CPYRGHT PUTHOFF ARP) ity CG REBT R¢ For Stepanek’s run, with p; = 5, Dy (7) = 0.619, and an average time of 9s per choice, we have a source uncertainty H(x) = 1 bit and a calculated bit rate R + 0.041 bit/symbol R/T = 0.0046 bit/s. (Since the 15-digit number (49.8 bits) actually was transmitted at the rate of 2.9 X 10°* bit/s, an increase in bit rate by a factor of about 20 could be expected on the basis of a coding scheme more optimum than that used in the experiments. See, for example, Appendix A.) Dr. Charles Tart at the University of California has written extensively on the so-called decline effect. He considers that having subjects attempt to guess cards, or perform any other repetitious task for which they receive no feedback, follows the classical technique for deconditioning any response. He thus considers card guessing “a technique for extinguishing psychic functioning in the laboratory” [32]. Tart’s injunctions of the mid-sixties were being heeded at Maimonides Hospital, Brooklyn, NY, by a team of researchers that included Dr. Montague Ullman, who was director of research for the hospital; Dr. Stanley Krippner; and, later, Charles Honorton. These three worked together for several years on experiments on the occurrence of telepathy in dreams. In the course of a half-dozen experimental series, they found in their week-long sessions a number of subjects who had dreams that consistently were highly descriptive of pictorial material that a remote sender was looking at throughout the night. This work is described in detail in the experimenters’ book Dream Telepathy [33]. Honorton is continuing work of this free-response type in which the subject has no precon- ceived idea as to what the target may be. In his more recent. work with subjects in the waking state, Honorton is providing homogeneous stimulation to the subject who is to describe color slides viewed by another person in a remote room. In this new work, the subject listens to white noise via earphones and views an homogeneous visual field imposed through the use of Ping-Pong ball halves to cover the subject’s eyes in conjunction with diffuse ambient illumina- tion. In this so-called Ganzfeld setting, subjects are again able, now in the waking state, to give correct and often highly accurate descriptions of the material being viewed by the sender [34]. In Honorton’s work and elsewhere, it apparently has been the step away from the repetitive forced-choice experiment that has opened the way for a wide variety of ordinary people to demonstrate significant functioning in the laboratory, with- out being bored into a decline effect. This survey would be incomplete if we did not indicate certain aspects of the current state of research in the USSR. It is clear from translated documents and other sources [35] that many laboratories in the USSR are engaged in paranormal research. Since the 1930’s, in the laboratory of L. Vasiliev (Leningrad Institute for Brain Research), there has been an interest in the use of telepathy as a method of influencing the behavior of a person at a distance. In Vasiliev’s book Experiments in Mental Suggestion, he makes it very clear that the bulk of his labora- tory’s experiments were aimed at long-distance communica- tion combined with a form of behavior modification; for Bevan OG BATS 4 CoA IRE PS6-00 5 YROO ole Similar behavior modification types of experiments have been carried out in recent times by I. M. Kogan, Chairman of the Bioinformation Section of the Moscow Board of the Popov Society. He is a Soviet engineer who, until 1969, published extensively on the theory of telepathic communication [37]- [40]. He was concerned with three principal kinds of experi- ments: mental suggestion without hypnosis over short dis- tances, in which the percipient attempts to identify an object; mental awakening over short distances, in which a subject is awakened from a hypnotic sleep at the “beamed” suggestion from the hypnotist; and long-range (intercity) telepathic com- munication. Kogan’s main interest has been to quantify the channel capacity of the paranormal channel. He finds that the bit rate decreases from 0.1 bit/s for laboratory experiments to 0.005 bit/s for his 1000-km intercity experiments. In the USSR, serious consideration is given to the hypothesis that telepathy is mediated by extremely low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic propagation. (The pros and cons of this hypothesis are discussed in Section V of this paper.) In general, the entire field of paranormal research in the USSR is-part of a larger one concerned with the interaction between electromagnetic fields and living organisms [41], [42]. At the First International Congress on Parapsychology and Psychotronics in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1973, for example, Kholodov spoke at length about the susceptibility of living systems to extremely low-level ac and dc fields. He described conditioning effects on the behavior of fish resulting from the application of 10 to 100 pW of RF to their tank [43]. The USSR take these data seriously in that the Soviet safety re- quirements for steady-state microwave exposure set limits at: 10 uW/cm?, whereas the United States has set a steady-state limit of 10 mW/cm? [44]. Kholodov spoke also about the nonthermal effects of microwaves on animals’ central nervous systems. His experiments were very carefully carried out and are characteristic of a new dimension in paranormal research. The increasing importance of this area in Soviet research was indicated recently. when the Soviet Psychological Association issued an unprecedented position paper calling on the Soviet Academy of Sciences to step up efforts in this area [45]. They recommended that the newly formed Psychological Institute within the Soviet Academy of Sciences and the Psychological Institute of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences review the area and consider the creation of a new laboratory within one of the institutes to study persons with unusual abilities. They also recommended a comprehensive evaluation of.experiments and theory by the Academy of Sciences’ Insti- tute of Biophysics and Institute for the Problems of Informa- tion Transmission. The Soviet research, along with other behavioristically oriented work, suggests that in addition to obtaining overt responses such as verbalizations or key presses from a subject, it should be possible to obtain objective evidence of informa- tion transfer by direct measurement of physiological parame- ters of a subject. Kamiya, Lindsley, Pribram, Silverman, Walter, and others brought together to discuss physiological methods to detect ESP functioning, have suggested that a whole range of electroencephalogram (EEG) responses such as evoked potentials (EP’s), spontaneous EEG, and the contingent negative variation (CNV) might be sensitive indicators of the detection of remote stimuli not mediated by usual sensory processes [46}. crample, PUR BFOVSEFOPRUEASE SOGUUBIGE™ CLA Bb BAR EBRD snd N Otte oon ne
334 pprovéd PorRelease 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789RO084004200054ie IEEE, MARCH 197 search for physiological correlates of information transfer, he used the plethysmograph to measure changes in the blood volume in a finger, a sensitive indicator of autonomic nervous system functioning [47]. A plethysmographic measurement was made on the finger of a subject during telepathy experi- ments. A sender looked at randomly selected target cards consisting of names known to the subject, together with names unknown to him (selected at random from a telephone book). The names of the known people were contributed by the sub- ject and were to be of emotional significance to him. Dean found significant changes in the chart recording of finger blood volume when the remote sender was looking at those names known to the subject as compared with those names randomly chosen. Three other experiments using the physiological approach have now been published. The first work by Tart [48], a later work by Lloyd [49], and most recently the work by the authors [4] all follow a similar procedure. Basically, a subject is closeted in an electrically shielded room while his EEG is recorded. Meanwhile, in another laboratory, a second person is stimulated from time to time, and the time of that stimulus is marked on the magnetic-tape recording of the subject’s EEG. The subject does not know when the remote stimulus periods are as compared with the nonstimulus periods. With regard to choice of stimulus for our own experimenta- tion, we noted that in previous work others had attempted, without success, to detect evoked potential changes in a sub- jeet's EEG in response to a single stroboscopic flash stimulus observed by another subject [50]. In a discussion of that experiment, Kamiya suggested that because of the unknown temporal characteristics of the information channel, it might be more appropriate to use repetitive bursts of light to increase the probability of detecting information transfer [51]. There- fore, in our study we chose to use a stroboscopic flash train of 10-s duration as the remote stimulus. In the design of the study, we assumed that the application of the remote stimulus would result in responses similar to those obtained under conditions of direct stimulation. For example, when an individual is stimulated with a low- frequency (< 30 Hz) flashing light, the EEG typically shows a decrease in the amplitude of the resting rhythm and a driving of the brain waves at the frequency of the flashes [52}. We hypothesized that if we stimulated one subject in this manner (a putative sender), the EEG of another subject in a remote room with no flash present (a receiver) might show changes in alpha (9-11 Hz) activity and possibly an EEG driving similar to that of the sender, or other coupling to the sender’s EEG [53]. The receiver was seated in a visually opaque, acoustically and electrically shielded, double-walled steel room about 7m from the sender. The details of the experiment, consisting of seven runs of thirty-six 10-s trials each (twelve periods each for 0-Hz, 6-Hz, and 16-Hz stimuli, randomly intermixed), are presented in [4]. This experiment proved to be successful. The receiver’s alpha activity (9-11 Hz) showed a significant reduction in average power (~24 percent, p <0.04) and peak power (-28 percent, p < 0.03) during 16-Hz flash stimuli as compared with periods of no-flash stimulus. [A similar response was observed for 6-Hz stimuli (-12 percent in average power, -2) percent in peak power), but the latter result did not reach statistical significance. } Fig. 2 shows an overlay of three averaged EEG spectra from one of the subject’s_36 trial runs. di i j NCBE) j cinha AP RWONEG, ON RelaASS AUNTS) OR tes. control procedures were undertaken to determine if these VOLTAGE — arbitrary units 5 Hz 10 Hz 15 Hz Fig. 2. Occipital EEG frequency spectra, 0-20 Hz, of one subject (H.H acting as receiver showing amplitude changes in the 9-11-Hz band as function of strobeifrequency. Three cases: 0-, 6-, and 16-Hz flash: (twelve trial averages). results were produced by system artifacts, electromagneti pickup (EMI), or subtle cueing; the results were negative (4] As part of the experimental protocol, the subject was aske to indicate a conscious assessment for each trial (via telegrap key) as to the nafure of the stimulus; analysis showed thes guesses to be at chance. Thus arousal as evidenced by signif: cant alpha blocking occurred only at the noncognitive level o physiological resp Inse. Hence the experiment provided direc physiological (EEG) evidence of perception of remote stimu! even in the absence of overt cognitive response. Whereas in our experiments we used a remote light flash as. stimulus, Tart (48] in his work used an electrical shock ti himself as sender, and Lloyd [49] simply told the sender ti think of a red triangle each time a red warning light wa illuminated within) his view. Lloyd observed a consisten evoked potential in his subjects; whereas in our experiment and in Tart’s, a reduction in amplitude and a desynchroniza tion of alpha was dbserved—an arousal response. (If a subjec is resting in an alpha-dominant condition and he is ther stimulated, for example in any direct manner, one will observe a desynchronization and decrease in alpha power.) We con sider that these combined results are evidence for the existence of noncognitive awareness of remote happenings and that the} have a profound implication for paranormal research. HI. SRI INVESTIGATIONS OF REMOTE VIEWING Experimentation in remote viewing began during studies carried out to investigate the abilities of a New York artist, Ingo Swann, when he expressed the opinion that the insights gained during experiments at SRI had strengthened his ability (verified in other research before he joined the SRI program) to view remote locations [54]. To test Mr. Swann’s asser- tion, a pilot study was set up in which a series of targets from around the globe were supplied by SRI personnel to the ex- perimenters on a double-blind. basis. Mr. Swann’s apparent ability to describe correctly details of buildings, roads, bridges, and the like indicated that it may be possible for a subject by means) of mental imagery to access and describe randomly chosen ‘geographical sites located several miles from the subject’s position and demarcated by some appro- priate means. Therefore, we set up a research program to test the remote-viewing hypothesis under rigidly controlled scientific conditions) i ‘| r cgptrated on what we RDPS@2 rc) BROODS Poet ZOE TEP ale resolve under unambiguous conditions the basic issue of whether or not this
PUTHOFF 4xppreved Forel easev2060/08/08A0DA-RDR96-007 89RU08RGH20001-4 335 class of paranormal perception phenomenon exists. At all times, we and others responsible for the overall program took measures to prevent sensory leakage and subliminal cueing and to prevent deception, whether intentional or unintentional. To ensure evaluations independent of belief structures of both experimenters and judges, all experiments were carried out under a protocol, described below, in which target selection at the beginning of experiments and blind judging of results at the end of experiments were handled independently of the researchers engaged in carrying out the experiments. Six subjects, designated Si through S6, were chosen for the study. Three were considered as gifted or experienced subjects (Si through $3), and three were considered as learners (S4 through 86). The a priori dichotomy between gifted and learners was based on the experienced group having been successful in other studies conducted before this program and the learners group being inexperienced with regard to paranormal experimentation. The study consisted of a series of double-blind tests with local targets ‘in the San Francisco Bay Area so that several in- dependent judges could visit the sites to establish documenta- tion. The protocol was to closet the subject with an experi- menter at SRI and at an agreed-on time to obtain from the subject a description of an undisclosed remote site being visited by a target team. In each of the experiments, one of the six program subjects served as remote-viewing subject, and SRI experimenters served as a target demarcation team at the remote location chosen in a double-blind protocol as follows, In each experiment, SRI management randomly chose a target location from a list of targets within a 30-min driving time from SRI, the target location selected was kept blind to subject and experimenters. The target pool consisted of more than 100 target locations chosen from a target-rich environ- ment. (Before the experimental series began, the Director of the Information Science and Engineering Division, not other- wise associated with the experiment, established the set of lo- cations as the target pool which remained known only to him. The target locations were printed on cards sealed in envelopes and kept in the SRI Division office safe. They were available only with the personal assistance of the Division Director who issued a single random-number selected target card that con- stituted the traveling orders for that experiment.) In detail: To begin the experiment, the subject was closeted with an experimenter at SRI to wait 30 min before beginning a narrative description of the remote location. A second ex- perimenter then obtained from the Division Director a target location from a set of traveling orders previously prepared and randomized by the Director and kept under his control. The target demarcation team, consisting-of two to four SRI experi- menters, then proceeded by automobile directly to the target without any communication with the subject or experimenter remaining behind. The experimenter remaining with the sub- ject at SRI was kept ignorant of both the particular target and the target pool so as to eliminate the possibility of cueing (overt or subliminal) and to allow him freedom in questioning the subject to clarify his descriptions. The demarcation team remained at the target site for an agreed-on 15-min period following the 30 min allotted for travel.4 During the observa- ‘The first s kp (S1) w rowed ae Re it was found min. The viewing pre was therefore reduced to 15 min for subjects $2 through S6. asecddou mena: C tion period, the remote-viewing subject was asked to describe his impressions of the target site into a tape recorder and to make any drawings he thought appropriate. An informal com- parison was then made when the demarcation team returned, and the subject was taken to the site to provide feedback, A. Subject Sl: Experienced To begin the series, Pat Price, a former California police com- missioner and city councilman, participated as a subject in nine experiments. In general, Price’s ability to describe correctly buildings, docks, roads, gardens, and the like, includ- ing structural materials, color, ambience, and activity—often in great detail—indicated the functioning of a remote per- ceptual ability. A Hoover Tower target, for example, was recognized and named by name. Nonetheless, in general, the descriptions contained inaccuracies as well as correct state- ments. A typical example is indicated by the subject’s drawing shown in Fig. 3 in which he correctly described a park-like area containing two pools of water: one rectangular, 60 by 89 ft (actual dimensions 75 by 100 ft); the other circular, diameter 120 ft (actual diameter 110 ft). He incorrectly indi- cated the function, however, as water filtration rather than recreational swimming. (We often observe essentially correct descriptions of basic elements and patterns coupled with in- complete or erroneous analysis of function.) As can be seen from his drawing, he also included some elements, such as the tanks shown in the upper right, that are not present at the target site. We also note an apparent left-right reversal, often observed in paranormal perception experiments. To obtain a numerical evaluation of the accuracy of the ramote-viewing experiment, the experimental results were subjected to independent judging on a blind basis by an SRI research analyst not otherwise associated with the research. The subject’s response packets, which contained the nine typed unedited transcripts of the tape-recorded narratives along with any associated drawings, were unlabeled and pre- sented in random order. While standing at each target loca- tion, visited in turn, the judge was required to blind rank order the nine packets on a scale | to 9 (best to worst match). The statistic of interest is the sum of ranks assigned to the target- associated transcripts, lower values indicating better matches, For nine targets, the sum of ranks could range from nine to eighty-one. The probability that a given sum of ranks s or less will occur by chance is given by [55] wm EE MM |) ian lao Pr (s or less) = where s is obtained sum of ranks, NV is number of assignable ranks, n is number of occasions on which rankings were made, arid 7 takes on values from zero to the least positive integer k in (i- n)/n. (Table I is a table to enable easy application of the above formula to those cases in which N =n.) The sum in this case, which included seven direct hits out of the nine, was 16 (see Table II), a result significant at p= 2.9X 10°° by exact calculation. In Experiments 3, 4, and 6 through 9, the subject was se- cured in a double-walled copper-screen Faraday cage. The Faraday cage provides 120-dB attenuation for plane-wave radio-frequency radiation over a range of 15 kHz to 1 GHz. r is fi Cert opr4 4 15 kHz and CIA-ROPSE-WU7BER OH so P20 of rank order judging (Table II) indicate that the use of Faraday cage electrical
CPYRGHTApproved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789ROO39GUP2OGOF-BIE IEEE, Manci 157 GROUNDE f seAVIcE ‘ ‘ YARD ~. eee CONCRETE 8LOCK FIRE me PN (a) - N enw / ‘PICNIC AREA/ \ -” “ow Fig. 3. Swimming poo! complex as remote-viewing target. i (a) City map of target lgeation. (b) Drawing by Price (S1). TABLE I CRITICAL VALUES OF SUMS OF RANKS FOR PREFERENTIAL MATCHING Number of Assignable Ranks (N) Probability (one-tailed) thac the Indicated Sum of Ranks or Upas Would Occur by Chance x] [eo] om [oe |uas ol aon [eo fe [oI 7] 6] 5] 5 5] 4 4 Note: This table applies only to those special cases in which the number of occasions on which objects are being ranked (7) is equal to the number of assignable ranks (NV). Each entry represents the largest number that is significant at the indicated p-level. Source: R. L. Morris [55] ‘| shielding does not prevent high-quality descriptions from being obtained. As a backup judging procedure, a panel of five additional SRI scientists not otherwise associated with the research were asked simply to blind match the unedited typed transcripts (with associated drawings) generated by the remote viewer against the nine target locations which they independently visited in tum. The transcripts were unlabeled and presented in random order. A correct match consisted of a transcript of a given date being matched to the target of that date, In- stead of the expected number of 1 match each per judge, the number of correct matches obtained by the five judges was 7, tual “APRFGVELIOH ReLRASE UGDDIO CA matches were obtained. | B, Subject S4: Learner This experiment was designed to be a replication of our pre- vious experiment with Price, the first replication attempted. The subject for thi experiment was Mrs. Hella Hammid, a gifted professional photographer. She was selected for this series on the basis of her successful performance as a per- cipient in the EEG experiment described earlier. Outside of that interaction, she had no previous experience with apparent paranormal functioning. At the time we pean working with Mrs. Hammid, she had no strong feelings about the likelihood of her ability to suc- ceed in this task. This was in contrast to both Ingo Swann ROPIcoTssRENstUZOdEt4om a lengthy and apparently successful series of experiments with Dr. Gertrude ' Schmeidler at City College of New York [56] and Pat Price