Moritz Dechamps is a German researcher investigating quantum effects in the context of micro-psychokinesis experiments.
Career
Moritz Dechamps is a post-doctoral researcher based at the Emotion and Motivation research unit at Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians University, headed by professor Markus Maier. Together with Maier, Dechamps is investigating quantum-based models of consciousness and the relationship between mind, time and matter, which broadly overlaps with the micro-psychokinesis (PK) paradigm in parapsychology.
Examples of work by Dechamps and Maier follow.
Smoker Study
Parapsychological research, notably with regard to micro-PK research, exhibits mysterious decline effects. Generalized Quantum Theory (GQT)1 explains psi effects as generalized acausal entanglement correlations, which – because of the ‘no-signal’ axiom, that information cannot be sent via entangled systems – causes initially robust psi effects to decline during replications.
Dechamps and Markus Maier (his PhD supervisor) carried out studies2 which used smoking-related stimuli to elicit psychokinetic responses among 500 smokers and non-smokers. With 297 participants they found a strong initial PK effect followed by a strong decline, as predicted by GQT and the Model of Pragmatic Information. A recovery in PK performance subsequently occurred during the third study, giving an oscillatory effect across all three studies and all 500 participants. Significantly, Maier’s team predicted this oscillatory pattern from previous experimental results and theoretical development.
Dechamps and Maier explain the pattern in entropic terms: PK ordering results in a loss of entropy which must be balanced later by a fall in PK performance. A recovery in PK scoring then occurs as the system allows for order to be injected again. This approach expands the theoretical work on GQT by Walter von Lucadou, Harald Walach and Hartmann Römer.
Dechamps and Maier pre-registered a third study with 203 participants that predicted not only the continuation of the oscillatory pattern, as described above, but also an approximate PK scoring value based on the oscillation curve. Both predictions were confirmed; however, a comparison with ten thousand simulated random data sets for three measures – an area-under-the-curve analysis, a local maximum fit test, and an endpoint fit test – showed non-significant results.
Further exploratory analyses – including analysis of the highest-reached Bayes Factor (BF) over the course of the experiments, the overall orientation of the BF curve, and its transformation into oscillatory components via a Fourier analysis – showed significant differences between experimental and simulated data. This supports the approach of analyzing the temporal development of the PK effect rather than just the terminal value – an approach which, Dechamps argues, more parapsychology programs should adopt.3
Online Study
Dechamps and Maier carried out an online experiment with 12,571 participants, seeking clear-cut evidence for or against the existence of micro-PK. Bayesian analysis (a statistical method that takes prior probabilities into account) revealed strong evidence for the null hypothesis H0 (BF01 = 10.07). Dechamps and Maier concluded that micro-PK did not exist in these data. However, closer inspection of the temporal change of the effect (how the effect modulated over time) suggested a non-random oscillative structure similar to that seen in the smoker study. Comparison with simulated random data revealed a marginally higher frequency in the experimental portion.4 Criticisms on statistical grounds by astrophysicist Hartmut Grote, have recently been answered.5
Other PK Research
Dechamps continues to probe the theoretical basis for PK. A recent mini-review found interesting patterns of evidence across 32 experiments including clear differences in the temporal evolution of the effects compared to simulated control data.6
Dechamps and his colleagues conduct regular exchanges with leading German theoreticians.
Recent research has explored correlational effects between experimental and control data in the Subliminal Primes series. A reanalysis revealed a correlation of 0.032 across 12,254 trials producing a Bayes Factor of 36.46, though a preregistered replication attempt failed when the correlation disappeared after correcting for erroneous coding. Limited evidence for experimenter psi was suggested through Change of Evidence measures, providing valuable insights into experimenter influence on experimental outcomes.7
Advanced work has investigated the impact of objectivity on psi outcomes through collaboration with Thomas Rabeyron. Research demonstrated strong evidence for PK effects in subjective trials (Bayes Factor: 17.14) where participants recalled their scores, while objective trials showed no effects. A fortuitous data preservation error allowed validation of these findings, supporting concepts of hybrid 'sobjective' reality that combines objective and subjective aspects.8
Theoretical investigations have extended to macroscopic complementarity relationships through color perception and intelligence assessment studies. Research has examined whether Generalized Quantum Theory principles extend beyond quantum mechanical domains, with studies on color perception demonstrating replicable erasure effects on subjective ratings and supporting non-commutability conjectures. However, intelligence assessment studies revealed 'effect-and-decline' patterns suggesting fundamental limitations in testing macroscopic complementarity relations through standard scientific methodology.9
Recent pilot studies have examined micro-PK effects through biased coin-toss paradigms, testing whether implicit probabilistic expectations influence random systems. Results revealed asymmetrical effects with strong evidence for micro-PK influence in 'lucky' conditions (BF₁₀=10.87) but no deviation in 'unlucky' conditions, raising questions about emotional engagement and motivational factors in psi manifestation.10
Michael Duggan
Literature
Dechamps, M., & Maier, M. (2019). How smokers change their world and how the world responds: Testing the oscillatory nature of micro-psychokinetic observer effects on addiction-related stimuli. Journal of Scientific Exploration 33/3, 406-34.
Dechamps, M.C., Iovine, C G.N., Maier, M.A. (2024). Psi Effects as a Result of Implicit Expectations About Probabilities – Investigating Micro-PK with a Biased Baseline. In press.
Jakob, M.J., Dechamps, M.C., Maier, M.A. (2024). Testing the Effects of Personality-Related Beliefs on Micro-PK. Journal of Anomalous Experience and Cognition 4/1, 34-59.
Jakob, M.J., Dechamps, M.C., Maier, M.A. (2025). Spooky actions cannot be tricked: Exploring the Nature of Micro-Psychokinesis with Higher-Level Analytical Strategies. Preprint.
Maier, M.A., & Dechamps, M.C. (2018). Observer effects on quantum randomness: Testing micro-psychokinetic effects of smokers on addiction-related stimuli. Journal of Scientific Exploration 32/2, 265-97.
Maier, M.A., Dechamps, M C., & Plitsch, M. (2018). Intentional observer effects on quantum randomness: A Bayesian analysis reveals evidence against micro-psychokinesis. Frontiers in Psychology 9, 379-92.
Maier, M.A., Dechamps, M.C., & Schiepek, G. (2021). Reply to Grote H. (2018). Commentary: Intentional observer effects on quantum randomness: A Bayesian analysis reveals evidence against micro-psychokinesis, Frontiers in Psychology 9:1350. Journal of Scientific Exploration 35/2, 383-88.
Maier, M., Dechamps, M., Rabeyron, T. (2022), Quantum Measurement as Pragmatic Information Transfer:Observer Effects on (S)Objective Reality Formation, Journal of Anomalous Experiences and Cognition 2/1, 16-48.
Maier, M., Dechamps, M. (2022). A Pre-Registered Test of a Correlational Micro-PK Effect: Efforts to Learn from a Failure to Replicate. Journal of Scientific Exploration 36/2, 251-63.
Maier, M.A., Geissler, C., DeMattia, E.C., Vogel, A., Dechamps, M.C. (2024). Complementarity of Subjective and Objective Realities: An Experimental Investigation of Variations of Subjective Self-reported Intelligence Data when Objective Data are Erased or Not-erased. Journal of Anomalistics 24, 15-54.
Maier, M.A., & Dechamps, M.C. (2025). Macroscopic Complementary Relation Between Subjective Observations and Objective Measurements of Colors. Journal of Anomalistics 25/1, 15-60.
Von Lucadou, W., Römer, H., & Walach, H. (2007). Synchronistics phenomena as entanglement correlations in generalized quantum theory. Journal of Consciousness Studies 14/4, 50-74.