Parapsychology FAQ TWM Parapsychology FAQ

Compiled by Dean Radin, PhD of UNLV's Cognitive Research Division Parapsychology FAQ - A helpful guide to parapsychology and the facts regarding that field. Editor's Note: While the Amazing Randi and other sceptics maintain that there is no concrete evidence to prove the existence of any paranormal phenomena, groups such as the CRD are conducting respectable experiments and producing statistically significant results. What do the sceptics have to say abo t this! That most of these results are not reproducable is a powerful weapon in the hands of the sceptics. Or is this ust an indication of our seeming inability to isolate the conditions that produce parapsychological phenomena! This "A# should help you understand the facts as they stand today and serve as a lesson in clear thin$ing for anyone. Last pdate" #pril $%, &''( Table of Contents

1. Who compiled this )#*! 2. Who is the intended a dience!

o +echnical note" # dience

3. What is parapsychology! 4. What is not parapsychology! 5. What do parapsychologists st dy!

o +echnical note" ,asic terms

6. Why is parapsychology interesting!

o +echnical note" -mplications

7. What are some practical applications of psi! 8. What are the ma.or research approaches! 9. What are the ma.or psi e/periments today!
o o o o P0 on random n mber generators P0 on living systems 12P in the gan3feld Remote vie4ing

+echnical note" 5ethodology

10. What are common criticisms and responses abo t parapsychology!

o o o Criticism & Criticism $ Criticism 6

11. Why is parapsychology chronically controversial! 12. What is the state7of7the7evidence for psi! 13. What is the state7of7the7theory for psi! 14. Where can - get more information! 15. * estions abo t pop lar phenomena
o o o o o #re ghosts real! #re poltergeists real! -f psi is real, ho4 come casinos ma8e so m ch money! -s channeling real! #re large7scale P0 effects, li8e levitation, real!

16. What is the history of parapsychology! 17. #re there any psi research e/periments accessible over the Web! 18. Where are the active psi research facilities! 19. 5a.or contrib tors to this )#*
1 !" C"#P$%&D T!$' FAQ( +his )#* 4as compiled by an ad7hoc gro p of scientists and scholars interested in parapsychology, the st dy of 4hat is pop larly called 9psychic9 phenomena: +he disciplines represented in this gro p incl de physics, psychology, philosophy, statistics, mathematics, comp ter science, chemistry, anthropology, and history: +he ma.or contrib tors and their affiliations are listed at the end of this doc ment: +he ma.ority of this gro p are members of the Parapsychological #ssociation ;P#<: +he P# is an international professional society fo nded in &'=% and elected an affiliate of the #merican #ssociation for the #dvancement of 2cience in &'>': While this )#* is not an official p blication of the P#, the contrib tors do incl de several past7 Presidents of the P#, incl ding the c rrent ;&''=< President, and past and present members of the ,oard of Directors of the P#: +he a thors' act al laboratory and field research e/perience 4ith parapsychology is estimated at over ?@@ years: +he gro p aimed for consens s on each )#* item, b t as in many intellect al p rs its, especially in yo ng, m ltidisciplinary domains, there 4ere some sharp disagreements: -n spite of these disagreements, the a thors believe that beca se of b rgeoning p blic interest in parapsychology, the relative lac8 of reliable information, and the many myths and distortions associated 4ith this field, it

4as important to p t some basic information on the World Wide Web sooner rather than later: +o s bmit A estions to the )#*, send email to Dean Radin ;dradinBnevada:ed <: ) !" $' T!& $*T&*D&D A+D$&*C&( +his 4as 4ritten as a general introd ction to parapsychology for individ als ranging from advanced high7school st dents to professionals 4ith little or no bac8gro nd in parapsychology: Writing for s ch a broad a dience is a challenge, beca se gaining an appreciation of parapsychology today reA ires at least a passing 8no4ledge of a 4ide range of topics, incl ding statistics, e/perimental design, A ant m mechanical theory, the sociology and philosophy of science, history of parapsychology, and the scientific literat re on parapsychology: ,eca se o r e/pected a dience is so broad, 4e have to ched only briefly on many technical iss es that nderlie interesting iss es and debates 4ithin the field: +herefore, the approach in this )#* is to clarify the comple/ topic of parapsychology 4itho t glossing over important points and 4itho t 9d mbing do4n9 the basic content: )or a fe4 partic larly tric8y iss es that 4e do 4ish to cover here, 4e've incl ded sections labelled Technical Note: We event ally plan to provide ;mainly thro gh lin8s to other so rces on the Web< a comprehensive so rce of information on parapsychology, incl ding details on the ma.or topics of debate, the prevailing theories, disc ssions of empirical evidence, lin8s to .o rnal papers, reference so rces, mission statements and other items from the ma.or parapsychological research centers, individ al researchers' home pages, and home pages for relevant scientific and scholarly societies: ).1 T&C!*$CA% *"T&, A+D$&*C& +he content and style of this )#* spar8ed a vigoro s debate among the a thors: #t least five potential a diences 4ere identified" physical scientists, social and behavioral scientists, hardened s8eptics, Ne47#ge enth siasts, and readers 4ith little or no bac8gro nd in any of the conventional sciences or in parapsychology: )or physical scientists, 4e felt it 4as important to disc ss methodology and terminology, and comment on some of the s al criticisms of parapsychology: )or social and behavioral scientists, 4e added some implications of the observation that people thro gho t history and across all c lt res have reported psychic e/periences: )or hardened s8eptics, or people 4hose 8no4ledge of parapsychology is based solely pon the s8eptical literat re, 4e felt it 4as important to address the fact that there is s bstantial, scientifically pers asive empirical data available: )or people 4ith Ne47#ge interests, enth siasms, or ass mptions, 4e felt that at least part of the p rpose here 4o ld be to indicate the limits of 4hat claims the scientific data act ally . stify: )or readers 4ho 8no4 little or nothing abo t the topic, or abo t science or scientific methods, 4e've applied a broad7br sh approach to cover as m ch of the field as possible in a single doc ment: Cyperlin8s 4ill be added in f t re editions to help flesh o t this )#*: - !AT $' PARAP'.C!"%"/.( Parapsychology is the scientific and scholarly st dy of certain n s al events associated 4ith h man e/perience: # long7held, common7sense ass mption is that the 4orlds of the s b.ective and ob.ective are completely distinct, 4ith no overlap: 2 b.ective is 9here, in the head,9 and ob.ective is 9there, o t in the 4orld:9 Parapsychology is the st dy of phenomena s ggesting that the strict s b.ectiveDob.ective dichotomy may instead be part of a spectr m, 4ith some phenomena occasionally falling bet4een p rely s b.ective and p rely ob.ective: We call s ch phenomena 9anomalo s9 beca se they are diffic lt to e/plain 4ithin c rrent scientific models: +hese anomalies fall into three general categories" 12P ;terms are defined belo4<, P0, and phenomena s ggestive of s rvival after bodily death, incl ding near7death e/periences, apparitions, and reincarnation: 5ost parapsychologists today e/pect that f rther research 4ill event ally e/plain these anomalies in scientific terms, altho gh it is not clear 4hether they can be f lly nderstood 4itho t significant ;some might say revol tionary< e/pansions of the c rrent state of scientific 8no4ledge: Ether researchers ta8e the stance that e/isting scientific models of perception and memory are adeA ate to e/plain some or all parapsychological phenomena: 0 !AT $' *"T PARAP'.C!"%"/.( -n spite of 4hat the media often imply, parapsychology is not the st dy of 9anything paranormal9 or bi3arre: Nor is parapsychology concerned 4ith astrology, U)Es, searching for ,igfoot, paganism, vampires, alchemy, or 4itchcraft:

5any scientists vie4 parapsychology 4ith great s spicion beca se the term has come to be associated 4ith a h ge variety of mysterio s phenomena, fringe topics, and pse doscience: Parapsychology is also often lin8ed, again inappropriately, 4ith a broad range of 9psychic9 entertainers, magicians, and so7called 9paranormal investigators:9 -n addition, some self7proclaimed 9psychic practitioners9 call themselves parapsychologists, b t that is not 4hat 4e do, as this )#* 4ill help to clarify: 1 !AT D" PARAP'.C!"%"/$'T' 'T+D.( 5any feel that the strangest, and most interesting, aspect of parapsychological phenomena is that they do not appear to be limited by the 2no3n boundaries of space or time. -n addition, they blur the sharp distinction usually made bet3een mind and matter. -n pop lar sage, the basic parapsychological phenomena are categori3ed as follo4s" Telepathy " Direct mind7to7mind comm nication: %recognition" #lso called premonition: Ebtaining information abo t f t re events, 4here the information co ld not be inferred thro gh normal means: 5any people report dreams that appear to be precognitive: &lairvoyance " 2ometimes called remote viewingF obtaining information abo t events at remote locations, beyond the reach of the normal senses: '(%" 1/tra7sensory perceptionF a general term for obtaining information abo t events beyond the reach of the normal senses: +his term s bs mes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition: %sycho$inesis " #lso called P0F direct mental interaction 4ith physical ob.ects, animate or inanimate: )io*%+ " Direct mental interactions 4ith living systems: ,-' " Near death e/perienceF an e/perience reported by those 4ho 4ere revived from nearly dying: Eften refers to a core e/perience that incl des feelings of peace, E,1, seeing lights and other phenomena: O)' " E t7of7body e/perienceF the e/perience of feeling separated from the body, often accompanied by vis al perceptions as tho gh from above the body: Reincarnation" Reports, typically from children, of apparent recollections of previo s lives: .aunting " Rec rrent phenomena reported to occ r in partic lar locations that incl de apparitions, so nds, movement of ob.ects, and other effects: %oltergeist" Large7scale P0 phenomena often attrib ted to spirits, b t 4hich are no4 tho ght to be d e to a living person, freA ently an adolescent: %si " # ne tral term for parapsychological phenomena: Psi, psychic, and psychical are synonyms:

1.1 T&C!*$CA% *"T&, 4A'$C T&R#' +he above terms are representative of common sage, b t parapsychologists s ally define psi phenomena in more ne tral or operational terms: +his is beca se labels often carry strong b t nstated connotations that can lead to misinterpretations: )or e/ample, telepathy is commonly tho ght of as mind7reading: Co4ever, in practice, and certainly in laboratory research, e/periences of telepathy rarely involve perception of act al tho ghts, and the e/perience itself often does not logically reA ire comm nication bet4een t4o minds, b t can also be 9e/plained9 as clairvoyance or precognition: 0eep in mind that the names and concepts sed to describe psi act ally say more abo t the sit ations in 4hich the phenomena are observed, than abo t

any f ndamental properties of the phenomena themselves: +hat t4o events are classified the same does not mean they are act ally the same: -n addition, in scientific practice many of the basic terms sed above are accompanied by A alifiers s ch as 9apparent,9 9p tative,9 and 9ostensible:9 +his is beca se many claims s pposedly involving psi may not be d e to psi, b t to normal psychological or misinterpreted physical reasons: 5 !. $' PARAP'.C!"%"/. $*T&R&'T$*/( Parapsychology is interesting mainly beca se of the implications: +o list a fe4 e/amples, psi phenomena s ggest ;a< that 4hat science 8no4s abo t the nat re of niverse is incompleteF ;b< that the pres med capabilities and limitations of h man potential have been nderestimatedF ;c< that f ndamental ass mptions and philosophical beliefs abo t the separation of mind and body may be incorrectF and ;d< that religio s ass mptions abo t the divine nat re of 9miracles9 may have been mista8en: #s an aside, 4e sho ld note that many scientific parapsychologists today, incl ding most of the a thors of this )#*, ta8e an empirical, data7oriented approach to psi phenomena, and specifically avoid disc ssing spec lative implications that are not s pported by data: Co4ever, some researchers regard the c rrent findings of parapsychology as having a 4ide variety of important implications, incl ding implications abo t the spirit al nat re of h man8ind: +h s, in deference to the broad readership e/pected of this doc ment, 4e present in the follo4ing Technical Note some of the possible implications of psi, ac8no4ledging that this section is, of co rse, spec lative: 5.1 T&C!*$CA% *"T&, $#P%$CAT$"*' -n general, physicists tend to be interested in parapsychology beca se of the implication that 4e have a gross mis nderstanding abo t space and time and the transmission of energy and information: )iologists are interested beca se psi implies the e/istence of additional, ne/plained methods of sensing the 4orld: %sychologists are interested for 4hat psi implies abo t the nat re of perception and memory: %hilosophers are interested beca se psi phenomena specifically address many age7old philosophical problems, incl ding the role of the mind in the physical 4orld, and the nat re of the ob.ective vs: the s b.ective: Theologians and the general public tend to be interested beca se personal psi e/periences are often accompanied by feelings of profo nd, ineffable meaning: #s a res lt, psi is tho ght by some to have 9spirit al9 implications: )rom the materialistic perspective, 4hich is one of the fo ndations of the scientific 4orldvie4, h man conscio sness is nothing b t an emergent prod ct of the f nctioning of ,rain, ,ody, and Nervo s 2ystem ;,,N2<: +hat is, no matter ho4 different mind may seem from solid st ff li8e bodies, it is generated solely by the electrochemical f nctioning of the ,,N2, and so it is absol tely dependent on it: When the ,,N2 dies, so does conscio sness: )rom this perspective, claims of s rvival of bodily death, or ghosts, or apparitions, m st be d e to 4ishf l thin8ing: ) rthermore, the limits of material f nctioning a tomatically determine the ltimate limits of mental f nctioning, th s 12P and P0 appear to be impossible, given o r c rrent nderstanding abo t ho4 the 4orld 4or8s: #nd yet, psi phenomena have occ rred in all c lt res thro gho t history, they contin e to occ r, and some of the reported phenomena have been pers asively verified sing scientific methods: ,eca se psi seems to transcend the ass med limits of material f nctioning, and therefore the ,,N2, some interpret psi as s pporting the idea that there is something more to mind than . st the ,,N2, that there is some sort of 9so l,9 or the li8e: +his 9non7physical9 aspect, an aspect that does not seem to be as tightly bo nded by space or time as present scientific models reA ire, might s rvive bodily death: -f so, there may be important tr ths contained in some spirit al ideas and practices: Ef co rse, parapsychology is a very long 4ay from being able to say that 9the data sho4s that G9 ;insert yo r favorite religio s gro p here< are specifically right abo t religio s doctrines #, ,, and C b t dead 4rong abo t dogmas P, * and R: We must emphasize that there is a big difference bet4een simply noting that the findings of parapsychology may have implications for spirit al concepts, vers s the idea that parapsychologists are driven by some hidden spirit al agenda: 2ome critics of parapsychology seem to believe that all parapsychologists have hidden religio s motives, and that they are really o t to prove the e/istence of the so l: +his is no more tr e than claiming that all chemists really harbor secret ambitions abo t alchemy, and th s their real agenda is to transm te merc ry into gold: +he reasons 4hy serio s investigators are dra4n to any discipline are as diverse as their bac8gro nds: 6 !AT AR& '"#& PRACT$CA% APP%$CAT$"*' "F P'$(

2t dies of direct mental interaction 4ith living systems s ggest that traditional mental healing techniA es, s ch as prayer, may be based on gen ine psi7mediated effects: -n the f t re it may be possible to develop enhanced methods of healing based on these phenomena: Psi may be involved in 5 rphy's La4" 9-f anything can go 4rong, it 4ill:9 +hat is, modern machines based pon sensitive electronic circ its, s ch as copiers and comp ters, may at times directly interact 4ith h man intention, and as a res lt, ine/plicably fail at inopport ne times: Ef co rse, the converse may also be tr e: +hat is, the possibility e/ists to repair, or to control sensitive machines solely by mental means: 2 ch technologies 4o ld significantly benefit handicapped persons: Ether potential applications incl de improved methods of ma$ing decisions, of locating missing persons or valuables, and of describing events at locations we cannot go to beca se of distance, time, or accessibility: +his incl des the possibility of psi7based historians and forecasters: Cighly developed psi abilities may benefit psychotherapy and other forms of counseling: Psi may be sed to provide a statistical edge in the financial mar8ets and in locating archeological treas res: Ho to ne/t page

Parapsychology FAQ
Part )
Compiled by UNLV's Cognitive Research Division Parapsychology )#* 7 # helpf l g ide to parapsychology and the facts regarding that field: 7 !AT AR& T!& #A8"R R&'&ARC! APPR"AC!&'(

#s in any m ltidisciplinary domain, there are many 4ays of cond cting research: +he five main methods sed in parapsychology are" ;&< 'cholarly research, incl ding disc ssion of philosophical iss es and historical s rveys: ;$< Analytical research, incl ding statistical analysis of large databases: ;6< Case studies, incl ding in7depth st dies of personal psi e/periences, field investigations, and comparisons of cross7c lt ral beliefs and practices related to psi: ;?< Theoretical research, incl ding mathematical, descriptive and phenomenological models of psi: ;=< &xperimental research, incl ding laboratory st dies of psi effects: #ltho gh all five of these approaches contrib te to the field, today the primary source of 9hard e:idence9 in parapsychology is controlled laboratory e/periments: ,y applying the e/acting standards of scientific method, researchers over the past si/ decades have developed an increasingly pers asive database for certain types of psi phenomena: 2everal ma.or e/perimental designs have been developed d ring this time, and a select fe4 experiments ha:e no3 been repeated hundreds of times by do3ens of researchers, 4orld74ide: 2ometimes these e/periments are cond cted as strict replications, b t more often they are concept ally similar e/periments that add controls or e/tend the range of A estions addressed: ; !AT AR& T!& #A8"R P'$ &<P&R$#&*T' T"DA.(

+hro gh pop lar boo8s and portrayals of parapsychology in movies li8e 9Hhostb sters,9 many people ass me that psi e/perimenters today primarily se 912P cards:9 +his is a dec8 of $= cards, 4ith five repetitions of five cards sho4ing symbols of a sA are, circle, 4avy line, cross, or star: 2 ch cards 4ere developed and sed e/tensively in early psi e/periments primarily by I: ,: Rhine and his colleag es from the &'6@'s thro gh the &'>@'s: 12P cards provided pers asive evidence for 12P, b t today they are rarely sed by professionals: )o r of the most prolific and pers asive of the c rrent e/periments are the follo4ing" ;.1 P= "* RA*D"# *+#4&R /&*&RAT"R'

+he advent of electronic and comp ter technologies has allo4ed researchers to develop highly a tomated e/periments st dying the interaction bet4een mind and matter: -n one s ch e/periment, a Random N mber Henerator ;RNH< based on electronic or radioactive noise prod ces a data stream that is recorded and analysed by comp ter soft4are: -n the typical RNH e/periment, a s b.ect attempts to mentally change the distrib tion of the random n mbers, s ally in an e/perimental design that is f nctionally eA ivalent to getting more 9heads9 than 9tails9 4hile flipping a coin: Ef co rse the electronic, comp teri3ed e/periment has many advantages over earlier research sing, e:g:, tossed coins or dice: -n the RNH e/periment, great fle/ibility is combined 4ith caref l scientific control and a high rate of data acA isition: # meta7analysis of the database, p blished in &'(', e/amined (@@ e/periments by more than >@ researchers over the preceding 6@ years: +he effect si3e 4as fo nd to be very small, b t remar8ably consistent, res lting in an overall statistical deviation of appro/imately &= standard errors from a chance effect: +he probability that the observed effect 4as act ally 3ero ;i:e:, no psi< 4as less than one part in a trillion, verifying that h man conscio sness can indeed affect the behavior of a random physical system: ) rthermore, 4hile e/perimental A ality had significantly increased over time, this 4as ncorrelated 4ith the effect si3e, in contradiction to a freA ent, b t apparently nfo nded s8eptical criticism: ;.) P= "* %$>$*/ '.'T&#' +his has also been called bio?P=@ and more recently some researchers refer to it as Direct 5ental -nteractions 4ith Living 2ystems ;D5-L2<: +he ability to monitor internal f nctions of the body, incl ding nervo s system activity sing 11H and biofeedbac8 technologies, has provided an opport nity to as8 4hether biological systems may also be affected by intention in a manner similar to P0 on RNHs: # D5-L2 e/periment that has been partic larly s ccessf l is one that loo8s at the commonly reported 9feeling of being stared at:9 +he 9starer9 and the 9staree9 are isolated in different locations, and the starer is periodically as8ed to simply ga3e at the staree via closed circ it video lin8s: 5ean4hile the staree's nervo s system activity is a tomatically and contin o sly monitored: +he c m lative database on this and similar D5-L2 e/periments provides strong evidence that one person's attention directed to4ards a remote, isolated person, can significantly activate or calm that person's nervo s system, according to the instr ctions given to the starer: ;.- &'P $* T!& /A*AF&%D Han3feld ;94hole field9< techniA e 4as developed to A iet this e/ternal noise by providing a mild, npatterned sensory field to mas8 the noise of the o tside 4orld: -n the typical gan3feld e/periment, the telepathic 9sender9 and 9receiver9 are isolated, the receiver is p t into the gan3feld state, and the sender is sho4n a video clip or still pict re and as8ed to mentally send that image to the receiver: +he receiver, 4hile in the gan3feld, is as8ed to contin o sly report alo d all mental processes, incl ding images, tho ghts, feelings: #t the end of the sending period, typically abo t $@ to ?@ min tes in length, the receiver is ta8en o t of the gan3feld, and sho4n fo r images or videos, one of 4hich is the tr e target and three are non7target decoys: +he receiver attempts to select the tr e target, sing perceptions e/perienced d ring the gan3feld state as cl es to 4hat the mentally 9sent9 image might have been: With no telepathy, chance e/pectation allo4s s to predict that the correct target 4o ld be selected abo t & in ? times, for a $=J 9hit rate:9 #fter scores of s ch e/periments, presently totalling abo t %@@ individ al sessions cond cted by abo t t4o do3en investigators, 4orld7 4ide, the res lts sho4 that the target image is selected on average 6?J of the time: +his is a highly significant res lt, s ggesting that telepathy, at least as operationally defined in this e/periment, e/ists: ;.0 R&#"T& >$& $*/

+he gan3feld techniA e indicates that information can be e/changed mentally after the receiver is placed in an altered state of conscio sness ;the gan3feld<: +he remote vie4ing e/periment, in one of its many forms, investigates 4hether information can be gained 4itho t reA iring a special altered state, and 4itho t a sender: )or e/ample, in one type of remote vie4ing e/periment, a pool of several h ndred photographs are created: Ene of these is randomly selected by a third party to be the target, and it is set aside in a remote location: +he e/perimental participant then attempts to s8etch or other4ise describe that remote target photo: +his is repeated for a total of say, % different targets: 5any 4ays of eval ating the res lts of this test have been developed, incl ding some highly sophisticated methods: Ene common ;and easy< method is to ta8e the gro p of seven target photos and responses, randomly sh ffle the targets and responses, and then as8 independent . dges to ran8 order or match the correct targets 4ith the participant's act al responses: -f there 4as real transfer of information, the responses sho ld correspond more closely to the correct targets than to the mismatched targets: 2everal tho sand s ch trials have been cond cted by do3ens of investigators over the past $= years, involving h ndreds of participants: +he c m lative database strongly indicates that information abo t remote photos, act al scenes, and events can be perceived: 2ome of these e/periments have also been sed to s ccessf lly st dy precognition by having a participant describe a photo that 4o ld be randomly selected in the f t re: ;.1 T&C!*$CA% *"T&, #&T!"D"%"/. Parapsychology ses methods commonly employed in other scientific disciplines: Laboratory st dies se research methods from psychology, biology and physics: )ield research ses methods from sociology and anthropology: +here are plenty of te/tboo8s on research methods in these fields, and 4e 4on't attempt to s mmari3e them here: hatBs special about parapsychology is the need to pay very close attention to 9conventional9 e/planations: +his is beca se 4e've defined psi phenomena as e/changes of information that do not involve c rrently 8no4n ;i:e:, conventional< processes: )or instance, 4e tal8 abo t 912P9 4hen people 8no4 abo t things going on in their environment 4itho t getting the information by seeing, hearing, to ching, smelling, or thro gh any other 8no4n sensory inp t, or 4itho t being able to fig re o t the 9target9 information: We tal8 abo t 9P09 4hen physical systems appear to react to people's intentions and there's no 8no4n physical contact bet4een the person and the 9target:9 Words li8e 94itho t,9 and phrases li8e 9no 8no4n,9 sho4 p a great deal in descriptions of psi phenomena: +herefore, an important part of parapsychological research is eliminating 2no3n contact methods from laboratory set ps and thin8ing caref lly abo t them 4hen eval ating reports of people's e/periences: -n 12P research, this reA ires 8no4ing abo t the psychology of sensation, perception, memory, thin8ing, and comm nication, and abo t the biology and physics of sensation and movement: -n P0 st dies, it is important to 8no4 abo t the physical characteristics of the 9target,9 ho4 it 4or8s, and 4hat might affect it: -n field st dies, and in most laboratory st dies, it's important to 8no4 abo t the 4ays in 4hich people can interact 4ith each other: Ef co rse, in field st dies it is m ch more diffic lt to eliminate conventional e/planations than it is in the laboratory beca se yo can't set things p beforehand to eliminate conventional contact bet4een the people and the 9targets:9 1ven 4hen 8no4n contact methods are 4ell controlled or eliminated, there is al4ays the possibility that 4hat 4e observe could ha:e occurred by chance: +hat is, a person's apparent 12P 8no4ledge abo t some distant event might be a random g ess that . st happens to resemble the target: Er, 4hat loo8s li8e a P0 effect on a physical system might be a random change in that system that . st happens to occ r at the right time: 2o it's important to 8no4 the statistical methods sed to meas re ho4 li8ely it is that the event co ld have occ rred by chance, and ho4 to decide 4hen that's so nli8ely that it ma8es more sense to thin8 there really 4as some 8ind of psi contact:

2ometimes field research is not concerned 4ith 4hether the e/periences people report 4ere really psi phenomena, b t instead as8s A estions li8e, 9 hat do people report abo t e/periences they thin8 4ere psi!9, 9Co4 does having these e/periences affect their lives!9, and 9Do people's psychological or c lt ral characteristics infl ence ho4 li8ely they are to interpret e/periences as psi!9 +his is straightfor4ard anthropological, sociological, or psychological research and does not reA ire the same 8ind of strict attention to eliminating conventional e/planations: +he val e of field research methods is that they investigate the e/periences that people act ally report: +hese incl de e/periences s ch as precognitive dreams, o t7of7body e/periences, telepathic impressions, a ras, memories of previo s lives, ha ntings and poltergeists and apparitions: Research on these iss es res lts in information abo t incidence, phenomenology, demographic and psychological correlates of the e/periences: While field or spontaneo s case research is less technical, and often more e/citing to read, it is 4ise to a:oid Cumping to conclusions abo t the nat re of psi from individ al cases: 2 ch st dies e/amine ho4 people report or thin8 abo t their e/periences, not 4hat those e/periences act ally are: Co4ever, beca se spontaneo s case st dies concentrate on the 9ra4 e/perience,9 they offer a val able vie4 of psi that is often missing in controlled laboratory e/periments: Case st dies provide a chance to discover the personal meanings and the psychodynamics nderlying the e/periences, 4hich in t rn may provide important hints as to possible mechanisms of psi: #n important goal of laboratory research is to determine the degree to 4hich e/periences reported in field and spontaneo s7case research can be verified sing c rrent scientific methods: -f they prove to be verifiable in the lab, the ma.or intent of the lab 4or8 s ally shifts from 9proof7 oriented9 research to 9process7oriented,9 in 4hich the goal is to discover the psychological, physiological, and physical mechanisms of each phenomenon: 1D !AT AR& C"##"* CR$T$C$'#' A*D R&'P"*'&' A4"+T PARAP'.C!"%"/.(

Constr ctive criticism is essential in science and is 4elcomed by the ma.ority of active psi researchers: 2trong s8epticism is e/pected, and many parapsychologists are far more s8eptical abo t psi than most 9o tside9 scientists reali3e: Co4ever, it is not generally appreciated that some of the more vocal criticisms abo t psi are act ally 9pse do7criticisms:9 +hat is, the more barbed, belligerent criticisms occasionally asserted by some s8eptics are often iss ed from s ch strongly held, pre. dicial positions that the criticisms are not offered as constr ctive s ggestions, b t as a thoritarian proofs of the impossibility of psi: -t is commonly s pposed by non7scientists that s8eptical debates over the merits of psi research follo4 the standards of scholarly disc ssions: Unfort nately, this is not al4ays the case: Disparaging rhetoric and ad hominem attac8s arise too often in debates abo t psi: +he social science of parapsychology, and the 4ay that science treats anomalies in general, is a fascinating topic that star8ly ill minates the very h man side of ho4 science really 4or8s: # more complete description of this topic is beyond the scope of this )#*: 1D.1 CR$T$C$'# 1 Criticism" #pparently s ccessf l e/perimental res lts are act ally d e to sloppy proced res, poorly trained researchers, methodological fla4s, selective reporting, and statistics problems: +here is therefore not a shred of scientific evidence for psi phenomena: Response" +hese iss es have been addressed in detail by meta7analytic revie4s of the e/perimental literat re : +he res lts nambig o sly demonstrate that s ccessf l e/periments cannot be e/plained a4ay by these criticisms: -n fact, research by Carvard University specialists in scientific methods sho4ed that the best e/perimental psi research today is not only cond cted according to proper scientific standards, b t s ally adheres to more rigoro s protocols than are fo nd in contemporary research in both the social and physical sciences: -n addition, over the years there have been a n mber of very effective reb ttals of criticisms of individ al st dies, and 4ithin

the past decade, e/perimental proced res have been developed that address virt ally all methodological criticisms, even the possibility of fra d and coll sion, by incl ding s8eptics in the e/perimental proced res: 1D.) CR$T$C$'# ) Criticism" Psi phenomena violate basic limiting principles of science, and are therefore impossible: Response" +4enty years ago, this criticism 4as a fairly common retort to claims of psi phenomena: +oday, 4ith advancements in many scientific disciplines, the scientific 4orldvie4 is rapidly changing, and the basic limiting principles are constantly being redefined: -n addition, the s bstantial empirical database in parapsychology no4 presents anomalies that simply 4on't 9go a4ay,9 th s this criticism is no longer pers asive and is slo4ly disappearing: Hiven the rate of change in science today, assigning psi to the realm of the impossible no4 seems impr dent at best, foolish at 4orst: 1D.- CR$T$C$'# Criticism" Parapsychology does not have a 9repeatable9 e/periment: Response" When many people tal8 abo t a repeatable psi e/periment, they s ally have in mind an e/periment li8e those cond cted in elementary physics classes to demonstrate the acceleration of gravity, or simple chemical reactions: -n s ch e/periments, 4here there are relatively fe4, 4ell7 8no4n and 4ell7controllable variables, the e/periments can be performed by practically anyone, anytime, and they 4ill 4or8: , t insisting on this level of repeatability is inappropriate for parapsychology, or for that matter, for most social or behavioral science e/periments: Psi e/periments s ally involve many variables, some of 4hich are poorly nderstood and diffic lt or impossible to directly control: Under these circ mstances, scientists se statistical arg ments to demonstrate 9repeatability9 instead of the common, b t restrictive vie4 that 9-f it's real, - sho ld be able to do it 4henever - 4ant:9 Under the ass mption that there is no s ch thing as psi, 4e 4o ld e/pect that abo t =J of 4ell7 cond cted psi e/periments 4o ld be declared 9s ccessf l9 ;i:e:, statistically significant< by p re chance: , t s ppose that in a series of &@@ act al psi e/periments 4e consistently observed that $@ 4ere s ccessf l: +his is e/tremely nli8ely to occ r by chance, s ggesting that psi 4as present in some of those st dies: Co4ever, it also means that in any partic lar e/periment, there is an (@J probability of 9fail re:9 +h s, if a critic set o t to repeat a psi e/periment to see if the phenomenon 4as 9real,9 and the e/periment failed, it 4o ld obvio sly be incorrect to claim on the basis of that single e/periment that psi is not real beca se it is not repeatable: # 4idely accepted method of assessing repeatability in e/periments is called meta7analysis: +his A antitative techniA e is heavily sed in the social, behavioral and medical sciences to integrate research res lts of n mero s independent e/periments: 2tarting aro nd &'(=, meta7analyses have been cond cted on n mero s types of psi e/periments: -n many of these analyses, res lts indicate that the o tcomes 4ere not d e to chance, or methodological fla4s, or selective reporting practices, or any other pla sible 9normal9 e/planations: What remains is psi, and in several e/perimental realms, it has clearly been replicated by independent investigators: Ho to ne/t page

Parapsychology FAQ
Part Compiled by UNLV's Cognitive Research Division Parapsychology )#* 7 # helpf l g ide to parapsychology and the facts regarding that field:

11

!. $' PARAP'.C!"%"/. C!R"*$CA%%. C"*TR">&R'$A%(

Parapsychology remains controversial today, even 4ith s bstantial, pers asive, and scientifically palatable res lts, for three main reasons" First, the media and m ch of the p blic often conf se parapsychology 4ith sensational, nscientific beliefs and stories abo t 9the paranormal:9 +his 4idespread confusion has led many scientists to simply dismiss the field as being n4orthy of serio s st dy, and th s they thin8 it is not 4orth their time to e/amine the e/isting evidence: -n addition, understanding the nat re of the e/isting evidence in parapsychology is far from easy. While the meta7analytic res lts are both s bstantial and pers asive, meta7analysis reA ires speciali3ed 8no4ledge to nderstand that form of evidence: )or people 4ho are not familiar 4ith statistics, or don't tr st it ;4hich is s ally a sign of mis nderstanding<, the evidence 4ill not loo8 very pers asive: +hose same people may then go loo8ing for the big stuff , the psi7in7yo r7face, self7evident proofs, and they 4ill find enormo s amo nts of anecdotal evidence b t almost no scientifically credible data: +hey may then vie4 lengthy disc ssions, s ch as the one in this )#*, as proof that no one really 8no4s 4hat is going on, and that scientists are still basically 4affling and indecisive abo t this topic: E r response is simple" +he scientificevidence for some forms of psi is extremely persuasive. -n essence, psi does e/ist, and 4e are beginning to learn a little abo t it, and 4ho has it: Read this entire )#*, chec8 o t the references: 'econd, even if someone 4anted to st dy the evidence, m ch of the pers asive 4or8 is p blished in limited circulation professional .o rnals: +hese can be fo nd in most large niversity libraries, b t in many cases, scholars m st reA est reprints and technical reports from a thors: +his )#* 4as prod ced partially to alleviate the problem, and to provide references to vario s reso rces: ;2ee Where can - get more information!< Third, some people are afraid that psi might be true: )or e/ample, fear about psi arises for the follo4ing reasons" ;&< -t is associated 4ith diabolic forces, magic and 4itchcraft: ;$< -t s ggests the loss of normal ego bo ndaries: ;6< People might be able to read yo r mind and 8no4 that yo secretly ;or nconscio sly< harbor se/ al and aggressive tho ghts, or 4orse: ;?< -f yo tal8 abo t it, people might thin8 yo 're cra3y: ;=< -f yo thin8 yo e/perience psi, maybe yo are cra3y: ;>< ,efore yo 4ere si/ years old, yo r parents provided negative reinforcement for yo r little demonstrations of telepathy: ;%< +hin8ing abo t psi leads to a medieval s perstitio s mentality, 4hich 4ill in t rn s pport a rising tide of dangero s, primitive thin8ing: ;(< With 12P, yo might learn things that yo do not 4ant to 8no4 abo t yo rself or other people 77 i:e:, accidents that are abo t to happen, and things yo 4o ld rather not be responsible for 8no4ing abo t: ;'< -f ;(< happens to yo , especially as a child, there is a tendency to feel responsible for 4hat has occ rred: ;&@< Psi might interfere 4ith the normal h man process of ego separation and development: +herefore, 4e have devised s btle strategies for c lt ral inhibition: ;&&< -f yo are telepathic, ho4 4ill yo disting ish other people's tho ghts from yo r o4n! Perhaps this 4ill lead to mental illness: ;&$< 5any people have a self7destr ctive strea8 to their personality: What damage 4ill res lt 4hen psi is sed in the service of this factor! I le 1isenb d 4rites abo t this in his boo8 %arapsychology and the /nconscious: ;&6< -f psi e/ists, ho4 many of my cherished beliefs 4ill - have to give p! ;&?< -f psi e/ists, does that mean that a psychic co ld 4atch me 4hile - am sing bathroom

facilities! ;&=< -f psi e/ists, then perhaps - cannot 4all myself off so easily from the pain and s ffering in the 4orld: Above list courtesy of 0effrey 1ishlove, -irector of the 2ntuition ,etwor$, 2nstitute of ,oetic (ciences. 1) !AT $' T!& 'TAT&?"F?T!&?&>$D&*C& F"R P'$(

+o be precise, 4hen 4e say that 9G e/ists,9 4e mean that the presently available, c m lative statistical database for e/periments st dying G, provides strong, scientifically credible evidence for repeatable, anomalous, 3*li$e effects. With this in mind, &'P exists@ precognition exists@ telepathy exists@ and P= exists : 12P is statistically rob st, meaning it can be reliably demonstrated thro gh repeated trials, b t it tends to be 4ea8 4hen simple geometric symbols are sed as targets: Photographic or video targets often prod ce effects many times larger, and there is some evidence that 12P on nat ral locations ;as opposed to photos of them<, and in nat ral conte/ts, may be stronger yet: 2ome P0 effects have also been sho4n to e/ist: When individ als foc s their intention on mechanical or electronic devices that fl ct ate randomly, the fl ct ations change in 4ays that conform to their mental intention: Under control conditions, 4hen individ als direct their attention else4here, the fl ct ations are in accordance 4ith chance: Note that 4e are sing the terms 12P, telepathy and P0 in the technical sense, not in the pop lar sense: 2ee What do parapsychologists st dy! 1!AT $' T!& 'TAT&?"F?T!&?T!&"R. F"R P'$(

Epinions abo t mechanisms of psi are 4ide ranging: ,eca se the field is m ltidisciplinary, there are physical theories, psychological theories, psychophysical theories, sociological theories, and combinations of these: En one end of the spectr m, the 9physicalists9 tend to believe that the 9psi sensing capacity9 is li8e any other h man sensory system, and as s ch it 4ill most li8ely be e/plained by 8no4n principles from biophysics, chemistry, and cognitive science: )or these theorists, psi is e/pected to be accommodated into the e/isting scientific str ct re, 4ith perhaps some modifications or e/tensions: En the other end of the spectr m, the 9mentalists9 assert that reality 4o ld not e/ist if it 4ere not for h man conscio sness: )or these theorists, the nat re of the niverse is m ch more effervescent, th s accommodating psi into e/isting scientific models 4ill reA ire significant modification of science as 4e 8no4 it: 2trong theoretical debates are common in parapsychology in part beca se spirit, religion, the meaning of life, and other philosophical con ndr ms comingle 4ith A ant m mechanics, probability theory, and ne rons: 2ome theorists have attempted to lin8 psi phenomena 4ith similar7 so nding concepts from A ant m mechanics, incl ding non7locality, instantaneo s correlations at a distance, and other anomalies: 2 ch s ggestions al4ays spar8 vigoro s debates, and at some point it seems the critics are inevitably acc sed of not properly nderstanding A ant m mechanics: ;+his is 4hy 4e do not disc ss A ant m mechanical theories of psi here: 2ee, ho4ever, the 5ind75atter Unification Pro.ect at Cambridge University:< 10 !&R& CA* $ /&T #"R& $*F"R#AT$"*(

,e s re to see the boo8, The &onscious /niverse, by Dean Radin, to be p blished in I ly &''% by Carper1dge ;a division of CarperCollins<: +he ma.or international societies interested in parapsychology as a science incl de the follo4ing"

Parapsychological #ssociation 2cientific and 5edical Net4or8 2ociety for 2cientific 1/ploration 2PR ;2ociety for Psychical Research, London, U0< #merican 2ociety for Psychical Research, Ne4 Kor8, NK, U2# 1 ropean Io rnal of Parapsychology Io rnal of Parapsychology Io rnal of the #merican 2ociety of Psychic Research Io rnal of the 2ociety of Psychical Research Leitschrift f er Psychologische Hren3gebiete )o ndations of Physics Io rnal of the 2ociety of Psychical Research Io rnal of 2cientific 1/ploration Proceedings of the -111 Psychological , lletin 2tatistical 2cience 2 btle 1nergies 2cience Nat re

+he ma.or, peer7revie4ed parapsychological .o rnals today are the follo4ing"

Ether .o rnals that have p blished parapsychological articles incl de"

11 Q+&'T$"*' A4"+T P"P+%AR P!&*"#&*A 11.1 AR& /!"'T' R&A%( +he prevailing vie4 today is that the mysterio s physical effects historically attrib ted to ghosts ;disembodied spirits<, s ch as movement of ob.ects, strange so nds, enigmatic odors, and fail re of electrical eA ipment, are act ally poltergeist phenomena ;see belo4<: #pparitions that occ r 4itho t accompanying physical effects are tho ght to be either normal psychological effects ;i:e:, hall cinations<, or possibly gen ine information mediated by psi: 11.) AR& P"%T&R/&$'T' R&A%( Poltergeists ;from the Herman, 9noisy ghosts9< s ally manifest as strange electrical effects and ne/plained movement of ob.ects: #t one time, these phenomena 4ere tho ght to be d e to ghosts, b t after decades of investigations by researchers, notably by William H: Roll, the evidence no4 s ggests that poltergeists are P0 effects prod ced by one or more individ als, s ally tro bled adolescents: +he term 9R2P0,9 meaning 9Rec rrent 2pontaneo s P0,9 4as coined to describe this concept: 11.- $F P'$ $' R&A%@ !. D" CA'$*"' #A=& '" #+C! #"*&.(

+he theoretical ho se advantage for some casino games is fairly small, e:g:, abo t &J for optimally7 played craps: +his means that over the long term, a good craps player might get bac8 '' cents for each dollar they play: -f they hit a 9hot strea8,9 they might even 4in some money: -n practice, the act al ho se ta8e for most games is fairly large ;abo t $=J for table games< beca se people rarely play consistently, they reinvest their 4innings, and the casino environment is intentionally designed to be noisy and vis ally distracting: +h s, for a given psychic to ma8e any notable differences in long7term casino profits, they 4o ld have to ;a< nderstand the strategies of each game they play, ;b< consistently play according to those strategies, ;c< stop 4hen they are ahead, and ;d< consistently apply strong, reliable psi: Ever the long term casino profits are predictably stable, b t given that some psi effects are 8no4n to be gen ine, in principle a good, consistent psychic ;4ho 8no4s ho4 to play the casino games< might ma8e some money by gambling: -n addition, many people applying 4ea8 psi may ca se small fl ct ations in casino profits, b t testing this 4o ld reA ire analy3ing an enormo s amo nt of casino data, and s ch data is diffic lt to obtain: 11.0 $' C!A**&%$*/ R&A%( Channeling is the claim that a departed spirit, or other non7physical entity, can spea8 or act thro gh a sensitive person: -n the late &(@@s, this 4as called medi mshipF similar claims of comm nicating 4ith departed spirits can be fo nd thro gho t history and across most c lt res: 2ome researchers believe that cases of e/ceptional prodigies, li8e 5o3art in m sic, or Raman .an in mathematics, provide evidence of gen ine channeling: While some of the material s pposedly channeled by departed spirits, or other74orldly beings, is clearly nonsense, other 4or8s have inspired large n mbers of people and serve as contin ing so rces of ill mination: Revealed religions, and some visionary e/periences, for e/ample, are versions of channeled information: Co4ever, 4hether the information came from a gen inely paranormal so rce, or from the channeller's nconscio s, is a perennial topic of debate: 11.1 AR& %AR/&?'CA%& P= &FF&CT'@ %$=& %&>$TAT$"*@ R&A%( +hro gho t history there have been many reports of spectac lar events, s ch as individ als levitating, holy people materiali3ing ob.ects o t of thin air, and people 4ho are able to move, bend or brea8 ob.ects 4itho t to ching them: Unfort nately, in most cases individ als 4ho ma8e s ch claims hope to capitali3e on their 9abilities:9 ,eca se the potential for fra d is high, and it is relatively easy to create convincing effects that closely mimic paranormal ones ;4ith con. ring techniA es<, tr st4orthy evidence for s ch large7scale effects is very poor: +here are a fe4 cases of apparently gen ine movement of small ob.ects, b t in general the e/istence of large7scale, or macro7P0, is still open to serio s A estion: 15 !AT $' T!& !$'T"R. "F PARAP'.C!"%"/.( Note" +his history is limited to an o tline of a subset of 1nglish7lang age developments in parapsychology: As an ancient@ cross?cultural phenomenon@ psi has been studied by many groups@ and in many 3ays@ throughout history. &((@ Parapsychology, as practiced in the Western 4orld, gre4 o t of a serio s, scientific interest in 2pirit alism in the late &(@@s in Hreat ,ritain and the United 2tates: +he ;,ritish< 2ociety for Psychical Research ;2PR<, fo nded in &(($, and the #merican 2ociety for Psychical Research, fo nded in &((=, 4ere created by leading scientists of the day to st dy medi ms 4ho claimed they co ld contact the dead or prod ce other psychic effects: 5 ch of the early evidence 4as descriptive and anecdotal, incl ding reports of precognitive dreams, descriptions of table levitations, acco nts of ghost sightings, and so on: 2ome members of the 2ocieties for Psychical Research attempted to test the phenomena claimed by physical medi ms sing special instr ments they designed: 2ome of the case st dies and boo8s p blished by members of these societies, most notably the 4or8 by )rederic 5yers in the U0, and William Iames in the U2#, are end ring classics: &'@@ to &'>@s -n &'&%, 0. '. &oover, a psychologist at 2tanford University, 4as one of the first investigators to apply e/perimental techniA es to st dy psi abilities in the laboratory: , t it 4as not ntil &'$% that a ne4 era for psi research 4as established by biologist 0. ). Rhine: Rhine and his colleag es developed original e/perimental techniA es and helped pop lari3e the terms 912P9 and 9parapsychology:9 Rhine's lab at D 8e University ;D rham, North Carolina<, initially part of the Psychology Department, developed a 4orld74ide rep tation for pioneering and scientifically so nd

psi research: -n &'6=, Rhine created the first academically7based, independent parapsychology laboratory at D 8e University: Cis best78no4n research involved 12P testing sing special cards and P0 tests sing dice: -n &'>=, Rhine retired from D 8e and moved his lab off7camp s: +oday, Rhine's legacy, the Rhine Research Center's -nstit te for Parapsychology actively cond cts psi research 4ith Richard )roughton at the helm: &'>@s -nterest in parapsychology e/ploded in the &'>@s, res lting in the establishment of the follo4ing programs" William 4. Roll fo nded the Psychical Research )o ndation in North Carolina, U2#: Roll is best 8no4n for his st dies on poltergeist and ha nting phenomena: Roll is c rrently active in psi research in Heorgia: 2an (tevenson began a Division of Parapsychology as part of the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Virginia 5edical 2chool: 2tevenson emphasi3ed research on spontaneo s cases, incl ding precognitive dreams and telepathic impressions, and is best 8no4n for pioneering 4or8 in s rvival7related phenomena, primary reincarnation7 type cases in children from co ntries li8e -ndia, , rma and +hailand: +he Division is no4 called the Division of Personality 2t dies, and 2tevenson is actively engaged in research: +arlis Osis became the Chester Carlson Research )ello4 at the #merican 2ociety for Psychical Research, in Ne4 Kor8 City: Esis cond cted research on E,1s, s rvey research on beliefs and attit des, case st dies of apparitions, and is perhaps best 8no4n for his original 4or8 on deathbed visions: Esis is no4 retired: Parapsychological research began in the Psychology Department at the University of 1dinb rgh by 0ohn )eloff: -n &'(= the 0oestler Chair of Parapsychology 4as established in the department, from a beA est from the a thor, #rth r 0oestler, and his 4ife, Cynthia: Prof: Robert 5. 1orris is the first holder of this chair: 5orris, his research team and postgrad ate st dents are actively p rs ing an approach to parapsychology that emphasi3es the nderstanding and facilitation of psi interactions: )or more information, see 0oestler Parapsychology Unit: # ma.or research program 4as established by 1ontague /llman and (tanley +rippner at the 5aimonides Cospital in ,roo8lyn, Ne4 Kor8, U2#: +his team, 4hich later incl ded Charles Conorton, is best 8no4n for their 4or8 in dream telepathy: #s the 5aimonides program 4o nd do4n in &'%', &harles .onorton opened a ne4 lab, called the Psychophysical Research Laboratories, in Princeton, Ne4 Iersey, U2#: Conorton's lab, 4hich contin ed operating ntil &'(', 4as best 8no4n for research on telepathy in the gan3feld, micro7P0 tests, and meta7analytic 4or8: 0rippner is c rrently engaged in active research at the 2aybroo8 -nstit te, 2an )rancisco, C#: Conorton tragically died in &''6 4hile p rs ing a PhD in parapsychology at the University of 1dinb rgh: Charles +art, a professor of psychology best 8no4n for his pioneering 4or8 on altered states of conscio sness, ta ght and cond cted parapsychological research at the University of California, Davis: Ce is retired from the University no4, and cond cts teaching and research at, among other places, the -nstit te of +ranspersonal Psychology, in Palo #lto, C#: &'%@s -n &'%$, a ma.or psi research effort began at the California thin87tan8, 2R- -nternational, in 5enlo Par8, California, U2# ;formerly called 2tanford Research -nstit te<: +he program 4as established by physicists .arold %uthoff and Russell TargF later physicist 'dwin 1ay .oined the team: +he 2Rprogram concentrated on remote vie4ing research ;and coined the term<: 5ay too8 over the program in &'(= 4hen P thoff left for another position: When 5ay left 2R- -nternational in &'(', he reestablished a similar program in the Palo #lto7based Cognitive 2ciences Laboratory of 2cience #pplications -nternational Corporation ;2#-C<: +hat program is still engaged in research and is best 8no4n for sing sophisticated technologies, li8e magnetoencephalographs to st dy brain f nction 4hile individ als perform psi tas8s: +he Laboratory also develops theoretical models of micro7P0 and approaches remote vie4ing research primarily from the 9physicalist9 perspective: #lso in &'%', another psi research program began in Princeton, Ne4 Iersey, 4ithin the 2chool of 1ngineering at Princeton University: +his 4as fo nded by Robert Iahn, then the Dean of the 2chool of 1ngineering: +he Princeton 1ngineering #nomalies Research ;P1#R Laboratory< lab is still cond cting research, and is best 8no4n for its massive databases on micro7P0 tests, P0 tests involving other physical systems, its 9precognitive remote perception9 e/periments, and its theoretical 4or8 attempting to lin8 metaphors of A ant m mechanics to psi f nctioning:

&''@s -n late &''6, Dean Radin established the Conscio sness Research Division, a psi research program 4ithin the Carry Reid Center for 1nvironmental 2t dies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas: +he lab cond cts basic and applied research on psi effects: -n &''=, Richard Wiseman began a psi research program began at the Department of Psychology, University of Certfordshire, U0, and (usan )lac$more began a similar program at the Department of Psychology, the University of West 1ngland, in ,ristol, U0: 16 AR& T!&R& A*. P'$ R&'&ARC! &<P&R$#&*T' ACC&''$4%& ">&R T!& *&T( Kes: Psi e/periments on the Web are c rrently r nning at the University of #msterdam, see #nomalo s Cognition, and at the Conscio sness Research Laboratory, University of Nevada, Las Vegas: 17 !&R& AR& T!& ACT$>& P'$ R&'&ARC! FAC$%$T$&'( 1; #nomalo s Cognition Program, University of #msterdam, +he Netherlands" Cognitive 2ciences Laboratory, Palo #lto, C# Conscio sness Research Division , University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, U2# Department of Psychology, University of Certfordshire, U0 1otvos Lorand University of , dapest, C ngary Division of Psychiatry, University of Virginia, U2# -nstit te for Parapsychology, Rhine Research Center, D rham, NC, U2# 5ind75atter Unification Pro.ect, Cambridge University, U0 0oestler Parapsychology Unit, University of 1dinb rgh, 2cotland P1#R Laboratory, Princeton 1ngineering #nomalies Research Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, NI, U2# !" AR& T!& #A8"R C"*TR$4+T"R' T" T!$' FAQ( 1ditor, Dean Radin, Ph:D:, Conscio sness Research Division, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, U2# Carlos #lvarado, 52:, University of 1dinb rgh, 2cotland Dic8 ,ierman, Ph:D:, #nomalo s Cognition, University of #msterdam +opher Cooper, ,2c:, Voice Processing Corporation, Cambridge, 5#, U2# 1d4in 5ay, Ph:D:, Cognitive 2ciences Laboratory, Palo #lto, C#, U2# Roger Nelson, Ph:D:, P1#R Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, NI, U2# 1phraim 2chechter, Ph:D:, University of Colorado, ,o lder, CE, U2# Iames 2pottis4oode, ,2c:, Iames 2pottis4oode M #ssoc:, C# Charles +art, Ph:D:, University of California, Davis ;1merit s<, C#, U2#

/eneral Disclaimer" #ll contrib tions to this )#* are personal opinions and do not reflect or imply official positions of any organi3ations, companies, or niversities: 2end comments or A eries to Dean Radin Ho to first page Copyright N &''% Dean Radin Reprinted 4ith permission: