Distant intentionality and the feeling of being stared at: Two meta-analyses
📄 Original study ↗📌 Appears in:
Plain English Summary
Can one person's focused intention measurably affect another person's body from a distance? This landmark meta-analysis (a study that pools results from many experiments) tackled that question across 36 studies measuring tiny changes in skin conductance (basically, sweat responses) when a distant person concentrated on the participant. The overall verdict: a small but statistically significant effect emerged. However — and this is the really important part — when the authors zeroed in on just the seven highest-quality studies, the effect shrank to nearly nothing and was no longer significant. Better-designed studies consistently found weaker results, with randomization quality being the biggest factor. A separate batch of 15 "remote staring" experiments did show a small significant effect. The authors honestly acknowledged the pattern and called for more top-tier independent replications before drawing firm conclusions.
Actual Paper Abstract
Findings in parapsychology suggest an effect of distant intentionality. Two laboratory set-ups explored this topic by measuring the effect of a distant intention on psychophysiological variables. The 'Direct Mental Interaction in Living Systems' experiment investigates the effect of various intentions on the electrodermal activity of a remote subject. The 'Remote Staring' experiment examines whether gazing by an observer covaries with the electrodermal activity of the person being observed. Two meta-analyses were conducted. A small significant effect size ðd ¼ :11; p ¼ :001Þ was found in 36 studies on 'direct mental interaction', while a best-evidence-synthesis of 7 studies yielded d ¼ :05 ð p ¼ :50Þ: In 15 remote staring studies a mean effect size of d ¼ 0:13 ðp ¼ :01Þ was obtained. It is concluded that there are hints of an effect, but also a shortage of independent replications and theoretical concepts.
Research Notes
The benchmark meta-analysis for both DMILS and remote staring paradigms, notable for its transparent acknowledgment that effect sizes shrink with methodological quality. The non-significant best-evidence synthesis is the single strongest skeptical datum against DMILS, though it drew from only one lab. Central to Controversies #5 and #11.
Across two meta-analyses of experiments using electrodermal activity (EDA) as a dependent variable, a quality-weighted analysis of 36 Direct Mental Interaction in Living Systems (DMILS) studies yielded a small significant effect (d = 0.11, p = .001, 95% CI [0.04, 0.17]), while a best-evidence synthesis of 7 highest-quality studies was non-significant (d = 0.05, p = .50). A separate analysis of 15 remote staring studies found d = 0.13 (p = .01, 95% CI [0.03, 0.23]). A 208-item coding scheme revealed a significant negative correlation between overall study quality and DMILS effect size, with randomization quality as the strongest predictor. No publication bias was detected. The authors conclude that hints of an effect exist but call for independent high-quality replications.
Links
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Extended By
- Of Two Minds: Sceptic-Proponent Collaboration within Parapsychology — Schlitz, Marilyn J (2006)
- Gut Feelings, Intuition, and Emotions: An Exploratory Study — Radin, Dean I (2005)
- Can We Help Just by Good Intentions? A Meta-Analysis of Experiments on Distant Intention Effects — Schmidt, Stefan (2012)
Companion
- The Sense of Being Stared At, Part 1: Is It Real or Illusory? — Sheldrake, Rupert (2005)
- The Sense of Being Stared At, Part 2: Its Implications for Theories of Vision — Sheldrake, Rupert (2005)
- The Sense of Being Stared At: A Preliminary Meta-Analysis — Radin, Dean I (2005)
- Fundamentally Misunderstanding Visual Perception: Adults’ Belief in Visual Emissions — Winer, Gerald A (2002)
Cited By
- Compassionate Intention as a Therapeutic Intervention by Partners of Cancer Patients: Effects of Distant Intention on the Patients’ Autonomic Nervous System — Radin, Dean (2008)
- Mental Connection at Distance: Useful for Solving Difficult Tasks? — Tressoldi, Patrizio E (2011)
- Infrared Spectra Alteration in Water Proximate to the Palms of Therapeutic Practitioners — Schwartz, Stephan A (2015)
- The Experimental Evidence for Parapsychological Phenomena: A Review — Cardeña, Etzel (2018)
- Quantum Aspects of the Brain-Mind Relationship: A Hypothesis with Supporting Evidence — Kauffman, Stuart A (2023)
- Parapsychological Phenomena as Examples of Generalized Nonlocal Correlations—A Theoretical Framework — Walach, Harald (2014)
- A Call for an Open, Informed Study of All Aspects of Consciousness — Cardeña, Etzel (2014)
- Testing Nonlocal Observation as a Source of Intuitive Knowledge — Radin, Dean (2008)
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📋 Cite this paper
Schmidt, Stefan, Schneider, Rainer, Utts, Jessica, Walach, Harald (2004). Distant intentionality and the feeling of being stared at: Two meta-analyses. British Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1348/0007126041546396
@article{schmidt_2004_distant,
title = {Distant intentionality and the feeling of being stared at: Two meta-analyses},
author = {Schmidt, Stefan and Schneider, Rainer and Utts, Jessica and Walach, Harald},
year = {2004},
journal = {British Journal of Psychology},
doi = {10.1348/0007126041546396},
}