fe nee nn ene es nee eR de ARNE EN CAPE eS ETB RAR aA IE SCOALA Sl nbn bh aR ARE AR OS ANT St Ge ne enti et ate Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R003000490007-9 consciously when those periods (of which the Observee was kept "blind") might be occurring, and was told that we were exploring whether unconscious physiological reactions might be associated with RO. The experimenter (MJS) left the subject alone in the experimental room and moved to the computer, which was set up in the adjacent control room. The experimenter checked the electrode conductance. Following this, she returned to the Experimental Room, started the Illuminations videotape, and closed the door. The audio track on the video controlled for the possible influence of extraneous sounds that might influence the Observee. She passed through the computer room, crossed the hallway, and entered the Observer's room, advising the Observer that the session was about to begin and wished the Observer luck, and reminded them to activate the distant person when their image appeared on the experimental monitor. She then closed the Observer's Room door and returned to the Computer Room. At this point, the experimenter started ‘the microcomputer that controlled the session events, including timing of the physiological sampling periods and recording of data during 32 30-second periods. As such, the experimenter was completely blind as to the sampling periods during any interactions with the participants. Each of the 16 recording periods during the experimental (RO) conditions of the experiment was signaled to the remote Observer when the distant person's image appeared on the monitor in the Observer's Room. During these periods, the Observer stared intently at the television image throughout the 30-second recording period. During control periods, the Observer read a book or otherwise tried to shift their attention from the distant person. The Remote Observer received no feedback during the session about the Observee's physiological activity. The equipment sampled the Observee's spontaneous phasic skin conductance responses (SCR) once a second for the 30 seconds of a recording period. A random pause of 0 to 5 seconds was inserted in order to eliminate potential artifacts due to possible guessing of the experimental sequences and to rule out possible cycles that might occur in the Observee's physiology. The experimental sampling then continued with the next block. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of two experimental sequences that were counter-balanced for time effects across the experiment. The randomization sequence was generated by the second author (SB) through the use of a random number generator. These consisted of blocks of four conditions: control, observation, observation, control or observation, control, control, observation. These sequences were randomized in blocks of 6, with equal numbers of the two conditions across the experiment. This was done to assure a balance of two conditions and to control for any temporal drift in the autonomic activity of the participant. Digitized data were stored on disk for later analysis and copied over to the SUN system for backup security and Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R003000490007-9
Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R003000490007-9 transport via modem to the second author. The mean value of skin conductance activity for each 30-second period was used in the analyses. RESULTS For each experimental session, a total score was calculated for all 32 recording periods (16 observation and 16 control). A chi-square goodness of fit test indicated that the scores of these sessions did not differ significantly from normality; therefore, parametric statistics were used in their evaluation. A single mean t-test was calculated with 23 degrees of freedom for each of the two experiments. In Experiment One, the obtained t-value was 1.878, p<.036 (1-t), es=.36. In Experiment Two, the obtained t value was 2.360, p<.014 (1-t), es=.44. As a pre-planned analysis, the combined results of the two experiments were combined, yielding a significant t-value of 2.652, p<.005 (1-t), es=.36, with 47 degrees of freedom. These results supported our two primary hypotheses, providing significant differences in the autonomic activity of Observees during RO and non-RO conditions in the direction of autonomic nervous system activation. Secondary analyses were computed for the psychological data collected on the basis of the NEO and SAD assessments for experiment 1 and on the SAD assessment for experiment 2. Linear correlation coefficients (Pearson r's) were calculated but no significant relationships were found. To assess the ROE-SAD relationship, Pearson r's were computed for the percent electrodermal activity occurring during the RO versus the SAD scores. Again, no significant relationship was found. In the first experiment, it was noted that there was a relationship between the gender of "Observer" and of the “Observee" in the remote observation experiment. As such, it was decided to analyze this sex pair relationship across the two experiments. This was done through the use of a 2x2 ANOVA. Results yielded a significant interaction across sex pairs (p<.01, 2-t). CONCLUSIONS This research provides an independent conceptual replication of the remote observation experiments conducted by Braud, et. al, under conditions that rule out conventional sensory exchange between experimental particpants. The work builds upon an increasing data base suggesting that people are able to interact with one another at non-sensory levels, including the mental influence of one person upon another person's physiology (e.g., Braud and Schlitz 1989; May and Vilenskaya, 1994). As is often the case in research, the findings raise more questions than answers. More research is needed to better understand the mechanisms at Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CLA-RDP96-00789R003000490007-9
Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R003000490007-9 play in this work. For example, a larger study designed to systematically manipulate the direction of the effect would be useful. Another promising area of research would address the possible role of influence as compared with information acquisition in an ostensible information exchange process. Following the work of May, Radin, Hubbard, Humphrey, and Utts (1986), this leads us to ask whether the results can be accounted for by a distant influence on the part of the Observer or to a passive responsiveness on the part of the Observee. Lastly, more research is needed to assess the degree to which Remote Observation effects can be limited, blocked or shielded. Such questions are essential to the development of a truly progressive research program (Lakatos, 1978). This work, in the context of previous research by independent researchers, has significant implications for our understanding of human communication processes and for a reevaluation of a worldview in which humans are seen as isolated beings. Furthermore, the results suggest the need for a broader approach to human consciousness than that held by the conventional, reductionistic, scientific paradigm. Indeed, as pointed out by Harman (1991), these results move us toward a new view of causality in which consciousness is interactive, rather than emergent, in human experience. Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R003000490007-9
Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R003000490007-9 REFERENCES Benor, Daniel. 1990 (September). Survey of Spiritual Healing Research, Complementary Medical Research, 4 (1): 9-33. Braud, W. and Schlitz, M. 1989. A Methodology for the Objective Study of Transpersonal Imagery, Journal of Scientific Exploration, 3: 43-63. Braud, W. and Schlitz, M. 1992. Consciousness Interactions with Remote Biological Systems: Anomalous Intentionality Effects. Subtle Energies, 2: 1-46. Braud, W., Shafer, D., and Andrews, S. 1990. Electrodermal correlates of remote attention: Autonomic reactions to an unseen gaze. Paper presented to the 33rd Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association, Chevy Chase, Maryland. Braud, W., Shafer, D., and Andrews, S. 1992. Further studies of autonomic detection of remote staring: Replications, new control procedures, and personality correlates. Paper presented to the 35th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association (Las Vegas, Nevada). Coover, J.E. 1913. The feeling of being stared at. American Journal of Psychology, 24: 57-575. Costa, P.T. and McRae, R. 1985. The NEO Personality Inventory Manual. Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. Dossey, Larry. 1993. Healing Words. The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. San Francisco: Harper. Harman, Willis. 1991. A Re-examination of the Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science. Sausalito: Institute of Noetic Sciences. Lakatos, I. 1978. The Methodology of Scientific Research Programs. Cambridge: Cambridge University. May, E., Radin, D., Hubbard, S., Humphrey, B., and Utts, J. 1986. Psi Esperiments with Random Number Generators: An Informational Model. Research in Parapsychology, 1985. Scarecrow Press. May, Edwin and Vilenskaya, Larissa. 1994. Some Aspects of Parapsychological Research in the Former Soviet Union. Subtle Energies, 3: 1-24. Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R003000490007-9
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