Psi (parapsychology)

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Psi

Terminology
Coined by	B. P. Wiesner (1942)
Definition	A term used to demarcate processes or effects associated with cognitive or physiological activity that fall outside of conventional scientific boundaries (ESP, for example).
Pronunciation:	Pronounced with a silent p, sounding like "sigh".
See also	Parapsychology Extrasensory perception Remote viewing

In parapsychology, psi is the purported process of information transfer or energy transfer in extrasensory perception or psychokinesis that is unexplained in terms of known physical or biological mechanisms.^[1] The term is derived from the Greek, ψ psi, 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet; from the Greek ψυχή psyche, "mind, soul".^[2][3]
The Parapsychological Association divides psi into two main categories: psi-gamma for extrasensory perception and psi-kappa for psychokinesis.^[3]
The study of psi is normally viewed as beyond the concern of science.^[4] In popular culture, "psi" has become more and more synonymous with special psychic, mental, and "psionic" abilities and powers.

Contents

 [hide] 

• 1 Definition
• 2 Types
• 3 Scientific study
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Definition[edit]

The term was coined by biologist Berthold P. Wiesner, and first used by psychologist Robert Thouless in a 1942 article published in the British Journal of Psychology.^[5] Psi was argued by Thouless and Wiesner to offer a non-theoretical manner of referring to extrasensory perception and psychokinesis.^[6]
According to Ray Hyman psi is negatively defined as any effect that cannot be currently explained in terms of chance or normal causes and this is a fallacy as it encourages parapsychologists into using any peculiarity in the data as a characteristic of psi.^[7] On the definition of psi, James Alcock wrote:

Parapsychology is the only realm of objective inquiry in which the phenomena are all negatively defined, defined in terms of ruling out normal explanations. Of course, ruling out all normal explanations is not an easy task. We may not be aware of all possible normal explanations, or we may be deceived by our subjects, or we may deceive ourselves. If all normal explanations actually could be ruled out, just what is it that is at play? What is psi? Unfortunately, it is just a label. It has no substantive definition that goes beyond saying that all normal explanations have apparently been eliminated. Of course, parapsychologists generally presume that it has something to do with some ability of the mind to transcend the laws of nature as we know them, but all that is so vague as to be unhelpful in any scientific exploration.^[8]

Parapsychologists have admitted it is impossible to eliminate the possibility of non-paranormal causes in their experiments. There is no independent method to indicate the presence or absence of psi.^[7]

Types[edit]

Traditionally the term has had two sub-categories:^[3]

• Psi-Gamma - Pertaining to paranormal cognition (ESP, remote viewing, etc.)
• Psi-Kappa - Pertaining to paranormal action (psychokinesis, etc.)

Scientific study[edit]

In an experiment using neuroimaging to resolve the psi debate (Moulton and Kosslyn, 2008) wrote:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in an effort to document the existence of psi. If psi exists, it occurs in the brain, and hence, assessing the brain directly should be more sensitive than using indirect behavioral methods (as have been used previously). To increase sensitivity, this experiment was designed to produce positive results if telepathy, clairvoyance (i.e., direct sensing of remote events), or precognition (i.e., knowing future events) exist. Moreover, the study included biologically or emotionally related participants (e.g., twins) and emotional stimuli in an effort to maximize experimental conditions that are purportedly conducive to psi. In spite of these characteristics of the study, psi stimuli and non-psi stimuli evoked indistinguishable neuronal responses-although differences in stimulus arousal values of the same stimuli had the expected effects on patterns of brain activation. These findings are the strongest evidence yet obtained against the existence of paranormal mental phenomena.^[9]

See also[edit]

• Extrasensory perception
• List of psychic abilities
• Parapsychology
• Psi (disambiguation)
• Psi (Cyrillic) Legend Ѱ
• Psionics
• Magic
• Mysticism
• Occultism
• Empathy
• Telepathy
• Telekinesis
• Clairvoyance
• Clairaudience
• Dowsing
• Scrying
• Enhanced Intuition
• Remote viewing
• Aura Manipulation/Control

References[edit]

1. ^ Bem, D. J., & Honorton, C. (1994). Does psi exist? Replicable evidence for an anomalous process of information transfer. Psychological Bulletin', 115, 4-18.
2. ^ What do parapsychologists study?, Parapsychological Association (2007-02-03)
3. ^ ^{a b c} Psi - Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association (2007-01-29)
4. ^ http://hopelive.hope.ac.uk/psychology/para/METAPH1.pdf
5. ^ Thouless, R. H. (1942). "Experiments on paranormal guessing". British Journal of Psychology, 33, 15-27.
6. ^ Robert Todd Carroll. (2010). "Psi". The Skeptic's Dictionary.
7. ^ ^{a b} Ray Hyman. Evaluating Parapsychological Claims in Robert J. Sternberg, Henry L. Roediger, Diane F. Halpern. (2007). Critical Thinking in Psychology. Cambridge University Press. pp. 216-231. ISBN 978-0521608343
8. ^ James Alcock. (2003). Give the Null Hypothesis a Chance: Reasons to Remain Doubtful about the Existence of Psi. Journal of Consciousness Studies 10: 29–50.
9. ^ Moulton, S. T., & Kosslyn, S. M. (2008). Using neuroimaging to resolve the psi debate. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20, 182-192.

External links[edit]

• "The Parapsychological Association"
• "The Institute of Noetic Sciences"
• Rhine Psi Research Center
• Society for Psychical Research
• Princeton Global Consciousness Project

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Psi_(parapsychology)&oldid=581248458"

Categories:

• Parapsychology
• Paranormal terminology

Psychokinesis

 

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Psychokinesis is an umbrella term for any ability that involves using the mind to manipulate something, and some other, more specific, abilities may be acquired as a result. However, most people are usually specialized in only one of these areas, and rarely advance  their psychokinetic abilites beyond their specialty. The word kinesis comes from movement and the other comes from the greek meaning anything.
Parapsychology researchers describe two basic types of measurable and observable psychokinetic and telekinetic effects in experimental laboratory research and in case reports occurring outside of the laboratory. Micro-PK (also micro-TK) is a very small effect, such as the manipulation of molecules, atoms, subatomic particles, etc., that can only be observed with scientific equipment. Macro-PK (also macro-TK) is a large-scale effect that can be seen with the unaided eye

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Generally, Some branches of psychokinesis include: 

• Aerokinesis Air/Wind

• Agrokinesis Plants

• Asterokinesis Stars

• Atmokinesis Weather

• Biokinesis Genes

• Carieskinesis Decaying

• Chronokinesis Time

• Cryokinesis Ice

• Electrokinesis Electricity

• Geokinesis Earth

• Gravitokinesis Gravity

• Heliokinesis Sun energy

• Hemokinesis Blood

• Hydrokinesis Water

• Levitation Self rising

• Magnokinesis Magnetic force

• Phasing Going through matter.

• Photokinesis Light

• Pyrokinesis Fire

• Radiokinesis Radiation

• Sonokinesis Sound waves

• Technokinesis Technology

• Telekinesis Movement of objects

• Teleportation Transfer of matter

• Thermoregulation Temperature

• Tychokinesis Probability

• Typhokinesis Smoke

• Transmutation Tramsmutation of matter

• Umbrakinesis Dark energy/shadows

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Psychic Experiences: Psychic Illusions

Susan Blackmore Published in 1992, in  Skeptical Inquirer 16 367-376 Why do so many people believe in psychic phenomena? Because they have psychic experiences. And why do they have psychic experiences? Because such experiences are an inevitable consequence of the way we think. I suggest that, like visual illusions, they are the price we pay for a generally very effective relationship with a massively complex world. The latest Gallup poll (Gallup and Newport 1991) shows that about a third of Americans believe in telepathy and about a quarter claim to have experienced it themselves. Rather fewer have experienced clairvoyance or psychokinesis (PK), but still the numbers are very high and have not been decreasing over the years. Previous surveys have found similar results and also that the most common reason for belief in the paranormal is personal experience (Palmer 1979; Blackmore 1984). A "psychic experience" is here defined as any experience interpreted by the experient as requiring a psychic or paranormal interpretation. The question of whether such a hypothesis is required is not addressed. Rather we are attempting to understand how such experiences come about even if no genuinely paranormal phenomena occur. It should be noted that many experimental studies of psi (such as guessing long strings of targets) do not produce psychic experiences in this sense, although they may produce evidence of the paranormal. Others (such as ganzfeld studies and remote viewing, perhaps) do, but the experience is a separate issue from the question of statistical significance or evidence for psi. We are here concerned with experience and belief, not the evidence for psi. My hypothesis is that psychic experiences are comparable to visual illusions. The experience is real enough, but its origin lies in internal processes, not peculiarities in the observable world. Like visual illusions they arise from cognitive processes that are usually appropriate but under certain circumstances give rise to the wrong answer. In other words, they are a price we pay for using efficient heuristics. In the case of vision, illusions arise when, for example, depth is seen in two-dimensional figures and constancy mechanisms give the answer that would be correct for real depth. The equivalent in the case of psychic experiences may be the illusion that a cause is operating and an explanation is required when in fact none is. In other words, psychic experiences are illusions of causality. I shall discuss five types of illusion. 1. Illusions of Connection Experiences of telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition imply a coincidence that is "too good to be just chance." This is so whether the experience involves dreaming about a person’s death and that person dies within a few hours, feeling the urge to pick up one’s partner from the station and in fact he was stranded and needed help, or betting on a horse that later wins a race. Some people’s response to such events is to say, "That was just a chance coincidence"; while others’ is to say, "That cannot be chance." In the latter case the person will then look for a causal explanation for the coincidence. If none can be found, a "cause," such as ESP, may be invoked. Alternatively, some kind of noncausal but meaningful connection may be sought, such as Jung’s "acausal connecting principle" (Jung 1973). There are two possible types of error that may be made here. First, people may treat connected events as chance coincidences, thereby missing real connections between events and failing to look for explanations. Second, they may treat chance events as connected and seek for explanations where none is required. In the real world of inadequate information and complex interactions one would expect errors of both types to occur. It is the latter type that, I suggest, gives rise to experiences of ESP. This is comparable to classical signal-detection theory. Figure 1 shows two distributions. For any given stimulus strength there could be just noise or noise plus a signal. At low signal-to-noise ratios, it is not possible to be a perfect detector. Mistakes are inevitable and may be either in missing a true signal or in thinking there is a signal when there is not. I am suggesting that believers in the paranormal (called "sheep" in psychological parlance) are more likely to make the latter kind of error than are disbelievers (called "goats"). In signal-detection theory, this is described in terms of a variable criterion. As the payoffs change, people may use a different criterion, making more of one kind of error and fewer of another. Their sensitivity (d’) may not change when their criterion does (see Figure 2). It is not a question of right and wrong but of which kind of error you would rather make, given you have to make some. One prediction of this approach is that those people who more frequently look for explanations of chance coincidences are more likely to have psychic experiences. Therefore, sheep should be those who underestimate the probability of chance coincidences. It has long been known that probability judgments can be extremely inaccurate. Kahneman and Tversky (1973) have explored some of the heuristics, such as "representativeness" and "availability," that people find coincidences surprising (Fall 1982; Falk and McGregor 1983) Adding specific but superfluous detail can make coincidences seem more surprising, and things that happen to subjects themselves seem more surprising to them than the same things happening to other people. Diaconis and Mosteller (1989) have reviewed some ways of studying the psychology of coincidences and have provided models for calculating probabilities. There is, however, little research relating these misjudgments to belief in the paranormal or to having psychic experiences. Blackmore and Troscianko (1985) found that sheep performed worse than goats on a variety of probability tasks. For example, in questions testing for responsiveness to sample size, sheep did significantly worse than goats. The well-known birthday question was asked: How many people would you need to have at a party to have a 50:50 chance that two have the same birthday? (See Diaconis and Mosteller 1989 for a general model for this type of question.) As predicted, goats got the answer right significantly more often than sheep. Subjects also played a coin-tossing computer game and were asked to guess how many hits they would be likely to get by chance. The correct answer, 10 hits in 20 trials, seems to be rather obvious. However, the sheep gave a significantly lower mean estimate of only 7.9, while goats gave a more accurate estimate of 9.6. Further research is called for here. It would be interesting to test whether sheep and goats differ in the probability they assign to various kinds of coincidences happening both in laboratory tests and in assessing probabilities of real-world events. 2. Illusions of Control Where the coincidence is between a person’s own action and an event external to them, the same effect may be at work but the assumed cause will be personal control; or in the context of psi, it will be PK. This has been called the "illusion of control" by Langer (1975). Sheep have been found to show a greater illusion of control than goats in a psi task (Ayeroff and Abelson 1976, Jones et al. 1977; Benassi et al. 1979). One might argue that if PK occurs then the perception of personal control in such tasks is not an illusion. This is less likely, given that no PK was found in these experiments. However, to rule out this as an explanation for the difference, Blackmore and Troscianko (1985) used a covert psi task. There was no evidence of PK and a greater illusion of control for sheep than for goats. 3. Illusions of Pattern and Randomness Pattern and randomness cannot be unambiguously distinguished. In a long enough series of events, any combination or string of events is likely to occur by chance. However, the process of extracting pattern from noise is central to all sensory processes. As in the case of coincidences two kinds of error can occur. One is the failure to detect patterns that are there; the second is the tendency to see patterns that are not there. We are arguing that the second type of error will make people search for a cause and that, since there is no cause they may turn to paranormal explanations. This predicts that people who make this type of error are more likely to have psychic experiences (or experiences they interpret as psychic) and hence to believe in the paranormal. It has long been known that people are bad at judging randomness. In particular, when asked to generate a string of random numbers (subjective random generation, or SRG), people typically give far fewer repetitions of the same digit than would be expected by chance (see reviews by Budescu 1987 and Wagenaar 1972). This is related to the "Gambler’s Fallacy," whereby some people think that a long string of reds must be followed by black. ESP experiments are often equivalent to SRG and show the same bias. Blackmore and Troscianko (1985) found no differences between sheep and goats in SRG for strings of digits 1 to 5 or in the ability of sheep and goats to discriminate random sequences from biased ones. However, Brugger, Landis, and Regard (1990) did. They argued that the same variables affect ESP scoring and SRG in the same direction—variables like task duration, stimulant and depressant drugs, and age. They even suggest that many laboratory ESP findings may be explained by correspondences between target sequences and human biases. Although there is some evidence for this in studies giving immediate feedback (Gatlin 1979; Tart 1979), this cannot easily explain results obtained without feedback and with adequate target randomization. They tested the relationship to belief in the paranormal in three experiments. SRG was studied in a telepathy experiment with five symbols to choose from. Sheep produced significantly fewer repetitions than goats did. Subjects intermediate in belief gave intermediate repetitions. There was no evidence of ESP occurring and no sheep-goat effect (i.e., sheep did not do better at the ESP test). In a second experiment, SRG was studied in mimicking the roll of dice (6 choices). The same effect was found. Third, subjects were shown dice sequences with different numbers of repetitions and asked which was more likely to appear first by chance. Of course all strings were equally likely to occur, but subjects tended to choose the string with fewer repetitions. Sheep did so more than goats, and the intermediate group was in between. These results appear t be highly consistent and to show the expected greater bias in sheep. To test this further, Katherine Galaud, at Bristol University, carried out an experiment to compare SRG for different numbers of choices. It might be argued that most people could predict or calculate likely sequences when only two choices are involved but that the real world typically involves multiple choices and low probabilities. Perhaps SRG would be even less random when more choices are possible. Furthermore, difference between sheep and goats may be more extreme where more choices are available. This experiment studied the variation in results with different numbers of choices available. One hundred twenty students were given the Belief in the Paranormal Scale (BPS) (Jones, Russell, and Nickel 1977), a randomness questionnaire, and a probability questionnaire The probability questionnaire consisted of three questions based on the "taxi problem" (Kahneman and Tversky 1972) manipulated to give correct answers of 20, 40, and 80 percent. The randomness questionnaire asked subjects to generate strings of random numbers, choosing from the digits 1 to 2, 1 to 4, or 1 to 8, with expected numbers of repetitions being 12, 6, and 3, respectively. No differences were found between sheep, goats, and intermediates (Blackmore, Galaud, and Walker, in press). There are two differences between this experiment and Brugger’s that might account for the different results. One is that Brugger et al. timed the generation of digits with a metronome. It could be that, given time to think about randomness, people can to some extent compensate for their biases and that untimed and unpressured responses like those in the present experiment cannot reveal them. However, it could also be argued that in real-life situations there is not usually time pressure. Another difference is that they used only one question on ESP to divide subjects into sheep, goats, and intermediates. Further experiments now under way at Bristol are trying to find out if these factors are responsible. 4. Illusions of Form Object recognition can entail the same two types of error. A conservative approach means missing interesting forms that are there. A less cautious approach means seeing things that are not. Possibly, those people who are more likely to see forms when none is present are also more likely to see apparitions or ghosts or to seek paranormal explanations when none is required. In a second experiment at Bristol, carried out by Catherine Walker (Blackmore, Galaud, and Walker, in press), we tested this and a related question. If sheep are more willing to see forms in noisy displays, is this an error compared with goats, or are goats more likely to miss forms that are present. This is the familiar question of accuracy versus criterion. Sheep might simply have a lower criterion for seeing forms than goats, with the same accuracy for discriminating forms, or they may actually make more errors altogether. Fifty subjects were given the Belief in the Paranormal Scale and tested on an object-identification task. The stimuli consisted of four sets of seven pictures each; ranging from barely identifiable blobs to clear outline shapes (see Figure 3). The final shapes were two leaves, a bird, a fish and an axe. They were presented for 10 milliseconds each, with a mask of black dots on a white background shown between presentations. The four least identifiable stimuli were shown first, progressing through the series with the four at each level being randomized for order. The subjects were asked whether they could see any shape; and, if they could, what shape it was. It was predicted that sheep would report seeing forms earlier in the series than goats but would not be any more accurate in identifying the forms. In other words, they would have a lower criterion for identification. This is exactly what was found. BPS scores did not correlate with the number of pictures correctly identified but did correlate closely with the number of incorrect identifications and the tendency to say there was a shape but not identify it. In other words, the sheep were more likely to make wrong guesses but were no worse at detecting the pictures that were there. Goats, although willing to say there was a shape, were less willing than sheep to guess at identifying it. This confirms that sheep are more likely to claim to see identifiable forms in ambiguous stimuli, but there are many possible reasons for this. For example, creativity may correlate with belief in the paranormal and with tendency to see forms. Whatever the origins of the tendency, the findings fit with the idea that paranormal belief may be encouraged in those who more often see form in ambiguity. 5. Illusions of Memory In addition to all the processes above, selective memory may make coincidences appear to occur more often than they do in fact occur. Hintzman, Asher, and Stern (1978) demonstrated selective remembering of meaningfully related events. Fischhoff and Beyth (1975) showed that people misremember their previous predictions to conform with what actually happened. We might predict that people who are particularly prone to such memory effects are more likely to seek paranormal explanations and therefore to have psychic experiences and believe in the paranormal. If so, these effects would be greater for sheep than for goats, but this has not been tested. The popularity of fortune-tellers may also depend to some extent on selective memory. Selective recall of meaningful coincidences and true statements about the person will add to the Barnum effect, or the tendency to accept certain kinds of personality readings as true of oneself but not of others (Dickson and Kelly 1985). If this is so we would expect the people who frequent fortune-tellers to be more prone to this kind of selective memory. Again this has not been tested, but a project is now underway at Bristol to investigate it. Conclusions Five types of psychic illusion have been explored. They may be the basis for many spontaneous psychic experiences that generate belief in the paranormal. The tendency for sheep to show many of these effects to a greater extent than goats tends to confirm this hypothesis. This conclusion does not apply to many kinds of psi experiments, especially those giving no feedback and using sound randomization techniques. It therefore has no bearing on the issue of whether any laboratory experiments provide evidence for psi. Also in life outside the lab these processes may operate to produce psychic experiences and belief in the paranormal quite independently of whether genuinely paranormal phenomena ever occur. These findings are therefore not so much evidence against the occurrence of paranormal phenomena as a suggestion that we should expect to find a high incidence of psychic experiences and widespread belief in the paranormal whether or not psychic phenomena ever occur. The Nature of Skepticism The whole basis of this approach is that human beings, in trying to make sense of their world, must make mistakes. On the one hand, they miss things that are there and, on the other, invent things that are not. This applies as much to simple signals as to complex correlations and to scientific theories as well as to perceptual ones. I have tried to show some of these in Figure 4. In everyday life the equivalent of the sheep is someone who will see something interesting in everything. The problem is that they may be seeing things that are not there. The equivalent of the goat is someone who needs lots of evidence before seeing or experiencing anything. They are likely to miss out on a lot of fun! Similarly, in science the equivalent of the sheep is someone who enjoys every crazy theory and follows every faint lead. The problem is that they may easily be following a false lead. The equivalent of the goat is someone who takes no interest in wacky theories and sticks only to the conventional. They may be safe but are likely to miss the really exciting new theory when it comes along. You takes your choice and with it the consequences—fun or boredom, fear of failure or love of novelty. But what of skepticism? I do not think the true skeptic is the goat. The true skeptic does not always stick to one end of the spectrum but can shift criteria as the circumstances demand. The true skeptic is as skeptical of the goat who denies everything as of the sheep who embraces everything (as is John Palmer’s [1986] "progressive skeptic"). True skeptics can drop their fear of looking silly or curtail their love of the novel as appropriate; can apply caution or stick their neck out according to their understanding of the issues. The true skeptic is not the ultimate goat but something more like a flying horse. References Ayeroff, F., and R. P. Abelson. 1976. ESP and ESB: Belief in personal success at mental telepathy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34:240-247. Benassi, V. A., P. D. Sweeney, and G.E.Drevno. 1979. Mind over matter: Perceived success at psychokinesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37:1377-1386. Blackmore, S. J. 1984. A postal survey of OBEs and other experiences. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. 52: 225-244. Blackmore, S. J., K. Galaud, and C. Walker In press. "Psychic Experiences as Illusions of Causality." In Research in Parapsychology 1991, ed. by D. Delanoy. Metuchen, N.J. Scarecrow. Blackmore, S. J., and T. Troscianko. 1985. Belief in the paranormal Probability judgements, illusory control, and the "chance baseline shift." British Journal of Psychology, 76:459-468. Brugger, P., T. Landis, and M. Regard. 1990. A "sheep-goat effect" in repetition avoidance: Extra-sensory perception as an effect of subjective probability? British 1ournal of Psychology, 81:455-468. Budescu, D. V. 1987. A Markov model for generation of random binary sequences. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 13:25-39. Diaconis, P., and F. Mosteller. 1989. Methods for studying coincidences. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 84:853861. Dickson, D. H., and 1. W. Kelly. 1985. The Barnum effect in personality assessment: A review of the literature. Psychological Reports, 57:367-382. Einhorn, H. 1, and R. M. Hogarth. 1978. Confidence in judgement: Persistence of the illusion of validity. Psychological Review, 85:395-416. Falk, R. 1982. On coincidences. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER,6(1):18-31. Falk, R., and D. MacGregor. 1983. "The Surprisingness of Coincidences." In Analysing and Aiding Decision Processes, ed. by P. Humphreys, O. Svenson, and A. Vari, 489-502. New York: North Holland. Fischhoff, B. and R. Beyth. 1975. "I knew it would happen" Remembered probabilities of once-future things. Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance, 13:116. Gallup, G. H., and F. Newport. 1991. Belief in paranormal phenomena among adult Americans. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, 15:137146. Gatlin, L. L. 1979. A new measure of bias in finite sequences with applications to ESP data. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 73 29-43. Hintzman, D. L., S. l. Asher, and L. D. Stern. 1978. Incidental retrieval and memory for coincidences. In Practical Aspects of Memory, ed. by M. M. Gruneberg, P. E. Morris, and R. N. Sykes, 61-66, New York: Academic Press. Jones, W. H., D. W. Russell, and T. W. Nickel. 1977. Belief in the Paranormal Scale: An objective instrument to measure beliefs in magical phenomena and causes. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 7:100 (Ms. No. 1577). Jung, C. G. 1973. Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Kahneman, D. and A. Tversky. 1972. On prediction and judgment. Oregon Research Institute Bulletin, 12. Kahneman, D. and A. Tversky. 1973. On the psychology of prediction. Psychological Review, 80:237-251. Langer, E. J. 1975. The illusion of control. ]ournal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32:311-328. Palmer, 1 1979. A community mail survey of psychic experiences. 1ournal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 73:221-252. Palmer, J. 1986. Progressive skepticism, Journal of Parapsychology, 5029-42. Tart, C. T.1979. Randomicity, predictability and mathematical inference strategies in ESP feedback experiments. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 73:44-60. Wagenaar, W. A. 1972. Generation of random sequences by human subjects: A critical survey of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 77:65-72. Blogger Reference Link  http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science

PSI (Parapsychology)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Psi

Terminology
Coined by	B. P. Wiesner (1942)
Definition	A term used to demarcate processes or effects associated with cognitive or physiological activity that fall outside of conventional scientific boundaries (ESP, for example).
Pronunciation:	Pronounced with a silent p, sounding like "sigh".
See also	Parapsychology Extrasensory perception Remote viewing

Psi is a term from parapsychology derived from the Greek, ψ psi, 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet; from the Greek ψυχή psyche, "mind, soul".^[1][2]

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Types 3 Definitions 4 See also 5 External links 6 References

[edit]Etymology

The term was coined by biologist Berthold P. Wiesner, and first used by psychologistRobert Thouless in a 1942 article published in the British Journal of Psychology.^[3] Psi was argued by Thouless and Wiesner to offer a non-theoretical manner of referring toextrasensory perception and psychokinesis, these terms being unjustifiably loaded with suggestions as to how the phenomena were caused or experienced.

[edit]Types

Traditionally the term has had two sub-categories:^[2]

• Psi-Gamma - Pertaining to paranormal cognition (ESP, remote viewing, etc.)
• Psi-Kappa - Pertaining to paranormal action (psychokinesis, etc.)

[edit]Definitions

Although Thouless and Wiesner were careful to offer psi as merely referring to certain paranormal activity worthy of study, it has come to connote the processes that somehow cause them, or a certain faculty of human psychology. In a 1994 paper in the Psychological Bulletin, Daryl J. Bem and Charles Honorton defined psi thus:

The term psi denotes anomalous processes of information or energy transfer, processes such as telepathy or other forms of extrasensory perception that are currently unexplained in terms of known physical or biological mechanisms. The term is purely descriptive: It neither implies that such anomalous phenomena are paranormal nor connotes anything about their underlying mechanisms.^[4]

Similarly, according to the Parapsychological Association, psi can be

used either as a noun or adjective to identify paranormal processes and paranormal causation; the two main categories of psi are psi-gamma (paranormal cognition; extrasensory perception) and psi-kappa (paranormal action; psychokinesis), although the purpose of the term "psi" is to suggest that they might simply be different aspects of a single process, rather than distinct and essentially different processes.^[5]

However, it has been pointed out by parapsychologist Carl Williams:

Historically, the study of psi has been viewed as existing far outside the normal boundaries and concerns of 19th - and 20th - century science. Whether proposing the possibility of contact with the dead or novel forms of communication, books with titles such as Beyond the Reach of Sense (Heywood, 1974) and Beyond Reality (Rogo, 1990) establish psi as an object of scrutiny out of this world; and to many the study of psi and its existence are seen as existing in the Margins of Reality (Jahn & Dunne, 1987).^[6]

In popular culture, "psi" has become more and more synonymous with special psychic, mental, and "psionic" abilities and powers.

[edit]See also

• Extrasensory perception
• List of psychic abilities
• Parapsychology
• Psi (disambiguation)
• Psi (Cyrillic) Legend Ѱ
• Psionics
• Magic
• Empathy
• Telepathy
• Telekinesis
• Clairvoyance
• Clairaudience
• Dowsing

[edit]External links

• "The Parapsychological Association"
• "The Institute of Noetic Sciences"
• Rhine Psi Research Center
• Society for Psychical Research
• Psi Research Database
• Princeton Global Consciousness Project

[edit]References

1. ^ What do parapsychologists study?, Parapsychological Association (2007-02-03)
2. ^ ^a b Psi - Glossary of Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association (2007-01-29)
3. ^ Thouless, R. H. (1942). "Experiments on paranormal guessing". British Journal of Psychology, 33, 15-27.
4. ^ Bem, D. J., & Honorton, C. (1994). Does psi exist? Replicable evidence for an anomalous process of information transfer.Psychological Bulletin', 115, 4-18.
5. ^ http://www.parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p Parapsychological Association Glossary of Parapsychological terms
6. ^ http://hopelive.hope.ac.uk/psychology/para/METAPH1.pdf

Categories:

• Parapsychology
• Paranormal terminology

Psychokinesis

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"Telekinesis" redirects here. For other uses, see Telekinesis (disambiguation).

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Psychokinesis (from the Greek ψυχή, "psyche", meaning mind, soul, spirit, heart, or breath; and κίνησις, "kinesis", meaning motion, movement; literally "mind-movement"),^[1][2] also referred to as telekinesis^[3] (Greek τῆλε + κίνησις, literally "distant-movement") with respect to strictly describing mental movement or motion of solid matter, abbreviated as PK and TK respectively, is a term coined by publisher Henry Holt^[4] to refer to the direct influence of mind on a physical system that cannot be entirely accounted for by the mediation of any known physical energy.^[5] Examples of psychokinesis could include distorting or moving an object,^[6] and influencing the output of a random number generator.^[5][7][8]
The study of phenomena said to be psychokinetic is part of parapsychology. Some psychokinesis researchers claim psychokinesis exists and deserves further study, although the focus of research has shifted away from large-scale phenomena to attempts to influence dice and then to random number generators.^{[9][10][11][12]}
Most scientists believe that the existence of psychokinesis has not been convincingly demonstrated.^[13] A meta-analysis of 380 studies in 2006 found a "very small" effect which could possibly be explained by publication bias.^[11] PK experiments have historically been criticised for lack of proper controls and repeatability.^[14][15][16] However, some experiments have created illusions of PK where none exists, and these illusions depend to an extent on the subject's prior belief in PK.^[17][18]

Contents  [hide]  1 Terminology 1.1 Early history 1.2 Modern usage 2 Measurement and observation 2.1 Spontaneous effects 3 Umbrella term 4 Belief 4.1 Notable claimants of psychokinetic ability 4.2 Notable witnesses to PK events 4.3 PK Parties 5 Scientific view 5.1 Explanations in terms of bias 5.2 Magic and special effects 5.3 Prize money for proof of psychokinesis 6 In religion, mythology and popular culture 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 9.1 Published Papers on PK / TK 9.2 Military Papers on PK / TK 10 External links

[edit] Terminology

[edit] Early history

Spirit photography hoaxer Édouard Isidore Buguet^[19] (1840-1901) of France fakes telekinesis in this 1875 cabinet card photograph titled Fluidic Effect.

The term "Telekinesis" was coined in 1890 by Russian psychical researcher Alexander N. Aksakof (also spelled Aksakov).^[20][21] The term "Psychokinesis" was coined in 1914^[22] by American author-publisher Henry Holt in his book On the Cosmic Relations^[23][24] and adopted by his friend, American parapsychologist J. B. Rhine in 1934 in connection with experiments to determine if a person could influence the outcome of falling dice.^[25][26] Both concepts have been described by other terms, such as "remote influencing", "distant influencing"^[27] "remote mental influence", "distant mental influence",^[28] "directed conscious intention", " anomalous perturbation",^[29] and "mind over matter."^[30] Originally telekinesis was coined to refer to the movement of objects thought to be caused by ghosts of deceased persons, mischievous spirits, angels, demons, or other supernatural forces.^[30] Later, when speculation increased that humans might be the source of the witnessed phenomena not caused by fraudulent mediums^[31] and could possibly cause movement without any connection to a spiritualistic setting, such as in a darkened séance room, psychokinesis was added to the lexicon.^[30] Eventually, psychokinesis became the term preferred by the parapsychological community.^[25] Popular usage favours the word "telekinesis" to describe the paranormal movement of objects, perhaps due to the word's resemblance to other terms, such as telepathy and teleportation. Some early researchers who studied psychokinesis speculated that within the human body an unidentified fluid termed the "psychode", "psychic force" or "ecteneic force" existed and was capable of being released to influence matter.^[32] This view was held by Camille Flammarion^[33] and William Crookes, however a later psychical researcher Hereward Carrington pointed out that the fluid was hypothetical and has never been discovered.^[34]

[edit] Modern usage

As research entered the modern era, it became clear that many different, but related, abilities could be attributed to the wider description of psychokinesis and these, along with telekinesis, are now regarded as the specialties of PK. In the 2004 U.S. Air Force-sponsored research report Teleportation Physics Study, the physicist-author Eric Davis, Ph.D., described the distinction between PK and TK as "telekinesis is a form of PK."^[35] The Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, 2009 edition, also defines psychokinesis in a wider sense as involving the "movement or change of physical objects," while its definition for telekinesis only describes "movement."^[36] Psychokinesis, then, is the general term that can be used to describe a variety of complex mental force phenomena (including object movement) and telekinesis is used to refer only to the movement of objects, however tiny (a grain of salt, or air molecules to create wind)^[37] or large (an automobile, building, or bridge).

[edit] Measurement and observation

A spontaneous PK case featured on the cover of the French magazine La Vie Mysterieuse in 1911.

Parapsychology researchers describe two basic types of measurable and observable psychokinetic and telekinetic effects in experimental laboratory research and in case reports occurring outside of the laboratory.^[28][30][38] Micro-PK (also micro-TK) is a very small effect, such as the manipulation of molecules, atoms,^[28] subatomic particles,^[28] etc., that can only be observed with scientific equipment. The words are abbreviations for micro-psychokinesis, micropsychokinesis^[37] and micro-telekinesis, microtelekinesis. Macro-PK (also macro-TK) is a large-scale effect that can be seen with the unaided eye. The adjective phrases "microscopic-scale," "macroscopic- scale," "small-scale," and "large-scale" may also be used; for example, "a small-scale PK effect."

[edit] Spontaneous effects

Spontaneous movements of objects and other unexplained effects have been reported, and many parapsychologists believe these are possibly forms of psychokinesis/telekinesis.^[25][30] Parapsychologist William G. Roll coined the term "recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis" (RSPK) in 1958.^[39][40] The sudden movement of objects without deliberate intention in the presence or vicinity of one or more witnesses is thought by some to be related to as-yet-unknown PK/TK processes of the subconscious mind.^[37] Researchers use the term "PK agent," especially in spontaneous cases, to describe someone who is suspected of being the source of the PK action.^[37][41] Outbreaks of spontaneous movements or other effects, such as in a private home, and especially those involving violent or physiological effects, such as objects hitting people or scratches or other marks on the body, are sometimes investigated as poltergeist cases.^[42]

[edit] Umbrella term

Psychokinesis is the umbrella term for various related specialty abilities, which may include:

• Telekinesis: movement of matter at the micro or macro (visible objects, life forms, etc.) levels; move, lift, agitate, vibrate, spin, bend, break, or impact.

• Speed up or slow down the naturally occurring vibrations of atoms in matter to alter temperature,^[43] possibly to the point of ignition if combustible (also known as pyrokinesis when speeding up vibrations, and cryokinesis when slowing them down).^[44]
• Self levitation (rising in the air unsupported, flying).^[45]

• Influencing events (sports, gambling, election, prolongation of life, etc.).^[45]
• Biological healing.^[46]
  • See also Category:Supernatural healing
• Teleportation (disappearing and reappearing elsewhere).^[37][45][47]
• Phasing through matter.^[43][45]
  • See also Quantum tunneling^[43]
• Transmutation of matter.^[45][48]
• Metamorphosis Shape-shifting.^[49]
• Energy shield (force field).^[50]
• Control of magnetism.^[45]
• Control of photons (light waves/particles).^[51]
• Thoughtform projection aka telepathic projection (a physically perceived person, animal, creature, object, ghostly entity, etc., created in the mind and projected into three-dimensional space and observable by others; for thought images allegedly placed on film, see Thoughtography).^[52][53]

[edit] Belief

In September 2006, a survey about belief in various religious and paranormal topics conducted by phone and mail-in questionnaire polled Americans on their belief in telekinesis. Of these participants, 28% of male participants and 31% of female participants selected "agree" or "strongly agree" with the statement "It is possible to influence the world through the mind alone". There were 1,721 participants, and the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.^[54]
In April 2008, British psychologist and skeptic Richard Wiseman published the results of an online survey he conducted entitled "Magicians and the Paranormal: A Survey," in which 400 magicians worldwide participated. For the question Do you believe that psychokinesis exists (i.e., that some people can, by paranormal means, apply a noticeable force to an object or alter its physical characteristics)?, the results were as follows: No 83.5%, Yes 9%, Uncertain 7.5%.^[55]

[edit] Notable claimants of psychokinetic ability

See also category: People claiming to have psychokinetic abilities

Eusapia Palladino "levitates" a table while researcher Alexander Aksakof (right) monitors for fraud, Milan, 1892.

• Martin Caidin (1927–1997), the author whose 1972 novel Cyborg was used as the basis for the television series The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, claimed to be able to cause movement by means of telekinesis in one or multiple small tabletop "energy wheels," also known as psi wheels beginning in the mid 1980s.^[56][57][58] Parapsychologist Loyd Auerbach, a friend of Caidin's who sometimes accompanied him in demonstrations and workshops, reiterated a strong endorsement of him in his June 2004 Fate magazine column: "Martin Caidin was capable of moving things with his mind."^[59] James Randi offered to test Caidin's claimed abilities in 1994.^[60] In September 2004, Randi wrote: "He frantically avoided accepting my challenge by refusing even the simplest of proposed control protocols, but he never tired of running on about how I would not test him."^[60]
• Uri Geller (1946 – ), the Israeli famous for his spoon bending demonstrations, allegedly by PK.^[30] Geller has been caught many times using sleight of hand^[61] and according to author Terence Hines, all his effects have been recreated using conjuring tricks.^[62]
• Many of India's "godmen" have claimed macro-PK abilities and demonstrated apparently miraculous phenomena in public, although as more controls are put in place to prevent trickery, fewer phenomena are produced.^[63] Perhaps the most notable is the spectacular allegation of Mahaavatar Babaji's materialization of an entire palace, mentioned in Paramahamsa Yogananda's classic Autobiography of a Yogi.
• Nina Kulagina (1926–1990), who came to wide public attention following the publication of Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder's best seller, Psychic Discoveries Behind The Iron Curtain. The alleged Soviet psychic of the late 1960s and early 1970s was filmed apparently performing telekinesis while seated in numerous black-and-white short films,^[30][64][65] mentioned in the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency report from 1978.^[66]
• Matthew Manning (1955 – ) of the United Kingdom was the subject of laboratory research in the United States and England involving PK in the late 1970s and today claims healing powers.^[30][31]
• Eusapia Palladino (1854–1918; alternate spelling: Eusapia Paladino) was an Italian medium who allegedly could cause objects to move during seances and was endorsed by world famous magician Howard Thurston (1869–1936), who said he witnessed her levitation of a table.^[67]
• Swami Rama (1925–1996), a yogi skilled in controlling his heart functions who was studied at the Menninger Foundation in the spring and fall of 1970, and was alleged by some observers at the foundation to have telekinetically moved a knitting needle twice from a distance of five feet.^[68] Although Swami Rama wore a facemask and gown to prevent allegations that he moved the needle with his breath or body movements, and air vents in the room had been covered, at least one physician observer who was present at the time was not convinced and expressed the opinion that air movement was somehow the cause.^[69]

[edit] Notable witnesses to PK events

Alleged psychokinetic events have been witnessed by psychologists in the United States,^[70][71][72] and elsewhere in the world by professionals with medical degrees,^[72][73] physicists,^[74]  electrical engineers,^[71] military personnel,^[75] police officers,^[76]  and other professionals and ordinary citizens. Robert M. Schoch Ph.D., professor at Boston University, has written "I do believe that some psychokinesis is real" referring to the evidence for micro-psychokinesis obtained by the Princeton PEAR laboratory experiments and similar studies and some reports of macro-RSPK observed in poltergeist cases. He reports once seeing a book "jumping off a shelf" while in a room where a female psychokinesis agent was also present.^[77] Best-selling author and medical doctor Michael Crichton described what he termed a "successful experience" with psychokinesis at a "spoon bending party" in his 1988 book Travels.^[73] Senior Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, author Dean Radin has reported that he, like Michael Crichton, was able to bend the bowl of a spoon over with unexplained ease of force with witnesses present at a different informal PK experiment gathering. He described his experience in his 2006 book Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality and online (with photos).^[71] Author Michael Talbot (1953–1992) described a variety of spontaneous psychokinetic events he experienced and were witnessed by family and friends in two of his books, Beyond the Quantum and The Holographic Universe.
French biologist Remy Chauvin carried out a number of experiments to test psychokinesis. Because of the results of one of the experiments, Chauvin came to believe that mind can influence matter.^[78] Chauvin's experiment involved using a uranium isotope, a Geiger counter and several assistants. Some parapsychologists have written that ordinary people may be able to influence biological organisms from distance such as the growth rates of fungi and bacteria.^[79] Carroll Nash (1984) reported that human subjects could use their psychokinetic ability to influence the rate at which bacterial genes mutate.^[80]
Anecdotes such as these - stories by eyewitnesses outside of controlled conditions - are considered insufficient evidence by the majority of scientists to establish the scientific validity of psychokinesis.^[28][81]

[edit] PK Parties

"PK Parties" were a cultural fad in the 1980s, where groups of people were guided through rituals and chants to awaken metal-bending powers. They were encouraged to shout at the items of cutlery they had brought and to jump and scream to create an atmosphere of pandemonium (or what scientific investigators called heightened suggestibility). Critics were excluded and participants were told to avoid looking at their hands. Thousands of people attended these emotionally charged parties, and many became convinced that they had bent silverware by paranormal means.^[82]

[edit] Scientific view

If PK were to exist as claimed by some experimenters, it would violate some well-established laws of physics, including the inverse square law, the second law of thermodynamics, and the conservation of momentum, according to Martin Gardner and Thomas Gilovich.^[83][84] Hence scientists have demanded a high standard of evidence for PK, in line with Marcello Truzzi's dictum "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof".^[15][85] When apparent PK can be produced in ordinary ways—by trickery, special effects or by poor experimental design—scientists accept that explanation as more parsimonious than to accept that the laws of physics should be rewritten.^[28]
The late Carl Sagan included telekinesis in a long list of "offerings of pseudoscience and superstition" which "it would be foolish to accept (...) without solid scientific data" though even highly improbable claims may possibly be eventually verified. He placed the burden of proof on the proponents, but cautioned readers to "await—or, much better, to seek—supporting or disconfirming evidence" for claims that have not been resolved either way.^[86] Nobel Prize laureate Richard Feynman advocated a similar position.^[87]

Nobel laureate Brian Josephson coauthored a 1991 scientific paper that agreed with the theories of earlier published researchers that consciousness and the creative mind could have a role in affecting the statistical outcomes of quantum phenomena.^[88]

In their 1991 research paper Biological Utilization of Quantum Nonlocality, Nobel Prize laureate Brian Josephson and coauthor Fotini Pallikara-Viras proposed that explanations for both psychokinesis and telepathy might be found in quantum physics.^[88][89] Gerald Feinberg's concept of a tachyon, a theoretical particle that travels faster than the speed of light has been advocated by some parapsychologists who claim that it could explain psychokinesis.^[90] Haakon Forwald (1897-1978) a Swedish electrical engineer suggested that psychokinesis of objects could occur due to gravitational fields produced by mental influence acting on neutrons in the atoms inside the objects, however his hypothesis has never been proven and critics have pointed out his hypothesis is faulted by general relativity.^[91][92]
There is a broad consensus, including several proponents of parapsychology, that PK research, and parapsychology more generally, has not produced a reliable, repeatable demonstration.^{[13][15][93][94]}
In 1984, the United States National Academy of Sciences, at the request of the US Army Research Institute, formed a scientific panel to assess the best evidence from 130 years of parapsychology. Part of its purpose was to investigate military applications of PK, for example to remotely jam or disrupt enemy weaponry. The panel heard from a variety of military staff who believed in PK and made visits to the PEAR laboratory and two other laboratories that had claimed positive results from micro-PK experiments.
The panel criticised macro-PK experiments for being open to deception by conjurors, and said that virtually all micro-PK experiments "depart from good scientific practice in a variety of ways". Their conclusion, published in a 1987 report, was that there was no scientific evidence for the existence of psychokinesis. Parapsychology advocates responded by accusing the panel of bias.^[95]
Research with random number generators has been influenced by signal detection theory, viewing the effect of PK as weak but real "signal" hidden in the "noise" of experimental results. An effect too weak to be demonstrated in a replicable experiment would still show up as a statistically significant effect in a large set of data. To test this, parapsychologists have carried out meta-analyses of large data sets, with apparently impressive positive results.^[96] This has in turn been criticized as an invalid use of meta-analysis, since the original studies are too dissimilar for the resulting statistics to be meaningful.^[12] A 2006 meta-analysis of 380 studies found a small positive effect within the margin that could be explained by publication bias.^[11]
Physicist Robert L. Park finds it suspicious that a phenomenon should only ever appear at the limits of detectability of questionable statistical techniques. He cites this feature as one of Irving Langmuir's indicators of pathological science. Park argues that if PK really existed it would be easily and unambiguously detectable, for example using modern microbalances which can detect tiny amounts of force.^[94]
PK hypotheses are also tested implicitly in a number of contexts outside parapsychological experiments. Gardner considers a dice game played in casinos, where gamblers have a large incentive to affect the numbers that come up. This is in effect a large sample-size test of the same hypothesis as the J. B. Rhine dice experiments, but year after year the house takings are exactly those predicted by chance.^[97] Psychologist Nicholas Humphrey argues that many experiments in psychology, biology or physics assume that the intentions of the subjects or experimenter do not physically distort the apparatus. Humphrey counts them as replications of PK experiments (but implicitly so) in which PK fails to appear.^[15]
In the book Parapsychology: The Controversial Science (1991), British parapsychologist Richard S. Broughton, Ph.D, wrote of the differences of opinion among top scientists encountered by Robert G. Jahn, director of the (now-closed) PEAR laboratory, regarding the psychokinesis research that the lab was engaged in at the time.^[28]

[edit] Explanations in terms of bias

Cognitive bias research has been interpreted to argue that people are susceptible to illusions of PK. These include both the illusion that they themselves have the power, and that events they witness are real demonstrations of PK.^[98] For example, Illusion of control is an illusory correlation between intention and external events, and believers in the paranormal have been shown to be more susceptible to this illusion than skeptics.^[17][99] Psychologist Thomas Gilovich explains this as a biased interpretation of personal experience. For example, to someone in a dice game willing for a high score, high numbers can be interpreted as "success" and low numbers as "not enough concentration."^[84] Bias towards belief in PK may be an example of the human tendency to see patterns where none exist, which believers are also more susceptible to.^[98]
A 1952 study tested for experimenter's bias in a PK context. Richard Kaufman of Yale University gave subjects the task of trying to influence eight dice and allowed them to record their own scores. They were secretly filmed, so their records could be checked for errors. The results in each case were random and provided no evidence for PK, but believers made errors that favoured the PK hypothesis, while disbelievers made opposite errors. A similar pattern of errors was found in J. B. Rhine's dice experiments which at that time were the strongest evidence for PK.^[100]
Wiseman and Morris (1995) showed subjects an unedited videotape of a magician's performance in which a fork bent and eventually broke. Believers in the paranormal were significantly more likely to misinterpret the tape as a demonstration of PK, and were more likely to misremember crucial details of the presentation. This suggests that confirmation bias affects people's interpretation of PK demonstrations.^[18] Psychologist Robert Sternberg cites confirmation bias as an explanation of why belief in psi phenomena persists, despite the lack of evidence: "[P]eople want to believe, and so they find ways to believe."^[101]
Psychologist Daniel Wegner has argued that an introspection illusion contributes to belief in psychokinesis.^[102] He observes that in everyday experience, intention (such as wanting to turn on a light) is followed by action (such as flicking a light switch) in a reliable way, but the underlying neural mechanisms are outside awareness. Hence though subjects may feel that they directly introspect their own free will, the experience of control is actually inferred from relations between the thought and the action. This theory of apparent mental causation acknowledges the influence of David Hume's view of the mind.^[102] This process for detecting when one is responsible for an action is not totally reliable, and when it goes wrong there can be an illusion of control. This could happen when an external event follows, and is congruent with, a thought in someone's mind, without an actual causal link.^[102]
As evidence, Wegner cites a series of experiments on magical thinking in which subjects were induced to think they had influenced external events. In one experiment, subjects watched a basketball player taking a series of free throws. When they were instructed to visualise him making his shots, they felt that they had contributed to his success.^[103]

[edit] Magic and special effects

See also: Mentalism

Magicians, sleight-of-hand-artists, etc., have successfully simulated some of the specialized abilities of PK (object movement, spoon bending, levitation, teleportation), but not all of the feats of claimed spontaneous and intentional psychokinesis have been reproduced under the same observed conditions as the original.^[28] According to philosopher Robert Todd Carroll, there are many impressive magic tricks available to amateurs and professionals to simulate psychokinetic powers.^[104] These can be purchased on the Internet from magic supply companies. Metal objects such as keys or cutlery can be bent by a number of different techniques, even if the performer has not had access to them beforehand.^[105] Amateur-made videos alleging to show feats of psychokinesis, particularly spoon bending and the telekinetic movement of objects, can be found on video-sharing websites such as YouTube. Critics point out that it is now easier than ever for the average person to fake psychokinetic events and that without more concrete proof, the topic, apart from its enjoyment in fiction, will continue to remain controversial.^[44]
The need for PK researchers to be aware of conjuring techniques was illustrated by events in the early 1980s. The McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research at Washington University reported a series of experiments in which two subjects had demonstrated PK phenomena (including metal-bending and causing images to appear on film) and other psychic powers under laboratory conditions. Magician James Randi revealed that the subjects were two of his associates, amateur conjurers Steve Shaw and Michael Edwards. The pair had created the effects by standard trickery, but the researchers, being unfamiliar with magic techniques, interpreted them as proof of PK. The laboratory closed not long after.^[106]

[edit] Prize money for proof of psychokinesis

Main article: List of prizes for evidence of the paranormal

Internationally, there are several individual skeptics of the paranormal and skeptics' organizations who offer cash prize money for demonstration of the existence of an extraordinary psychic power, such as psychokinesis. Experimental design must be agreed upon prior to execution, and additional conditions, such as a minimum level of fame, may be imposed. Prizes have been offered specifically for PK demonstrations, for example businessman Gerald Fleming's offer of £250,000 to Uri Geller if he can bend a spoon under controlled conditions.^[107] These prizes remain uncollected by people claiming to possess paranormal abilities.
The James Randi Educational Foundation offers US$1,000,000 to anyone who has a demonstrated media profile as well as the support from some member of the academic community, and who can produce a paranormal event, such as psychokinesis, in a controlled, mutually agreed upon experiment.

[edit] In religion, mythology and popular culture

See also: List of superhuman features and abilities in fiction

There are written accounts and oral legends of events fitting the description of psychokinesis dating back to early history, most notably in the stories found in various religions and mythology. In the Bible, for example, Jesus is described as transmuting water into wine, an act some have described as an example of psychokinesis,^[108] healing the sick, and multiplying food.^[109]
Mythological beings, such as witches, have been described as levitating people, animals, and objects.^[110] The court wizard and prophet Merlin in the King Arthur legend, is said to have used his power to transport Stonehenge across the sea to England from Ireland.^[111]
Psychokinesis has been an aspect in movies, television, computer games, literature, and other forms of popular culture, often presented as a superpower. An early example is the 1952 novella Telek by Jack Vance. Notable portrayals of psychokinetic characters include Sissy Spacek as a troubled high school student in the 1976 film Carrie, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name,^[112] Ellen Burstyn in the healer-themed film Resurrection (1980),^[113] and by high school seniors Andrew Detmer, Steve Montgomery, and Matt Garetty from the 2012 film Chronicle. Psychokinesis is also commonly used as a power in a large number of videogames and role playing games.

[edit] See also

Count of St. Germain Ectenic force Energy (spirituality) Faith healing James Hydrick Global Consciousness Project List of parapsychology topics

List of psychic abilities Magic (paranormal) Magical thinking Magician (paranormal) Manifestation Materialization Mind over matter

Nensha Ted Owens Pauli effect Precognition Psi Psionics Psychic surgery

Tina Resch Tai al-Ardh Telepathy Therapeutic touch Torsion field

[edit] References

1. ^ Random House (2005-07-12). Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. Boston, Massachusetts: Random House Reference. p. 1560. ISBN 978-0-375-42599-8. OCLC 48010385. http://books.google.com/?id=y6aOPgAACAAJ. "psycho-, a combining form representing psyche in compound words. ... (Gk, comb. form of psyche breath, spirit, soul, mind; akin to psycheim to blow)."
2. ^ Erin McKean, [principal editor]. (2005-04-08). The New Oxford American Dictionary. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 1367. ISBN 978-0-19-517077-1. OCLC 123434455. http://books.google.com/?id=opNWcgAACAAJ. "psycho. comb. form relating to the mind or psychology: ...from Greek psukhe breath, soul, mind."
3. ^ "Encyclopædia Britannica online: psychokinesis". http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9061720. Retrieved July 16, 2006.
4. ^ Holt, Henry, On the Cosmic Relation - Book II- Part III, Psychokinesis, pp.216-217
5. ^ ^{a b} "Parapsychological Association, glossary of key words frequently used in parapsychology". http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p. Retrieved December 20, 2006.
6. ^ Search+OMD "On-Line Medical Dictionary: psychokinesis". http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?query=psychokinesis&action= Search+OMD. Retrieved July 16, 2006.
7. ^ Jeffers, Stanley (May/June 2007, Vol. 31, Issue 3). "PEAR Lab Closes, Ending Decades of Psychic Research," Skeptical Inquirer. Amherst, New York, USA: Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. p. 16. "Much of the work of the PEAR group has employed 'random event generators' (REGs), which are essentially electronic random number generators whose ' operators' are invited by dint [force, power] of their own intentionality, to bias in such a way, that the mean of the random number distribution would be either much higher or lower than it would be in the absence of their intentional efforts..."
8. ^ "Parapsychological Association FAQ". Parapsychological Association. 1995. Archived from the original on 2011-08-21. http://www.parapsych.org/faq_file1.html. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
9. ^ "The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research". http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/.
10. ^ "Parapsychological Association FAQs - discussion of random number generator experiments.". http://parapsych.org/faq_file2.html#12. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
11. ^ ^{a b c} Bösch, Holger; Fiona Steinkamp, Emil Boller (July 2006). "Examining psychokinesis: The interaction of human intention with random number generators--A meta-analysis". Psychological Bulletin 132 (4): 497–523. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.4.497. PMID 16822162.
12. ^ ^{a b} Hyman, Ray; Henry L. Roediger, Diane F. Halpern (2007). "Evaluating Parapsychological Claims". In Robert J. Sternberg, Henry L. Roediger, Diane F. Halpern. Critical Thinking in Psychology. Cambridge University Press. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-521-60834-3. http://books.google.com/?id=3mA9NPAgWR0C.
13. ^ ^{a b} Vyse, Stuart A. (2000-03-01). Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition. Oxford University Press US. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-19-513634-0. http://books.google.com/?id=QGysXzdTxo0C. "[M]ost scientists, both psychologists and physicists, agree that it has yet to be convincingly demonstrated."
14. ^ Girden, Edward (September 1962). "A review of psychokinesis (PK)". Psychological Bulletin 59 (5): 353–388. doi:10.1037/h0048209.
15. ^ ^{a b c d} Humphrey, Nicholas K. (1995). Soul Searching: Human nature and supernatural belief. Chatto & Windus. ISBN 978-0-7011-5963-4.
16. ^ Carroll, Robert Todd (2005). "psychokinesis (PK)". Skepdic.com. The Skeptics Dictionary. http://skepdic.com/kinesis.html. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
17. ^ ^{a b} Benassi, Victor A.; Paul D. Sweeney, and Gregg E. Drevno (1979). "Mind over matter: Perceived success at psychokinesis". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37 (8): 1377–1386. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.8.1377. http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/37/8/1377/. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
18. ^ ^{a b} Wiseman, Richard; Robert Morris (1995). "Recalling pseudo-psychic demonstrations". British Journal of Psychology 86 (1): 113–125. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1995.tb02549.x. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9507101503&site=ehost-live. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
19. ^ Hajela, Deepti (October 3, 2005). "New exhibit looks at occult photography". Associated Press story. http://www.azcentral.com/ent/arts/articles/1003occult.html. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
20. ^ Myers, Frederic William Henry (December 1890). Proceedings. London, England: Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. "For the alleged movements without contact... M. Aksakof's new word 'telekinetic' seems to me the best attainable." Note: this quote as a cited reference can also be seen on page 722 in the multivolume "The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition", 1989, Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, ISBN 978-0-19-861229-2." The "M. Aksakof" is actually "A. Aksakof," as indicated in this 1896 quarterly journal Borderland
21. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". Archived from the original on 2011-08-27. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=telekinesis. Retrieved January 20, 2007. "Telekinesis. 1890, said to have been coined by Alexander N. Aksakof (1832-1903) Imperial Councilor to the Czar... Translates Ger. 'Fernwirkung.'"
22. ^ ed. in chief Frederick C. Mish (2005). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Springfield, Massachusetts, USA: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. p. 1004. ISBN 978-0-87779-809-5. OCLC 146761465. http://books.google.com/?id=TAnheeIPcAEC. "Psychokinesis (1914)...."
23. ^ "Parapsychology Foundation "Basic terms in Parapsychology"". Archived from the original on 2011-08-27. http://www.parapsychology.org/dynamic/060100.html. Retrieved December 22, 2006.
24. ^ Holt, Henry (1914) (PDF). On the Cosmic Relations. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin. http://books.google.com/?id=Kts0AAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
25. ^ ^{a b c} Spence, Lewis (2003-02-01). Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Kessinger Publishing (reprint publisher). pp. 752–753, 879, 912, 933. ISBN 978-0-7661-2817-0. http://books.google.com/?id=gq1LhcH48GQC.
26. ^ "Parapsychological Association - Glossary: PK/Psychokinesis". http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#p. Retrieved July 19, 2006.
27. ^ "Overview of Current Parapsychology Research in the Former Soviet Union, Introduction" (PDF). Subtle Energies Volume 3, Number 3. 1992. p. 1. http://www.lfr.org/LFR/csl/library/Fsu1.pdf. Retrieved July 3, 2007. "AMP research programs in the Soviet Union have primarily focused on experimental studies in 'distant influence' on animate an inanimate systems; i.e., psychokinesis (PK) and bio-PK."
28. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Broughton, Richard S. (1991-07-30). Parapsychology: The Controversial Science. New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 35, 75–79, 149, 161–162, 329–330. ISBN 978-0-345-35638-3. http://books.google.com/?id=4GlRAAAAYAAJ.
29. ^ "Overview of Current Parapsychology Research in the Former Soviet Union, Abstract" (PDF). Subtle Energies Volume 3, Number 3. 1992. p. 1. http://www.lfr.org/LFR/csl/library/Fsu1.pdf. Retrieved July 3, 2007. "The authors primarily discuss experiments in anomalous perturbation (often referred to as psychokinesis—PK and bio- which have been the main focus of AMP research programs in the Soviet Union."
30. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Berger, Arthur S.; Berger, Joyce (1991-02). The Encyclopedia of Parapsychological and Psychical Research. New York: Paragon House. pp. 326, 341, 430. ISBN 978-1-55778-043-0. http://books.google.com/?id=SmzGQgAACAAJ.
31. ^ ^{a b} editor in chief, Richard Cavendish ; editorial board, C.A. Burland ... [et al.] ; new edition edited and compiled by Richard Cavendish and Brian Innes.; Brian Innes (1995) [1970]. Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion, and the Unknown. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. p. 2442. ISBN 978-1-85435-731-1. OCLC 228665658. http://books.google.com/?id=H-QaAQAAMAAJ. "Spiritualism aroused violent antagonism and criticism concentrating particularly on the physical phenomena occurring at seances, which opponents claimed were faked." Page 1626, v. 12: entry on Matthew Manning.
32. ^ Hamlin Garland Forty years of psychic research: a plain narrative of fact 1936, pp. 127-128
33. ^ H. F. Prevost Battersby Psychic Certainties Kessinger Reprint Edition, 1988, pp. 125-126
34. ^ Hereward Carrington Eusapia Palladino and Her Phenomena Kessinger Reprint Edition, 2003, p. 267
35. ^ Davis, Eric; physicist, Ph.D, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, 2004. "Teleportation Physics Study" (PDF). p. 55. http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/teleport.pdf. Retrieved July 19, 2006. "Telekinesis is a form of PK, which describes the movement of stationary objects without the use of any known physical force."
36. ^ Colman, Andrew M. (2009). A Dictionary of Psychology. New York City: Oxford University Press, Inc.. ISBN 9780199534067.
37. ^ ^{a b c d e} Guiley, Rosemary Ellen (2001-07-17). Encyclopedia of the Strange, Mystical & Unexplained. New York: Gramercy Books. pp. 454, 456, 478, 609. ISBN 978-0-517-16278-1.
38. ^ "Library.ThinkQuest.org - Glossary: Macro PK and Micro PK". http://library.thinkquest.org/C0120993/glossaryfull.html. Retrieved October 14, 2006.
39. ^ Roll, William G.; Pratt, J. G. (1958). The Seaford Disturbances. Journal of Parapsychology, Vol. 2,. pp. 79–124.
40. ^ "Parapsychological Association - Glossary: "RSPK"". http://parapsych.org/glossary_l_r.html#r. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
41. ^ Pratt, J. G.; Stevenson, Ian (Vol. 70, January 1976). An Instance of Possible Metal-Bending Indirectly Related to Uri Geller. The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. "As far as I can say, no one in the apartment that night would take credit for being the responsible PK agent."
42. ^ Reader's digest ; [chief contributing writer, Richard Marshall ; contributing writers, Monte Davis, Valerie Moolman, Georg Zappler]. (1990). Mysteries of the Unexplained. Readers Digest Association. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-89577-146-9. OCLC 10605367. http://books.google.com/?id=MjqcKUX9x74C. "Attempting to understand the forces at work, researchers in parapsychology have hypothesized that the poltergeist's feats in moving objects (which are seen to fly in violation of the laws of gravity, gliding, rising, and turning corners) are examples of psychokinesis, or PK—the ability to influence inanimate objects by mind power."
43. ^ ^{a b c} Kakalios, James (2005-10-04). The Physics of Superheores. New York: Gotham Books/Penguin Group, Inc.. ISBN 978-1-59240-146-8. http://books.google.com/?id=4Ne3QgAACAAJ. The author, James Kakalios, is a physics professr. Page 133: 'Knowing that all matter is composed of atoms, we now recognize that when an object is 'hot,' the kinetic energy of the constituent atoms is large, while when an object is 'cold,' the kinetic energy of the atoms is lower." Pages 254-255: "With our improved understanding of physics, we can now more accurately describe Kitty Pryde's mutant power as being able to alter her macroscopic quantum wave function, increasing her tunneling probability to near 100 percent at will." Page 255: "How, when she's is 'phasing' and immaterial, can she walk?"
44. ^ ^{a b} Genzmer, Herbert; Hellenbrand, Ulrich (2007-03). "Psychokinesis". Mysteries of the World: Unexplained Wonders and Mysterious Phenomena. Bath, United Kingdom: Parragon Books Ltd. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-4054-9022-1. http://books.google.com/?id=uHgAGQAACAAJ. Republished in 2012 as Myths and Mysteries of the World, same publisher and cited page number, new ISBN 978-1-4454-9026-7.
45. ^ ^{a b c d e f} the editors of Time-Life Books. (1988-11). Mind Over Matter (volume of Mysteries of the Unknown encyclopedia series). New York: Time-Life Books. pp. 7–8, 27, 82, 85. ISBN 978-0-8094-6336-7. OCLC 17877875. http://books.google.com/?id=WIZ53Ea82GQC.
46. ^ Hathaway, Michael R. (2003-09-01). "Glossary". The Everything Psychic Book. Avon, Massachusetts, USA: Adams Media / F+W Publications Company. pp. 139, 271. ISBN 978-1-58062-969-0. http://books.google.com/?id=8_262Olw3RUC. "Psychokinesis. The ability to levitate, move objects, heal, and manipulate psychic energy...Psychokinesis is the ability to...create healing."
47. ^ ed. in chief Frederick C. Mish (2004). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Springfield, Massachusetts, USA: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. p. 1284. ISBN 978-0-87779-809-5. OCLC 146761465. http://books.google.com/?id=TAnheeIPcAEC. "Teleportation. The act or process of moving an object or person by psychokinesis."
48. ^ Colman, Andrew M. (2001). Dictionary of Psychology. Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 599. ISBN 978-0-19-866211-2. http://books.google.com/?id=2tenQgAACAAJ. "Psychokinesis. The movement or change of physical objects by mental processes"
49. ^ editor in chief, Richard Cavendish ; editorial board, C.A. Burland ... [et al.] ; new edition edited and compiled by Richard Cavendish and Brian Innes.; Brian Innes (1995). Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion, and the Unknown. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. p. 2354. ISBN 978-1-85435-731-1. OCLC 228665658. http://books.google.com/?id=H-QaAQAAMAAJ. "Shape-shifting. The idea that it is possible, in certain circumstances, for men to change their natural bodily form... Sorcerers also, and some great heroes, were believed to have the same power, by virtue of magical knowledge or some innate quality; and so, though more rarely, were a few otherwise ordinary people who acquired the gift through possession of a charm or the performance of a ritual act."
50. ^ "Mass Media Funk". The Skeptic's Dictionary. http://skepdic.com/refuge/funk3.html. Retrieved February 27, 2007. "Those who practice TT [Therapeutic Touch] believe they are able to move 'energy,' some sort of psychic force field or chi which they believe permeates the body and surrounding aura."
51. ^ Bersani, F.; Martelli, A. (1983). Psychoenergetics: The Journal of Psychophysical Systems. United Kingdom: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers. pp. 99–128. "The effects observed range from the typical bending of metal objects, such as spoons, keys, bars, etc., to strange effects like light flashes and teleportation."
52. ^ McCoy, Edain (1999-03-01). Astral Projection for beginners. Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewllyn Publications. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-56718-625-3. http://books.google.com/?id=ak1__e0HmgYC. "Creative visualization is the practice of mentally envisioning a desired outcome, infusing it with personal energy, and then releasing it to the cosmos so that it can grow to manifest in the physical. While all that sounds unduly complicated, what it boils down to is that it creates a thoughtform on the astral plane that, with proper effort, can be brought into the physical world."
53. ^ editor in chief, Richard Cavendish ; editorial board, C.A. Burland ... [et al.] ; new edition edited and compiled by Richard Cavendish and Brian Innes.; Brian Innes (1995). Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion, and the Unknown. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation. p. 2679. ISBN 978-1-85435-731-1. OCLC 228665658. http://books.google.com/?id=H-QaAQAAMAAJ. "The evocation of a tulpa, an entity created entirely by an act of the imagination, was described by Alexandra David-Néel in her book Magic and"
54. ^ Study conducted by the Gallup Organization between October 8, 2005 and December 12, 2005 on behalf of the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University, of Waco, Texas, in the United States.
55. ^ "Magicians and the Paranormal: A Survey". http://richardwiseman.com/magicsurvey. Retrieved May 7, 2008. Published April 23, 2008.
56. ^ Caidin, Martin (January 1994). "Telekinesis". Fate (Lakeville, USA: Llewellyn Publications/Galde Press, Inc.). http://www.fatemag.com/fatemagold/issues/1990s/1994-01.html.
57. ^ Auerbach, Loyd (1996-05-01). Mind Over Matter. Kensington Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-1-57566-047-9. http://books.google.com/?id=77xnPQAACAAJ.
58. ^ Heath, Pamela Rae (2011-02-24). Mind-Matter Interaction: A Review of Historical Reports, Theory and Research. Jefferson, North Carolina USA: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-4971-2. http://books.google.com/?id=OwVgHlx4KQEC.
59. ^ Auerbach, Loyd (June 2004). "The Psychokinetic Zone". Fate (Lakeville, USA: Galde Press, Inc.). Monthly column "Psychic Frontiers"
60. ^ ^{a b} "Swift, September 24, 2004". http://www.randi.org/jr/092404from.html. Retrieved February 1, 2011. Online newsletter of the JREF.
61. ^ Hines, Terence (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal (2nd ed.). Prometheus. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-57392-979-0. http://books.google.com/?id=Px0RAQAAIAAJ.
62. ^ Hines, Terence (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal (2nd ed.). Prometheus. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-57392-979-0. http://books.google.com/?id=Px0RAQAAIAAJ.
63. ^ Wiseman, Richard (1997). Deception & Self-deception: Investigating Psychics. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-121-3. http://books.google.com/?id=pDMNAQAAMAAJ. chapters 6-8
64. ^ J. Gaither Pratt, H. H. Jürgen Keil (1973). First Hand Observations of Nina S. Kulagina Suggestive of PK on Static Objects. 67. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. pp. 381–390.
65. ^ Jürgen Keil (1984) (in German). Parapsychologie in der Sowjetunion. 26. Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie. pp. 191–210.
66. ^ Paraphysics R&D - Warsaw Pact (U). Prepared by U.S. Air Force, Air Force Systems Command Foreign Technology Division. DST-1810S-202-78, Nr. DIA TASK NO. PT-1810-18-76. Defense Intelligence Agency. 30. March 1978. pp. 7–8. http://www.dia.mil/publicaffairs/Foia/pa_warsaw.pdf. "G.A. Sergevev is known to have studied Nina Kulagina, a well-known psychic from Leningrad. Although no detailed results are available, Sergevev's inferences are that she was successful in repeating psychokinetic phenomena under controlled conditions. G.A. Sergevev is a well-respected researcher and has been active in paraphysics research since the early 1960s."
67. ^ Muldoon, Sylvan (1947). Psychic Experiences of Famous People. Chicago: Aries Press. pp. 55–56. See endorsement quote by Thurston at Eusapia Palladino article. Text of entire book also available at google.books.com
68. ^ Green, Elmer; Alyce Green (1977). Beyond Biofeedback. Knoll Publishing Co. pp. 197–218. ISBN 978-0-440-00583-4. http://books.google.com/?id=f3aN8vnf3YIC.
69. ^ "http://www.swamij.com/pdf/swami-rama-beyond-biofeedback.pdf" (PDF). pp. 12–16. http://www.swamij.com/pdf/swami-rama-beyond-biofeedback.pdf. Retrieved July 24, 2007.Elmer Green's description of Swami Rama's alleged psychokinetic demonstration (with illustrations).
70. ^ Roll, William G.; Storey, Valerie (2004-05-18). Unleashed — Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch. New York: Paraview Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-8294-3. OCLC 55117933. http://books.google.com/?id=y-X8haq31KAC. William G. Roll, Ph.D., and Jeannie Lagle (Masters degree) both state that they witnessed psychokinesis involving Tina Resch. Roll additionally reports numerous other cases he investigated.
71. ^ ^{a b c} "Official website of Dean Radin". http://www.deanradin.com/NewWeb/bio.html. Retrieved June 9, 2007. see also Dean
72. ^ ^{a b} "Official website of Pamela Heath". http://pamelaheath.com/about.htm. Retrieved June 9, 2007.
73. ^ ^{a b} "Official website of Michael Crichton". http://www.crichton-official.com/aboutmichaelcrichton-biography.html. Retrieved March 27, 2012. See also, same site: Spoonbending.
74. ^ Hasted, John B. (1981-03-05). The Metal Benders. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-0-7100-0597-7. OCLC 7923491. http://books.google.com/?id=PLc9AAAAIAAJ.John B. Hasted (1921-2002), Ph.D., Physics professor, University of London. In his book The Metal- Benders, he describes his research of psychokinesis claimants and psychokinesis events he personally witnessed.
75. ^ Ronson, Jon (2006-04-04). The Men Who Stare at Goats. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 63, (Back cover). ISBN 978-0-7432-7060-1. http://books.google.com/?id=KrwdbEHBd6AC."In 1979, a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known accepted military practice—and indeed, the laws of physics—they believed that a soldier could adopt a cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls, and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them."; "Lenny from Special Forces disappeared into the room where the goat was. He came back and answered, with surprise and solemnity, "The goat is down.'"
76. ^ Roll, William G.; Storey, Valerie (2004-05-18). Unleashed — Of Poltergeists and Murder: The Curious Story of Tina Resch. New York: Paraview Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-8294-3. OCLC 55117933. http://books.google.com/?id=y-X8haq31KAC. Two police officers witnessed alleged psychokinetic activity in the Resch home in the 1984 Columbus poltergeist case.
77. ^ Schoch, Robert M. (January/February 2008). "Psychokinesis: A Scientist Searches for the Reality Behind PK's Representations". Atlantis Rising (Livingston, Montana USA): 42–43, 70–71.
78. ^ Znanie-Sila magazine, No 9, 1967 U.S.S.R.
79. ^ Barry, J. (1968). General and comparative study of the psychokinetic effect on fungus culture. Journal of Parapsychology, 32, 237–243 also see Barry, J. (1968). PK on fungus growth. Journal of Parapsychology, 32, 55. (Abstract.)
80. ^ Nash, C. B. (1984). Test of psychokinetic control of bacterial mutation. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 78, 145–152.
81. ^ Hennacy Powell, M.D., Diane (2009-01-13). The ESP Enigma: The Scientific Case for Psychic Phenomena. New York: Walker & Company. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-8027-1606-4. http://books.google.com/?id=pvlv2efnFY0C.
82. ^ Frazier, Kendrick (1990-12-31). "Improving Human Performance: What About Parapsychology?". In Kendrick Frazier. The Hundredth Monkey and Other Paradigms of the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-0-87975-655-0. http://books.google.com/?id=AzQNAQAAMAAJ.
83. ^ Gardner, Martin (1981-09). "Einstein and ESP". In Kendrick Frazier. Paranormal Borderlands of Science. Prometheus. pp. 60–65. ISBN 978-0-87975-148-7. http://books.google.com/?id=XjENAQAAMAAJ.
84. ^ ^{a b} Gilovich, Thomas (1993). How We Know What Isn't So: The fallibility of human reason in everyday life. Simon & Schuster. pp. 174–175. ISBN 978-0-02-911706-4. http://books.google.com/?id=LURGkHCPAJEC.
85. ^ Sutherland, Stuart (1994). Irrationality: the enemy within. Penguin books. p. 309. ISBN 978-0-14-016726-9. http://books.google.com/?id=HAVjQgAACAAJ. "[T]he movement of objects without the application of physical force would, if proven, require a complete revision of the laws of physics. (...) [T]he more improbable something is, the better the evidence needed to accept it"
86. ^ Sagan, Carl (1995). The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a candle in the dark. Headline. pp. 208–212. ISBN 978-0-7472-7745-3. http://books.google.com/?id=CYo7PgAACAAJ.
87. ^ Feynman, Richard P. (1999-02-01). The Meaning of It All. Penguin. pp. 68–71. ISBN 978-0-14-027635-0. http://books.google.com/?id=AdGBQwAACAAJ.
88. ^ ^{a b} Josephson, Brian D.; Pallikari-Viras, Fotini. "Biological Utilization of Quantum Nonlocality". http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~bdj10/papers/bell.html. Retrieved December 18, 2008. Foundations in Physics, Vol. 21, pp. 197-207, 1991, Plenum Press, New York.
89. ^ Michael Hanlon (2007-05-29). 10 Questions Science Can't Answer (Yet). New York: Macmillan. pp. 165–166. ISBN 978-0-230-51758-5. http://books.google.com/?id=5y-NgsrQn8MC.
90. ^ Marc Seifer, Stanley Krippner Transcending the Speed of Light 2008, p. 52
91. ^ Haakon Forwald Mind, matter, and gravitation: a theoretical and experimental study Parapsychology Foundation, 1969
92. ^ The Journal of parapsychology, Volume 48, Duke University Press, 1984, p. 302
93. ^ Gilovich, Thomas (1993). How We Know What Isn't So: The fallibility of human reason in everyday life. Simon & Schuster. pp. 160, 169. ISBN 978-0-02-911706-4. http://books.google.com/?id=LURGkHCPAJEC.
94. ^ ^{a b} Park, Robert L. (2002-07). Voodoo Science: The road from foolishness to fraud. Oxford University Press. pp. 198–200. ISBN 978-0-19-860443-3. http://books.google.com/?id=xzCK6-Kqs6QC.
95. ^ Frazier, Kendrick (1990-12-31). "Improving Human Performance: What About Parapsychology?". In Kendrick Frazier. The Hundredth Monkey and Other Paradigms of the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. pp. 149–161. ISBN 978-0-87975-655-0. http://books.google.com/?id=AzQNAQAAMAAJ.
96. ^ Radin, Dean (1997). The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena. HarperEdge.
97. ^ Gardner, Martin (1957). Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science. Dover. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-486-20394-2. http://books.google.com/?id=TwP3SGAUsnkC.
98. ^ ^{a b} Blackmore, Susan J. (1992). "Psychic Experiences: Psychic Illusions". Skeptical Inquirer 16: 367–376.
99. ^ Blackmore, Susan J.; Tom Trościanko (1985). "Belief in the paranormal Probability judgements, illusory control, and the "chance baseline shift."". British Journal of Psychology 76 (4): 459–468. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1985.tb01969.x. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=5701336&site=ehost-live. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
100. ^ Gardner, Martin (1957). Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science. Dover. p. 306. ISBN 978-0-486-20394-2. http://books.google.com/?id=TwP3SGAUsnkC.
101. ^ Sternberg, Robert J.; Henry L. Roediger, Diane F. Halpern (2007). "Critical Thinking in Psychology: It really is critical". In Robert J. Sternberg, Henry L. Roediger, Diane F. Halpern. Critical Thinking in Psychology. Cambridge University Press. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-521-60834-3. http://books.google.com/?id=3mA9NPAgWR0C. "Some of the worst examples of confirmation bias are in research on parapsychology (...) Arguably, there is a whole field here with no powerful confirming data at all. But people want to believe, and so they find ways to believe."
102. ^ ^{a b c} Wegner, Daniel M.; James C. Kaufman, Roy F. Baumeister (2008). "Self is Magic". In John Baer, James C. Kaufman, Roy F. Baumeister. Are we free?: psychology and free will. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-518963-6. http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic67047.files/2_13_07_Wegner.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
103. ^ Pronin, Emily; Daniel M. Wegner, Kimberly McCarthy, Sylvia Rodriguez (2006). "Everyday Magical Powers: The Role of Apparent Mental Causation in the Overestimation of Personal Influence". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (American Psychological Association) 91 (2): 218–231. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.2.218. ISSN 0022-3514. PMID 16881760. http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~wegner/pdfs/Pronin,%20Wegner,%20McCarthy,%20&%20Rodriguez%20(2006).pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
104. ^ Carroll, Robert Todd (2003-07-17). "Psychokinesis". The Skeptic's Dictionary: a collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions. Wiley. p. 316. ISBN 978-0-471-27242-7. http://books.google.com/?id=6FPqDFx40vYC.
105. ^ Hines, Terence (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal (2nd ed.). Prometheus. pp. 127–131. ISBN 978-1-57392-979-0. http://books.google.com/?id=Px0RAQAAIAAJ.
106. ^ Colman, Andrew M. (1987). Facts, Fallacies and Frauds in Psychology. Unwin Hyman. pp. 195–6. ISBN 978-0-09-173041-3.
107. ^ Hutchinson, Mike (1988). "A Thorn in Geller's Side". British and Irish Skeptic (July/August): 2–4.
108. ^ Brian, Denis (2000-11). The Voice of Genius: Conversations with Nobel Scientists and Other Luminaries. New York: Basic Books, imprint of Perseus Books. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-7382-0447-5. http://books.google.com/?id=x1BYMA-8oq8C. ". . . parapsychologists are studying some of the unusual events recorded in the Bible: changing water into wine could be called psychokinesis; . . . People have spoken of such things from early times and they seem to occur in every civilization."
109. ^ Heath, Pamela Rae, M.D., Psy.D. (2003-07). The PK Zone: A Cross-Cultural review of Psychokinesis. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-595-27658-5. http://books.google.com/?id=nRfTKWwCTIoC. "Religion has seemed to provide fertile ground for both spontaneous and intentional PK. Every great religious tract of mankind includes stories of people with the ability to heal and to multiply food, such as the Bible says were performed by Jesus Christ."
110. ^ Guiley, Rosemary Ellen (1989). The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. New York: Facts On File. p. 201. ISBN 0-8160-1793. "In hauntings, witches, poltergeists, and fairies have been blamed for levitating people, animals, and objects."
111. ^ Newall, Venetia; Richard Mercer Dorson (1974). The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Magic. New York: The Dial Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-8037-2343-6. "He performed many feats of magic, sailing through the ocean in a house of glass and transporting Stonehenge across the sea from Ireland."
112. ^ 1 "http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-awards-and-nominations/carrie.3 1". http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-awards-and-nominations/carrie.3 1. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
113. ^ 2 "http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-awards-and-nominations/resurrection.5/?ipp=15 2". http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-awards-and-nominations/resurrection.5/?ipp=15 2. Retrieved September 30, 2011.

[edit] Further reading

• Minds and motion: the riddle of psychokinesis, D. Scott Rogo, Taplinger Pub. Co., 1978.
• To stretch a plank: a survey of psychokinesis, Diana Robinson, Nelson-Hall, 1981.
• The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena, Dean Radin, HarperEdge, 1997.
• William Braud (2003-12). Distant mental influence: its contributions to science, healing, and human interactions. Hampton Roads Pub Co Inc. ISBN 978-1-57174-354-1. http://books.google.com/?id=WEUHAAAACAAJ.
• Richard John Wiseman (1997). Deception & self-deception: investigating psychics. ISBN 978-1-57392-121-3. http://books.google.com/?id=pDMNAQAAMAAJ.
• Charles T. Tart; Huston Smith, Kendra Smith (2009-03-15). The end of materialism: how evidence of the paranormal is bringing science and spirit together. Ions / Nhp. ISBN 978-1-57224-645-4. http://books.google.com/?id=tzZj0FHfMggC.
• Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality, Dean Radin, Pocket Books, 2006.
• Diane Hennacy Powell (2009-01-13). The ESP Enigma: The Scientific Case for Psychic Phenomena. Walker & Company. ISBN 978-0-8027-1606-4. http://books.google.com/?id=pvlv2efnFY0C.
• Lynne McTaggart (2007-12-18). The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe. Harper Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-06-143518-8. http://books.google.com/?id=VtNaz_vSnIIC.
• James Randi (1982-06-01). Flim-flam!: psychics, ESP, unicorns, and other delusions. Pyr Books. ISBN 978-0-87975-198-2. http://books.google.com/?id=UHoQAQAAIAAJ.
• James Houran; Rense Lange (2001-06-30). Hauntings and poltergeists: multidisciplinary perspectives. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-0984-6. http://books.google.com/?id=BwTP31-3JRcC.
• Thomas Gilovich (1993). How we know what isn't so: the fallibility of human reason in everyday life. Free Press. ISBN 978-0-02-911706-4. http://books.google.com/?id=LURGkHCPAJEC.

[edit] Published Papers on PK / TK

• The Journal of Non-Locality and Remote Mental Interactions A journal of PK-related research papers published by EmergentMind.org.
• Examining Psychokinesis: The Interaction of Human Intention With Random Number Generators – A Meta-Analysis by Holger Bösch, Fiona Steinkamp, and Emil Boller, Psychological Bulletin, 132, 497-523, 2006.
• Solar-periodic full moon effect in the Fourmilab RetroPsychoKinesis Project experiment data: an exploratory study by Eckhard Etzold Journal of Parapsychology, Fall 2005.
• Does Psi Exist and Can We prove It: Belief and Disbelief in Psychokinesis Research by Eckhard Etzold, presented at the Parapsychological Association Convention 2004.
• Material Deformation by Intention by Jack Houck, presented at the Science of Whole Person Healing Conference, March 28, 2003.
• "Can Our Intentions Interact Directly with the Physical World?" by William G. Braud, European Journal of Parapsychology, Vol. 10, 1994.
• "A review of psychokinesis (PK)" by Edward Girden (1962). Psychological Bulletin 59 (5) pages 353-388 doi:10.1037/h0048209
• The Persistent Paradox of Psychic Phenomena: An Engineering Perspective^{[dead link]} by Robert G. Jahn, (1982) Proceedings IEEE, 70, No.2, pp. 136–170.
• "Mind over matter: Perceived success at psychokinesis" by Victor A. Benassi, Paul D. Sweeney, and Gregg E. Drevno (1979). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37 (8) pp. 1377–1386. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.8.1377

[edit] Military Papers on PK / TK

• Psychokinesis and Its Possible Implication to Warfare Strategy A 1985 study on potential military applications of psychokinesis by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas USA. Listed at the U.S. Defense Technical Information Center's website and available to the public through the U.S. National Technical Information Service.
• Teleportation Physics Study A study published in 2004 that reviews the current state research of real and hypothetical methods of teleportation. Includes a section titled PK phenomenon. Conducted by Eric Davis of Warp Drive Metrics, Nevada and sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards AFB, California. Available publicly on the Federation of American Scientists website.
• New Correlation Between a Human Subject and a Quantum Mechanical Random Number Generator A 1967 study by Helmut Schmidt conducted at the Boeing Scientific Research Laboratory in Seattle, Washington USA that concluded: "From the results, it is tentatively concluded that there exists a weak but significant correlation between the statistical processes operative in these experiments and the experimenter who initiates the processes." Listed at the U.S. Defense Technical Information Center's website and available to the public through the U.S. National Technical Information Service.

[edit] External links

• The Global Consciousness Project hosted at Princeton University in the United States.
• "The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR)" entry in the online edition of the Skeptic's Dictionary by philosopher Robert Todd Carroll.
• Online Telekinesis Test
• The Intention Experiment A series of scientifically controlled, web-based PK experiments.
• Mind Over Matter Study An invitation by the Rhine Research Center of Durham, North Carolina USA to submit reports of PK as part of an academic research study.
• Hollywood Telekinesis and Psychokinesis Movie List Includes the "List of Cultural References to Psychokinesis and Telekinesis" that was formerly on Wikipedia.
• Psychokinesis at the Open Directory Project
• Can you kill a goat by staring into its eyes? Daily Mail, October 23, 2009. In depth article on the U.S. military's psychic "super-soldier" program with emphasis on DMILS (Direct Mental Interaction with Living Systems).

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