Does Psi Exist? Lack of Replication of an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer
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Plain English Summary
This is one of the biggest buzzkill papers in parapsychology. Bem and Honorton had claimed ganzfeld experiments — where a 'receiver' relaxes in sensory deprivation trying to pick up images from a 'sender' — showed real ESP. Milton and Wiseman gathered 30 follow-up studies from seven labs, nearly 1,200 trials, and ran a meta-analysis (pooling results across studies). The verdict? Essentially nothing — a tiny, statistically insignificant effect. Of three patterns Bem and Honorton highlighted, only one reappeared, and that original finding was itself weak. Their blunt conclusion: ganzfeld doesn't reliably produce ESP, sparking sharp rebuttals from believers.
Actual Paper Abstract
D. J. Bern and C. Honorton (1994) recently presented in this journal a set of ganzfeld extrasensory perception (ESP) experiments conducted by C. Honorton that appeared to support the existence of a communication anomaly. In this article, the authors present a meta-analysis of 30 ganzfeld ESP studies from 7 independent laboratories adhering to the same stringent methodological guidelines that C. Honorton followed. The studies failed to confirm his main effect of participants scoring above chance on the ESP task, Stouffer z = 0.70, p = .24, one-tailed; M effect size (z/JV"2) = 0.013, SD = 0.23. The new studies included replication attempts of 3 out of 5 internal effects reported as statistically significant by D. J. Bern and C. Honorton. Only 1 was confirmed, and the authors found that D. J. Bern and C. Honorton were mistaken in describing the original effect as being statistically significant. The authors conclude that the ganzfeld technique does not at present offer a replicable method for producing ESP in the laboratory.
Research Notes
Major failed replication published in Psychological Bulletin directly challenging Bem & Honorton (1994) autoganzfeld results. Central to ganzfeld controversy, represents skeptical position. Prompted responses from proponents including Bem et al. (2001). Authors supported by Perrott Warrick Fund. Key paper for understanding debate over whether ganzfeld effects are genuine or artifacts.
Meta-analysis of 30 ganzfeld ESP studies (1,198 trials) from 7 independent laboratories conducted 1987-1997 following Hyman and Honorton (1986) methodological guidelines. Using Stouffer's Z method, found no significant main effect: z = 0.70, p = .24, mean effect size d = 0.013. Only 1 of 3 internal effects from autoganzfeld was replicated (mental discipline), and that original effect was nonsignificant. Concludes ganzfeld technique does not at present offer a replicable method for producing ESP, challenging Bem and Honorton's (1994) positive findings.
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Related Papers
Cites
Replication Of
Critiqued By
- Updating the Ganzfeld Database: A Victim of Its Own Success? — Bem, Daryl J (2001)
- Meta-Analysis of Free-Response Studies, 1992–2008: Assessing the Noise Reduction Model in Parapsychology — Storm, Lance (2010)
- Does Psi Exist? Comments on Milton and Wiseman's (1999) Meta-Analysis of Ganzfeld Research — Storm, Lance (2001)
Cited By
- Anomalous Cognition: An Umbrella Review of the Meta-Analytic Evidence — Tressoldi, Patrizio (2021)
- Can Parapsychology Move Beyond the Controversies of Retrospective Meta-Analyses? — Kennedy, J.E (2013)
- The Experimental Evidence for Parapsychological Phenomena: A Review — Cardeña, Etzel (2018)
- Parapsychological Phenomena as Examples of Generalized Nonlocal Correlations—A Theoretical Framework — Walach, Harald (2014)
- Using Neuroimaging to Resolve the Psi Debate — Moulton, Samuel T (2008)
- Extrasensory Perception and Quantum Models of Cognition — Tressoldi, Patrizio E (2010)
- Meta-Analysis of Free-Response Studies 2009-2018: Assessing the Noise-Reduction Model Ten Years On — Storm, Lance (2020)
Same Research Program
Also by these authors
Failing the Future: Three Unsuccessful Attempts to Replicate Bem's 'Retroactive Facilitation of Recall' Effect
Of Two Minds: Sceptic-Proponent Collaboration within Parapsychology
Testing Alleged Mediumship: Methods and Results
More in Telepathy
Telecommunication Telepathy: A Meta-Analysis
Rethinking Communication and Consciousness: Lessons from The Telepathy Tapes Podcast
Taking the Mindfield Literally: Discovering Minds by Assuming Competence Among Nonspeakers
Who's Calling? Evaluating the Accuracy of Guessing Who Is on the Phone
A Comparison of Four New Automated Telephone Telepathy Tests
📋 Cite this paper
Milton, Julie, Wiseman, Richard (1999). Does Psi Exist? Lack of Replication of an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer. Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.4.387
@article{milton_1999_does,
title = {Does Psi Exist? Lack of Replication of an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer},
author = {Milton, Julie and Wiseman, Richard},
year = {1999},
journal = {Psychological Bulletin},
doi = {10.1037/0033-2909.125.4.387},
}