Approved For Release 2000/08/11 188 The Journal of Parapsychology However, research has diminished in the last few years, partly be- cause of the recent deaths of two of the leading contributors, J. Ri- cardo Musso and Enrique Novillo Pauli. Early research began in Argentina about the same time the Duke University Laboratory was established in the United States. The 1930s witnessed one of the most important events in the history of Argentine parapsychology. In 1931, the first institute of psychology was established at the University of Buenos Aires. The institute in- cluded paranormal psychology as one of the areas to be investigated by the department. Parapsychology appeared to be joined to psy- chology from the beginning. The chairman of the psychology de- partment, Enrique Mouchet, was interested in clairvoyance research and had come to the conclusion that it was necessary to include paranormal psychology in the syllabus of courses offered by the de- partment (Musso, 1973). , However, Argentinian researchers have had to struggle with the traditional spiritualistic methodology that characterized the study of psychical research in this country in the past. The research being conducted in the young Duke Parapsychology Laboratory had a ma- jor impact on the new generation of Argentinian researchers. The move toward a more quantitative approach to the study of scientific parapsychology was pioneered by a young engineer by the name of José Fernandez, who was teaching physics at the University of Bue- nos Aires. Although Fernandez belonged to a Spiritualist group called ATMAN, he had been in search of an adequate methodology to investigate the psychic phenomena manifested by mediums and clairvoyants. He hoped to be able to apply statistical principles to the responses given by the mediums. Fernandez presented the results of these experiments in 194] to a meeting of the Sociedad Cientifica Argentina. Fernandez’s efforts to introduce quantitative methodol- ogy in Argentina had a major impact on the approaches that other young researchers were to follow in establishing scientific parapsy- chology there. 7 Another development during this period was the creation of the Asociacién Argentina Médica de Metapsiquica in 1946 by a group of physicians headed by Orlando Canavesio. The aim of this society was to evaluate the medical and legal status of parapsychology sci- entifically and to promote its development in scientific circles as well as to determine its proper classification, that is, to decide whether the discipline belonged to psychology or physiology, or whether it could be considered to be a new branch of science. Canavesio himself wrote his doctoral thesis on a study of elec- troencephalographic records pf, pifthrh (UPMCRe lek Se 9665/08/71 : CIA-RDP96-00792R000700040002-5 1 Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 189 lished a journal called Revista Médica de Metapsiquica summarizing the research of the society. Included among the articles published in the journal was a study of the use of dowsers by the government ~ to find water in towns where the lack of water had become a hard- ship for its inhabitants. During this period, the work of Canavesio was important because of his connection to the government, a con- nection that helped to legitimize parapsychological studies in Argen- tina (Musso, 1973). The creation of the Instituto de Psicopatologia Aplicada in 1948 by the Secretary of Public Health was another important develop- ment. The aim of the government was to establish tight control over the Spiritist activities in Argentina, which were considered to be a social evil. More specifically, the aim was to control the exploitation of people engaged in nonscientific practices such as healing, and so on. The Institute created a subsidiary, the Comité de Investigaciones Metapsiquicas, which was assigned to conduct experimental research with gifted subjects, specifically during mediumistic sessions. The Coniinittéé intended to explore the medical and legal implications of Spiritist practices, as well as to determine whether genuine para- psychological phenomena were exhibited during these sessions by the gifted subjects. The Committee was also interested in uncover- ing negative factors that might induce mental illness, such as neu- rosis, in the participants. More specifically, it seems that the reali ob- jective of the Committee was to determine whether the promoters of these mediumistic sessions were practicing medicine illegally (Parra, 1989). In 1949 José Fernandez founded the Sociedad Argentina de Parapsicologia. Fernandez, who was already known for his quanti- tative approach to psychic phenomena, continued to promote the statistical approach used by the Duke researchers. This approach was reflected in the Society’s main objective, which was to study and investigate parapsychological phenomena with emphasis on the de- velopment of statistical methods. By then Fernandez had received from Rhine a copy of Extra-Sensory Perception After Sixty Years (Pratt, Rhine, Smith, Stuart, & Greenwood, 1940). The book had a major impact on Fernandez, who applied Rhine’s mathematical models to his own research, Ferndndez also circulated the book among his friends (Musso, 1973). The Society conducted the first serious experiments on clairvoy- ance in Argentina using ESP cards and statistical procedures. The study, with gifted subjects, obtained significant results. Fernandez - CIA-RDP96-00792ROGUPRUUAIAGOS-sesults of these experiments in a pamphlet entitled
Approved For Release 2000/08/11 : CIA-RDP96-00792R000700040002-5 190 The Journal of Parapsychology Psicologia Experimental. The Society also conducted other experi- ments such as the one with the well-known clairvoyant Conrado Cas- tiglione. The study used the empty-chair technique similar to that used with Ludwig Khan and with Gerard Croiset (Musso, 1973). The first Instituto Argentino de Parapsicologia was established in 1953. It brought together several men who represented the most critical approach of the time, men such as José Fernandez, Orlando Canavesio, J. Ricardo Musso, and Naum Kreiman. The Institute was organized to include a main scientific research department, along with several sections, such as the medical-biological section and a physics and mathematics section. The principles of the Institute re- flected the critical approach their members followed in conducting their research. One of these was to subject every hypothesis to sci- entific examination, so that only those that would withstand the most stringent tests would remain. In addition to the creation of the Institute, this period of the 1950s was also characterized by a grow- ing interest in publishing books on parapsychology. One of the first systematic treatises on parapsychology in Spanish written by J. Ri- cardo Musso (1954) was called En los Limites de la Psicologia: Desde et Espiritismo hasta la Parapsicologia [On the Limits of Psychology: From Spiritualism to Parapsychology]. Other developments included a pa- per by Musso in 1957, which was published in a journal put out by the ministry of education of the province of Buenos Aires. It was the first time a paper on parapsychology had been published in a government review. In addition, parapsychology was incorporated as a course in five different universities. In 1960, Ricardo Musso was awarded a professorship at Rosario University to teach parapsychol- ogy, and, for the first time in any country, a course in parapsycho- logy was made a requirement for a doctoral degree in psychology (Rueda, 1989). In 1962 the Institute conducted studies confirming the sheep- goat effect, using primary-school children as subjects. The results were published in the Journal of Parapsychology (Musso, 1965). Other important experiments included “An ESP Drawing Experiment with a High Scoring Subject,” also published in the Journal of Parapsychol- ogy (Musso & Granero, 1973). Moreover, Musso and his wife and colleague, Mirta Granero, conducted an international experiment on long-distance ESP called the “Antarctic Experiment.” Although the results were not statistically significant they were important be- cause the experiment involved subjects from twenty different coun- tries (Musso, 1973, p. 168). The expansion period of parapsychology was interrupted in 1966 when the then curreng A Tee ROT aD FS mment, was Ov ease 2000/08/11 : CIA-RDP96-00792R00 Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World . 191 thrown by a military coup; most state universities were forced to eliminate the study from their curricula. In spite of the prevailing negative conditions standing in the way of university status for the subject, a new quarterly publication was founded. The Cuadernos de Parapsicologia, perhaps the most important publication in the history of Argentinian experimental parapsychology, took the responsibility of disseminating a high level of academic parapsychology. Headed by Naum Kreiman, it has been the most professional organ of sci- entific parapsychology in Argentina to the present time. Owing to the military takeover of the government that elimi- nated most of the parapsychology courses offered at the state uni- versities, parapsychology did not enjoy the same status at the begin- ning of the 1970s as it had during the period of university expansion of the 1960s. Some new developments during this period kept the torch lit, however. Among the most important ones was the creation of the Instituto de Parapsicologia in 1970. It is headed by Naum Kreiman, a bio-statistician and a co-founder of the Instituto Argentino de Parapsicologia in the 1950s. Kreiman has played a key role in the development of the quantitative approach to the study of parapsychology for the last 30 years. From 1964 to the present he has conducted numerous original experiments as well as repli- cations of some of the most important experiments conducted in foreign countries. With the help of his wife and collaborator, Dora Iynisky, and Ladislao Marquez, he has conducted numerous exper- iments that have been published in the Cuadernos. Among them are exploratory testing with ESP cards (Kreiman & Ivnisky, 1964); ESP using photographs as targets (Kreiman, 1965); the sheep-goat effect in ESP (Kreiman, 1972); the effect of feedback on ESP (Kreiman & Ivnisky, 1973); ESP and memory (Kreiman, 1975); memory and precognition (Kreiman, 1978); psi and volition (Kreiman & Ivnisky, 1980); brain laterality and ESP (Kreiman, 1981); precognition of human actions (Ivnisky & Kreiman, 1981); and remote viewing (Kreiman, 1983). Institute members such as Dora Ivnisky have done extensive work in keeping the Argentinian parapsychological community in- formed of activities around the world by translating numerous ex- periments and theoretical papers from languages other than Span- ish from the Journal of Parapsychology and elsewhere. The diligent experimental work done by Kreiman since the 1950s and continuing to the present time makes him one of the most important laboratory researchers in Argentinian and Ibero-American parapsychology. Another important development during this period was the cre- ation of an Institute of Parapsychology at the Catholic University of 0700040002-5
. Approved For Release 2000/08/11 192 The Journal of Parapsychology Cérdoba by the Catholic priest Enrique Novillo Pauli. One of the principal activities of the Institute was to teach courses on parapsy- chology in the school of psychology at the University. The staff of the Institute also provided consultation and orientation to bishops, priests, and families about phenomena such as poltergeists and bleeding religious images. Unfortunately this institute recently closed down after the death of Father Novillo. Prior to the creation of the Institute, Novillo Pauli had been at the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man in North Car- olina where he conducted some PK research with seeds as targets under the auspices of the Organization of American States. Novillo Pauli presented the results of his experiments at the annual conven- tion of the Parapsychological Association in 1972 (Novillo Paulf, 1973). During the period of his stay at the FRNM, he also prepared a book on parapsychology entitled Los Fenémenos Parapsicolégicos: Pst en el Laboratorio (1975), which included reports of his PK studies. The studies were also reported in the Spanish-language parapsycho- logical journals Cuadernos de Parapsicologia (1974) and Psi Comunica- cién (1976). In spite of the marked decline since the 1970s, an important re- cent development is the organization of a parapsychology confer- ence in Argentina in 1987, the Primer Encuentro de Parapsicologia. It was sponsored by the University of Salvador of Buenos Aires and held under the direction of Enrique Novilio Pauli. Some of the top- ‘cs discussed at the conference were mental healing studies, altered states of consciousness in relation to psi performance, and quantum mechanics (Alvarado, 1989b). Soon afterward, Argentina suffered: the loss of two of its most important pioneers, J. Ricardo Musso, president of the Instituto Argentino de Parapsicologia (which he di- rected until his death in 1989) and, in the same year, Enrique Novi- llo Paulf. Consequently, the activities of Musso’s institute declined, and the institute at the University of El Salvador headed by Enrique Novillo Pauli closed down. Since then, the Institute of Parapsychol- ogy headed by Kreiman has remained as the most important source of professional parapsychology in Argentina. During the 1980s, parapsychology in Argentina was character- ized by a marked decline in experimental activities. Most of the work during this period was conducted by members of the Institute of Parapsychology under Kreiman, who, as in previous years, main- tained a constant interest in reporting original experiments, includ- ing replications of foreign experimental works. They also continued to publish regularly their quarterly journal, which contained trans- : CIA-RDP96-00792R000700040002-5 ‘ Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 193 Recently, a new parapsychology journal, the Revista Argentina de Psicologia Paranormal, has appeared. It is published by an indepen- dent group of parapsychologists called LAPAS (Laboratory of Para- psychology) and edited mainly by Alejandro Parra. Judged by its content, the journal seems to be a worthwhile addition to the cur- rent efforts to keep the Argentinian audience well informed on professional parapsychology. However, some of the experiments of the researchers in this group have not been well received by other Argentinian researchers, who consider the experiments to be flawed (Kreiman, 1990; see also Alvarado, 1990). LAPAS has also started a Spanish-language parapsychology information center. The Center is building a computer data bank from which Spanish-speaking para- psychologists may obtain information about a bibliography on para- psychology similar to the Parapsychology International Abstracts pub- lished by Rhea White (Villanueva, 1990). In addition to these recent developments, CSICOP has made its way to Argentina. A former member of Naum Kreiman’s research group, Ladislao Marquez, has created an Argentinian version called Centro Argentino Para la Investigacién y Refutacién de la Pseudo- ciencia (CAIRP). The most important aims of CAIRP are to de- nounce fraud and to promote a critical scientific assessment of the claims made by pseudoscientists. The board of directors, headed by Ladislao Marquez, also includes foreign members, Martin Gardner, for instance. The prospects for Argentinian parapsychology in the 1990s seem less favorable than those of the booming period of previous years. The present difficulties in the Argentinian economy have in- creased for researchers, making it difficult for them to obtain funds to support their research and publications. In a recent survey conducted on the present status of parapsy- chology in Argentina, Naum Kreiman reported that research has decreased substantially over the last five years. Most of the recent research reports have come from Kreiman’s Institute of Parapsy- chology. Educational activities in the field are almost nil except for a course being offered at a small university called John F. Kennedy University (Kreiman & Ivnisky, 1989). In a letter published in the Journal of Parapsychology, Jorge Villa- nueva (1990) pointed out some of the major problems that Argen- tinian researchers face at the present time. Among them are lack of support from public and private institutions, lack of serious books in Spanish to provide responsible information on the subject, and lack of proper technology and other means to conduct sophisticated research. Some of these problems, Villanueva suggests, may be di- lations of some of the most impor rydgyeUy RBlease: LoS T : ClA-RDP96-00792R000700040002-5
Approved For Release 2000/08/11 : CIA-RDP96-00792R000700040002-5 194 The Journal of Parapsychology minished by increasing communication and collaboration with for- eign parapsychologists. a . Early psychical research in Puerto Rico was strongly influenced by the nineteenth-century Spjritualist movement that had also spread to other countries. M iumistic séances in which raps and communication, with the spiriss were common drew attention mostly from people with a religioug interest. It was perhapS,this influénce that led Agapito Morales to publish in 1904 a more ckitical ekamination of these phenomena. In his booklet Breve Tra de Hipnotismo, Magnetismo, Espiritismo y Suges- toterapia, Morales conteyded that all those occurrences could take place without assumingythe action of spirit agencies. He interpreted possession as being aytdoguggestion and attributed paranormal phe- nomena to our own psychic faculties. He considered that all of the experiments made yhtil today demonstrate that there is an invisible force in our being fhat is capable, for instance, of playing a guitar, lifting a table, or |ffting our wn bodies. According to him this force is under our control. He alsd. believed that mediumistic communi- cation could be/explained by means of telepathy between the me- dium and the sitter. \ Another major influence in the formation of a more empirical and critical approach to parapsychology was the work of Francisco Ponte, a dentist who became president of the Puerto Rican Feder- ation of Spjritists. Ponte visited Europein 1912 to familiarize him- self with tHe work of several Spiritualisti¢ centers, as well as psychi- cal resear¢h centers. He had had the opportunity to participate in mediumigtic séances in Italy with famous rhediums such as Lucia Sordi avid Eusapia Palladino. During these \séances he witnessed manifestations of apparent telekinesis and terializations (Alva- rado, 1987; Ponte, 1914). Later Ponte returned to Puerto Rico and trie to reproduce the same phenomena with local mediums. He reported’some of his find- ings on materializations of body parts during séances to Walter Franklin Prince, then Research Officer of the ASPR. Ponte’s work was important because of the critical and empirical approach he brought to his research on séance phenomena (Alvarado, 1979a). 1° This section on Puerto Rican parapsychology partly summarizes information contained in an article by Alvarado (1979a). Approved For Release 2000/08/11 | ' | 1 i i Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 195 The theoretical ideas of Ralph U. Sierra are also interesting. Sierra, who was interested in the psychology of ESP, believed that to develop telepathy it was necessary to develop first an internal state of tranquility so that the electrical activity of the brain did not interfere with the telepathic process (Sierra, 1966). Some of the most important developments, however, took place during the last two centuries. At the educational level, it is impor- tant to note the work of Celinda Madera who, during the 1970s, offered @ series of courses and lectures at different campuses of the University of Puerto Rico. Madera’s courses focused on the human- istic and thanspersonal aspects of psi. She erself had received train- ing at Duke University’s Parapsychology Laboratory (Alvarado, 1979a). In 1974, estor A. Rodriguez Escudero, a lawyer, published a series of essays about parapsycholggy and Spiritualism in his book Los Caminos de Dios. He discussed great variety of paranormal phe- nomena. His mkin objective w96 to show that parapsychology dem- onstrates the spikitual aspect 6f man (Rodriguez Escudero, 1974). Another development if 1977 was the creation of the Instituto de Investigaciones Psicofisicas at the University of Puerto Rico, May- agiiez campus. Founded/to conduct investigations in parapsychology and related areas, thé Anstitute carried out studies of various param- eters of Kirlian phofégraphy and of the effects of hypnosis on ESP. However, these research investigations were never made available for publication. Buring this period Alfonso Martinez Taboas began to publish a nexsletter Expigrando lo Paranormal, a semipopular mag- azine later edited by Carlos Qlvarado starting in 1976. Martine? Taboas and Carldés Alvarado wrote articles on parapsy- chology ip Spanish for the Spa ish journal Psi Comunicacién; they also pub{shed in other journals. eir articles covered a wide range of topigs. Among these, Alvarado wrote on experimental studies of OBEs/(1976), historical precedents af the so-called psychic discov- eries/behind the Iron Curtain (1978), the use of historical knowl- edgé (1979b), and on J. B. Rhine (1980). Martinez Taboas published a review of the problem of repeatability in parapsychology (1979), critiques of psychological and physiological concepts of poltergeist research (1977, 1980, 1984; Martinez Taboas & Alvarado, 1981), and a discussion of the concept of parsimony applied to parapsy- chology (1983). The work of Martinez Taboas and Alvarado has been very im- portant in the effort to bridge the language barrier between the Spanish researcher and the non-Spanish-speaking researcher. This : CIA-RDP96-00792R000700040002-5