Psi hitting and missing: The effects of belief, order of run, and previous experience

Abstract

The current study examined several variables to determine their effects on telepathy performance. Part I used groups of participants who attempted to telepathically send the location oftargets to a receiver selected randomly from the group. Fifteen sessions were conducted during which 9 receivers each completed 16 trials. It was hypothesized that an order effect would be present with increased missing during the first and last run of each session. It was also hypothesized that belief in mental telepathy would influence telepathy scores. Results indicated significant differences when comparing positions 1 and 9 with positions 2-8. Scores, while not significant, tended to decrease surrounding a mid-session break. Additionally, participants with a high belief in mental telepathy scored significantly below chance. Part II contained 3 sets (A, B, and C) during which research assistants attempted to send telepathic information to groups of participants. During Set C, instructions were given to "miss" the target. Scores for Set A and C were significantly below chance levels. It was predicted that those who participated in Part I would perform better than those who did not. A trend was found for participants with experience (completed Part I) to score above those without experience on all three sets. These findings support the hypothesis that belief in mental telepathy, order within session, experience, and instructions to miss, all influence telepathy performance.

Date of Award	2006
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Russell Gruber (Supervisor)