Elements of a typical psychokinesis experiment

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Measuring and Feedback Equipment

Currently, most experiment use a desktop computer to collect data from the target system and to display some form of feedback (usually a colourful graphic display) to the participant, although some also use dedicated electronic devices for this purpose (such as Schmidt's famous 'circle of lights' - a ring of bulbs set up so that the lit bulb appeared to move around the circle. A random source controlled the direction and characteristics of movement). Data collection tends to be fully automatic and often has security measures designed to detect unauthorised access to the data.

Typically, the target system in a micro-psychokinesis (as opposed to the macro-psychokinesis often reported in poltergeist cases) experiment consists of a truly random physical system, usually referred to as a random number/event generator (RNG/REG). Examples include an electronic noise-based device or a geiger counter that detects radioactive decay. As the magnitude of any PK effect seen in the laboratory tends to be very small, some form of statistical analysis is necessary to detect whether an effect is present. REGs are useful as the statistical distribution of their output is well known. A deviation from this distribution, once any possible artefacts have been allowed for, is taken to be evidence for some form of psychokinetic effect.

It has long been thought anecdotally that psychic abilities were in some way linked to the environment - Magic works better at certain sites, at different moon-phases and at night rather than day; Sensitives talk about good and bad atmospheres; hauntings are associated with cold spots and mysterious breezes - but, until relatively recently, the role of the environment had not been considered in parapsychology.

One aspect of the environment - the geomagnetic field (GMF) - has recently been the focus of several studies around the world (including some at Edinburgh), looking at a possible relationship between the activity of the field and psi. Although the actual relationship remains unclear, and may not be a direct causal link, studies have consistently shown that extrasensory perception (ESP) seems to be more effective at times when the GMF is relatively quiet. There have been fewer and less consistent studies looking at a PK relationship, but some authors seem to show that that an active GMF is associated with good PK performance.

Some researchers are considering other environmental variables, ranging from the ion concentration in the air to the current lunar phase.

One of the problems with studies looking at this topic is that there is no clear idea as to what mechanism(s) could account for a psi-environment relationship. Broadly speaking, the possibilities are:

1. that the physical characteristic being studied somehow interacts with, or composes, the mechanism underlying psi.
2. that the environment has some direct effect on human psychology that directly or indirectly affects psi functioning.

Participants in psychokinesis experiments tend to be normal, everyday people who have been kind enough to volunteer to help with an experiment. The majority do not claim to have any amazing psychic abilities or experiences, nor do they necessarily subscribe to any particular belief system - some even have an active disbelief in the possibilty of psi ! As with much university-based research, there is a high proportion of student volunteers, although we do have volunteers of all ages. At Edinburgh, such volunteers are not paid in any way for their time.

Typically, participants will be asked to watch some form of feedback display which represents the target system's activity. Depending on the format of the experiment, they may be told details about the target system itself, or they may simply be asked to try to affect the feedback display (this is one of the peculiarities about PK research: that success seems independent of task complexity. That is, even though the target system may be extremely complex, the participant needs only to try to affect the feedback display to achieve a successful outcome). What strategy the participant employs in their attempt to be successful also depends on the particular experiment. In some cases, they may be asked to go throuhg some relaxation exercises and then to passively imagine the display changing as they wish. In others, they may be asked to get as excited as possible, often telling the display how it should be acting! (Incidentally, this latter approach is not often used as studies seem to show that, at least in the laboratory environment, the former strategy - called passive striving - is most effective.

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Web page created by; Paul Stevens
Last Modified 22nd. July 1995