal psychology.
... 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. ...
Article
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. ...
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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. ...
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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. ...
Article
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. ...
Article
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? ...
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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: ...
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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%. ...
Preprint
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. ...
Article
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. ...
Article
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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. ...
Article
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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. ...
Article
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. ...
Article
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 approximately .08 (.04 -.12). 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 a covariate, did not indicate sign of decline of this effect size. The moderators’ analyses show that the selected participants’ effect size was almost three-times that obtained by non-selected participants and that tasks that simulate telepathic communication show a two-fold effect size for 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
Article
Full-text available
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 approximately .08 (.04 -.12). 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 a covariate, did not indicate sign of decline of this effect size. The moderators’ analyses show that the selected participants’ effect size was almost three-times that obtained by non-selected participants and that tasks that simulate telepathic communication show a two-fold effect size for 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
Article
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Objectives Since 1972, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) commissioned several research programs on remote viewing (RV) that were progressively declassified from 1995 to 2003. The main objectives of this research were to statistically replicate the original findings and address the question: What are the underlying cognitive mechanisms involved in RV? The research focused on emotional intelligence (EI) theory and intuitive information processing as possible hypothetical mechanisms. Methods We used a quasi‐experimental design with new statistical control techniques based on structural equation modeling, analysis of invariance, and forced‐choice experiments to accurately objectify results. We measured emotional intelligence with the Mayer—Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test. A total of 347 participants who were nonbelievers in psychic experiences completed an RV experiment using targets based on location coordinates. A total of 287 participants reported beliefs in psychic experiences and completed another RV experiment using targets based on images of places. Moreover, we divided the total sample into further subsamples for the purpose of replicating the findings and also used different thresholds on standard deviations to test for variation in effect sizes. The hit rates on the psi‐RV task were contrasted with the estimated chance. Results The results of our first group analysis were nonsignificant, but the analysis applied to the second group produced significant RV‐related effects corresponding to the positive influence of EI (i.e., hits in the RV experiments were 19.5% predicted from EI) with small to moderate effect sizes (between 0. 457 and 0.853). Conclusions These findings have profound implications for a new hypothesis of anomalous cognitions relative to RV protocols. Emotions perceived during RV sessions may play an important role in the production of anomalous cognitions. We propose the Production‐Identification‐Comprehension (PIC) emotional model as a function of behavior that could enhance VR test success.
Chapter
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.
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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.
Article
Full-text available
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.
Article
Full-text available
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Jednou z hlavních námitek proti parapsychologii je, že její experimenty nejsou replikovatelné. Z diskuse mezi obhájci a kritiky tohoto oboru však vysvítá, že obě strany chápou požadavek replikace odlišným způsobem. Na základě sporu o parapsychologii lze rozlišit několik typů replikace – statistickou replikaci, krátkodobě a dlouhodobě spolehlivou replikaci, dva typy nezávislé replikace, retrospektivní a prospektivní replikaci. Bez explicitního rozlišování těchto různých kritérií nelze o problému parapsychologie konstruktivně diskutovat.
Chapter
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.
Chapter
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).
Article
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.
Article
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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)
Article
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)
Article
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)
Article
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)
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