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INTRODUCTION
The past few decades have witnessed an increasing
interest in
the
possibility of direct mental influences on living systems. A diverse range of
experiments have been conducted by researchers within the United States,
Canada, and Europe
(for reviews, see Benor,
1990; Dossey,
1993; May and
Vilenskaya, 1994; Solfvin, 1984).
In a typical experiment, some physiological
activity or other selected behavior
is monitored
in the context of a formal
laboratory experiment.
Efforts are made by experimental
participants
to
influence
a
distant
biological
target system with
a comparison between
experimental conditions and non-influence or
control
conditions.
Target
systems
for
these
experiments
have
included
micro-organisms,
plants,
.
, animals, and human physiology or motor activity (Schlitz, 1983, 1994).
Based on
this database, there
is compelling evidence
to support the
hypothesis that people are able to use intentionality to bring about changes in
distant target systems under conditions that preclude conventional sensory or
motor exchange.
At the
least,
the findings are intriguing and worthy of
further research;
at the best, the data have profound
scientific,
social, and
philosophical implications.
One promising
area
of research involves
the
influence
of human
autonomic nervous system activity by
a distant person.
Braud and Schlitz
(1992) reported
statistically
significant
differences
across
a
series
of
experiments in which periods of intentionality to affect the physiology of a
distant person were interspersed with counter-balanced control periods.
This
research led to the development of a protocol designed to measure the degree
to which people are able
to unconsciously detect someone observing them
from a distance.
Many people have had the experience of being stared at from a distance,
only to turn around and discover a pair of eyes gazing upon them.
Indeed,
survey data support the widespread distribution of these experiences. As early
as 1913, J.E. Coover reported that 68-86% of respondents in California had this
type
of experience on
at least one occasion.
A survey of the Australian
population reported
that 74% of the respondents had such an experience
(Williams 1983), 85% within a student population at Washington University
in
St. Louis, (Thalbourne and Evans, 1992) 94% of those surveyed in San
Antonio, Texas
(Braud,
Shafer, and Andrews
1990), and 80%
of
those
informally surveyed in Europe and America (Sheldrake 1994).
Several attempts have been made
to explore
these
claims within
a
laboratory setting. A review of this literature was reported by Braud, et
al.
(1990), who identified four studies.
The first was conducted by E.B. Titchener,
a Cornell University psychologist during the late 1800's.
While a brief article
on the work reported negative results, he did not provide details of his study.
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*
In a slightly later study, Coover (1913) conducted a study on remote staring in
his initial work as the Thomas Welton Stanford Psychical Research Fellow in
the Psychology Department of Stanford University.
Each of 10 subjects made
100 guesses as to whether or not they were being stared at by an experimenter
i
seated behind them
in
the same room.
A random schedule
of remote
j
observation (RO) and non-observation periods was determined by the rolling
of a die. Each observation period was of a 15-20 second duration over a several
hour series of sittings spanning a period of weeks.
Having obtained chance
l
results, Coover interpreted his findings as support for the belief that staring
detection was empirically groundless.
f
A second study was carried out in 1959 by J.J. Poortman (1959) of Leyden
University in the Netherlands.
In this study, the two people were separated in
two rooms but
still within sensory range.
The experiment spanned
a
13-
month period.
The remote /non-remote observation intervals were of 2-5
minute duration based on a random sequence determined by card shuffling.
J
This resulted in a 59.55% accuracy rate (p=.04 1-t).
A better controlled experiment than the previous two was reported by
Donald Peterson (1978), a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh.
Following two
informal
pilot
studies,
the
investigator made
use
of
a
procedure in which the subjects were positioned in separate, adjacent closed
cubicles.
One-way mirrors and special lighting provided visual perception in
one
direction
and
button pushes were
used
to
measure
the
subject's
perception of RO/non-RO periods.
In 36 experimental sessions, each of six
.
I
minute duration, there was a significant effect (p=.012, 2-t).
This experimental design was further improved by Linda Williams
-
(1983), a student in the Psychology Department of the University of Adelaide
(South Australia).
Subjects were positioned in rooms at a 60 foot distance and
j
were monitored
via
a
closed-circuit video camera /monitor arrangement.
Through the use of carefully controlled randomization procedures, the author
reported significant RO detection guesses (p=.04, 1-t).
Based on the four experimental studies, Braud, et al (1990) concluded
that there
is suggestive evidence to support the hypothesis that people can
consciously discriminate periods of RO from non-RO under conditions that
controlled for subtle sensory cues.
The effect size in these studies was not
]
particularly strong, however.
This, according to Braud and his colleagues, was
j
due to the fact that "the testing method used in these studies was not the most
appropriate one”
(p.
17).
In particular, the authors argued that the use of
}
'
conscious guessing might be less relevant
to everyday
life experiences, in
which RO detection takes the form of bodily sensations and spontaneous
behavioral changes.
For example, people frequently report the prickling of
neck hairs or the tingling of the skin.
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With these
considerations
in mind, Braud,
et
ai
(1990) designed an
experimental procedure based on the hypothesis that remote observation may
be detected at the level of sympathetic autonomic nervous system activity.
In
a series of three experiments (Braud, Shafer, and Andrews 1990, 1992), a person
stared at a distant subject through the use of a closed-circuit television system
while
the autonomic nervous system
activity
of
the
subject was
being
monitored via chart recorder and computer.
The experimental design, like
previous studies involving remote mental influences on human physiology
(e.g., Braud and Schlitz 1989, 1992; Schlitz and Braud, 1986) allowed a within-
subjects evaluation of RO versus non-RO
(control) periods. The researchers
reported that the electrodermal properties of receivers correlated significantly
- with
the intense
attention
of the
isolated and remote experimenter
(i.e.,
p=0.009, effect size per session=0.59).
Results were bi-directional, depending on
the attitude of the Observer.
In addition to the main effects, Braud et
al (1992) reported a positive
correlational trend between social avoidance and the degree of change in the
subject's electrodermal
activity.
This was measured by administering the
Social Avoidance and Distress (SAD) scale (see below).
Increasing degrees of
social avoidance/distress/anxiety were also found to positively correlate with
introversion.
The present experiments were designed as conceptual replications of the
work by Braud, Shafer, and Andrews.
Further, we extended previous studies
of remote influence on autonomic nervous system
activity by Braud and
Schlitz (1989, 1992).
Two formal predictions were made.
First, we anticipated
a significant difference in the mean rate of autonomic activity in experimental
compared with control conditions across subjects.
Second, we predicted the
direction of the
effect by instructing the remote Observers
to
activate the
distant person.
As
such, we predicted an increase
in autonomic
activity
during remote observation as compared with control conditions.
In addition
to
the primary hypotheses, we anticipated
a
significant
correlation between social avoidance and the remote observation effect. On an
exploratory basis, we also examined the social relationship between Remote
Observers and Observees; this included the interaction of gender and cross-
gender pairs.
METHODS
Apparatus
The equipment utilized in this research included silver/silver chloride
palmar electrodes, a skin-conductance amplifier, an analog-to digital converter
interfaced with an IBM microcomputer, a SUN computer with modem, and a
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dosed circuit television, that included a Mlor^
^ camera’s radio
video monitors, and a tripo
°
°
amplifier then conveyed via shielde
frequency output
^ Observer's room,
cable to the color monitor in tne i\eu
Assessments
During Experiment
1, each experimental^
used ^
forms/assessments.
The first ™as *
C°
f^e
eneral biographical information as
preliminary screemng and cons1®*
was a psychological inventory
well as a health condition^
sses^fn
the use of the NEO Personality
measuring introversion/extroversion
£strument measures
six facets
of
- Inventory (Costa & Mc^
e l9
^)h
(2) Gregari0usness;
(3) Assertiveness;
(4)
extroversion, includmg
(1) Warmth,
(2)
S
Emotions.
The
fourth
Activity;
(5)
Excitement
Seeking;
(6)
scale
(SAD), which
assessment was
the
Social Avoid
ence of Stress, discomfort, fear,
measures social-evaluative anxiety
(
P
avoidance of social situations,
and anxiety in social situations) and deaerate
* ^ and
it excludes
This
self-report
scale emphasize
b
^ impaired performance
In
physiological signs
as well as
J*
was not used, due to the fact that
Experiment 2, the^ Personahtyjn
J
based on redundancy
of
Subjects
Each of the two experiments iiwolv^^24ttmk. ..^^““observee'
consisted of one person per
nrkine: with different target persons during
and 4 remote "Observers,
each
_
rfarridDated with 5 subjects contributing
sessions.
In Experiment 2, 16^J^^Sn Z bads of the expressed
two or three sessions each.
in tpprs
Under the null hypothesis, this
interest and availability ofsomev
g
tatistical assumptions about the
repeated use of participants does not vio
are made about the
remote observation effect (Utts,
further, "o
^ ^ parddpants
ktissk' r
~ •-* ” -
relationship to the experimenters.
•
j u
x/nQ vhrnueh notices that were handed out
Volunteers were re^
lte^
by
r^c
S
0 Bav |rea,
as a result of lectures
at
or posted in the Srea‘er
<1
^S
and p“ Lionel
societies,
as
well
as through
neighboring
uruversiUes ^and pi
from
the
subject pools
of the
personal
contacts.
Observers
same commumty
as used
for
Cognitive S“encea La^
at0ry
of J.U participants ranged from 16 to 60.
They
on
S
the health assessment.
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