2006, Volume 6(2), pp.
114-124
ABSTRACT:
This article describes the traditional
reincarnation belief system of the Guminis, a small group of people living
in the southeast of the Simbu Province of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.
This system embraces the belief that the spirit of some humans is, after
death, reincarnated within the body of another living person of similar age
and probably of the same sex as the deceased. This person, a stranger, then
represents the continuation of the life of the person who died in terms of
his/her social and kinship relationships. It is demonstrated that this
belief system was functional in traditional Gumini society, but may not
continue to be so in future due to rapid changes in rural and urban life
currently affecting the people of Papua New Guinea.
2006, Volume 6(2), pp.
125-134
ABSTRACT: Recent
research has indicated that the body experience of people who report a prior
out-of-body experience (OBErs) is qualitatively different on a number of
body-image variables to that of non-experients (non-OBErs). The present
study examined OBErs and non-OBErs Behavioural Embodiment during immersion
in a Virtual Reality system. It was hypothesised that OBErs would, compared
with non-OBErs, exhibit a disembodied behavioural interaction with the
Virtual Environment (VE), characterised by the proportion of time spent
navigating the environment from an elevated position and the number of
collisions with virtual objects. It was also hypothesised that OBErs would
score higher on measures of absorption, dissociation and somatoform
dissociation. There were no significant differences between OBErs (n
= 16) and non-OBErs (n = 28) on Behavioural Embodiment (i.e., the
proportion of time spent navigating the environment from an elevated
position and the number of collisions with virtual objects), although there
was a positive correlation with number of OBEs and proportion of trial time
spent navigating the environment from an elevated position. OBErs were found
to score significantly higher than the non-OBErs on measures of absorption,
dissociation and somatoform dissociation.
2006, Volume 6(2), pp.
135-155
ABSTRACT: The present
article completes the two-part review on meta-analyses in parapsychology
(for Part I, see L. Storm, 2006). The reviewed literature other than
ganzfeld/autoganzfeld studies, includes meta-analyses on: (i) biological
systems (DMILS), (ii) forced-choice ESP, (iii) free-response ESP, (iv)
dice-throwing, (v) micro-PK (RNG), and (vi) dream-psi. Meta-analyses by T.
R. Lawrence (1993), E. Haraldsson (1993), and R. G. Stanford and A. G. Stein
(1994) are also reviewed. Results indicate that these meta-analyses provide
considerable evidence that there is an anomalous effect in the field of
parapsychology in need of an explanation. It is concluded that these and
other meta-analyses in parapsychology have revealed significant non-zero
effects across studies, although these tend to be rather small, but
process-oriented research will further our understanding of these anomalies.
2006, Volume 6(2), pp.
156-166
2006, Volume 6(2), pp.
167-185
2006, Volume 6(2), pp.
186-191
2006,
Volume 6(1), pp. 5-20
ABSTRACT:
Human levitation occurs when the physical body rises into the air
seemingly in defiance of the force of gravity. Traditionally most
levitation reports have originated from seven groups: (i) mysticism, (ii)
shamanism, (iii) people supposedly possessed by demonic spiritual
entities, (iv) those subjected to poltergeist activity, (v) Spiritualism,
(vi) people who believe they have been abducted by aliens, and (vii)
martial arts such as qigong. So far almost no scientific research appears
to have been conducted into this phenomenon. In order to persuade
empirical scientists that human levitation warrants further investigation,
this qualitative study contains two components. First, there is a thematic
comparison of historical and modern levitation reports from the seven
groups to see what physical, cultural and phenomenological circumstances
they may have in common. Three kinds of evidence have been examined:
general features of the seven groups; interviews with a sample of
Christian priests and pastors, Spiritualists and qigong instructors; and
interviews with six people who claim to have levitated. Second, to assist
future researchers in their investigations, the present article includes a
hypothesis-generating exercise that seeks clues from the thematic
comparison and interviews as to how human levitation might work.
ABSTRACT:
The present article is a review of the ganzfeld meta-analytic literature.
It is found that significant results were obtained in all but one ganzfeld
meta-analysis
- that
of J. Milton and R. Wiseman (1999). However, with combinatorial
re-construction of the available databases and the uncovering of 11
studies overlooked by Milton and Wiseman, L. Storm and S. Ertel (2001)
reconfirmed that the ganzfeld was still the paradigm that delivered one of
the highest effect sizes of all the experimental domains in
parapsychology. More recent studies support this finding. Parapsychologist
and pioneer of ganzfeld research, Charles Honorton (Honorton, 1985) said
that the ganzfeld demonstrates a “significant psi effect” (p. 81), and
the evidence in the present article supports that claim.
Technical
Paper No. 12
Quasi-Experimental
Study of Transliminality, Vibrotactile Thresholds, and Performance Speed
JAMES
HOURAN, LARRY F. HUGHES, MICHAEL A. THALBOURNE, and PETER S. DELIN
ABSTRACT:
Transliminality has been hypothesised to derive from weak or erratic
cognitive mechanisms that are responsible for the active suppression (or
gating) of irrelevant information from consciousness. It was therefore
expected in a test of vibrotactile sensitivity that (i) individuals with
high transliminality scores (HT) have lower thresholds than individuals
with low transliminality scores (LT), (ii) the HT group take less time
than the LT group to obtain a threshold, (iii) and the presence of a
stimulus that competes for attention increases the time and thresholds of
the HT group to a greater extent than those of the LT group. Fifty
participants (17 HTs, 33 LTs) completed three repetitions of threshold
testing using the CASE IV System while exposed to each of four competing
auditory conditions (two Intensity x two Complexity). Results confirmed
predictions, but only the intensity of the competing stimulus, rather than
its relative complexity, interfered with the vibrotactile thresholds of
the HT group.
2005,
Volume 5(2), pp. 123-139
The
Marriage of Parapsychology and Normal Psychology
Michael
A. Thalbourne
ABSTRACT:
I would like to begin by sharing with you an anecdote—in fact a
coincidence. Unfortunately I
have no dates for the two halves of this coincidence, but let that not
cause us to dismiss it out of hand. Thus,
it was some years ago that I happened to wonder to myself at one time the
strange thought of whether a decapitated head continued to have
consciousness for a while. It
so happened that, at the time, I was reading the beginning of Nandor
Fodor’s (1966) An Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science, scouring it for terms that I
might include in my second edition A
Glossary of Terms Used in Parapsychology. I recall that I did not
advance very far into this book, but came at length to the entry under
“Community of Sensation”, an old expression used in hypnosis to refer
to a sort of sensory telepathy between hypnotist and subject, or, as we
shall see, between the subject and another person.
And almost before I realised it, there was the following text as a
bizarre example of community of sensation.
2005,
Volume 5(2), pp. 140-148
Technical
Paper No. 9
Chemical
Induction of Precognitive Dreams
F.
de Pablos
ABSTRACT:
Rivastigmine, a potent
partially
reversible Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used in the treatment of
Alzheimer Disease, enhances both memory and REM sleep. It has been
postulated that besides those normal properties it could also favour
retrograde dream formation, i.e., precognitive dreaming.
An experiment was carried out with 10 normal participants, in a
double blind design - five participants ingested 0.3 mg of Rivastigmine
and five participants were on Placebo - over a period of ten consecutive
nights. Participants recorded the dreams that they had during those
nights. They were also instructed to write a life event protocol
containing significant daily events. A longitudinal matching design
between dreams and future daily events allowed the researcher to find
positive matches between dreams and life-events that could be regarded as
indicating precognition. Data comparison between the Rivastigmine and
Placebo groups yielded two significant effects: (1) Rivastigmine increased
dream productivity as measured by the number of dreaming episodes; (2)
Rivastigmine increased precognitive dreaming as measured by the number of
dream/future-event matches.
2005,
Volume 5(2), pp. 140-148
Technical
Paper No. 10
Psi
Test Feats Achieved Alone at Home: Do they Disappear under Lab Control?
Suitbert
Ertel
ABSTRACT:
Extraordinary hit-rates from multiple-choice tests, obtained by
participants alone in their homes, are ambiguous. On the one hand, their
feats might in fact reflect psi power manifesting itself better under
informal home than under formal lab conditions. Yet hit surpluses obtained
without lab control might also be due to negligent or fraudulent conduct.
One way out of this dilemma is to let participants run psi tests at home
and to invite high scorers thereafter to do additional runs under lab
control. This strategy has been endorsed using N = 238 (Sample 1)
and N = 47 (Sample 2) of student participants. Sample 1 took the
ball-selection test (version I). Fifty numbered table tennis balls (10 of
each, numbered 1 to 5) are drawn from an opaque bag. Participants guess
and draw out numbered balls blind, recording the data as they go (PMCE
= 0.20). Participants put drawn balls back into the bag and they shake the
bag prior to each trial. One test unit consisted of six or eight runs
comprising 60 trials each (total: 360 or 480 trials). Sixteen high scoring
participants of Sample 1 were also tested under lab control, again using
ball test procedure (version I). Sample 2 took the ball-selection test
(version II). This test resembles ball test I in almost every respect
except that green or red dots are sprinkled over the balls, and
participants guess numbers (five targets) and colours (two targets;
MCE = 10%). Thirteen high-scorers of Sample 2 were also tested
under lab control using the bead-selection test where each participant
draws one of five colours (no numbers, MCE = 0.20). It was
hypothesised that (i) hit-rates of high scorers in home tests decline (due
to less psi-conducive conditions under lab control and regression towards
the mean), and (ii) hit-rates of high scorers under lab control are still
significantly above chance (due to genuine psi as was effective at home).
Both hypotheses were confirmed with Sample 1 and replicated with Sample 2.
Three participants obtained significantly higher
hit-rates under lab control compared with their home performance. The
issue of fraud and bias loses relevance in view of such findings. It is
recommended that the first-home-then-lab-test
strategy be introduced into parapsychological research on a broader scale.
2005,
Volume 5(1), pp. 97-118
Technical
Paper No. 8
Perceptual
and Memory Capabilities of Witnesses to Anomalous Visual Phenomena
B.
F. DEAR and A. L. JINKS
ABSTRACT:
The perceptual and memory capabilities of witnesses to anomalous visual
phenomena (AVP) were examined in four experiments. Experiments 1 and 2
tested witnesses’ abilities to access explicit and implicit memory,
Experiment 3 explored witnesses’ abilities to discriminate between
genuine and abstract objects, and Experiment 4 examined witnesses’
propensity to misidentify fragmented objects. No differences were found
between witnesses and non-witnesses on any task. Nevertheless, a number of
medium-and large-sized effects emerged. Together, these suggested that had
power been greater, witnesses would have been shown to (1) require less
time than non-witnesses to recall specific memories, (2) be more likely to
identify abstract objects as legitimate, (3) require fewer presentations
to identify fragmented and ambiguous objects and (4) be more likely to
misidentify these same objects. Some evidence was also produced to suggest
witnesses may actually outperform non-witnesses on the implicit memory
task. Overall, the findings provide weak support for the involvement of
perceptual and memory variables in the perception of AVP.
2005,
Volume 5(1), pp. 40-58
A
New Theory on Place Memory
PAMELA
RAE HEATH
ABSTRACT:
Place memory appears to involve the storage of information by the
environment, which can be retrieved through paranormal means. This concept
has been around since the inception of parapsychology. In recent years, it
has been generally accepted that it is the living, not the dead, that
appear somehow to be involved in the creation of place memory.
Unfortunately, although some theories have been proposed for how place
memory works, none of them are definitive. Heath (2004) recently proposed
that it might aid our understanding of the phenomenon to consider the
possibility that there may be two ways by which place memory is
created - one active, through psychokinesis, and the other ‘passive,’
occurring more often with proximity, recency, and frequency of repetition.
The theory is discussed that resonance might be the mechanism of action
for the creation of ‘passive’ place memory. Furthermore, recent
advances in physics would suggest that this information, regardless of its
method of creation, might not require any special “psi-field,” but
could be stored via the configuration of the atomic electron cloud and the
geometric structure of molecules, including water.
2005,
Volume 5(1), pp. 23-39
Automatic
Writing Revisited
SUSAN
B. MARTINEZ
ABSTRACT:
The topic of automatic writing immediately elicits the question:
Discarnate authorship or “subconscious imagination”? The present essay
argues that the Oahspe bible, for which Dr. John Ballou Newbrough (JBN)
stood as “amanuensis”, could not have been written by a mortal mind,
but only by human hands acting as instrument of a higher power.
Newbrough’s own descriptions of the experience (the speed of the typing,
the veritable army of communicators, etc.) may help the student sort out
the real from the imagined prodigy. And although classed as mental
mediumship, the event was arguably telekinetic. The doctor, however, had
to undergo ten years of study and discipline to bar the influence of his
own thinking, followed by another ten years’ training and purification
to sharpen his “etheric” sight and perceptiveness. The writing was
done each day at dawn, that early hour selected as the most propitious
time for clairvoyance.
2004,
Volume 4(2), pp. 63-80
The
Possible Role of Psychokinesis in Place Memory
PAMELA
RAE HEATH
ABSTRACT:
The idea that the environment can store recordings made by living beings -
also known as place memory - has been around for over a century.
This paper reviews how the term ‘place memory’ has changed since it
was first used by parapsychologists. It also considers what the research
literature says regarding the recording and retrieval of place memory, and
suggests that there may be more than one way in which information can be
recorded by, or imprinted upon, the environment. The hypothesis is
discussed that psychokinesis might be involved in some of these cases,
particularly when stress or peak levels of emotion are involved, as is
often the case in crisis situations.
2004,
Volume 4(2), pp. 81-104
Avoiding
the Intervention Paradox
COLIN
MITCHELL
ABSTRACT:
The author aims to show that there are possible models of time for which
the Intervention Paradox is not a barrier to the possible existence of a
type of precognition in which the event precognised is avoided or changed.
Two different configurations of the ‘block model’ of space-time are
used to show how this could be done: one with multiple futures and one
with another time dimension.
2004,
Volume 4(2), pp. 109-113
Mania
and its Relationship to the Sheep-Goat Variable
MICHAEL
A. THALBOURNE
ABSTRACT:
In this study the focus was on the correlations between belief in, and
alleged experience of, the paranormal (the so-called sheep-goat variable)
and measures of hypomania and of mania. In all 4 analyses examined sheep
were significantly more hypomanic than goats, and in 7 out of 10
significantly more manic. Mental health implications are discussed.
2004,
Volume 4(2), pp. 114-127
Are
Musical Themes Better than Visual Images as ESP-Targets? An Experimental
Study Using the Ganzfeld Technique
ALEJANDRO
PARRA and JORGE VILLANUEVA
ABSTRACT:
The ability to detect emotion in music has many educational and practical
benefits. However, there appear to be few studies reported in the
literature in which sounds have been used as stimuli in extrasensory
tests. The present study was undertaken in order to compare auditory with
visual stimuli and to explore whether psychological factors which appear
to be favourable in music tests are related to ESP. Musical styles were
chosen as targets in this experiment. Fifty-four participants attended two
GESP sessions (each on a different occasion) at the Institute of
Paranormal Psychology in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first author (AP)
was the experimenter, who received each participant, and the second author
(JV) was the blind “sender” for all of the sample. A CD-R containing
3,500 high-resolution colour pictures and another CD containing 112
themes in MP3 format were used, on the two different occasions.
2004,
Volume 4(1), pp. 2-31
People
Who Remember Things They Never Learned
KEITH
CHANDLER
ABSTRACT:
Explaining the unique skills of so-called “idiot savants,” now
generally referred to simply as savants, has long puzzled psychologists.
Savant Syndrome combines various brain pathologies with highly
sophisticated behavioural abilities in such areas as graphic art and
musical performance. As a mental realist, I contend that no view of memory
or behaviour based on physical realist views can account for Savant
Syndrome. I argue that it is related to other “structural” phenomena
such as biological morphogenesis, the transmission of Jungian archetypes,
and cognitive and sensory “formation rules” because all these classes
of phenomena depend on the brain/body’s access to configurations in
their respective universal field levels. For mental realism, all such
levels derive from the Cosmogenic Field, the “first” (ontologically
speaking) emanation of Cosmic Thought in mental realist ontology. While
each of us has his or her own idiosyncratic set of modulations relative to
the cerebral field level of the Cosmogenic Field, every human being also
has access to a priori structural organizing patterns introduced in our
phylogenetic and cultural heritage. Behavioural as well as cognitive
skills depend on such a priori structures. Savant Syndrome is thus
explained as a sharing of or participation in field memories of advanced
behavioural skills.
2003,
Vol. 3(2), pp. 94-104
The
Concept of Coincidence
PETER.
S. DELIN
ABSTRACT:
This paper analyses the concept of coincidence as it is applied in
everyday life, and examines the processes whereby we come to feel that
some coincidences are “extraordinary”, or “remarkable.” It does so
by pointing out, examining and illustrating three different senses of the
word “coincidence.” The first, coincidence in sense A, is coincidence
as a description of a situation or set of events, prior to any question of
whether this outcome has arisen by chance, or through some as yet
unidentified causal agency. Thus, we may suggest it is a “coincidence”
that Kennedy’s secretary was called Lincoln, while Lincoln’s secretary
was called Kennedy. The second sense, coincidence in sense B, is the one
we invoke when we say such things as “it’s only a coincidence,” or
“it was purely coincidental.” What we are doing is to accept that a
coincidence in sense A has occurred, but to deny that any causal
explanation for its occurrence is either necessary or appropriate.
Coincidence in sense B, then, is coincidence in sense A arising by some
chance process. Finally, coincidence in sense C is the sense of
“coincidence” we are usually using when we say things like “It’s a
very remarkable coincidence,” or “What an extraordinary
coincidence!” Hovering in the background is the notion that it needs
explanation in some causal or quasi-causal way; in other words that it is
not a coincidence in sense B. We may even say something like “That
can’t be just a coincidence!” In this paper, these three senses of
coincidence are invoked in order to show that many of the events we think
of as remarkable coincidences in sense C may not be quite as remarkable as
we feel they are.
2003,
Vol. 3(2), pp. 105-122
Harvey
J. Irwin’s Introduction to parapsychology (3rd edition): A
Reinterpretation in Terms of the Theory of Psychopraxia
MICHAEL
A. THALBOURNE
ABSTRACT:
One of the best, perhaps the best, textbooks of parapsychology is
currently Harvey J. Irwin’s Introduction to Parapsychology (3rd
edition). In this book Irwin uses as key concepts extrasensory perception
(ESP) and psychokinesis (PK). The theory of psychopraxia (“the self
accomplishing goals”) does not make use of these terms, considering
instead the endosomatic functions (within the mind-body complex) and
exosomatic functions (outside the mind-body complex) of a unitary
principle called psychopraxia. In this article the author attempts to
redescribe parapsychology in terms of psychopraxia instead of ESP and PK,
using Irwin’s book as a vehicle for the reinterpretation.
2003,
Vol. 3(2), pp. 123-139
The
John Edward Phenomenon “I Want To Believe”
SUE-ELLEN
KJELDAL
ABSTRACT:
Much international interest has been generated by psychics such as John
Edward who purport to communicate with the deceased. In this article,
contemporary decision theory is used as a possible explanatory factor in
determining why individuals unquestioningly believe this notion, whilst
empirical support against the theory appears overwhelmingly negative at
this stage in research into this phenomenon.
2003,
Vol. 3(2), pp. 140-146
The
I Ching and the Lotto Game: Trying to Beat the Odds Using an Ancient
Chinese System of Divination
LANCE
STORM
ABSTRACT:
The I Ching (or Book of Changes) is an ancient Chinese form of divination.
A numbered hexagram (or six-line symbol) and its associated reading or
forecast, is generated using the modern ‘coin-throwing’ method (three
coins are thrown, six times). In the present study, the coin-throwing
method was adopted for the sole purpose of establishing a consistent means
of generating ‘lucky’ numbers to be used in a form of gambling known
as ‘Lotto’-a televised game in which eight ping-pong balls with
winning numbers printed on them are drawn every Saturday night from a pool
of 45 such balls. Participants in the present study took turns throwing
coins to generate their own hexagram numbers. A total of eight numbers
were entered for each Lotto game. Over a period of months, ten games were
played. Half the games played (5 games) independently produced significant
amounts of winning numbers (p < .05). Individual hit-rates for key
players ranged from approximately 17% up to 36% over the ten games. It was
concluded that such high success rates might bode well for the system, but
a ‘control’ condition would be necessary in a replication study to
confirm the viability of the procedure.
2003,
3(2), pp. 159-174
Technical
Paper No. 5
Personality
Factors and Psi-Ganzfeld Sessions: A Replication and Extension
ALEJANDRO
PARRA and JORGE VILLANUEVA
ABSTRACT:
This is a report of a study of the relationship between personality
factors and ESP scores obtained using the ganzfeld technique, which has
had a modest but consistent number of successes in various laboratories.
Eysenck’s (1967) linking of extraversion and arousal was deemed
potentially important to ESP performance. The relationship between ESP
performance and individual differences and several personality dimensions
have been studied, according to Honorton’s model which predicts the
personality characteristics of successful ganzfeld participants. One
hundred and thirty-eight participants attended one ganzfeld session
(telepathy-focused) at the Institute of Paranormal Psychology, Argentina.
The first author (AP) was the experimenter, who received each participant,
and the second author (JV) was sender for each participant. Two
personality inventories (the Eysenck Personality Inventory and the Sixteen
Personality Factor Questionnaire) were administered before each ganzfeld
session. Overall results of this experiment offered some four
personality profiles that arise from a combination of N and E scores.
Though this study did not show significant results relating direct hits to
E or N scores or the 16PF factors, they were found for sanguine females
and choleric male subjects. Cholerics obtained more hits than did
melancholics.
2003,
Vol. 3(1), pp. 3-19
“Are
you there, Spenser?” Attempts at ‘PK by Committee’ in a Séance-like
Situation
LANCE
STORM and COLIN MITCHELL
ABSTRACT:
The term PK by committee refers to a group psi effect that was
hypothesised by D. Scott Rogo (1986) as being more consistent than a psi
effect produced by an individual psychic. The Philip group (Toronto,
Canada), formed by I. M. Owen with M. Sparrow (1976), was essentially a
‘committee’ of individuals attempting to elicit PK effects. The Philip
group inspired the formation of the Spenser group (Adelaide, South
Australia), which was comprised initially of a team of eight professional
and amateur paranormal investigators. The Spenser group attempted to
generate a fictional entity, the sea captain Spenser Blake (1770-1850),
with whom conversation was attempted. No visual manifestations of Spenser
were sought or produced. Spenser group sitters’ attempts at
table-tilting and table levitation met with failure. Doubt remains over
the cause of some rapping and scratching sounds. Attempts at influencing a
candle-flame psychokinetically produced a statistically significant
effect. The more salient anomalous effects produced across a series of 27
sittings are reported and attempts to explain them in rational terms are
presented.
2003,
Vol. 3(1), pp. 20-35
Technical
Paper No. 4
Temporal
Lobe Lability and Self-Reported Haunting Type Experiences: A Questionnaire
Study with an Undergraduate Sample
DEVIN
TERHUNE
ABSTRACT:
This study examined the hypothesis that self-reported haunting type
experiences are positively associated with the temporal lobe lability of
the experient. Sixty-two participants completed a brief personal history
questionnaire about brain trauma and drug usage, the Temporal Lobe
Dysfunction Scale, and the Haunting Type Experiences Index. As expected,
temporal lobe scores were positively correlated with haunting type
experience scores, r(62) = .45, p < .001. High temporal lobe scorers
also scored significantly higher on the Haunting Type Experiences Index
than low temporal lobe scorers, t(60) = 4.27, p < .001. Brain trauma
and drug usage showed no significant relationship to temporal lobe scores
or haunting type experience scores. Exploratory analyses found that
sub-samples, defined by gender and program of study (Fine Arts or
Psychology), scored comparably on the Temporal Lobe Dysfunction Scale and
the Haunting Type Experiences Index. The present results conceptually
replicate previous research linking temporal lobe symptomatology and
haunting type experiences, but further research is warranted given the
methodological confounds in the present study.
2002,
Vol. 2(2), pp. 85-96
“Out-of-Body
Experiences” (OBEs) and Brain Localisation. A Perspective
VERNON
M. NEPPE
ABSTRACT:
Blanke et al. reported in Nature magazine how stimulating the right
angular gyrus in a patient with a right temporal seizure focus with a 4mA
or 5mA current, produced transitory out-of-body experiences (OBEs)
involving seeing either legs or arms disappearing when she attempted to
“inspect the illusory body or body part.” Despite their reporting that
changes in visual attention and/or current amplitude in the angular gyrus
could explain the “phenomenological modification”, this finding produced
significant press interest, as a site for the OBE was postulated. This
brief paper puts this and similar findings into perspective:
-
The OBE described appears atypical for the type of subjective OBE
described by Subjective Paranormal Experients (SPEs).
-
The
likely pathological angular gyrus in this patient cannot be compared
with that area in normal individuals.
-
Generalisation
of this one case to other humans is not warranted.
-
Additionally,
a previous second case suggests more than one locality for provoking
an OBE by electrocortical stimulation. When analysing comparable
phenomena such as déjà vu and memory, no single localisation can be
found.
-
Even
when findings on subjective paranormal experiences (SPEs) including
OBEs are referable to specific anomalous brain functioning, they
neither confirm nor deny the veridicality of the SPEs. These may have
endogenous origins within the brain like pathological hallucinations
do; or a particular brain function pattern may allow experience of an
outside, usually covert, reality.
-
At
least four distinct nosological subtypes of déjà vu exist. Similar
research on OBEs needs to be performed to demonstrate the likely
subtypes that exist.
Methodologically,
associative links do not imply causality. To consolidate the causality
hypothesis, one should analyse SPEs and also the converse, like temporal
lobe epileptic subjects. The reductionistic fallacy of OBEs being fully
explained purely on the basis of stimulating a specific area of the brain
is not tenable.
2002,
Vol. 2(2), pp. 97-124
Technical
Paper No. 3
Analysis
of Haunt Experiences at a Historical Illinois Landmark
JAMES
HOURAN
ABSTRACT:
Previous questionnaire and field research shows that the report and
phenomenology of haunt experiences correlate with a number of
perceptual-personality variables, suggesting that processes related to a
shifting and focusing of attention mediate who will have an experience and
who will not. There is additional evidence to suggest that Psychological
Experiences and the perception of Physical Manifestations in haunts are
mediated by different perceptual-personality variables. An investigation
of a reported haunt at a historic mansion was conducted to conceptually
replicate these findings, as well as to determine the relation of haunt
experiences to aesthetic and environmental factors at the site. Twenty
‘experimentally-blind’ participants completed a battery of
psychological measures and then visited three target and seven control
areas. For each area, participants documented any anomalies they
experienced on a checklist. The location of participants’ experiences
corroborated independent witness accounts at the site, although
participants also reported experiences at control areas. Consistent with
earlier findings, the number of discrete experiences and the number of
different categories of experience both correlated strongly with
Participant Expectation and Traditional Paranormal Beliefs. However,
Psychological Experiences and Physical Manifestations were not mediated by
different sets of psychological factors. Basic features of the test areas
showed no association with the cumulative pattern of participants’
reports. The probability of having a haunt experience might therefore
derive from a noise-to-signal ratio. In this sense, perceptual-personality
variables merely facilitate the perception of stimuli that produce haunt
experiences, rather than inspiring witness reports. The haunt stimuli
themselves in this case remain unidentified, but seem to be distributed
probabilistically throughout the site.
2002,
Vol. 2(1), pp. 2-18
Belief
in, and Alleged Experience of, the Paranormal in Ostensible UFO Abductees
KEITH
BASTERFIELD and MICHAEL A. THALBOURNE
ABSTRACT:
It has often been asserted anecdotally that the UFO phenomenon is
associated with reports of the paranormal. Thus far a statistical study
has not been conducted. In the present research, a measure of belief in
and alleged experience of the paranormal - the 18-item forced-choice
Australian Sheep-Goat Scale - was administered to 21 self-selected
ostensible UFO abductees and their responses com-pared with those of a
control group - 301 students. It was found that abductees reported
significantly greater belief in, and alleged experience of, the paranormal
(ESP, PK and life after death). The anecdotal reports were thus confirmed.
However, it should not be concluded until more research is carried out
that the abductees are necessarily more psychic.
2002,
Vol. 2(1), pp. 19-27
Is
Scientific Investigation of Postmortem Survival an Anachronism? The Demise
of the Survival Hypothesis
HARVEY
IRWIN
ABSTRACT:
The survival hypothesis, or the notion of postmortem survival, has been a
key domain of parapsychological research since the inception of the
Society for Psychical Research in the late nineteenth century.
Parapsychologists nevertheless have made no definitive progress toward the
verification of the survival hypothesis, and the continued centrality of
this issue to parapsychology is a major impediment to the acceptance of
the field as a scientific enterprise. A redefinition of parapsychology and
the relegation of the survival hypothesis to minor status are advocated.
2002,
Vol. 2(1), pp. 28-36
Scepticism
and Credulity
PETER
S. DELIN
ABSTRACT:
Though scientific thinking has been in vogue since the seventeenth
century, it represents only a minority view, and is essentially sceptical.
The majority of mankind adopts a credulous attitude towards natural
phenomena. The extremely sceptical and the extremely credulous have many
psychological characteristics in common and both may be unreliable in
assessing occasional phenomena.
2002,
Vol. 2(1), pp. 37-43
Examining
Macro-Psychokinetic Experiments
M.
WILLIAMS and R. LANG
ABSTRACT:
This paper deals with a method of creating macro-PK results in a
replicable format. The methodology is referred to as “table-tilting”,
though in older literature it may also be called “table-moving”. We
present the information in two parts: the first part deals with a brief
history of the phenomena, whilst the second part deals with our own
experiments. Rather than simply give our opinion on some of the original
experiments, we will give the verbatim accounts presented in the various
literature of the time.
2002,
Vol. 2(1), pp. 44-62
Technical
Paper No. 2
A
Parapsychological Investigation of the I Ching: Seeking Psi in an Ancient
Chinese System of Divination
LANCE
STORM
ABSTRACT:
The Chinese book of divination, the I Ching, has been used in two studies
that featured an unorthodox use of the system (L. Storm & M. A.
Thalbourne, 1998-1999, 2001a). Both studies (N1 = 93; N2 = 107), tested
participants on 2 paranormal tasks using 3 coins: (a) generation of a
hexagram (a six-line symbol with associated reading or ‘fortune’), and
(b) generation of changing lines (gained by throwing 3-of-a-kind using 3
coins). The hexagram hit-rates (i.e., ‘hitting’) in both studies were
significantly above chance, but the number of changing lines in both
studies was not. In Storm and Thalbourne’s (1998-1999) initial study, a
number of significant parapsychological correlations were found, but in
Storm and Thalbourne’s (2001a) second study none of these correlations
replicated. In a re-analysis of the data (see Storm & Thalbourne,
2001b), the 2 samples were pooled to form a larger sample (N1+N2 = 200).
There was a return to significance in all but one correlation.
Psychological correlations of transliminality with each of four 16PF
factors replicated. The present article describes a third I Ching study
using University of Adelaide psychology II students (N3 = 43) who took
part in a practical in their psychology course. There were no significant
paranormal findings, but 5 psychological correlations replicated for a
third time. Pooling the new data with the earlier larger sample (N1+N2 =
200) and subsequent re-analysis of that data (N1+N2+N3 = 243) showed a
return to significant results in virtually all tests.
2001,
Vol. 1(2), pp. 103-116
Shamanism
and Alien Abductions: A Comparative Study
SIMON
HARVEY-WILSON
ABSTRACT:
Some UFO researchers (ufologists) claim that being abducted by aliens can
be compared with shamanic initiation experiences in traditional societies
in that both types of experience may be similarly transformative, leading
to a more spiritual or animistic world-view, a deep concern for the
environment and the development of paranormal abilities such as healing.
This qualitative study was designed to test the validity of such claims by
investigating whether the experiences and subsequent world-view of eleven
alien abductees (eight women and three men) from a Western Australian
abduction support group were similar to those of the typical shaman. To do
this, material gathered from in-depth interviews with the abductees was
compared with the anthropological literature on shamanism, especially
shamanic initiation experiences, from various parts of the world.
2001,
Vol. 1(2), pp. 117-126
Examining
the Evidence for Psi in the Context of Scientific Revolution
HANNAH
JENKINS
ABSTRACT:
This paper is concerned with the representation of psi in current
philosophy texts. It undertakes an analysis of the current status of
evidence for psi according to a Kuhnian scientific revolution. This is
based on an analysis of the nature of the dispute between those who
maintain that psi does not exist (the dominant one expressed in most
modern philosophy texts), and those who believe that science will
eventually be able to cope with the anomalous phenomena associated with
psi effects. An appeal is made for a more even-handed representation in
future philosophy texts using this interpretation to help ameliorate the
representation of psi phenomena.
2001,
Vol. 1(2), pp. 127-132
A
Layperson’s Guide to the Theory of Psychopraxia
MICHAEL
A. THALBOURNE
ABSTRACT:
In this brief article, the author argues that use of the terms “ESP”
and “PK” often leads to ambiguities as to which of the ostensibly two
processes is occurring. A particularly clear case of this is the
“telepathy” situation, where ESP (of various types) or PK or both
could be involved. It is argued that the paranormal process is not dual
but unitary in nature; the author calls this single process
“psychopraxia” (“the self accomplishing ends”), and discusses it
in the context of a new theory of the paranormal.
2001,
Vol. 1(2), pp. 133-170
Technical
Paper No. 1
Paranormal
Effects Using Sighted and Vision-Impaired Participants in a Quasi-Ganzfeld
Task
LANCE
STORM and MICHAEL A. THALBOURNE
ABSTRACT:
An experiment on exosomatic psychopraxia was conducted in which 42 wholly
or partially blind participants were matched for age and sex with 42
sighted participants. The experimental task was to describe, paranormally,
a randomly selected drawing concealed in aluminium foil and a manila
envelope. Every second participant was assigned to a relaxation treatment
(audio tape). Following their attempted description of the target,
participants were required to rank-order 4 drawings (1 the target, and 3
the decoys). For the whole sample, based on the rankings by participants
(but not those of an independent judge), the sum-of-ranks statistic was
significantly positive (z = -2.98, p = .002, two-tailed), as it was also
for the sighted participants (z = -2.41, p = .016, two-tailed), whereas
results for the vision-impaired were not significant. The relaxation tape
appeared not to induce relaxation, at least as indicated by the heart rate
measure, but the ‘relaxed’ groups (the whole sample, and the sighted
group, but not the vision-impaired group) scored marginally better than
the respective non-relaxed groups. Belief in ESP did not affect scores in
the expected direction. We refer to the significant and marginally
significant effects as evidence of exosomatic psychopraxia (the latter
effects indicating that relaxation might have been conducive to
psychopraxia). However, a specific mode of psychopraxia¾compensation¾was
not found in the vision-impaired group.
2001,
Vol. 1(1), pp. 2-8
Parapsychology
as a Career
HARVEY
IRWIN
ABSTRACT:
Many young people become fascinated by the subject matter of
parapsychology and are moved to consider the prospect of becoming a
professional parapsychologist. This article offers some considered
observations in relation to such an aspiration.
2001,
Vol. 1(1), pp. 9-29
Mrs.
Piper Revisited
PHILIP
