Approved For Release 2001 /p/07
: CIA-RDPp6-00789R003200160001-9
C.
(U) Phase III—Applications
\JVhile continuing Phases
I and
II
on specific
items of
interest,
Phase
III will be devoted toward applications\
i
*
This activity should
include at least
two parts:
(1) Applications research—Formulate and test hypotheses
that are specific with regard
to potential
applications
.
(2) Application testing—Under actual^
“
conditions,
conduct psychoenergetic activity to assess
field utility.
IV.
Financial Report
r
During FY 1985
a total
of $1,240 K was allocated
to contract
Jfor
the psychoenergetic
investigation and review.
All
moneys were expended
in accomplishing
the stated objective.
k
Approved For Release 200/1/03/07
CIA-RDP
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R003200160001-9
Final Report-
Covering the
lObjective E. Tasks
1 an<
Pbrlod
1 October 1987 to*4
o30September 1988
December 1988
FEEDBACK
AND
TARGET
DEPENDENCIES
IN
REMOTE VIEWING EXPERIMENTS (U)
Prepared for:
C
—Copy—r~at o Copies
This document consists of 8 pages
/
flaw
i °b
.roved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP9<4o789R003200160001-9
Approved For Release!I2001/03/07
jaIRDP96-00789R0032001 60001 -9
INTRODUCTION (U)
(U) One
o, the
intrigubtg duestions ebon, -mote
viewittg (KV) and simdar
experiments is the extern to which feedback tonuences
did
seera to
Interne,ionel conducted en expenmen, »^
c
5 °*'
feedback ^ensUies
in the,
b. dependent on the intense of
for deuiied stud, of the target,
experiment, however, were
ell minimel end dtd no, ellow
,
.u, tarpet oool
This pool
is contained on video disks and
fLH
In FY 1988 we created a new target poo
v
(
}
nf .
namral SC enes, and other composite target material.
Some of
consists of short movte segments, neturel
have complete
rite
tercets heve no sound; some content mustc only but no words.
conventions.
Thus, verious tergets differ in both visuel end eudto complex,,y.
tu)
In
ell of the experiments for which this terge, pool hes been used. the subiects have
feedbeck by viewing the video disk segment selected
»s rite urge,.
For
ell
been gtven feedbeck by viewng
^ subjects could vtew
experiments covered in this report, feedbeck wes vtvtd tn
the tergel segment es meny times es desired.
t
Hu
this report was to
see
if the
quality of these
(U) The purpose of the tesk
^^ „„ a„ amalgaro oI target
remote viewtngs
(es measure
y m
M constnlcled specifically with this
::rrrr:::
il. -- -- - -
complexity, t
.
.
,
ranks assiened by judges when each video disk segment was the
T
i We examined the ranks assigned Dy ju
&
intended
—3
.
.th
ranks assigned when that segment was not the intended
intended
target, compare
-natural" category, which were more homogeneous than
target. We found that the targets m the
natural cate^
^ ^ individual targets.
the other targets, tended to^ ^^^ particular target did not receive higher than
one resulted in a significant sum of ranks.
TIT -Feedback and Precognition Dependent Remote Viewng
•
(U) May. E. C. and Lanu. N. D.. Fjed^ p_
Tasks ujmd. lb.
Project
1291.
SRi
fmematjonal. ffinio^k. CaSforitia <P—
and 2 . ^ t0 project
,or lhese 0bi'clive! -
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R003200160001-9
in
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R003200160001-9
chance ranks when
it was not the intended target, so the result is not due to bias on the pan of
the judge.
The
series
of remote
viewings was not
significant
overall,
but
the
significant
findings in the previous paragraph allow us to make some tentative conclusions (Section IV).
In
addition, many of the subjects in
this experiment were novices who were being tested to see
whether or not they had any special abilities.
Therefore, the trends observed in this repon may
be enhanced when working with subjects who are able to produce higher quality remote viewings
overall.
Approved For Release 2001/03/|(7^CIA-RI
0789R003200160001-9
Approved For Release 20011/03/07
: CIA-
96-00789R0032001 60001 -9
III RESULTS (U)
(U) The remote viewing trials were scored by assigning ranks to the actual target and the
three other possible targets within the same category.
For example, if the intended target was the
Greek temple, then the response would be compared with the four targets in the natural category
and a rank would be assigned to each one.
For the analysis in this report, the Greek temple
would be
designated
as the intended
target,
and
the
other three
natural
targets would be
designated as unintended targets.
\
[ Table
1 shows the distribution of ranks that were assigned to the intended target
by an RVanalyst.
For example, the aircraft-carrier-takeoff target in the military category was
randomly chosen as the intended target 5 times.
It was ranked
first 2 times, and
it was ranked
second, third and fourth once each.
Table 2 shows similar data, but for the unintended targets.
Suppose that the Greek Temple
is the intended target; then for that trial, the ostriches, skiing,
and waterfall targets are unintended.
Thus, for each trial in the series there is one entry in Table
1, and there are three entries in Table 2.
There are a total of 85 remote viewings represented.
l_.
I The most interesting result
is that the sum of ranks for the
trials in the natural
category is independently significant. Out of 16 trials, the sum of ranks is 32, p = 0.046.
For the
other
three
categories,
the
rank
sums
are
nonsignificant.
For
the
projects, [military/ and
science/industrial categories the (sum of ranks, number of trials, p-value)
are
(70,
28, 0.53),
(46,
19, 0.42), and (56, 22, 0.43), respectively.
Thus,
it appears that the targets that were the
most homogeneous and were set to music with few or no words were the easiest to remote view
and/or to match correctly in judging.
^
The only individual target for which the sum of ranks was significant
is Project
Deep Quest
(8
trials, sum of ranks =
12, p = 0.007).
This
is the only target in the projects
category that has a dynamic segment; the others consist of a series of still photographs.
Also, the
main theme of this target is water. We were concerned that the significance might be due to a
bias toward choosing this target on the part of the judge, whether or not
it was the intended
target.
To check
this, we computed the rank sum for Project Deep Quest when
it was the
unintended target.
The sum was 46.
for 20
trials, p = 0.24, so the bias hypothesis can not
explain the significant result.
Approved For Release 2001/0im
: cia-rdrsIL00789R0032001 60001 -9
(
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R003200160001-9
Table 2
(U) RANKINGS FOR UNINTENDED TARGETS
Category
Rank
Rank 2
Rank 3
Rank 4
Projects
Manhattan Project
Project Blue Book
Project Deep Quest
Project Ultra
Totals
^
=y=
Military
Aircraft Carrier Takeoff
Atomic Blasts
Control Room
Russians in Space
Totals
_
_JL
Natural
Greek Temple
Ostriches
Skiing
Waterfall
Totals
115
~~g~
I 5
Science/Industrial
Bottling Factory
Building Construction
John Glenn Launch
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Totals
TT
is
1 5
1—
.
'
L
J
Approved For Release 2001/^3/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R003200160001-9
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R003200160001-9
IV CONCLUSIONS (U)
The results of this analysis are intriguing, since they suggest that the complexity of
the target and/or the feedback may affect the quality of the results. The natural targets, the only
group to achieve a significant sum of ranks, differed from the others in a few respects.
First, they
tended to be more homogeneous visually than the targets in the other three categories.
Second,
they were accompanied by music but few or no words.
Third, they tended to represent more
pleasant situations than the other target categories.
Two of these three features distinguishing the Natural target category also applied
to the Project Deep Quest target.
It represented a more pleasing situation than the other targets
in the projects category, and
it was also more homogeneous.
'
*"
In conclusion, while we are not able to identify a single distinguishing factor from
thes^ results,
it does appear that certain characteristics may enhance remote viewing quality. The
targets for which significant results were achieved were those that were
visually homogeneous.
Further, from subjective reports of the viewers, they were the most appealing targets in the pool.
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R003200160001-9
96-00789R0032001 60001 -9
Approved For Release 2001/1
II METHOD OF APPROACH (U)
A.
(U)
Objectives
(U) The primary long-term objective of this effort is to improve the single-bit hit rate in
binary
psychoenergetic
experiments
significantly
beyond
baseline
or
fiducial
values.
One
secondary and one tertiary objective are of interest as well.
•
Secondary—To track the various internal mental techniques used, in order to develop
hypotheses for later testing.
•
Tertiary—To determine
if the binary remote viewing techniques can be expanded to
choices greater than two
(i.e.,
for between 3 and 6 possible targets).
(U) The specified objective for FY 1988 was set forth under Objective E, Task 4 of the
SOW for that year, “Determine the source of ‘mental noise’
in binary psychoenergetic tasks.”
B.
(U) Viewer Selection
f
~
In
discussions, one
of SRI’s longstanding remote
viewers V(002),
reported
a
desire to renew his/her interest in this area and to address the general problem of single-bit hit
rate
enhancement.
Since
V002
had
demonstrated
a
willingness
to
address
difficult
psychoenergetic research problems in the past, SRI decided that he/she would be an appropriate
candidate
for this effort.
C.
(U)
General Approach
(U) A number
of problems
arise
in studying internal mental processes.
It
is not yet
possible to determine the neurological sources of such processes, so we must rely upon subjective
techniques in order to begin to understand them.
Progress has been made in understanding one
area of subjective experience:
internal mental imagery.
Kosslyn describes successful techniques
involving relative internal versus relative external imagery measures to begin to understand this
robust mental process.*
However,
even those
techniques cannot yet be applied
to remote
viewing research, because much of the subjective impressions are reported to precede imagery.
«
(U) Kosslyn, S. M., Ghosts in
W. W. Norton & Company,
the Mind’s Machine—Creating and Using Images in the Brain,
New York and London (1983) UNCLASSIFIED.
Approved For Release 2001^03/07
: CIA-R^>9j5-00789R003200160001-9
Approved For Release 2001/03/QL.; CIA-RDP96}00789R003200160001-9
III
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
(U)
(U) Throughout
this section p-values have been computed
for various experiments
in
exploratory phases.
Since the number of trials was not declared in advance in these cases, the
results for the exploratory work are to be interpreted only as indicators rather than as estimates
of the
probability that, upon repeating the experiment,
the
data would be
as deviant
as the
original set
(i.e. Type
I error).
In the formal tests described below, the total number of trials was
declared in advance, and, thus the quoted
statistics are measures of Type
I error.
A.
(U)
Early Similar Experiments
!
| Viewer 002 has been
involved
in psychoenergetic
experiments
since
the mid
19f
s '
The
earliest record SRI
has
for V002
in any forced-choice experiments were those
conducted for a different sponsor during FY 1976.*
While a number of different experiments
wer^ lned during an exploratory period, none produced significant results.
Effect sizes are not
available from that period.
However, data from a formal, automated one-in-four forced-choice
experiment are available. V002 produced 167 hits in 500 trials for a hit rate of 33.4% (p < 1.59
X
10' 5
) and an effect size of 0.19.
I
In
later
forced-choice
experiments
involving
binary
and
one-in-ten
target
systems, V002’s results did not produce significant deviations from mean chance expectation.
f
Because V002
has been involved in this type of research for such an extended period of lime,
these data possess historical value and interest, and can serve as a long-term baseline.
However,
because of the general approach described above,
it
is more appropriate to use newer data as a
fiducial point for the differential measures.
B.
(U)
Exploratory and Formal Efforts—FY 1986
1.
(U)
Results
]
During FY 1986, and using a protocol similar to the one described above,
V002 contributed 479
binary
trials
as
part
of an
exploration phase-exploratory because of a
(U) Puthoff, H. E., and Targ, R., “Advanced Threat Technique Assessment (U),“ Interim
Engineering
Report: 1,
Project 5309,
Stanford Research
Institute, Menlo
Park,
California
(September 1976)
|
l
^
JK?
and May, E.
C., “Advanced Threat Technique Assessment
(U),
Final Report,
Proje ct
5309,
Stanford Research
Institute, Menlo
Park,
California
(October 1978)
!
/
/oil
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP98-00789R003200160001-9
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
^3/07
CIA-RDP9$-00789R0032001 60001 -9
(S/NF)
possible sensory leakage path.
Of these, 276 were hits for a hit rate of 57.6% (p < 5.01 x 1(H)
and an effect size of
0.15.
In a one-in-lhree target system, V002 contributed 142 trials with a
hit rate of 47.9% (p < 2.30 X 1(H) and an effect size of 0.30.
In a one-in-four target system,
trials were conducted with a
hit rate of 29.3% (p < 0.27) and an effect size of 0.02.
_
Under
formal
conditions
(described
in
Section
II,
D.3.)
between
September and 13 October,
1986, V002 contributed 50 binary trials.
The hit rate was 64%,
p < 0.033, and the effect size was 0.26
(corrected for continuity).
2.
(U)
Discussion
' Keeping in mind that during FY 1986 this was part of a larger search effort
and extremely
preliminary,
the
results looked
quite
encouraging.
Even on
those
few
trials
(one-in-four target system) where the results failed to meet the 0.05 significance level, the effect
size was typical of those seen during the historic Rhine investigations. The remaining exploratory
trials produced effect sizes an order of magnitude
larger.
y
This exploratory effect size was confirmed by the formal series.
The effect
size, 0.26,
is somewhat larger than that in the exploratory phase, but not significantly so.
Two
main conclusions can be drawn from these
results:
(1)
Because there was chance hitting, there was no evidence
for subliminal
cuing during the
exploratory phase;
therefore,
its protocol should be
kept
intact.
(2)
The formal result, which cannot be considered as a formal baseline
(i.e.,
a large number of pilot
trials before the formal series), can, however,
serve as a fiducial point for comparison with later efforts.
C.
(U) FY 1987 Exploratory Experiments—Results and Discussion
(U) Encouraged by the FY 1986 effort, and in accordance with the FY 1987 SOW, SRI
initiated
a second
exploratory phase
of forced-choice experiments with V002.
Rather than
conducting
a
simple
forced-choice paradigm
as
in FY
1986,
SRI
designed
this
effort was
designed to be more sensitive to the subjective internal states of the viewer.
(U)
All
trials for the year were binary, and two principal subjective internal states were
investigated. The
first of these was to determine
if the viewer could “tell” (sense) in advance of
feedback when he/she was
in contact with the remote target.
The second internal
state was
related to the overall subjective feeling of the viewer.
Approved For Release 2001/0{ip7
: CIA-RDP96-00789R0032001 60001 -9
1J
u
*
i
f
s
Approved For Release 2001/03/0^: CIA-RDP96-0J)789R003200160001-9
1.
(U)
Exploratory Series
The
1668
trials
collected
in FY
1987
can be
divided
into two
separate
segments—the
first
half reported
in
the Mid-Year Technical
Report,*
and
the second
half
reported in the Final Technical Report. f
This division
is a natural one, in that V002 used two
different internal strategies.
During the
first half of FY
1987, V002
felt he/she could sense being in
psychoenergetic contact with the target material.
To
test this concept, V002 was required to
register, in advance of each trial, whether he/she was in psi contact, definitely not in psi contact,
or not sure. The hypothesis under consideration in this protocol was that V002 would be able to
sense
contact
with
the
remote
target and would
score
significantly
positive
in
the
contact
condition, score significantly negatively in the no-contact condition, and score at chance in the
uncertain condition.
Table
1 shows the results of 327
trials collected under this protocol.
Table
(U) RESULTS FOR FIRST HALF OF FY 1987
Condition
Trials
Hits
p-value
Effect
Size
Fractional
Hit Rate
Contact
147
8.40 X
lO'
0.20
0.60
No Contact
9.55 X
10M
-0.22
0.39
Uncertain
121
1.52 X
lO’
0.09
0.55
u Although we
must
acknowledge
that
there
was
a
remote
possibility
of
inadvertent cuing, these
results suggest that V002 was able
to sense
contact with the remote
target.
In a formal test of this hypothesis,
it would be stated a priori that, the
trials during the
no-contact
condition
would be
automatically
inverted
in
the
analysis
(i.e.,
V002’s
remote
viiewing would be used to reject one of the targets)
.
It
is important to note that the amounts of
i
psychoenergetic functioning required to sense contact are similar to those required to sense no
contact with the target.
Since the. effect sizes a under these two conditions are so similar
(i.e.,
the
minus
sign
for the
no-contact condition
reflects
the
fact
that V002 scored below mean
*
(U) May, E. C., “Enhanced Human Performance Investigation (U),” Mid-Year Technical
Report, Project 1291, SRI International, Menlo Park, California (June 1987)|
t
(U) May,
E.
C., “Enhanced Human Performance Investigation (U),”
Final Technica l Ke-
port, Project 1291, SRI International, Menlo Park, California (December 1987)
Approved For Release 2001/03/^7
: CIA-RDP96-0P789R003200160001-9
Approved For Release 2001/0llQJ
: ClA-RDPei-
CIA-RDP96-00789R0032001 60001 -9
chance expectation—the expected direction
if the hypothesis
is true),
it forms the basis
for a
strong hypothesis for formal testing.
The directional effect sizes are statistically equivalent to a fiducial condition
value
of 0.26.
Thus, V002
did not
exhibit a
decline
effect, but there was no indication of
improvement either.
If a direction is specified in advance of an experiment,
it is appropriate to
use one-tailed tests.
From this perspective, the hitting rate was 61%, p < 1.37 X
10'3
, and the
effect
size was 0.21—results that are
statistically equivalent to the
fiducial
data, but with the
added feature of possible directional control.
The conditions for the second half of FY 1987 were defined at the session
level.
V002 defined three types of sessions - positive days, negative days, and unknown days -
that had to be specified in advance of any trials during a session, reflecting the overall subjective
state of being of V002.
If these a priori statements correlated with performance, they could be
used as a filter to reject part of the data.
Table 2 shows the results for 1341 trials collected under
this protocol.
Table 2
(U) PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR SECOND HALF OF FY 1987
Session
Condition
Trials
Hits
p-value
Effect
Size
Fractional
Hit Rate
Positive
311
174
1.82 X
1(T2
0.12
0.56
Negative
484
243
4.63 X HT
-0.04
0.50
Uncertain
546
322
1.37 X
lO"
0.18
0.59
I The
positive-day
and
negative-day
data
did
not
exceed mean
chance
expectation.
The uncertain case scored similar to the fiducial data.
Yet, the effect size changes
are small and not
statistically meaningful.
To be consistent with the calculations
for the data
collected in the
first half of FY 1987, the one-tailed combination of the data yields a fractional
hit rate of 52%, p
1.00 X
10-1
, and the effect size
is 0.045.
Thus,
it appears that V002’s
perception of good and bad days may interfere with good functioning (earlier performance was
replicated only during V002’s uncertain days).
Since there was no evidence for a decline effect
for 546 trials during the uncertain days,
it
is unlikely that the decline effect
is responsible for the
reduced scoring for the other data.
Approved For Release 2001/0^/07
: CIA-RDP96I-00789R0032001 60001 -9
Approved For Release 2001/03^)7
: CIA-RDP96-0|0789R003200160001-9
2.
(U) Formal Test
jThe experiment coordinator decided to cancel the formal test at the year’s
encj for two reasons:
(1)
One main objective of the year-end formal test was to protect against
possible cuing. The hit rate for the year was 55%, p < 2.97 x
10~ 5 and
the
effect
size was
0.10.
Thus,
if inadvertent
cuing was
present,
it
resulted in a decrease in effect size—an unlikely circumstance.
This
is
consistent with one of the main conclusions drawn from the
results of
the FY 1986
test.
(2)
V002 requested that we postpone formal tests until FY
1988, because
V002
felt
he/she
was
concentrating
and
beginning
to
understand
something
about
his/her
internal
processes.
According
to V002,
a
formal test at this time would seriously interrupt the discovery activity at
a
critical juncture.
In (he experiment coordinator’s opinion, canceling the formal year-end test did not detract from
the FY 1987 results, since they were marginal to begin with and,
it was
felt that
if insights were
being gained, they could be tested during FY 1988.
As shown below, this decision was justified.
D.
(U) FY 1988 Experiments
1.
(U)
Theoretical Constructs
(U) Viewer 002
has been working
for over 20 years
in attempting to understand
his/her own
internal,
subjective
awareness.
What
follows
is
a summary
of V002’s
current
understanding with
regard
to the
specific
task
of determining the source
of mental
noise
in
forced-choice experiments.
(U) The fundamental idea
is quite straightforward.
Forced-choice remote viewing
perception*
is
susceptible
to
massive
overlay
by memory
(e.g.,
from
earlier
trials)
and/or
expectations
(e.g., the target was number one ten times in a row,
this time
it must be number
two).
To
understand
the
source
of
these
difficulties
requires
the
understanding
of
the
development of thought
itself.
(U) As a
starting point, V002
followed the ideas of Dr. N. Dixon, a well-known
investigator of subliminal perception.
Figure
1 summarizes Dixon’s concepts of the processing of
preponscious information. t
It
is beyond the scope of this report to describe
all the processes
*
(U) These problems
arise
in
traditional
remote
viewing;
however,
they
are
particularly
iroublesome
in the forced-choice arena.
t
(U) Dixon, N. E., Preconscious Processing, John Wiley, Chichester and New York, p. 25,
(l981) UNCLASSIFIED.
Approved For Release 2001/03^)7
: CIA-RDP96-J)0789R003200160001-9
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RD|P96-00789R0032001 60001 -9
final level of the hierarchy
is to perceive Ore meaning of different conditions of similar Ob,ecu.
For example, the difference between a piece of blank paper with UNCLASSIFIED pnnted top
and bottom and one with
'
Jt^a® boltotir lies only in the meaning of the words.
If th,s
last stage could be realized,
it would have obvious'
_
^significance.
RV Output
Feelings
ti
Subliminal Level
.
Intellectual Decisions
Idea Making
Random Uncontrolled
Thoughts
Imagination
Creative Additions
Memory Comparisons
Labels
Beliefs
T
Sources of Noise
Noise Overlay
Psychoenergetic
Input
U
FIGURE 2
(U) SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF ANALYTICAL OVERLAY
Approved For Release 2001/03/07
: CIA-RDP96-00789R003200160001-9