Does Psi Exist? Replicable Evidence for an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer
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Plain English Summary
One of the most influential papers in psychic research history, carrying a poignant backstory: co-author Charles Honorton died just nine days before it was accepted for publication. The paper tackles telepathy using the "ganzfeld" method -- a setup where one person relaxes in a sensory-dampened state while a sender concentrates on a randomly chosen image or clip. The receiver picks the target from four options, so chance is 25%. Across 28 studies, receivers hit at 35% -- so far above chance it would happen by accident once in 500 billion tries. Honorton's newer automated experiments still landed at 32%, not as flashy but solidly significant. One delightful finding: Juilliard performing arts students nailed an astonishing 50% hit rate, hinting creative types might have a special knack. Bem argued the effects were strong enough that mainstream psychology needed to pay attention.
Research Notes
A landmark paper in psi research that presented the autoganzfeld results and helped bring ganzfeld research to mainstream psychology's attention. The original PDF was an image-only scan with no machine-readable text. Full text has been extracted via OCR and the file is now searchable. Charles Honorton died of a heart attack on November 4, 1992, 9 days before this article was accepted for publication. He was 46. This paper exists in both folder 01_Meta-Analyses and 02_Telepathy. The optimized version (3.2MB) retains full text searchability while minimizing file size.
Reviews competing meta-analyses of 28 ganzfeld psi studies (Hyman 1985 vs. Honorton 1985) and presents 11 new autoganzfeld studies from Honorton's Psychophysical Research Laboratories. The original 28-study database yielded a composite z = 6.60 (p = 2.1 × 10⁻¹¹) with a 35% hit rate against 25% chance (effect size h = .28, 95% CI [.11, .45]). The 11 autoganzfeld studies (240 receivers, 329 sessions) achieved 32% hits (z = 2.89, p = .002, π = .59). Dynamic video targets outperformed static targets (37% vs. 27%, p < .04). Juilliard performing arts students hit at 50% (p = .014). Concludes the ganzfeld effect is replicable and large enough to warrant mainstream attention.
Links
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Critiqued By
Extended By
- Does Psi Exist? Comments on Milton and Wiseman's (1999) Meta-Analysis of Ganzfeld Research — Storm, Lance (2001)
- Meta-Analysis of Free-Response Studies, 1992–2008: Assessing the Noise Reduction Model in Parapsychology — Storm, Lance (2010)
- Stage 2 Registered Report: Anomalous Perception in a Ganzfeld Condition - A Meta-Analysis of More Than 40 Years Investigation — Tressoldi, P.E (2024)
- Updating the Ganzfeld Database: A Victim of Its Own Success? — Bem, Daryl J (2001)
Extends
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Cited By
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- Anomalous Cognition: An Umbrella Review of the Meta-Analytic Evidence — Tressoldi, Patrizio (2021)
- Explicit Anomalous Cognition: A Review of the Best Evidence in Ganzfeld, Forced-choice, Remote Viewing and Dream Studies — Baptista, Johann (2015)
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- Evaluation of a Program on Anomalous Mental Phenomena — Hyman, Ray (1996)
- Can Parapsychology Move Beyond the Controversies of Retrospective Meta-Analyses? — Kennedy, J.E (2013)
- Why Most Research Findings About Psi Are False: The Replicability Crisis, the Psi Paradox and the Myth of Sisyphus — Rabeyron, Thomas (2020)
- Decision Augmentation Theory: Toward a Model of Anomalous Mental Phenomena — May, Edwin C (1995)
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- Some Directions for Mediumship Research — Kelly, Emily Williams (2010)
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- Extrasensory Perception and Quantum Models of Cognition — Tressoldi, Patrizio E (2010)
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📋 Cite this paper
Bem, Daryl J, Honorton, Charles (1994). Does Psi Exist? Replicable Evidence for an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer. Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.115.1.4
@article{bem_1994_does,
title = {Does Psi Exist? Replicable Evidence for an Anomalous Process of Information Transfer},
author = {Bem, Daryl J and Honorton, Charles},
year = {1994},
journal = {Psychological Bulletin},
doi = {10.1037/0033-2909.115.1.4},
}