Intentional Observer Effects on Quantum Randomness: A Bayesian Analysis Reveals Evidence Against Micro-Psychokinesis
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Plain English Summary
Can you nudge matter with your mind? Researchers at a major German university tested this with over 12,500 people across three countries, asking relaxed participants to mentally influence a quantum random number generator (a device producing unpredictable numbers via quantum physics). The verdict? A resounding no. Using rigorous Bayesian testing where they collected data until evidence was decisive, they found clear 10-to-1 odds favoring zero effect. No personality type helped. One curious wrinkle: results showed a wobbly wave-like pattern over time that differed from runs with no human watching, but that finding was exploratory rather than pre-planned.
Research Notes
A high-powered, decisive null result for micro-PK from LMU Munich. The Bayesian stopping rule and massive N make this one of the strongest negative findings in the RNG-PK literature. The post hoc dampened-oscillation analysis — comparing human vs. simulated frequency parameters — is speculative but connects to von Lucadou's Model of Pragmatic Information and the broader decline-effect debate.
An online experiment with 12,571 participants from Germany, Spain, and Italy tested whether relaxed and optimistically primed observers could influence the output of a quantum-based true random number generator (Quantis tRNG) via micro-psychokinesis. Using Bayesian sequential testing with a pre-specified stopping criterion of BF=10, the study found strong evidence for the null hypothesis (BF01=10.07; M=50.02%, SD=5.06). No personality moderators were significant. Exploratory analysis revealed a dampened oscillatory pattern in the cumulative z-score that differed from simulated (no-observer) data in oscillation frequency.
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- A Preregistered Multi-Lab Replication of Maier et al. (2014, Exp. 4) Testing Retroactive Avoidance — Maier, Markus A (2020)
- Evidence for Anomalistic Correlations Between Human Behavior and a Random Event Generator: Result of an Independent Replication of a Micro-PK Experiment — Walach, Harald (2020)
- Nonlocality, Intention, and Observer Effects in Healing Studies: Laying a Foundation for the Future — Schwartz, Stephan A (2010)
- Observer Influence on Quantum Interference: Testing the von Neumann-Wigner Consciousness-Collapse Theory — Radin, Dean (2025)
- Does Consciousness Collapse the Wave-Packet? — Bierman, Dick J (2003)
- False-Positive Effect in the Radin Double-Slit Experiment on Observer Consciousness as Determined With the Advanced Meta-Experimental Protocol — Walleczek, Jan (2019)
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📋 Cite this paper
Maier, Markus A, Dechamps, Moritz C, Pflitsch, Markus (2018). Intentional Observer Effects on Quantum Randomness: A Bayesian Analysis Reveals Evidence Against Micro-Psychokinesis. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00379
@article{maier_2018_intentional_observer,
title = {Intentional Observer Effects on Quantum Randomness: A Bayesian Analysis Reveals Evidence Against Micro-Psychokinesis},
author = {Maier, Markus A and Dechamps, Moritz C and Pflitsch, Markus},
year = {2018},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00379},
}