Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R002200450001-8 CONTENTS T. INTRODUCTION... eee cece eee cece ete eee eevee ee eet et tt been cece sec 3 Historical Background ........ 6... eee ccc eeeeeeeeeeeeeeecccccee, 3 Nature of Research 1.00.0... cece cece lence eteeeeeeeccc cece. 3 Recent Controversy 0.0.1... cece e cece eeenetenentunneeeccccce. 4 Purpose of the OTA a 6 TI. DESIGN AND CONDUCT OF EXPERIMENTS 2.0.0... 000.0000. ccecceeceeccccecce en, 7 Methodology... . 6. eee e cece eee e cece eee e een en ener cce. 7 Replicability ..... cece cece cece eect eee en ieee cece ccc, 9 Criteria for Acceptable Experiments ......... 0... cece eececcseeeuncecee 11 TIT. ANALYSIS OF DATA 10.2... ee ieee ccc eeee ee eeece cect eee nenteneen cece. 12 TV. THE MEANING OF EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS ........000. 0. ccceccccececccceee.. 16 Assessments of Meaning and Meaningfulness .............0.c ccc ceeeecee, 16 What Would Constitute Proof of Psi? .............cceeeeeccscccee esse. 18 Conflicting Orientations .............. cc secs eee eeecceeeeeccccccccc ce, 19 Need for a Theory of Psi 0... eee cece cece seneeeccccee, 20 V. RELATION OF PARAPSYCHOLOGY TO THE BROADER WORLD OF SCIENCE ............ 20 Is Parapsychology a Science? ............. cece ecceeceeececeeccccee, 20 Resistance by "Establishment" Science ..............00.cccecce-00 ee, 21 Choices for the Future ............. cece cece cece eee ceesceueecccceee, 22 Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R002200450001-8
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Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R002200450001-8 I. INTRODUCTION HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The modern field of study known as parapsychology grew directly out of l9th-century "psychical research" into reported psychic phenomena such as telepathy and clairvoyance. The field had its earliest roots in various investigations into a wide range of supernatural, occult, and mystical topics reaching far back into human cultural history. However, the field did not become formalized as an arena of organized scholarly research until 1882, with the establishment in London of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). A U.S. counterpart, the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR), was founded in 1885. Both societies still exist today. From the beginning, the field represented by these organizations has been highly controversial. Although it has occasionally attracted and engaged well-known scientists, it has generally encountered substantial resistance and criticism from the scientific "establishment" on the basis of its aims and methods. To its detriment, parapsychology has had difficulty in freeing itself of association, in the minds of those outside the field, with extreme and unsubstantiated claims, commercial ventures of questionable validity, and a certain amount of quasi-scientific "research" carried out in its general area of inquiry. NATURE OF RESEARCH Throughout this century a considerable body of parapsychology research has been conducted in a manner that attempts deliberately to follow scientific methodology. The research approaches most often derive from and resemble research in psychology, although a few programs based on engineering and applied science have recently appeared. A seminal example of academic research in the field was the work of J.B. Rhine and Louisa Rhine at Duke University, beginning in the 1920s. The Rhines established many of the basic concepts and protocols of modern parapsychology. In 1937, they founded The Journal of Parapsychology, which is perhaps the leading journal in the field today. The general focus of parapsychological research is on "psychic phenomena," or "psi," which is defined as "processes of information and/or energy exchange which involve animate consciousness in a Manner not currently explicable in terms of known science."2 The field can be divided into several major categories and subcategories, as shown in Table 1. Most (but not all) of the parapsychological research in laboratory settings involves categories I and II, 1 For a detailed examination of the development of parapsychology, see: Jahn, R.G. & B.J. Dunne. ins of Re :_The Role of Consciousness in the Physical World. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1987. 2 Jahn, R.G. The persistent paradox of psychic phenomena: An engineering perspective. Proceedings of the IEEE, 1982, 10(2): 136-170. Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R002200450001-8
orev For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R002200450001-8 RECENT CONTROVERSY a In 1957 a professional organization in the field, the Parapsychological Association (PA), was formed. (Unlike the SPR, membership in the PA requires formal recognition of professional status by the Association's Council.) It was accepted as an affiliate by the American Association for the Advancement Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R002200450001-8