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Extraversion and ESP performance: A meta-analysis and a new confirmation
Abstract
We report a meta-analysis of research on the relationship between performance in extrasensory perception (ESP) tasks and the psychological trait extraversion. The meta-analysis comprises 60 independent studies, 17 independent investigators, and 2,963 subjects. The overall weighted mean correlation is small (r = .09), significant (z = 4.63, p = .000004), and nonhomogeneous. For forced-choice ESP studies (N = 45), the ESP/extraversion relationship appears to be an artifact of subjects' knowledge of their ESP performance upon their responses to the extraversion measure: evidence for the relationship is limited to studies where subjects completed the ESP task prior to extraversion assessment (N = 18 studies, r = .17, z = 3.51); no evidence for an ESP/extraversion relationship exists in studies where extraversion was assessed before the ESP task (N = 16 studies, r = -.02, z = -0.78). The two correlations differ significantly (z = 3.58, p = .00045). For free-response studies, a significant ESP/extraversion relationship exists that is free of this problem: extraversion testing preceded the ESP task in 11 of the 14 free-response studies (r = .21, z = 4.57, p = .000005). The ESP/extraversion relationship is both significant (r = .20, z = 4.46, p = .0000083) and homogeneous in the subset of free-response studies involving individual testing (N = 12 studies). The effect is homogeneous across investigators and extraversion scales. We also report a new confirmation of the ESP/extraversion relationship using the Extraversion/Introversion Scale of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The effect size (r =. 18, t = 2.67, 219 df, p = .008) is very close to the meta-analytic estimate for free-response studies (r = .20) and is homogeneous across the eight experimenters. While the relationship between extraversion and ESP in the forced-choice studies is probably artifactual, we conclude that there is a significant ESP/extraversion relationship in the free-response studies, that the relationship is consistent across investigators and scales, and that meta-analysis of parapsychological research domains has predictive validity.
... Alternatively, in other earlier meta-analyses (extra-version-ESP, sheep-goat effect), when methodological quality is constant over time, effect size is either constant over time (Honorton et al., 1998;Lawrence, 1993) or in decline (Honorton et al., 1998), although that one decline refers to extraversion/ESP forced-choice studies only (not extraversion/ESP free response), and the authors attribute the decline to an artifact due to administration of the extraversion measure before the ESP task in earlier studies. In these cases, we could have an artifact caused by poor quality, but there is little to go on. ...
... Alternatively, in other earlier meta-analyses (extra-version-ESP, sheep-goat effect), when methodological quality is constant over time, effect size is either constant over time (Honorton et al., 1998;Lawrence, 1993) or in decline (Honorton et al., 1998), although that one decline refers to extraversion/ESP forced-choice studies only (not extraversion/ESP free response), and the authors attribute the decline to an artifact due to administration of the extraversion measure before the ESP task in earlier studies. In these cases, we could have an artifact caused by poor quality, but there is little to go on. ...
... For Remote Staring, the effect-size/quality correlation was positive and non-significant. 21 In some studies, we cannot draw any strong conclu-sions because findings were limited-that is, patterns over time were not checked for quality or were not checked for both quality and effect size (Honorton et al., 1998). 22 Surprisingly, Honorton (1985) did not test the correlation between effect size and year of study-if he did, he would have found a weak negative (albeit crucially non-significant) relationship for his 28-study database, r(26) = -0.20, ...
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.
... Previously, there have been two meta-analyses conducted on individual differences in psi laboratory research: one looking at extraversion (Honorton, Ferrari, & Bem, 1998) and the other looking at belief in psi, or what is known as the sheep-goat effect (Lawrence, 1993). Both meta-analyses found a relationship with psi performance (r = .09 ...
... In these instances, correlations were estimated using a method for estimating effect sizes from critical ratios described by Mc-Carthy and Schechter (1986), providing an estimate of Cohen's d-this was then converted to the r metric. Unreported correlations were estimated using the provided p values, whereas studies that reported only nonsignificance had their correlation set to .00, 3 a practice consistent with the approach adopted by Honorton et al. (1998) in their meta-analysis of extraversion and ESP performance. Where necessary, correlation signs were adjusted to reflect the appropriate relationship between the individual difference measure and psi performance. ...
... This suggests that there is a small but signifi cant relationship between extraversion and psi performance, such that people who are extraverted tend to perform better than those who are more introverted. This result is consistent with previous studies that have also found a positive relationship between extraversion and psi performance (Mangan, 1958;Palmer, 1978;Honorton et al., 1998). Furthermore, a test of heterogeneity was not signifi cant (Q = 17.23, p = .19), ...
Previous research in parapsychology has not been particularly persuasive, in large part due to a lack of replicability of significant findings. To address these concerns and better understand which factors may be associated with stronger and more consistent effect sizes, all forced-choice precognition experiments analysing individual differences (e.g., personality traits) were aggregated to determine which factors might reliably predict psi performance. Overall, 55 studies published between 1945 and 2016, including 35 individual difference measures, were subject to meta-analysis. Six individual difference measures, namely, luck belief (the belief that luck is primarily controllable), perceptual defensiveness, openness to experience, belief in psi, extraversion, and time belief as dynamic, were found to significantly correlate with psi performance. Given the particularly straightforward nature of forced-choice precognition experiments, a promising future avenue would be to explore these factors in confirmatory studies. It is hoped that researchers can model their future experiments off these findings in conjunction with preregistration techniques, to ultimately create a more systematic and robust database.
... For the correlations, we also calculated power with respect to a small but meaningful correlation between a variable of our questionnaire and psi performance. Toward this goal, we chose the correlation between extraversion and extrasensory perception from the meta-analysis by Honorton et al. (1998;r = 0.18, p = .008). By using the bottom CI (90%) of this correlation (r = 0.12), the corrected α level (p = .003) ...
... This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. For the correlations, as in Experiment 1, we calculated power by using the correlation between extraversion and extrasensory perception from the meta-analysis by Honorton et al. (1998;r = 0.18, p = .008). By using the bottom CI (90%) of this correlation (r = 0.12), the corrected α level (p = .003) ...
Precognition describes the ability to anticipate information about a future event before this event occurs. The goal of our study was to test the occurrence of precognition by trying to replicate three experiments of the most central study in the field (Bem, 2011, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology). In this study, Bem time-reversed well-established psychological effects so that a “causal” stimulus appeared after the participants gave their response. We conducted two priming experiments and a free recall experiment in the backward “precognition” version and, as a control manipulation, in the classic forward version. More than 2000 participants participated via the Internet; thus, our study had high statistical power. The results showed no precognition effects at all. We further conducted exploratory post hoc analyses on different variables and questionnaire items and found some significant effects. Further studies should validate these potentially interesting findings by using theory-driven hypotheses, preregistrations, and confirmatory data analyses.
... Paradigmatica è in tal senso la ricerca dei fattori mediatori awenuta con le meta-analisi sul ganzfeld. L'accrescimento del tasso di successo è stato legato alla presenza di soggetti estroversi, stimoli target dínamici (filmati in contrapposizione a singole immagini); rapporti di amicizia tra sender e receiver, e di soggetti conprecedenti esperienze di espertmenti parapsicologici (Honorton, Ferrari & Bem, 1992). Alki studi hanno centrato l'attenzione sui fattori che possono innalzare la performance di soggetti che per la prima volta partecipano agli esperimenti ganzfeld (Honorton, 1992;Honorton & Schechter, 1987): sono stati evidenziati la quantitù di esperienze psi che i soggetti ritenevano di aver personalmente vissuto, il punteggio alle scale feeling e perception del test MBTI (Myers"Briggs Type Indicator),Ia pratica di discipline mentali (p.e. ...
... conferma dagli studi primari, gli unici che hanno, con Ia logica della significatività, un valore qualitativo, che conferisce loro rllevanza teorica. Le consegueîze di questa maîcanza di concettualizzazione sono facilmente visibili; nonostante inizialmente si sia affermato che I'estroversione non è un fattore moderatore degli esperimenti con modalità di risposta a scelta forzata (si tratterebbe soltanto di ún artefatto dovuto all'ordine di somministrazione del test) (Honorton, Ferrari & Bem, 1992); è stato successivamente affermato, sempre con un'analisi di tipo statistico (la regressione multipla), che l'artefatto non sussiste perché I'ordine di somministrazione è una variabile confusa con il tipo di somministrazione (individuale vs. di gruppo) (Palmer & Carpenter, 1998). Per di più la più recante metaanalisi pubblicata sul ganzfeld ha mostrato I'assenza di qualsiasi correlazione con i target dinamici e con I'aver già avuto precedenti esperienze presunte paranormali, confermando invece soltanto la relazione con la pratrca di discipline mentali. ...
Ganzfeld experiment and meta-analysis in parapsychology
... As an example the correlation of performance in a psi task with the personality variable 'extraversion' is mentioned. This weak correlation of about 0.20 was originally established by examining the relevant freeresponse studies between 1945 and 1983 (Honorton, Ferrari & Bem, 1992) and was later 'confirmed' in the Auto Ganzfeld database where a slightly smaller correlation between extraversion and psi-score of 0.18 was found. However in the replication attempts of the Utrecht, Durham and Edinburgh group in the mid nineties the correlations declined even further from r=0.15 in the Utrecht replication via virtually nothing in the Durham replication to even a negative relationship in the Edinburgh replication. ...
... The analysis is not sensitive for the removal of three outliers. In fact the analysis is conservative because part of the data produced by PRL using dynamic targets (which runs counter to the decline effect) is included twice in the database because it is unclear which auto-ganzfeld data from the final publication(Honorton et al, 1990) had been reported before. ...
... Extraversion has historically been associated with the occurrence of anomalous information transfer (Eysenck, 1967;Palmer, 1978;Rao, 1974). In a meta-analysis, Honorton, Ferrari, and Bem (1998) found a correlation of r ϭ .21, z ϭ 4.57, p ϭ .000005, ...
... for 11 studies using free-response tasks in which the measure of extraversion was given to participants before engaging in efforts at extrasensory perception. Nevertheless, the researchers concluded that any correlation of extraversion with forcedchoice tasks was an artifact of participants having received the extraversion measure after completing the experimental tasks (Honorton et al., 1998). The conclusion that extraversion is unrelated to forced-choice extrasensory perception tasks has been challenged, however, with the assertion that correlations for forced-choice tasks are comparable to those of free-response tasks under individual testing (Palmer & Carpenter, 1998). ...
In two temporally inverted memory experiments, Daryl Bem found that participants had better recall for words that were practiced after the recall task than for control words that were not practiced after the recall task. We attempted to replicate the second of Bem’s two experiments with the addition of a personality measure. After completing the Six Factor Personality Questionnaire, participants (n = 102) interacted with a computer on which they were shown 48 nouns, one at a time, then asked to type as many of the words as they could recall, and then asked to practice a random selection of 24 of the 48 words. The mean number of practice words that were on the typed recall list was 9.32, whereas the mean number of control words was 9.53 with t(101) = −0.55, p = .58 (two-tailed), Cohen’s d = −0.060. The correlation of the difference between practice and control words with Bem’s stimulus seeking scale is r(100) = –.081, p = .42 (two-tailed). Multiple linear regression of Bem’s scale on personality facets revealed that Bem’s scale does not appear to measure stimulus seeking. The correlation between the difference score and a scale constructed to measure stimulus seeking from the facets of the personality questionnaire was r(100) = –.063, p = .53 (two-tailed). We found no evidence for retroactive facilitation of recall and no correlations of the difference score with any personality measures. Possible reasons for a failure to find retrocausal recall are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
... As an example the correlation of performance in a psi task with the personality variable 'extraversion' is mentioned. This weak correlation of about 0.20 was originally established by examining the relevant freeresponse studies between 1945 and 1983 (Honorton, Ferrari & Bem, 1992) and was later 'confirmed' in the Auto Ganzfeld database where a slightly smaller correlation between extraversion and psi-score of 0.18 was found. However in the replication attempts of the Utrecht, Durham and Edinburgh group in the mid nineties the correlations declined even further from r=0.15 in the Utrecht replication via virtually nothing in the Durham replication to even a negative relationship in the Edinburgh replication. ...
... The analysis is not sensitive for the removal of three outliers. In fact the analysis is conservative because part of the data produced by PRL using dynamic targets (which runs counter to the decline effect) is included twice in the database because it is unclear which auto-ganzfeld data from the final publication(Honorton et al, 1990) had been reported before. ...
Cumulating evidence suggests that anomalous correlations occur between mental (conscious and non-conscious) states and apparently unrelated physical or mental phenomena at a distance in space and time. In spite of the fact that the evidence is very strong, these correlations are difficult to replicate. Several examples are given of 'failures' to empirically replicate 1 original anomalies. It is speculated that this failure to replicate, rather than indicating that the original findings are due to statistical flukes or errors, suggests that when consciousness interacts with matter, an underlying reality arises. This reality is somewhere in between the purely objective shareable reality and the purely subjective reality of one's individual consciousness. Efforts to 'push' anomalous phenomena observed in this intermediate reality into the objective one apparently destroy the phenomena. Possible explanations within a physical and within a system theoretical model are discussed. The physical model is based upon an analysis of the role of consciousness in the so-called 'Measurement Problem' in Quantum Physics. Based upon these discussions a new systematic experimental approach for the study of anomalous phenomena is suggested
... What is known about the parameters affecting PRV performance? Thus far it is clear that two personality traits, openness to experience and extraversion, are often associated with performance on individually-tested extrasensory perception or psi skills such as telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition (Hitchman et al., 2012;Honorton et al., 1998;Palmer & Carpenter, 1998), but the direction of this relation may depend on the particular task performed to assess a given skill (Mossbridge, 2023;Mossbridge & Radin, 2021). Some gender effects on performance in forced-choice precognition tasks have been reported (Bierman & Scholte, 2002;Radin & Lobach, 2007;Zdrenka & Wilson, 2017), but they have not been rigorously examined in free-response tasks, and age effects have been under-examined. ...
Objective. To better characterize the relations between accuracy on precognitive remote viewing (PRV) tasks and potentially relevant trait, state, and target parameters, we gathered PRV data in two online experiments and examined accuracy relative to: sex-at-birth, gender, age, anxiety, unconditional love, and target interestingness. Method. In experiment 1 we used a forced-choice, uncontrolled-time, self-judged PRV task for which 682 unpaid participants contributed a total of 5,432 trials. Experiment 2 used a free-response, controlled-time, independently judged PRV task for which 307 paid participants each contributed a single trial. In neither case were the participants pre-screened for precognition ability. Results. In experiment 1 (forced-choice PRV task), there was no significant target precognition and no effect of age on PRV performance, but we found a complex effect of sex-at-birth. We also found that targets most likely to be correctly predicted were also more likely to be judged as interesting compared to targets most likely to be incorrectly predicted; a pre-registered analysis confirmed this effect. In experiment 2 (free-response PRV task) we found significant target precognition, no effect of age on performance, and a weak and indirect effect of gender. Feelings of unconditional love and anxiety were both correlated with higher accuracy in experiment 2. Again, target interestingness was positively related to accuracy. Conclusion. These results suggest that accuracy on PRV tasks is related to the emotional state of participants and target interestingness, and that task characteristics mitigate overall performance. We provide recommendations for future research based on these observations.
... In a review article, Palmer (1977) argued that the positive correlation between extraversion and psi scores was well-established, while a negative correlation between neuroticism and psi scores was visible but less apparent. A meta-analysis confirmed the extraversion finding (Honorton, Ferrari & Bem, 1992). The average correlation for all experiments in this meta-analysis was +0.20). ...
There are many points of comparison between psychomanteum experiences and accounts of hypnagogic / hypnopompic imagery, which might suggest that both could be conducive to ESP. In this paper we report on our attempts to study personality variables, as measured by the NEO-PI-R, with a group of individuals recruited to participate in psychomanteum ESP testing at the Instituto de Psicologia Paranormal in Buenos Aires. The sample included 128 participants, of whom 91 (72%) were female and 37 (28%) were male (mean age = 47.25; SD = 12.02). Our prediction of a positive correlation between the index of prior psi experiences and Extraversion was confirmed. However, our prediction of a positive correlation between the Psi index (count of paranormal experiences) and Openness to experience was not confirmed, except the facet Feelings (Openeness), that is Openness to inner feelings and emotions. An inspection of the comparisons found between psi / psychomanteum performance and personality aspects did not confirm the trends found in previous work on the relation between personality and performance at an experimental psi task.
... The general aim of this study was to compare a group of tested and proven psychics with a group of tested and proven non-psychics, with the specific purpose of investigating psychological differences across a range of variables and dimensions. In the present study, psychics scored higher than non-psychics on Extroversion, and they scored lower on Neuroticism and Psychoticism, which confirms previous findings of a significant correlation between free-response task performance and extraversion-it also replicates the finding in the PRL autoganzfeld database (Honorton, Ferrari, & Bem, 1990). A similar extraversion/ESP-scores correlation was found in a ganzfeld-stimulation study (Parra & Villanueva, 2003b). ...
The specific aim of the present study was to find psychological differences between psychic and non-psychics. Specifically, we hypothesized that the self-claimed psychics score higher than non-psychics on the following four dimensions: (1) Individual Differences (i.e., neuroticism, extroversion, psychoticism, cognitive and emotional empathy, and defense style); (2) Psychopathology (i.e., healthy and negative schizotypy, dissociation, hallucinations and abnormal perceptions, magical ideation and perceptual aberration); (3) Boundaries (i.e., transliminality and boundary 'thinness'); and (4) Perception (i.e., perceptual cognition and imagery, and sensation-seeking). The database used in this paper was originally collected as part of a project that investigated the so-called token-object effect (Parra & Argibay, 2013a, 2013b). Two categorization procedures were performed in order to split the sample into (1) Psychic/high-psi-scorers (n = 48) and (2) Non-psychic/low-psi-scorers (n = 44). Psychic/high-psi-scorers scored higher than non-psychic/low-psi-scorers on Extroversion, and they scored lower on Neuroticism and Psychoticism, which confirm previous findings. Other results showed that psychic/high-psi-scorers tended to have 'thinner' boundaries, and they reported more unusual/psychic experiences, than non-psychic/low-psi-scorers. The two groups, however, did not differ on schizotypy or dissociation. Generally speaking, the typical psychic in our study (similar to the one described by Eysenck) is 'sanguine', tends to be lively, sociable, carefree, talkative, pleasure-seeking, optimistic, and leadership-oriented.
... What is known about the parameters affecting PRV performance? Thus far it is clear that two personality traits, openness to experience and extraversion, are often associated with performance on individually-tested extrasensory perception or psi skills such as telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition (Hitchman et al., 2012;Honorton et al., 1998;Palmer & Carpenter, 1998), but the direction of this relation may depend on the particular task performed to assess a given skill (Mossbridge, 2023;Mossbridge & Radin, 2021). Some gender effects on performance in forced-choice precognition tasks have been reported (Bierman & Scholte, 2002;Radin & Lobach, 2007;Zdrenka & Wilson, 2017), but they have not been rigorously examined in free-response tasks, and age effects have been under-examined. ...
Precognition, the capacity to use non-ordinary means to accurately predict future events that are seemingly unpredictable, has been well established by examining performance on laboratory- based free-response precognitive remote viewing (PRV) tasks. However, advancements in the understanding of precognition mechanisms are slowed at least partly because state, trait and target parameters seem to have complex influences on task performance, necessitating relatively large sample sizes compared to other empirical phenomena studied in experimental psychology. Here we gather PRV data in two online experiments designed to examine the relationships between accuracy on PRV tasks and trait (sex-at-birth, gender, age), state (feelings of anxiety and unconditional love), and target (interestingness) parameters. Experiment 1 used a forced- choice, uncontrolled-time, self-judged PRV task for which 682 unpaid participants contributed a total of 5,432 trials. Experiment 2 used a free-response, controlled-time, independently judged PRV task for which 307 paid participants each contributed a single trial. In neither case were the participants pre-screened for PRV ability. The results revealed significant overall PRV performance in experiment 2 but not experiment 1. In experiment 1 (forced-choice PRV task), there was no effect of age on PRV performance, but sex-at-birth and independently rated target interestingness was highest among targets most likely to be correctly predicted, with a pre- registered analysis of target interestingness confirming this effect. In experiment 2 (free-response PRV task), gender had no effect on performance, but feelings of unconditional love and feelings of anxiety were correlated with higher accuracy, with the anxiety effect especially clear among women. Further, in experiment 2, independently rated target interestingness was again positively related to accuracy. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that sex-at-birth, gender, emotional state, and target interestingness all influence accuracy on PRV tasks, and that task characteristics mitigate some of these effects. Based on these results, recommendations for future research are provided.
... We used a trait-analysis approach to examine the relationship between psi performance and various demographic, personality, and target factors. The trait-analysis approach is not new to psi and has been used over the past four decades with varying results (e.g., Barušs & Mossbridge, 2017;Bierman & Scholte, 2002;Braud, 2002;Cardeña & Krippner, 2000;Hitchman et al., 2012;Honorton et al., 1998;Jahn et al., 2017;Krippner et al., 2019;Lawrence, 1993;Lobach, 2009;Mossbridge, 2017;Palmer, 1971;Palmer & Carpenter, 1998;Radin, 1989;Radin & Lobach, 2007;Storm & Tressoldi, 2017;Walsh & Moddel, 2007;Wittmann et al., in press;Schwartz, 2007;Zdrenka & Wilson, 2017). Drawing from this work, we expected that psi performance would be revealed as a small effect and that gender, psi belief, and target richness or target interestingness would correlate with performance. ...
... To clarify, meta-analysis is a statistical approach that combines the results from multiple studies to increase power (over individual studies), improve estimates of the size of empirical effects, and to resolve uncertainty when reports disagree. Several meta-analyses have been published in both niche and mainstream journals documenting potentially non-local effects related to human consciousness (e.g., Bem, 2011;Bem & Honorton, 1994;Honorton et al., 1992;Mossbridge et al., 2012;Mossbridge & Radin, 2018;Sarraf et al., 2020;Schmidt, 2012;Storm & Tressoldi, 2017;Tressoldi & Storm, 2021). However, this litera-132 JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION • VOL. ...
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
... To clarify, meta-analysis is a statistical approach that combines the results from multiple studies to increase power (over individual studies), improve estimates of the size of empirical effects, and to resolve uncertainty when reports disagree. Several meta-analyses have been published in both niche and mainstream journals documenting potentially non-local effects related to human consciousness (e.g., Bem & Honorton, 1994;Honorton et al., 1992;Mossbridge et al., 2012;Mossbridge & Radin, 2018;Sarraf et al., 2020;Schmidt, 2012;Storm & Tressoldi, 2017;Tressoldi & Storm, 2021). However, this litera-132 JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION • VOL. ...
... Over the years, a small but reliable correlation has emerged between extraversion and performance on similar tasks (Honorton et al., 1992). Specifically, the component of extraversion that underlines this correlation appears to be the susceptibility to boredom and a tendency to seek out stimulation. ...
The primary aim of the study was to test the alleged facilitating role of insight-like strategy in the detection of masked solutions Compound Remote Associates problems (CRA). A sample of 114 participants solved 19 CRA problems presented online. Participants were requested to solve the problems in which either the solution to the CRA was randomly presented in a masked condition or no solution was provided. After each trial participants were requested to report whether they had used insight or analytical strategy, and were also required to complete a sensation seeking scale and a measure of creativity. The results showed a small, but robust correlation between the CRA problems accuracy and the degree of insight type strategy used for their solution. The degree of sensation seeking, the score in creativity, and the outcome of the manipulation check did not reveal any influence on the CRA problems solution. The use of intuitive strategies may facilitate psirelated creative problem solving, but confirmatory research is needed.
... Previous examinations of forced-choice psi task performance have provided some indications that belief in psi and personality traits such as extraversion and openness can influence accuracy, albeit in a task-specific way (Hitchman et al., 2012;Honorton et al., 1998;Marcusson-Clavertz & Cardeña, 2011;Palmer & Carpenter, 1998;Zdrenka & Wilson, 2017) and that gender or sex at birth can also have task-specific influences on psi accuracy (Bierman & Scholte, 2002;Lobach, 2009;Mossbridge, 2017;Mossbridge et al., 2012;Radin & Lobach, 2007;Wittmann et al., in press). Our exploratory conclusion after examining data from the four online forced-choice tasks described here is that the task-specificity of these factors is strongly supported. ...
Objective: We set out to gain a better understanding of human psychic or “psi” functioning by using a smartphone-based app to gather data from thousands of participants. Our expectations were that psi performance would often be revealed to be in the direction opposite to the participants’ conscious intentions (“expectation-opposing”; previously called “psi-missing”), and that gender and psi belief would be related to performance. Method:We created and launched three iOS-based tasks, available from 2017 to 2020, related to micro-psychokinesis (the ability to mentally influence a random number generator) and precognition (the ability to predict future randomly selected events). We statistically analyzed data from more than 2,613 unique logins and 995,995 contributed trials using null hypothesis significance testing as well as a pre-registered confirmatory analysis. Results: Our expectations were confirmed, and we discovered additional effects post-hoc. Our key findings were: 1) significant expectation-opposing effects, with a confirmatory pre-registered replication of a clear expectation-opposing effect on a micro-pk task, 2) performance correlated with psi belief on all three tasks, 3) performance on two of the three tasks related to gender, 4) men and women apparently used different strategies to perform micro-pk and precognition tasks. Conclusions: We describe our recommendations for future attempts to better understand performance on forced-choice psi tasks. The mnemonic for this strategy is SEARCH: Small effects, Early and exploratory, Accrue data, Recognize diversity in approach, Characterize rather than impose, and Hone in on big results.
... In his original psi article, Bem (2011) noted that the personality trait of extraversion has been frequently reported over the years to be an individual-difference correlate of psi performance, with extraverts achieving higher psi scores than introverts. An analysis of 60 independent psi experiments published between 1945 and 1983 revealed a small but reliable correlation between extraversion and psi performances, r = 0.09, z = 4.63, p = 0.000004 (Honorton et al., 1992). And the correlation was observed again in a later set of telepathy studies conducted in Honorton's own laboratory, r = 0.18, t (216) = 2.67, p = 0.004 (Bem & Honorton, 1994). ...
Two experiments involving an international collaboration of experimenters sought to replicate and extend a previously published psi experiment on precognition by Daryl Bem that has been the focus of extensive research. The experiment reverses the usual cause–effect sequence of a standard psychology experiment using priming and reaction times. The preregistered confirmatory hypothesis is that response times to incongruent stimuli will be longer than response times to congruent stimuli even though the prime has not yet appeared when the participant records their judgments. The confirmatory hypothesis for Experiment 1 was not supported. Exploratory analyses indicated that those participants who completed the English-language version rather than a translation showed a significant effect, as was the case in the original study; no significant departure from chance was found in data involving non-English translations. Experiment 2 sought to enhance the predicted effect by having each participant read either a pro-psi or an anti-psi statement at the beginning of the experiment to test the pre-recorded hypothesis that a pro-psi statement would produce a larger effect than an anti-psi statement. The results did not support the primary psi hypothesis and there was no effect in the English-language sample. However, there was mixed support for the effect of the psi statement on performance; those participants who received the pro-psi statement had a greater psi score than those who received the anti-psi statement. As in the original experiment, neither the experimenters’ nor participants’ beliefs were significantly associated with the dependent measure. In sum, the pre-registered confirmatory hypotheses were not supported. The importance of the personality variable Sensation Seeking, a component of extraversion, as a correlate of psi performance is discussed as are the challenges and implications for international collaborations and replication in controversial science.
Keywords: priming; expectancy effect; retrocausation; consciousness; sociology; precognition; psi; replication
Two experiments involving an international collaboration of experimenters sought to replicate and extend a previously published psi experiment on precognition by Daryl Bem that has been the focus of extensive research. The experiment reverses the usual cause-effect sequence of a standard psychology experiment using priming and reaction times. The preregistered confirmatory hypothesis is that response times to incongruent stimuli will be longer than response times to congruent stimuli even though the prime has not yet appeared when the participant records his or her judgments. The confirmatory hypothesis for Study 1 was not supported. Exploratory analyses indicated that those participants who completed the English-language version rather than a translation showed a significant effect, as was the case in the original study; no significant departure from chance was found in data involving non-English translations. Study 2 sought to enhance the predicted effect by having each participant read either a pro-psi or an anti-psi statement at the beginning of the experiment to test the pre-recorded hypothesis that a pro-psi statement would produce a larger effect than an anti-psi statement. The results did not support the primary psi hypothesis and there was no observed association between belief and experience of ESP and psi outcome. However, there was mixed support for the effect of the psi statement on performance; those participants who received the pro-psi statement had a greater psi score than those who received anti-psi statement. As in the original experiment, neither the experimenters’ nor participants’ beliefs or expectations were significantly correlated with the dependent measure. In sum, the pre-registered confirmatory hypotheses were not supported. The importance of the personality variable Sensation Seeking, a component of extraversion, as a correlate of psi performance is discussed as are the challenges and implications for international collaborations and replication in controversial science.
... In his original psi article, Bem (2011) noted that the personality trait of extraversion has been frequently reported over the years to be an individual-di erence correlate of psi performance, with extraverts achieving higher psi scores than introverts. An analysis of 60 independent psi experiments published between 1945 and 1983 revealed a small but reliable correlation between extraversion and psi performances, r = 0.09, z = 4.63, p = 0.000004 (Honorton et al., 1992). And the correlation was observed again in a later set of telepathy studies conducted in Honorton's own laboratory, r = 0.18, t (216) = 2.67, p = 0.004 (Bem & Honorton, 1994). ...
Two experiments involving an international collaboration of
experimenters sought to replicate and extend a previously published
psi experiment on precognition by Daryl Bem that has been the focus
of extensive research. The experiment reverses the usual cause–e! ect
sequence of a standard psychology experiment using priming and reaction
times. The preregistered con" rmatory hypothesis is that response times
to incongruent stimuli will be longer than response times to congruent
stimuli even though the prime has not yet appeared when the participant
records their judgments. The con" rmatory hypothesis for Experiment 1
was not supported. Exploratory analyses indicated that those participants
who completed the English-language version rather than a translation
showed a signi" cant e! ect, as was the case in the original study; no
signi" cant departure from chance was found in data involving non-
English translations. Experiment 2 sought to enhance the predicted e! ect
by having each participant read either a pro-psi or an anti-psi statement
at the beginning of the experiment to test the hypothesis that a pro-psi
statement would produce a larger e! ect than an anti-psi statement. The
results did not support the primary psi hypothesis and there was no e! ect
in the English-language sample. However, there was mixed support for
the e! ect of the psi statement on performance; those participants who
received the pro-psi statement had a greater psi score than those who
received the anti-psi statement. As in the original experiment, neither
the experimenters’ nor participants’ beliefs were consistently associated
with the dependent measure. In sum, the pre-registered con" rmatory
hypotheses were not supported. The importance of the personality
variable Sensation Seeking, a component of extraversion, as a correlate
of psi performance is discussed as are the challenges and implications
for international collaborations and replication in controversial science.
... In a review article in the Handbook of Parapsychology Palmer argued that the positive correlation between extraversion and psi scores was well-established while a negative correlation between neuroticism and psi scores was visible but less apparent (Palmer, 1977). Recently a meta-analysis confirmed the extraversion finding (Honorton et al, 1992). The average correlation for all experiments in this meta-analysis was +0.20. ...
The relations between the 5 personality factors, extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience and scoring in the Ganzfeld were analysed for the two Utrecht novice series. Two personality measurement instruments were used, the NEO-PI and the 4DPT. It was found that subjects who had a hit (N=22) were marginally higher on extraversion (p<0.05) and significantly higher on agreeableness (p<0.05) and openness (p<0.004) than subjects who had a miss (N= 54). Further refined analyses using the facet-scores of the NEO-PI reveals that the weak extraversion effect was restricted to the facets: 'warmth' (p<0.06) and 'positive emotions' (p<0.02). This strongly suggests that extraversion is effective through the social processes in the experimental situation. Although all facet-scores for the openness factor contributed to the overall effect, there were three facets which were independently significant: aesthetics (p<0.008), feelings (p < 0.001) and values (p < 0.01). The aesthetics effect confirms earlier findings with artistic populations like the Juilliard students. The feelings effect seems to confirm earlier results with the MBTI as an instrument but the meaning of this facet is different from the one attached to it in the MBTI. The values effect is a more general form of the sheep-goat effect since it directly measures open-mindedness. Stepwise multiple regression reveals that all relations are subsumed in the relation between openness for feelings and psi. This finding may have important consequences for the interpretation of the sheep-goat effect and the apparent relevance of artistic ability. All the findings are discussed in terms of the overall chance scoring. Introduction Many studies have explored the relation between personality of a subject and his/her performance in a laboratory psi experiment (e.g. Kanthamani and Rao, 1972). In a review article in the Handbook of Parapsychology Palmer argued that the positive correlation between extraversion and psi scores was well-established while a negative correlation between neuroticism and psi scores was visible but less apparent (Palmer, 1977). Recently a meta-analysis confirmed the extraversion finding (Honorton et al, 1992). The average correlation for all experiments in this meta-analysis was +0.20. Similarly, a consistent and apparently replicable finding is the correlation between belief in psi phenomena and the scores obtained in a lab psi test (Lawrence, 1993). Although 'belief in psi' is formally more an attitude than a personality trait it is not impossible that this attitude is born out of personality characteristics like tolerance for ambiguity.
... 193-195;. Another involves the correlation between extroversion and ESP test performance (Honorton, Ferrari, & Bem, 1998;Palmer, 1977, pp. 185-188;Palmer & Carpenter, 1998;Zdrenka & Wilson, 2017). ...
A critical commentary is offered on a skeptical rebuttal made by Arthur Reber and James Alcock in the July/August 2019 issue of Skeptical Inquirer, which came in response to an article by Etzel Cardeña (published in the mainstream journal American Psychologist in 2018) that reviewed the extensive evidence from parapsychological experiments which seems to collectively offer support for the existence of psychic (or psi) phenomena. At the heart of their rebuttal, Reber and Alcock seek to make the counterargument that this evidence cannot be meaningful because psi phenomena are "impossible," appearing to violate four fundamental principles of physics. It is shown here that rather than being based on any kind of substantial evidence, the criticisms that Reber and Alcock put forth in support of this counterargument are instead based on a combination of narrow personal opinion, unfounded assumption, and superficial rhetoric, leaving their claims unsound and ultimately unconvincing.
... 193-195;. Another involves the correlation between extroversion and ESP test performance (Honorton, Ferrari, & Bem, 1998;Palmer, 1977, pp. 185-188;Palmer & Carpenter, 1998;Zdrenka & Wilson, 2017). ...
... 43 Interestingly, one study evaluated gender roles of masculinity and femininity in addition to gender and found that while gender was not related to belief, masculinity was associated positively with both belief and experience. 28 Extraversion 44,45 and openness 33,46 show positive correlations to performance on various tasks while neuroticism has mixed results. 34,41-Studies on personality factors and EHE belief have also been mixed 34,47 with some finding positive correlations with extraversion 48 and neuroticism 49,50 and others not finding any correlations. ...
Context: Throughout history people have reported exceptional experiences that appear to transcend the everyday boundaries of space and time, such as perceiving someone's thoughts from a distance. Because such experiences are associated with superstition, and some violate currently accepted materialist conventions, one might assume that scientists and engineers would be much less likely to report instances of these experiences than the general population. Objectives: To evaluate 1) the prevalence of exceptional human experiences (EHEs), 2) the level of paranormal belief, 3) the relationship between them, and 4) potential predictors of EHEs in three groups. Participants: Potential volunteers were randomly selected to receive invitations for an anonymous survey. Main Measures: Data were collected on 25 different types of EHEs, demographics, religious or spiritual affiliations, paranormal beliefs, mental health, and personality traits. Group differences were analyzed with chi-square tests and analysis of variance, and predictors were evaluated with a general linear model. Results: 94.0% of the general population (n = 283), 93.2% of scientists and engineers (n = 175), and 99.3% of enthusiasts (n = 441) endorsed at least one EHE (X² (2) = 21.1, p < 0.0005). Paranormal belief was highest in EHE enthusiasts, followed by scientists and the general population (F(2,769) = 116.2, p < 0.0005). Belief was positively correlated with experience (r = 0.61, p < 0.0005). An exploratory general linear model showed that variables such as mental health, personality, impact and family history predict the endorsement and frequency of EHEs. This study indicates that EHEs occur frequently in both the general population and in scientists and engineers.
... Finally, it has been recognized that extroverts tend to produce higher scores than introverts (Bem, 2011;Honorton, Ferrari, & Bem, 1998) and this is believed to be related to the fact that extroverts are susceptible to boredom and tend to seek out stimulation (Eysenck, 1966). According to my theory, this means that extroverts would actually be expected to perform less effectively in a target-guessing experiment. ...
This paper describes a theory explaining precognition literally as the "pre-cognition" of information contained within the percipient's brain in the future-a link with his or her future experience of the event. The theory is based on the block universe model, in which past and future events already exist in the space-time continuum, as required by the special theory of relativity. Bohm's theory of the implicate order is compatible with such a model, and it suggests that if similar structures are created at different locations in space and time, the structures resonate with a tendency to become more similar to one another. The principles are applied to the neuronal spatiotemporal patterns that are activated in the brain. Precognition is considered to be the fundamental phenomenon of ESP and manifests as information transfer from the brain in the future to the same brain in the present. The model allows also for the possibility of contacts with other brains, and these contacts would occur either in real-time or at different times. However, direct contacts with external objects or events are considered not to occur at all. The mechanism is applied to experiments in precognition, and it explains the apparent anomalies found in the results.
... Extraversion has been one of the most widely explored dimensions of personality in relation to ESP. In a meta-analysis of 60 independent studies examining extraversion-ESP relationship, Honorton, Ferrari, and Bem (1998) found a small correlation (r = .09) that was significant (z = 4.43, n = 2,963) mainly due to the large n. ...
In this article, we define precognition as an atypical perceptual ability that allows the acquisition of non-inferential information arising from a space-like separated point in spacetime. The Multiphasic Model of Precognition (MMPC) identifies two distinct phases: The first is the physics domain, which addresses the question of retrocausation and how it is possible for information to traverse from one spacetime point to another. We suggest that the solution might be found within entropic considerations. The second is the neuroscience domain, which addresses the acquisition and interpretation of retrocausal signals. We propose that this occurs across three stages: (a) perception of signals from an information carrier, based on psychophysical variability in a putative signal transducer; (b) cortical processing of the signals, mediated by a cortical hyper-associative mechanism; and (c) cognition, mediated by normal cognitive processes, leading to a response based on retrocausal information. The model is comprehensive, brain-based, and provides a new direction for research requiring multidisciplinary expertise.
... For over 50 years, extroversion-introversion has been one of the most widely explored dimensions of personality in relation to ESP, Sargent [19] reviewed all the English-language reports bearing on the extroversion-ESP hypothesis and found that significant confirmations of a positive relationship between ESP and extroversion occur at six times the chance error. Honorton et al. [20] report a comprehensive meta-analysis of 60 independent studies of the ESP-extroversion relationship. Again there is significant evidence to suggest that extroverted do better than introverted subjects. ...
... The overall result of this research effort is at first sight perplexing: there is up to now still not the slightest sign of a consensus regarding even the very existence of the phenomena in question, let alone an accepted explanation of the underlying mechanisms. This becomes understandable when analyzing the nature of the accumulated evidence: On the one hand, there is a wealth of high quality field reports, experimental observations and meta-analyses which, taken by themselves, make plausible beyond necessary doubt the reality of the phenomena such as psychokinesis 24,25 , telepathy 26 , precognition 27,28 or extrasensory perception [28][29][30] . On the other hand, there is a large body of failed replication attempts and, to date, not a single experimental setup or field-case exists which allows reliable replication of the observations. ...
Non-local correlations between quantum events are not due to a causal interaction in the sense of one being the cause for the other. In principle, the correlated events can thus occur simultaneously. Generalized Quantum Theory (GQT) formalizes the idea that non-local phenomena are not exclusive to quantum mechanics, e.g. due to some specific properties of (sub)atomic particles, but that they instead arise as a consequence of the way such particles are arranged into systems. Non-local phenomena should hence occur in any system which fulfils the necessary systems-theoretical parameters. The two most important parameters with respect to non-local correlations seem to be a conserved global property of the system as a whole and sufficient degrees of freedom of the corresponding property of its subsystems. Both factors place severe limitations on experimental observability of the phenomena, especially in terms of replicability. It has been suggested that reported phenomena of so-called synchronistic, parapsychological or paranormal kind could be understood as instances of systems-inherent non-local correlations. From a systems theoretical perspective their phenomenology (including the favorable conditions for their occurrence and their lack of replicability) displays substantial similarities to non-local correlations in quantum systems and matches well with the before mentioned systems-theoretical parameters, thus providing circumstantial evidence for this hypothesis.
... And finally, extraverts also tend to do better in psi experiments than introverts, and this was true in the autoganzfeld experiments as well (Honorton, Ferrari, & Bem, 1992). Eysenck (1966) reasoned that extraverts should perform well in psi tasks because they are easily bored and respond favorably to novel stimuli. ...
The ganzfeld procedure is a mild sensory isolation technique that was first introduced into experimental psychology during the 1930s and subsequently adapted by parapsychologists to test for the existence of psi--anomalous processes of information or energy transfer such as telepathy or other forms of extrasensory perception that are currently unexplained in terms of known physical or biological mechanisms. Parapsychologists developed the ganzfeld procedure, in part, because they had become dissatisfied the card-guessing methods for testing ESP pioneered by J. B. Rhine at Duke University in the 1930s. In particular, they believed that the repetitive forced-choice procedure in which a participant repeatedly attempts to select the correct "target" symbol from a set of fixed-alternatives failed to capture the circumstances that characterize reported instances of psi in everyday life. Historically, psi has often been associated with meditation, hypnosis, dreaming, and other naturally occurring or deliberately induced altered states of consciousness. For example, the view that psi phenomena can occur during meditation is expressed in most classical texts on meditative techniques; the belief that hypnosis is a psi-conducive state dates all the way back to the days of early mesmerism; and cross-cultural surveys indicate that most reported "real-life" psi experiences are mediated through dreams . There is now experimental evidence consistent with these anecdotal observations. For example, several laboratory investigators have reported that meditation facilitates psi performance (Honorton, 1977) . An analysis of 25 experiments on hypnosis and psi conducted between 1945 and 1981 in 10 different laboratories suggests that hypnotic induction may also facilitate psi performance (Schechter, 1984) . And dream-mediated psi was reported in a series of studies conducted at Maimonides Medical Center in New York and published between 1966 and 1972 (Ullman, Krippner, & Vaughan, 1989). Ganzfeld experiments are the direct successors to the dream studies.
... Empirical studies have shown extroverts to have higher levels of paranormal belief and alleged paranormal experience (Honorton, Ferrari, & Bem, 1992;Schmeidler, 1982). Further, a metaanalysis of 60 independent studies comprising 2,963 participants was conducted and showed that extroverted people performed better in Psi hitting than did introverted people (Honorton, Ferrari, & Bem, 1998), though some literature indicated extroversion was not associated with paranormal belief (Rattet & Bursik, 2001;Windholz & Diamant, 1974). Later, this idea also was supported by additional studies (Morris, Summers, & Yim, 2003;Storm & Thalbourne, 2001). ...
Psi is the scientific study of experiences that cannot be explained by the existing science. Psi is a general term
including both extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK). ESP is a general term used for information acquisition other than by conventional sensory processes of sight, sound, taste, touch and hearing; PK is an ability that influences the environment seemingly by intention or other mental activity alone without motoric intervention. The investigation of Psi might contribute to our knowledge of brain-environment relationships or interaction. Many researchers have carried out a large number of studies examining the possible existence of Psi with positive results, though some researchers do not agree with this point. Seven factors seemingly have a possible link with Psi performance are: aging, relaxation, emotional response, experimenter effects, magnetic field, personality and belief. Notwithstanding the above, this new scientific subject is confronted with the issue of fraud and replicability by different researchers. Studies with a testable model under well-controlled methodology for the Psi training process are wanted.
... '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 the recent decade, although there have been studies in finding the personality or psychopathology variables correlating with paranormal belief (e.g., Dag, 1999;Rattet & Bursik, 2001;Wiseman, Greening & Smith, 2003;Wolfradt, 1997), many studies showed an inconsistent result. For example, empirical studies have shown extraversion to have a high association between paranormal belief and alleged paranormal experience (Honorton, Ferrari & Bem, 1992;Schmeidler, 1982). The sheep-goat effect was found in individuals with higher paranormal belief scores (sheep) to be more extraverted than disbelievers (goats) (Thalbourne, 1981). ...
Many studies have explored the relationship between paranormal belief and religiosity. Some studies have
shown that paranormal belief correlates with religiosity, yet many studies have not supported this association.The first goal of the present investigation therefore was to replicate previous findings. It is also of interest to explore the relationship between paranormal belief and religiosity in Chinese society, since it has not been studied so far. Another interesting correlate with paranormal belief is general cognitive ability. General cognitive ability was found negatively correlated with belief in the paranormal. However, general cognitive ability correlates with education, which might appear to be related to cognitive complexity. The relationship between paranormal belief, religiosity and cognitive complexity was explored in this study. Therefore, this study has two purposes. First, the Chinese version of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS) was constructed. Second, the relationship among paranormal belief, religiosity and cognitive complexity was examined. Cognitive complexity was measured by the repertory grid including an 8X8 grid. Eight personal roles, such as self, grandparent, father, mother, sibling, classmate, friend, and boyfriend or girlfriend, and four constructs, including religious belief, religious activities, virtue vs. evil, and afterlife were preset. Each participant provided the other four constructs during the test. The task was to decide the importance of each construct with regard to the relationship between the individual and each personal role by using a 9-point Likert scale. The task sequence was generated randomly according to the computer program. The score generated by the OMNIGRID called the variability of intensity was a measurement of cognitive complexity of the participant. It was obtained as follows: (a) for each pair of constructs, the correlation (COR) and its variance (VAR = COR2 X 100%) were calculated, and (b) the variability of intensity was the standard deviation of all the VAR values obtained from each pair of constructs. Forty university students in Taiwan completed the RPBS, the Personal Religiosity Scale and the repertory grid individually. Results indicated that the Chinese version of the RPBS had a satisfactory reliability (Cronbach alpha = .88). The construct validity was confirmed from the correlation matrix between the factors of the RPBS and PRS as well. Paranormal belief and religiosity were two different constructs despite some possible overlap, such as scales of traditional religious belief, spiritualism, believing that nature/environment can affect individuals’ well-being and fortune, and afterlife (all these factors had five significant correlations with the other scale). There was a significant negative correlation between religious faithfulness and cognitive complexity. The limitations of this study include small sample size (N = 40) and lack of back-translation procedure of the Chinese version of the RPBS.
... 716 -720;Morris, 1977, pp. 705 -710;Persinger et al., 2002), they have been psychological as measured by personality inventories (e.g., Honorton, Ferrari, & Bem, 1998;Palmer, 1977;Schmeidler, 1988, Ch. 7), and they have been physical as measured by geomagnetic detectors (e.g., Persinger, 1989;Spottiswoode, 1997;Tart, 1988). This body of research has achieved two things, it has demonstrated that psi is associated in lawful ways with the factors in question, and it has demonstrated that psi is a natural phenomenon because the factors are all natural. ...
Psi phenomena are often regarded as non-scientific because there has been no explanation for how a person can be influenced by another person or by a physical object without the transmission of physical stimuli, such as light. As it turns out, quantum physics offers a concept that enables us to deal with this issue. In quantum entanglement two things are interconnected across distances of time and space in the absence of any type of transmission. We examine several lines of evidence from parapsychology, including extrasensory perception, precognition, retrocognition, and psychokinesis, that may be accounted for in terms of quantum entanglement. Psi phenomena have been regarded as nonphysical, but may exemplify an established physical principle.
... The EX Scale and the S-E Scale were administered because Storm and Thalbourne (2001) argued that vision-impaired participants seemed more introverted and lower in self-esteem than sighted participants; introversion and low self-esteem being possible psi-inhibitive factors. Regarding the psi-extraversion relationship, see the metaanalysis by Honorton, Ferrari, and Bem (1998). Note also that extraversion and self-esteem tend to correlate significantly and moderately (see Robins, Tracy, & Trzesniewski, 2001). ...
A replication study of an earlier study by Storm and Thalbourne (2001) was conducted to test the hypothesis that blind people com-pensate for their impairment by developing superior psi ability com-pared to sighted people. Participants had to describe a concealed line drawing (target), and then rank four drawings (1 target + 3 decoys) from 'most likely' to be the target to 'least likely'. The concealed pic-ture was removed from its envelope and assigned its corresponding rank. A significant psi effect was found for the whole sample, and for the sighted sub-sample, but not the vision-impaired sub-sample. An above-chance success-rate of 28% (π = .54, where π M CE = .50) was found for the totally blind, which was superior (not significantly) to the rest of the sample (i.e., sighted + partially sighted participants) with their hit-rate of 26% (π = .51). In the present replication study, it was hypothesized that totally blind individuals have superior psi test performance to sighted individuals. However, the totally blind group and the sighted group both scored at the same below-chance hit-rate of 21% (p = .365; π = .45). There was thus no evidence that psi compensates for total blindness. When the dataset from the present study was combined with Storm and Thalbourne's (2001) dataset (total N = 160), the sighted group scored significantly above chance on the sum-of-ranks measure (p = .040). It was argued that if there is compensation for blindness, it might work in ways other than paranormal.
Objective. To use meta-analysis to explore five previously uninvestigated factors related to the sender-receiver dynamic in the telepathy ganzfeld. The five factors of interest are: a) did the receiver see the sender’s room prior to the session?; b) could the sender hear the receiver during the mentation period?; c) could the sender hear the receiver during the judging period?; d) was the sender explicitly told to be silent?; and e) did the experimenter assist in the review section of the session? Method: Telepathy ganzfeld studies conducted post Joint Communiqué, with one session per day and the receivers rating the targets, were chosen. Two mixed-effects models were fit: 1) using the study hit rates as the binomial mean; and 2) using the study hit rates as a proportion. Both models have the five factors as binary moderators. Results: Both the binomial mean and proportion models suggest a significant effect of the moderators overall and two factors individually: 1) the sender being able to hear the receiver during the mentation period; and 2) a review period after the mentation period. Permutation tests for both models also show significant effects of the moderators and the two factors. Conclusion: The sender being able to hear the receiver’s mentation appears to increase overall study success, while the review period decreases overall study success
Premonition is a feeling that something is about to happen when no normal information is available, and in which the target cannot be deduced from normally known data in the present. The main aim was to estimate the proportion of people who claim to have had various kinds of premonition experiences, and to explore any association between these experiences and personality variables such as neuroticism, extroversion, empathy and schizotypy. Respondents completed a questionnaire on premonitions, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences. Personality measures data were compared on dream-related premonition experiences for experients (N = 80) vs. non-experients (N = 271), and on non-dream-related premonition experiences for experients (N = 184) vs. non-experients (N = 167). Participants who reported premonitions had higher scores on empathy and schizo-typy, but were not significantly higher on neuroticism and extroversion, although they did endorse more positive indicators of schizotypy (unusual experiences) and cognitive empathy, such as emotional comprehension. Although schizotypy personality traits were associated with premonition experience, experients and non-experients did not differ in its negative dimensions.
In the light of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, a well-functioning person with full potential can possess Psi abilities. It is suggested that everyone can have the Psi abilities after completing the second level of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist SEMs. Accordingly, Psi abilities would be trained. There are six kinds of Psi ability which is addressed in this chapter. There are two main purposes for why we can have Psi abilities. The first purpose is to help the others who are in suffering. The second purpose is to use the Psi abilities to seek understanding or witness the authority of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist wisdom, as well as the other cultural wisdom. There are two stages for Psi performance. The chapter presents a possible mechanism for Psi at the initial stage and a proposed process for experiencing visual images of targets during Psi performance. In the first stage, Psi information enters the brain via unknown sensory mechanisms, which I developed the Cryptochromes (CRY) Theory (CT). CRY exists in all living systems and has quantum biological properties which allow, among other things, for the extreme sensitivity to weak energy such as light and magnetic fields in avian magnetonavigation. It is assumed that Psi information triggers chemical reactions in the CRYs, influencing the spin states of paired radical ions. This process activates the CRYs and then spreads their summed signal throughout the brain, creating a meaningful synthesis. In the second stage, I developed a visual Psi model that this Psi information interacts with target-relevant memories, resulting in the experience of targets-related visual images. This process is likely similar to the process of creating visual information in the brain in non-psi contexts. Finally, a three-stage Psi training model developed by the author is presented. In the first stage, the model suggests that participants need to attain a quiet and/or drowsy mental state. In the second stage, the brain plasticity of adapting to Psi targets will be trained by largely repeated Psi stimuli, while participants attempt to experience awareness of the targets. The third stage is the trial-by-trial feedback only thought to be effective when participants experience images, and awareness of targets in whole or part.
This paper challenges the conclusion reached by Honorton, Ferrari, and Bem in their meta-analysis that the relationship between ESP and extraversion scores is an artifact attributable to some subjects completing the extraversion scale after learning their ESP scores. After noting that personality scales are generally constructed so as to not be susceptible to situational biases, the authors demonstrate that in the database in question, order is highly confounded with whether subjects were tested individually or in groups (test setting). Additional analyses, including multiple regression, demonstrated that the order effect upon the extraversion-ESP relationship is itself an artifact of test setting, which remains a significant mediator of the relationship when order is partialled out. Furthermore, four series in the database which provide a relatively unconfounded test of the order hypothesis yielded significant and comparable extraversion-ESP correlations irrespective of test order. Because test setting, unlike test order, is not a methodological flaw, the authors' analyses imply that the extraversion-ESP relationship for forced-choice ESP tests is a valid psi effect. Finally, it is pointed out that when group testing studies are eliminated, the extraversion-ESP relationship is of comparable magnitude for forced-choice and free-response ESP tests.
Positive schizotypy (reality distortion), and other components of transliminality, may constitute a genetic balanced polymorphism in which die disadvantageous effects of conditions associated with extreme ends of die trait dimension are balanced by advantages associated widi more moderate levels of trait expression. Positive schizotypy and creativity are associated widi mating success. The relatives of psychotic individuals have elevated schizotypy levels, and one recent study reported tfiat die relatives of psychotics have greater fecundity. The evolution of beliefs in God, spirit, and paranormal phenomena may be mediated not by reduced deadi anxiety, but radier by a set of interrelated adaptive traits including creativity, positive schizotypy, and hypnotizability, which are components of die superordinate trait dimension of transliminality. Paranormal beliefs are related to paranormal experiences as well as paranormal abilities, which, if veridical, would have direct adaptive advantage. Correlates of paranormal abilities overlap with component characteristics of transliminality. Beliefs in spiritual and paranormal phenomena may have evolved simply because such beliefs are in some manner true, and die associated traits and abilities are highly adaptive.
Precognition is defined as an atypical perceptual ability that allows the acquisition of noninferential information arising from a future point in space-time. Despite the controversies, there is sufficient empirical evidence for the validity of the phenomenon. The multiphasic model of precognition (MMPC) is capable of addressing the experimental data. The MMPC identifies two distinct phases: The physics domain (PD) addresses the question, "How is it possible for information to traverse from one space-time point to another?" We suggest that the solution might be found within entropic considerations. The acquisition and interpretation of retrocausal signals from a future point in space-time is via three stages in the neuroscience domain (ND): Stage 1, perception of signals from an information carrier, which is based upon psychophysical variability in a putative signal transducer; Stage 2, cortical processing of the signals mediated by a cortical hyper-associative mechanism; and Stage 3, cognition, which is mediated by normal cognitive processes that lead to a precognitive response. The model is comprehensive, brain-based, and provides a new direction for research, requiring multidisciplinary expertise. In this article, the authors present the MMPC and discuss the rationale for the hypotheses put forth for the PD and the ND.
Strategies are described for advancing conceptual development and replicability by testing conceptual hypotheses. Emphasis is given to creating and testing hypotheses to explain specific findings (e.g., that psi believers perform better than nonbelievers). This work often includes testing hypotheses that predict specific interactions as governing the phenomenon. Preferred statistical methods are noted for studying Person × Situation interactions and for examining mediational hypotheses. Cautions are provided about potential interpretational problems with pre-post designs, within-subjects methodology, and multiple psychological testing in a single session. Nonpsi performance-based indices derived from the ESP task itself are discussed as potentially useful predictors of ESP performance.
Meta-analytic techniques are held in particularly high esteem in parapsychology owing to their important contribution to debates on the controversial issue of psi replicability. They are, however, associated with some serious limitations. The present paper evaluates the extent to which these limitations have represented a significant impediment to the resolution of replicability issues in psi research. It concludes that the subjectivity inherent in the execution of the technique and the interpretation of meta-analytic results has led to a situation whereby it has not been able to provide definitive results on the question of psi replicability.
Experiments show that psi differs from known physical processes in a variety of ways, and these differences are described herein. Because of these, psi cannot be accounted for in terms of presently known physical laws. A number of theories, of which we review a sampling, suggest ways in which known physical laws might be expanded in order to account for psi. However, there is no agreement on which of these theories, if any, will ultimately provide a general explanation. A further problem in studying psi is that it is elusive, i.e., methods are not presently known by which it can be reliably produced. However, if psi is real, its study can open the door to a new frontier of knowledge and contribute to our understanding of consciousness.
Most academic psychologists do not yet accept the existence of psi, anomalous processes of information or energy transfer (e.g., telepathy or other forms of extrasensory perception) that are currently unexplained in terms of known physical or biological mechanisms. It is believed that the replication rates and effect sizes achieved by 1 particular experimental method, the ganzfeld procedure, are now sufficient to warrant bringing this body of data to the attention of the wider psychological community. Competing meta-analysis of the ganzfeld database are reviewed, one by R. Hyman (see record
1986-05166-001), a skeptical critic of psi research, and the other by C. Honorton (see record
1986-05165-001), a parapsychologist and major contributor to the ganzfeld database. Next the results of 11 new ganzfeld studies that comply with guidelines jointly authored by R. Hyman and C. Honorton (see record
1987-12537-001) are summarized. Issues of replication and theoretical explanation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Discusses recent findings that a group of well-controlled ganzfeld studies failed to replicate the positive findings of earlier work. This challenges claims that a ganzfeld psi effect can be replicated across experimenters under methodologically stringent conditions. Problems with interpreting as strong evidence for psi other parapsychological meta-analyses of other studies and apparently consistent process-oriented findings are discussed. It is argued that if there is a replicable ganzfeld psi effect the procedures necessary to produce it have not been identified. It is proposed that process-oriented work be directed to the goal of identifying which studies should be able to replicate an above chance effect, and that these studies identified by their planned procedures before they have been conducted should provide the basis for future tests of replication. The organization of an international electronic-mail discussion of these issues among 41 researchers with a special interest in ganzfeld psi is described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Do individuals who endorse paranormal beliefs differ from those reporting actual precognitive experiences? This study examined the personality correlates of these variables in a sample of college students, 61% of whom described some type of precognitive experience. Extraversion and intuition were associated with precognitive experience, but not with paranormal belief; dissociative tendencies were related to paranormal belief, but not precognitive experience. The importance of conceptualizing and assessing paranormal belief and precognitive experience as separate constructs is discussed.
The term psi denotes anomalous processes of information or energy transfer that are currently unexplained in terms of known physical or biological mechanisms. Two variants of psi are precognition (conscious cognitive awareness) and premonition (affective apprehension) of a future event that could not otherwise be anticipated through any known inferential process. Precognition and premonition are themselves special cases of a more general phenomenon: the anomalous retroactive influence of some future event on an individual's current responses, whether those responses are conscious or nonconscious, cognitive or affective. This article reports 9 experiments, involving more than 1,000 participants, that test for retroactive influence by "time-reversing" well-established psychological effects so that the individual's responses are obtained before the putatively causal stimulus events occur. Data are presented for 4 time-reversed effects: precognitive approach to erotic stimuli and precognitive avoidance of negative stimuli; retroactive priming; retroactive habituation; and retroactive facilitation of recall. The mean effect size (d) in psi performance across all 9 experiments was 0.22, and all but one of the experiments yielded statistically significant results. The individual-difference variable of stimulus seeking, a component of extraversion, was significantly correlated with psi performance in 5 of the experiments, with participants who scored above the midpoint on a scale of stimulus seeking achieving a mean effect size of 0.43. Skepticism about psi, issues of replication, and theories of psi are also discussed.
Parapsychology, the laboratory study of psychic phenomena, has had its history interwoven, with that of statistics. Many of the controversies in parapsychology have focused on statistical issues, and statistical models have played an integral role in the experimental work. Recently, parapsychologists have been using meta-analysis as a tool for synthesizing large bodies of work. This paper presents an overview of the use of statistics in parapsychology and offers a summary of the meta-analyses that have been conducted. It begins with some anecdotal information about the involvement of statistics and statisticians with the early history of parapsychology. Next, it is argued that most nonstatisticians do not appreciate the connection between power and "successful" replication of experimental effects. Returning to parapsychology, a particular experimental regime is examined by summarizing an extended debate over the interpretation of the results. A new set of experiments designed to resolve the debate is then reviewed. Finally, meta-analyses from several areas of parapsychology are summarized. It is concluded that the overall evidence indicates that there is an anomalous effect in need of an explanation.
Speculations about the role of consciousness in physical systems are frequently observed in the literature concerned with the interpretation of quantum mechanics. While only three experimental investigations can be found on this topic in physics journals, more than 800 relevant experiments have been reported in the literature of parapsychology. A well-defined body of empirical evidence from this domain was reviewed using meta-analytic techniques to assess methodological quality and overall effect size. Results showed effects conforming to chance expectation in control conditions and unequivocal non-chance effects in experimental conditions. This quantitative literature review agrees with the findings of two earlier reviews, suggesting the existence of some form of consciousness-related anomaly in random physical systems.
Research results in the social and behavioral sciences are often conceded to be less replicable than research results in the physical sciences. However, direct empirical comparisons of the cumulativeness of research in the social and physical sciences have not been made to date. This article notes the parallels between methods used in the quantitative synthesis of research in the social and in the physical sciences. Essentially identical methods are used to test the consistency of research results in physics and in psychology. These methods can be used to compare the consistency of replicated research results in physics and in the social sciences. The methodology is illustrated with 13 exemplary reviews from each domain. The exemplary comparison suggests that the results of physical experiments may not be strikingly more consistent than those of social or behavioral experiments. The data suggest that even the results of physical experiments may not be cumulative in the absolute sense by statistical criteria. It is argued that the study of the actual cumulativeness found in physical data could inform social scientists about what to expect from replicated experiments under good conditions.
English-language reports on the relationship between extraversion and performance in extra-sensory perception tasks are reviewed. Data reported show that significant confirmations of a positive relationship occur at over six times the chance error rate whilst only one significant reversal of the effect is to be found. It is suggested that this consistency in the experimental reports reflects a real positive relationship between the two variables. Possible mechanisms underlyinf the effect are discussed and suggestions for studying them are made with an emphasis on improvement of methodology.
This review of 147 articles throws into relief the following results from the use of the inventory: It measures with reasonable reliability group trends. It cannot differentiate perfectly normal from abnormal individuals. When used with non-psychotics, unfavorable scores are indicative of maladjustment, but favorable scores do not necessarily indicate good adjustment and in some cases indicate maladjustment. In student personnel work the inventory selects those desiring advise on personal matters, cheaters, those who are independent, those who tend to withdraw, and those who tend to be leaders. It is not helpful in selecting efficient clerical workers. Occupational group differences are not entirely clear-cut. Family resemblances and social group differences are in agreement with logical expectations. The happily married are more stable and extroverted than the unhappy. Scores have little relationship to physiological measures except thyroid conditions. No significant relationship is found between chronological age, intelligence, or school achievement. "Mood, self-interest, test sophistication and the desire for social approval have less effect on test scores than is generally thought." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)