ESP & Psychokinesis

The term extra-sensory perception (ESP), introduced in the 1930s, comprises telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition, acknowledging that these categories may considerably overlap. Psychokinesis is the direct influence on matter by mind alone, without physical action. All have been successfully tested in the laboratory and studied in real life situations.

Altered States of Consciousness

Altered States of Consciousness and Psi

Altered states of consciousness have long been known to be associated with psi experiences.

photo of N'kisi, an African Grey parrot involved in ESP experiments

Animals in Psi Research

Describes informal observations, early tests and modern lab experiments looking at animals' psychic capabilities.

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Experimental Psi Research in Asia and Australia

Contributions to psi research by labs and individuals in Australia, Japan, China and India

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The Brain and Psi

Describes how electroencephalography (EEG) and brain imaging technology are being used to demonstrate psychic functioning.

Rio de Janeiro

Psi Research in Brazil

Traces the development of interest in paranormal phenomena and parapsychology in Brazil.

King Wen of Zhou (1231-1135 BC), established the I Ching divination system

Psi Research in China

Recent experimental and theoretical work in China includes successful attempts to train ESP abilities in blind children.

John Edgar Coover

Coover Telepathy Experiments

Early telepathy experiments, once thought a failure, now considered statistically significant.

Creatives have been tested for ESP

Creative Subjects in Ganzfeld

Series of successful ESP experiments with dance, drama and music students of New York’s Juilliard School.

Teenage girls in Victorian fashion engraving

Creery Telepathy Experiments

Apparently successful early experiments in telepathy later discredited by admissions of cheating.

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Decline Effect in Parapsychology

Review of the 'decline effect’ in psi testing, a falling off in participants' performance over time.

Source: Koestler Parapsychology Unit, Project Ganzfeld

Delgado-Romero and Howard Telepathy Experiments

Controversial ganzfeld tests intended to correct flaws in experimental design.

photograph of testing in dermo-optical perception of colours

Dermo-Optical Perception

Describes scientific research into the phenomenon of ‘seeing’ colours by touch alone.

Dreams and ESP

Dreams and ESP

Describes the study of psi in dreams, notably of telepathic interactions and precognition of future events.

photograph of Freiburg, where the IGPP, a leading parapsychology centre in Europe

Experimental Parapsychology in Europe

Overview of psi research in laboratories across continental Europe.

JB Rhine tests a subject with Zener cards at Duke University

Experimental Parapsychology

Overview of efforts to apply experimental methods to the study of psi experiences, from the 1870s to today.

photograph of parapsychologist explaining an experiment to student participants

Experimenter Effects

Parapsychologists have come to believe that experimenters play a major role in influencing the outcome of psi tests.

Concealed Chinese words identified by Chinese children by anomalous non-sensory means

Extraocular Image (China)

1980s experiments in which children demonstrated an ability to recognize hidden images and words by touch alone.

Daryl Bem

Feeling the Future (Precognition Experiments)

A ground-breaking ESP study that appeared to show a precognitive effect was reported in 2011.

Psi Ganzfeld: in the laboratory

Ganzfeld ESP

The Ganzfeld is a sensory deprivation laboratory technique that has proven effective in facilitating telepathy and remote viewing.

photo of the New York September 11 attacks

Global Consciousness Project

International project the looks for deviations from chance on random number generators.


Jaytee (Pet Telepathy)

Describes experiments that appeared to show a telepathic link between a dog and its owner.

Maimonides Medical Centre, New York

Maimonides Dream Telepathy Research

This article describes ESP dreaming experiments carried out in a New York sleep laboratory.


Martial Arts and Psi

A tradition within martial arts claims that an adept may learn to use ESP and psychokinesis to dominate opponents.

Meditation and Psi

Meditation and Psi

Traditional Yogic and Buddhist teachings state that a person who attains a higher state of consciousness will manifest psychic powers (siddhis).

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Meta-Analysis in Parapsychology

Meta-analysis is a statistical procedure that combines studies in a particular area of research to provide more robust findings

uri geller bending spoon

Metal Bending Research

Survey of research into claims that cutlery and other metal objects can potentially be bent by mind force alone.

gilbert murray

Gilbert Murray Telepathy Experiments

Successful informal ESP tests carried out by an Australian-British classics scholar (1866-1957).

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Music and Psi

Explores the many ways music has been related to altered states of consciousness and psychic experiences.

Aimée Morgana teaching N'kisi to speak

N’kisi (pet telepathy)

Successful telepathy experiment carried out with an African Grey parrot which had been taught to speak several words.

photo of Gerard Heymans

Psi Research in the Netherlands

Dutch psi research is characterized by a recurring clash between qualitative and quantitative methods.

photo of Wolfgang Pauli

Observational Theories of Psi

Psi works by cognizing and manipulating the invisible underworld of quantum probabilities.

cover image of Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour, by Passer and Smith

Parapsychology in Psychology Textbooks

Describes how psychology textbooks persistently misrepresent the field of parapsychology.

photograph of Robert Morris, first holder of the Koestler chair of parapsychology at Edinburgh University

Parapsychology PhDs in the UK (list)

A significant number of people in Britain have gained doctorates in parapsychology.

Eleanor Sidgwick, an early investigator of precognition

Precognition

Surveys the investigative literature on precognition, giving examples of reported cases and the conclusions of researchers.

image of clockface

Precognition Without Retrocausation

Precognitive dreams may be interpreted in terms of retrocausation, but is this the best way?

Dean Radin, a leading investigator of presentiment

Presentiment

Research on an unconscious form of precognition that can demonstrated with techniques commonly used in tests of psychophysiology.

Psi for Financial Gain

Psi for Financial Gain

Anecdotal accounts and lab tests suggest that psi can at times be used to advantage in gambling and financial speculation.

Eiffel Tower - Psi Encyclopedia

Psi Research in France

This article discusses psi research in France, from nineteenth century ‘animal magnetism’ to the present day.

photo of Duke University, North Carolina, where psi research in the US began in the 1930s

Psi Research in North America

Key organizations and individuals involved in psi research in the US and Canada, from the 1930s to the present day.

psychedelic 2

Psychedelics and Psi

A gradual easing of restrictions means that psi research with psychedelics, once prevalent, could soon resume.

photo of psychic detective Noreen Renier

Psychic Detection

The record of psychics involved in police work is mixed, with striking successes in some cases, complete failures in others.

photograph of JB Rhine, one of the first to explore psychological variables underlying psi

Psychology and Parapsychology

Explores the overlap between psychology and parapsychology, describing personality and other variables linked to psi.

a personal objects such as a watch or wallet can is used by a psychometrist to discover information about its owner

Psychometry

A type of clairvoyance facilitated by holding an object, which enables a psychic to describe key incidents in the lives of its previous owners.

Ingo Swann, one of the first remote viewers

Remote Viewing

An experimental form of clairvoyance, in which a suitably trained person attempts to visualise the topography of a distant scene.

Charles Richet, physiologist and psi researcher

Richet’s ‘La Suggestion Mentale’

In a 1884 paper, physiologist Charles Richet pioneered the use of statistics in telepathy experiments

Nina Kulagina

Psi Research in Russia

Limited but significant psi research has been carried out in Russia since the nineteenth century.

The sense of being stared at

Sense of Being Stared At: Experimental Evidence

Recent investigations suggest that the phenomenon is real.

photograph of man being stared at from behind

Sense of Being Stared At: Theories of Vision

This article discusses theoretical implications of findings with regard to theories of vision.

Gertrude Schmeidler

Sheep-Goat Effect

In experimental tests, participants who believe in psi (sheep) score positively while those who do not believe (goats) score at chance.

photo of Mary Craig Sinclair

Sinclair Telepathy Experiments

A successful series of ESP drawing experiments carried out by American author Upton Sinclair and his wife Craig.

Brighton, where early ESP experiments were carried out

Smith and Blackburn Controversy

19tth century telepathy experiments of two young men, one of whom later said they had cheated.

Zoltan Kekecs

Transparent Psi Project

This article describes a failed effort to replicate a famous precognitive effect reported by Bem in 2011.

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Twin Telepathy

Suggestions of telepathy between twins often appear in the popular press, but there is as yet no sustained research in this area.

logos of the Ghost Club and ASSAP

UK (Non-University) Paranormal Research

Overview of non-university organizations that carry out psi research.

photograph of Edinburgh University

Experimental Parapsychology in the UK

The UK arguably leads psi research in Europe, having active centres in at least eight universities.

photo of Suitbert Ertel

Unusual Ways of Testing for Psi

Psi abilities have been tested in more ways than the usual ones of card guessing, dice throwing, remote viewing and Ganzfeld.

Aklavik, a settlement in Canada's Northwest Territories visited by Sir Hubert Wilkins during his telepathy experiment.

Wilkins and Sherman Telepathy

A successful long-distance telepathy experiment was carried out over a five-month period in 1938.

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