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Psychic Research:
New Dimensions or Old Delusions?
Robert G.
Jahn
Princeton University
INTRODUCTION
No field of scholarly endeavor has proven more frustrat-
ing,
nor has been more abused and misunderstood,
than the
study of psychic phenomena.
Dealing as
it does
as much with
impressionistic and aesthetic evidence as with analytical
substance,
and carrying by its nature strongly personal and
numenistic overtones,
it has been incessantly prostituted
by charlatans,
lunatics,
and sensationalists,
categorically
rejected by most of the scientific establishment,
and seri-
ously misunderstood by the public at large.
The purpose of
this presentation
is
to review some
of the history,
nomen-
clature,
and contemporary serious effort in this area?
to
discuss whether,
once the overburden of illegitimate activity
and irresponsible criticism is
removed,
there
is sufficient
residue of valid evidence to justify continued research;
and,
if
so,
to suggest how this research might best be styled,
facilitated,
and evaluated.
* Presented at the New Horizons in Science Seventeenth
Annual Briefing,
Council for the Advancement of Science
Writing,
Inc.,
Palo Alto,
California, November
8,
1979.
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At the risk of some immodesty,
it
is probably worthwhile
to set my remarks in the context of a bit of the personal
.
history which leads me to this task.
My formal training
is
that of an engineer and applied physicist,
and the bulk of
my research has concerned
a sequence of topics in the broad
domain of the aerospace sciences:
fluid mechanics,
ionized
gases,
plasmadynamics ,
and most recently,
electric propulsion.
My appointments have been primarily in the academic
sector,
at Lehigh,
Caltech,
and Princeton, where for the past eight
and one-half years
I have been Dean of the School of Engineer-
ing and Applied Science.
This
school, which currently enrolls
850 of the university's 4400 undergraduates,
features
a sub-
stantial amount of independent work in its curriculum,
and
it was in that context three years ago that
I was requested
by one of our very best students to supervise
a project in
psychic phenomena.
More specifically,
this young lady pro-
posed to bring her talents and background in electrical engi-
neering and computer science to bear on a study of controlled,
low-level psychokinesis.
Although
I had had no previous ex-
perience,
professional or personal,
with
such topics,
for a
variety of pedagogical reasons
I agreed,
and together we map-
ped
a tentative scholarly path,
involving a literature search,
visits to appropriate laboratories and professional meetings,
and the design,
construction,
and operation of simple experi-
ments.
My initial oversight role
in this project led inexo-
rably to a degree of personal
involvement-,
and that to
a
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growing intellectual bemusement,
to the extent that by the
time this student graduated,
I was persuaded that this was
a legitimate field for a high technologist to study.
It
is
in that spirit
I have continued to consider the problem and
in that tone
I
speak to you today.
To proceed with the effort,
I obtained the appropriate
approval
from my university,
assembled
a
small
staff,
and
secured the requisite funding from a few private sources.
I
should emphasize that my fractional involvement with this
program
is quite minor in comparison to my other responsibil-
ities,
and that the work
is
still very preliminary and tenta-
tive,
but it provides the base of cognizance
for my broader
remarks on the
field.
I confess that
I
shall make these remarks with some
trepidation,
borne of previous unpleasant experiences.
For
example,
an earlier lighthearted article in the Princeton
alumni magazine 1 in which
I attempted to share some of our
experiences
in this
field with the university community
brought an intensity and breadth of reaction for which
I was
totally unprepared,
ranging
from irresponsible and categori-
cal condemnation on one extreme,
to equally irrational messi-
anic accolades on the other.
Rather than precipitating
fur-
ther such distracting outbursts,
I have largely avoided op-
portunities
for public presentation,
a guideline
I
am setting
aside on this occasion only because
I believe that this audi-
ence can have
an unusually significant effect on the development
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of the field by the manner in which it chooses to represent
it to its respective constituencies.
It
is my request that
you treat this as
a tutorial presentation, hopefully contrib-
uting to your cognizance of,
and attitude toward psychic re-
search,
rather than as any claim of specific individual
achievement therein.
HISTORY
To get on with the matter in terms of a brief historical
background,
I would remind you that whereas human interest in
psychic phenomena is at least as old as recorded history,
clearly displayed in the cave drawings of ancient man,
in var-
ied articles of the early Greek,
Roman,
and oriental civiliza-
tions,
in the Bible,
and in medieval and renaissance art and
literature,
systematic scholarly search for understanding of
these phenomena
is
just one century old.
It was
in 1882 that
the Society for Psychical Research was
founded in London,
pro-
viding the
first professional forum for presentation of con-
trolled experiments
in telepathy and clairvoyance.
The Ameri-
can counterpart, ASPR,
was formed three years
later, with
William James
as one of its
leaders.
The most familiar and
substantial academic effort in this country was initiated at
Duke University in the
1930's, when J.
B.
Rhine and Louisa
Rhine established a parapsychology laboratory and began pub-
lication of the Journal of Parapsychology .
A second profes-
sional organization called the Parapsycho logical Association
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was
formed in this country in 1957,
and in 1969 was recog-
nized as an affiliate by the American Association for the
Advancement of Science.
Over this first
100 years of scholarly effort,
the field
has attracted a significant number of eminent scholars
from
established
fields.
The SPR alone has numbered among its
presidents three Nobel laureates,
ten Fellows of the
Royal
Society,
one Prime Minister,
and
a substantial list of physi-
cists and philosophers,
including Henry Sidgwick, William
James,
Frederic W.
H. Myers,
Lord Rayleigh,
Edmund Gurney,
Sir William Crookes,
Sir William Barrett,
Henri Bergson,
Gardner Murphy,
and G.
N.
M.
Tyrell.
At the present time,
there are seven English language
journals covering this
field,
supplemented by numerous
less
formal magazines and countless books of widely varying qual-
ity and relevance.
Research activity
is reported from over
twenty U.S.
universities and colleges,
and many foreign in-
stitutions,
but in most cases
it
is of very small
scale.
There
are very few credible academic programs of study,
al-
though some
fifty M.A.
and Ph.D.
theses have been accepted
on psychic topics at reputable universities over the past
forty years.
(Cambridge University has
just awarded its
first Ph.D.
for a thesis in this
area.)
Some ten research
institutes and private corporations
in the United States have
also authorized publications and reports in the
field.
The
extent of Eastern Bloc effort and of classified research in
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this country are matters of considerable speculation on which
I cannot comment with authority.
In many respects
the present status and growth pattern
of this field resemble those of the natural sciences in their
earliest days,
or perhaps even more those of the incubation
of clinical psychology,
in terms of the absence of replicable
basic experiments and useful theoretical models,
the low level
of financial support and internal professional coordination,
and the
low credibility in the academic establishment and
public
sectors.
NOMENCLATURE
For purposes of constructing a concise catalogue,
I
shall
define psychic phenomena to include all processes of informa-
tion and/or energy transfer which involve animate conscious-
ness
in
a manner not presently explicable in terms of known
science.
By psychic
research,
I
shall imply any scholarly
study of such phenomena employing scientific methodology,
or
a guasi-scientific variation of it suggested later,
as opposed
to any dogmatic,
ritualistic,
or theological approaches.
With
this definition,
the field may be roughly divided into two
major categories:
(1)
extrasensory perception
(ESP), which
includes such information transfer processes as telepathy
(perception of another's thoughts or emotions),
clairvoyance
(perception of hidden objects or events)
, precognition
(per-
ception of future events)
,
and various animal ESP indications
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(homing,
trailing,
group consciousness,
etc.);
and
(2)
psy-
chokinesis, which subsumes
a variety of effects wherein energy
is transferred to
a physical system,
either in controlled or
spontaneous effort,
and over a wide range of energy levels.
(A
few types
of psychic process,
such as survival/reincarna-
tion,
psychic healing,
out-of-body experiences,
etc., while
not fitting these categories quite
so neatly,
actually involve
aspects
of both at
a more fundamental
level.)
Note that in
this
subdivision,
the
field conforms to the two major thrusts
of present-day science and high technology,
i.e.
the extrac-
tion,
processing,
transmission,
and storage of information,
and of energy.
STATUS
In my opinion,
a comprehensive,
objective
survey of the
scholarly research into psychic phenomena over the past one
hundred years would support the following conclusion:
some
of the
results
are suggestive,
some
even provocative;
none
is
fully convincing
in the traditional scientific
sense.
Obviously,
more extreme opinions have been voiced on either
side of this position.
On the one
side,
there
are zealots
who claim the case has been made,
by their own experiments
or
others;
I cannot claim that
for my own work,
or for any other
I have seen.
On the other side,
there are critics who reject
the
field categorically for an assortment
of
reasons,
includ-
ing instances
of outright
fraud;
naivete of method,
such as
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sensory cueing of subjects,
application of improper statis-
tics,
or
other theoretical
incompetence;
failure of repli-
cability,
evasiveness of the phenomena under close scrutiny,
and sensitivity of results to the observer,
all of which
violate the scientific method;
and the vague conviction that
since nothing totally convincing has been demonstrated during
this century of
study,
the domain must be fundamentally
invalid.
In my view,
all of these criticisms are justified to some
degree,
but in some cases they have been overworked.
This
field,
by the nature of its phenomena and its inherent numen-
istic overtones
is immensely vulnerable
to fraudulent exploi-
tation and naive gullibility,
and such have indeed prevailed
to
a distressing degree.
Yet,
it seems shortsighted and
irresponsible
to tar all sincere and scholarly work with this
brush.
To my knowledge,
there have been no totally replicable
experiments yet performed; what yield there has been has been
anecdotal,
or at best,
statistical.
It should be noted,
how-
ever,
that numerous areas of modern science percolate content-
edly on less statistical yield than
is offered by some of the
better psychic
studies.
The sensitivity of psychic experi-
ments to the particular observer could indeed be indicative
of fraud or delusion; but
it could also be an important clue
to the role of human consciousness
in such processes.
The
frustrating evasiveness of the phenomena to more precise and
refined experimental techniques
is perhaps the most damning
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criticism from a scientific standpoint;
yet even this may
offer a legitimate indication of a basic characteristic
of.
the processes;
e.g.,
just as great art,
great music,
or great
creative thought in general may be stifled or sterilized by
excessive analysis or constraint,
so psychic effects may be
intrinsically casual and free-flowing,
rather than deliberate.
Finally,
the complaint that enough effort has already been
squandered on this psychic goose-chase could be ameliorated
by the
recent availability of far more precise instrumentation,
and
far more powerful theoretical tools and data handling
methods than have heretofore been deployed.
On balance,
then,
categorical rejection seems to me
equally as untenable
as blind acceptance.
Rather,
I prefer an
attitude which first strips away the overburden of illegiti-
mate and sloppy work,
and then submits the residue
to close
individual scrutiny.
This done,
one
finds
a few— to be
sure,
a very few—experiments which provide sufficiently provocative
anecdotal evidence to justify further serious
and systematic
study.
From my own point of view,
I
am most interested
in
three
such categories
of study;
(1)
the so-called
"remote
perception" work of
a number of laboratories,
notably SRI, 3
Mundelein College,
and our own, which has provided an ade-
quately large data base,
of sufficiently high yield,
to allow
quantification and parametric correlations of the inexplicable
results;
(2)
certain experiments
in controlled,
low-level
psychokinesis,
such as performed by physicists
at the Mind
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Science Foundation in San Antonio, 5 at Birkbeck College,
University of London,
and also in our laboratory,
which have
the advantage of focusing on quantifiable physical
systems,
wherein the departures
from classical behavior can be made
more explicit;
and
(3)
the rare and spectacular poltergeist
events,
or so-called recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis
( RSPK)
, which
in the magnitude of their effects,
and the
demonstrated correlations with neurologically extraordinary
adolescents,
seem to offer rich,
yet largely unutilized
opportunities
for insight.
This
list
is not exhaustive;
others would point to an
extensive
series of
"ganzfeld"
or sensory deprivation studies
of free response clairvoyance and telepathy as pioneered at
Maimonides Hospital
and replicated at other laboratories
;
to
the systematic and conservative reincarnation studies
at
the University of Virginia^;
to the modern psycho-physiolog-
ical
studies at Duke University^;
or to
a
few other deliberate
programs elsewhere.
NEW EXPERIMENTS
Since even the best extant research has been tediously
slow to yield convincing results,
if
a new round of experiments
is to be considered
it seems important to reexamine,
ab initio ,
the criteria,
topic selection,
and philosophical attitude that
should prevail.
For example,
given the preceding pattern of
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ll
violations of the normal requisites
for scientific credibil-
ity, what
is
the healthiest attitude toward data collection
and assessment
in this
field?
Should one reject out-of-hand
all results that do not rigidly conform to the normal tenets
of replicability and insensitivity to observer?
Should one
waive those requirements and attempt
to theorize and deduce
solely on the basis of anecdotal phenomenology?
Or
is there
a useful intermediate position—a quasi-scientific approach,
if you will--which while retaining
full rigor
in
the experi-
mental design and protocol,
and still
striving
for some degree
of reproducibility in the observations,
tolerates imperfect
replicability as possibly indicative
of as yet unidentified
parameters,
of an intrinsically statistical nature of the
phenomena,
or even of
a basic
flaw or incompleteness
in the
established physical models?
Whatever the attitude,
it seems clear that, at this
primitive
stage of understanding,
the
specific experiments
selected should be as clearly posed and conceptually simple
as possible,
with
a minimum of reasonable alternative inter-
pretations of any positive
results.
In addition,
they should
lend themselves
logistically to rigorous,
tightly controlled
experimentation,
and demonstrate
sufficient positive yield to
permit accumulation of
a significant data base and
its
subse-
quent correlation with variable experimental conditions.
Given these attributes,
it would also seem best to
focus on
those
studies which
seem to have the greatest significance
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WBBgBSgraKS!"
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in terms of basic understanding of the phenomenology,
contra-
diction of established scientific models,
and ultimate prac-
tical application.
In all of the
zeal for quasi-scientific rigor,
there
may be some risk of over-sterilizing the experimentation.
If
the phenomena derive to any significant degree from conscious
or subconscious processes of the human mind,
it
is important
that such not be ignored or inhibited in the design and oper-
ation of the experiments.
More specifically,
it is probably
essential to include the insights,
interpretations,
and in-
tuitions of those who have dealt most effectively in such
processes,
including not only the academics and professional
observers,
but most particularly those who have demonstrated
creative capabilities
in the generation of the phenomena.
It
is quite possible that the difference between a sterile
experiment and an effective one of equal rigor lies
in the
more aesthetic aspects of its ambience and feedback than in
the elegance of its instrumentation,
and the former need to
be well-tuned to the human subjects who are asked to function
as components of the experimental system.
On the basis
of this sort of logic,
our own program at
Princeton has selected two classes of experiments
for its
principal
foci.'*'
The major portion of the program revolves
about a number of table-top experiments in controlled,
low-
level psychokinesis,
using relatively simple physical systems
mechanical,
optical,
thermal,
electrical,
atomic,
etc.—each of
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which involves
a specific element or process that
is vul-
nerable to disturbance,
and which signifies
such disturbance
by a relatively large change in some feedback display for the
subject.
So,
for example,
our interferometer can indicate
a
disturbance of one of its optical plates of less than one-
millionth of a centimeter by a perceptible change
in an attrac-
tive pattern of luminous concentric circular fringes displayed
before the
subject.
Using this display much like
a biofeed-
back indicator,
that subject can then experiment with his own
conscious or subconscious strategies
for achieving the desired
disturbance of the
system.
Other experiments monitor the
de-
viations
in temperature of thermistors to one—thousandth of
a
degree with
a progressive pattern of small colored lights;
the variations
in electrical noise from
a solid-state diode
interface with
an illuminated digital display;
or the develop-
ment of the
statistical deflections of 10,000 marbles cascading
through an array of obstructing pins by direct visual and
photographic observation.
It
is
far too early to claim any definitive results
from
these experiments.
On numerous occasions we have
seen effects
that to the best of our understanding and control of the pre-
vailing conditions are classically inexplicable,
but these
effects vary from experiment
to experiment,
from subject to
subject,
and alas,
from day to day.
Whether substantial
in-
crease in our data base will
sort any of this out remains
to
be seen.
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The minor portion of our program addresses certain as-
pects of the
"remote perception" problem mentioned earlier.
In this type of
study,
the subject attempts
to perceive as-
pects
of
a randomly selected target
scene
in which a colleague
in the experiment,
termed the agent,
is immersed at
a given
time.
Typically the percipient records his impressions of
the target
on tape,
by sketch,
or by notes, which then are
rank-ordered against
a pool of alternative targets by inde-
pendent
judges.
Our particular effort has been to replace
the necessarily subjective human judging process which
is
inherently vulnerable
to personal biases and interpretations,
by a more analytical method
for evaluation of the degree of
information transfer in such perception efforts.
Briefly,
the strategy involves coding of both the targets and percep-
tions
in terms
of some thirty binary descriptions,
e.g.
out-
side/inside;
dark/light;
noisy/quiet;
motion/none; water/none;
etc.,
and allowing
a variety of scoring and ranking algorithms
to derive quantitative
indices of the quality and quantity of
the information transfer.
Again it
is
too early to make
firm claims,
but this
method clearly holds promise of reducing the ambiguity in
in-
terpretation of this
class
of experiment, which has
shown some
of the highest yields of any controlled psychic studies.
It
should be added that our particular experiments have dealt
primarily with
the precognitive mode of remote perception,
wherein the percipient completes his
report substantially
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before the target
site
is
selected.
We
find the yield to
be at least as high as
for similar experiments performed in
"real time,"
and we prefer this mode
for two
reasons.
First,
the logical impossibility of the task
is heightened,
forcing
the
subjects to abandon various unproductive strategies
for
the perception and rely more completely on "paranormal" mental
process.
Second,
the, contradiction with established physical
conception of space/time
is more
stark,
hence potentially more
generally illuminating.
THEORY
Next to the evasiveness of the phenomena under controlled
experimentation,
the second greatest
frustration in the study
of psychic processes has been the absence of viable theoreti-
cal models with which to begin the traditional dialogue between
theory and experiment on which all scientific progress eventu-
ally depends.
For perhaps naive
reasons,
early hypotheses
tended to presume wavelike propagation of psychic effects,
usually in the electromagnetic modes,
but many experimental
results have
raised serious doubts that such models are
ten-
able.
Only recently has the attention of
a significant number
of theoretical physicists been drawn anew to this
task, with
the result
that broader and more elegant representations are
now being attempted which hold higher hope of accommodating
the diverse and bizarre phenomena characteristic
of this
field.
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Attempts at theoretical explication can proceed from
any of several levels
of presumption as to the fundamental ity
of the effects observed.
For example,
one may presume that:
a)
the effects observed are illusory,
e.g.
arti-
facts of poor experimentation?
b)
the effects can be assigned to known physical
processes,
not deliberately precipitated by the subject
(e.g.
heat transfer,
vibration,
aerochemistry ,
etc.)?
c)
the effects are deliberately precipitated by
the
subject,
but involve only known physical
and physiological
processes
(e.g.
electromagnetic radiation from brain circuitry
or intercardial potentials)
d)
the effects are deliberately precipitated by
the subject,
but can be accommodated within existing physical
formalism only after identification of heretofore unrecognized
modes of energy/information transfer?
e)
the effects cannot be handled within existing
physical formalism
(e.g.
the
fundamental
laws need further gener-
alization,
perhaps similar to the evolution of classical mechanics
into quantum mechanics,
or into special and general relativity)
f)
the
effects,
although observable under controlled
conditions,
cannot be handled within
a scientific paradigm
(e.g.
they are intrinsically irreplicable)
Obviously the subtlety of the model required,
and the breadth
of its significance increase markedly as one proceeds through
this hierarchy of possibilities.
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Present theories of psychic phenomena tend to cluster
into four or five broad groups which can only be described.
here in the most superficial terms.
As mentioned,
the first
serious models dealt in terms of electromagnetic waves,
usually in the very low frequency bands, 12
some versions of
which proposed modulation of the earth's magnetic
field,
or
prevalent electrostatic
fields of the ambient environment.
Other types of geophysical waves have since been considered,
such as geoseismic waves,
infrasonic waves,
and barometric
fluctuations,
but all of these now seem to be fundamentally
inadequate to deal with certain classes of psychic phenomena,
most particularly precognition.
More recent efforts have involved applications of the
formalisms of various other categories of physical mechanics,
for example
a)
statistical mechanics and statistical thermo-
dynamics,
whereby the subtle interplay of the thermodynamic
concept of entropy with information theory is allowed to take
on
a broader implication in terms of the role of human con-
sciousness in influencing random processes 1^;
b)
hyperspace theories, whereby the basic laws
of physics are recast and re-solved in more than the four
coordinates of normal experience
(3
space,
time)
,
and the
consequent new terms
are applied to the representation of
paranormal effects
y
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c)
quantum mechanics, whose inherently probabi-
listic approach lends itself to representation of phenomena
that depart significantly from strictly deterministic se-
IP
quences of cause and effect
?
d)
holographic inversions, whereby all of reality
is regarded
as deployed
in an infinite
syllabus of amplitude/
frequency information,
and the brain is hypothesized
to func-
tion as
a Fourier transform device to provide the
familiar
space/time localized imagery.
Although none of these has yet produced anything approach-
ing a satisfactory theoretical model,
each probably has some-
thing to contribute to our conceptualization of the phenomeno-
logical processes addressed.
For example,
their application
in various
forms to the anecdotal experimental evidence assem-
bled to date
leads me to speculate that the following rather
drastic possibilities may be worthy of more detailed examina-
tion
:
1)
The phenomena may be inherently statistical,
rather than directly causal,
and we may be observing them
"on
the margin,"
i.e.
the observed phenomena may represent margi-
nal changes
from normal behavior,
on
a very grand scale,
and
with fluctuation times which tax human observational capa-
bility.
2)
Human consciousness may have an information-
ordering capability that can be projected into an external
system as well as received
from it.
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3)
Quantum mechanics may be more than a system of
physical mechanics;
it may be
a fundamental statement about
human consciousness and perception processes,
and the empirical
pillars of this
formalism,
such as the uncertainty principle,
the exclusion principle,
the indistinguishability principle,
and the wave/particle dualities may be more
laws of conscious-
ness than laws of nature.
4)
Psychic processes may be inherently holistic,
and thus the ultimate model may need to integrate both the
scientific and the aesthetic aspects
in order to identify the
sources of the phenomena.
That
is,
psychic processes may be
manifestations of the intersection of the analytical scien-
tific world with the creative aesthetic,
and thus to represent
them effectively,
it may be necessary to balance insights of
both perspectives,
without sacrificing the integrity of either.
Clearly,
any of these intuitions would have to be developed
in far more philosophical and analytical detail before
a
trenchant theoretical model could emerge,
but at this primi-
tive stage
it
is probably healthy to consider a few such
radical possibilities,
along with more prosaic explications.
CONCLUSION
Let us close by returning to the basic questions which
undeniably underlie
our attention to this topic.
Namely,
are psychic phenomena
real;
and,
if
so,
should they be
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studied?
The latter question begs
a sequence of others,
i.e.
can such phenomena be studied systematically? would the knowl-
edge derived from such study be significant? would that knowl-
edge be useful?
etc.?
The honest response to all of these
is that at present we simply do not know.
The jury
is
still
out—or more accurately,
it has
not even left yet?
adequate
evidence has not yet been presented to it.
At this phase,
therefore,
everyone
is entitled
to his own informal and con-
sidered opinions on such questions,
and
is equally entitled
to the tolerance of others toward those opinions.
But to the much broader,
and indeed even more signifi-
cant question:
"do we have the
right to inquire?",
as
a
scientist and an academic
I must make much firmer response,
and if need be,
defense.
The fundamental requisites of sci-
entific methodology:
dispassionate rigor? humility in the
face of observations?
limitation on extrapolation of results?
and openness of mind apply to any sincere scholarly endeavor,
including psychic research.
When these criteria are met,
the results should be heard openly and fairly.
And these criteria are equally appropriate to the process
of criticism.
When they are honored,
that criticism can play
a healthy and constructive role.
But when the criticism lacks
any of these? when
it
is tainted by categorical rejection,
guilt by association,
or sloppy logic,
it should be at least
as
suspect as the object of its attack.
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I have spoken to you thus not as an advocate of psychic
phenomena as valid science,
but as an advocate of the right
indeed the obligation—of science to inquire into this
field,
with the
same diligence,
patience,
integrity,
openness,
and
tolerance—in both
its
study and in
its criticism—that have
characterized
its noblest achievements
of the past.
As
recorders,
transmitters,
and interpreters
of such
activities
for the public benefit,
you have the same
right,
and—if you will permit me—the
same obligation,
to maintain
that same high tone
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