A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PLAN FOR ANOMALOUS MENTAL PHENOMENA

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• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
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• Publication Date: June 7, 1991
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A Comprehensive Research Plan
for
Anomalous Mental Phenomena (U)
Edwin C. May, Ph.D.
Wanda L. W. Luke
0
Science Applications International Corporation
An Employee-Owned Company
Defense Intelligence Agency
Bolling AFB, Building 6000
Attn: DT-S
Washington, DC 20304-0001
Submitted by:
Science Applications International Corporation
Cognitive Sciences Laboratory
5150 El Camino Real, Suite B-31
Los Altos, CA 94022
Classified by: RFP No. MDA908-91-R-0133
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Declassify on: OADR
5150 El Camino Real, Suite 8-31, Los Altos, California 94022 [phone]
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TABLE OF CONTENTS (U)
LIST OF FIGURES (U) ............................................................... ii
I OBJECTIVE (U) ................... .......... ........................... 1
II EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (U) ................................................. 2
III INTRODUCTION (U) ....................................................... 4
1. Historical Background (U) ................................................ 4
2. Overview of the Research Plan. (U) ......................................... 6
IV RESEARCH PLAN (U) ...................................................... 7
1. Definition of Terms (U) ................................................... 7
2. Research Objectives (U) .................................................. 7
3. Method of Approach (U) ................................................ 10
4. Conclusions (U) ....................................................... 17
V RATIONALE (U) .......................................................... 18
1. Anomalous Cognition (U) ............................................... 18
2. Anomalous Perturbation (U) ............................................. 39
3. Integration (U) ....................................................... 41
4. Foreign Assessment (U) ................................................. 44
VI RECOMMENDATIONS (U) .................................... . ........... 45
VII REFERENCES (U) ......................................................... 46
VIII GLOSSARY (U) ............................................................ 50
1. Introduction (U) ........................................................ 50
2. Objective (U) .......................................................... 50
3. Definitions (U) ......................................................... 51
IX BIBLIOGRAPHY (U) ....................................................... 59
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LIST OF FIGURES (U)
1. Research Objectives (U) ......................................................... 8
2. Applied Research Plan for Anomalous Cognition (U) ................................ 12
3. Basic Research Plan for Anomalous Cognition (U) .................................. 15
4. Basic Research Plan for Anomalous Perturbation (U) ................................ 17
5. Receiver Selection (U) .......................................................... 20
6. Raining (U) ................................................................... 22
7. Target Selection (U) ............................................................ 25
8. Protocol Development (U) ...................................................... 28
9. Search Investigation (U) ........................................................ 33
10. Analysis (U) .................................................................. 35
11. Basic Research (AC) (U) ........................................................ 37
12. Basic Research (AP) (U) ........................................................ 40
13. Integration of Scientific Disciplines (U) ........................................... 42
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I OBJECTIVE (U)
(S/NF) The objective of this research plan is to suggest a long-term, systematic and comprehensive
investigation of anomalous mental phenomena. The plan includes an integrated and multidisciplinary
approach to both basic and applied research, and combines these with standard HUMINT practices to
accomplish the long-term goals for applications in the intelligence community.
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(S/NF) This report describes a comprehensive, long-term research plan for anomalous mental phe-
nomena (AMP) that is adapted to both the laboratory and operational environments. Section III pro-
vides a brief technical and administrative review of previous government involvement in AMP, and
Section IV describes the research plan in detail. Section V provides a rationale for each of the individu-
al research items in the plan and gives supporting references to the appropriate topic areas. Science
Applications International Corporation's (SAIC) recommendations are presented in Section VI. The
remaining sections provide tabulated references and a glossary of terms including a cross reference
guide to foreign terminology. The last section contains a bibliography of 260 major reports produced
from 1975 through 1990 for various government sponsors.
(U) With regard to this research plan, anomalous mental phenomena can be divided into two broad
categories:
(1) Anomalous Cognition: A form of information transfer in which all known sensorial stimuli are ab-
sent.
(2) Anomalous Perturbation: The perturbation of matter in which all known physical interactions are
absent.
Anomalous cognition (AC) includes phenomena that are described in the parapsychological literature
as extra-sensory perception (ESP), telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition, while anomalous per-
turbation (AP) includes psychokinesis, teleportation, levitation, and materialization.
(S/NF) The primary objective of this plan is to provide a systematic and scientifically sound methodolo-
gy to improve the quality of AC data in the laboratory and during operations. In addition, the long-
term objective is to understand the underlying mechanisms for the source, transmission and detection
of AC data, and to attempt to validate the existence of AP phenomena.
(SINF) 'Ib accomplish these objectives, 32 separate major topics have been identified, and most of
these contain a significant number of subtopics. All of these topics are divided into basic and applied
research. Basic research is primarily dedicated to understanding the fundamental mechanisms of AMP,
whereas applied research is primarily dedicated to improving the quality of AC data. Eighteen of the 32
topics are considered applied and the remainder are basic.
(S/NF) Conceptually, the plan for the applied research of anomalous cognition is organized to:
? Identify individuals with natural, high-quality AC talent or potential talent (i.e., with training).
? Train those individuals to improve and stabilize their output.
? Identify optimal target systems.
? Develop optimal data-collection protocols.
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II EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (U)
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? Locate specific targets.
? Provide quantitative analysis procedures.
? Define and develop curricula for an intelligence analyst training school, if warranted.
(U) The basic research plan is organized to:
? Define the nature of an AC target.
? Quantify how AC information propagates.
? Understand the neurophysiological mechanisms that allow humans to experience AC.
? Verify the existence of AP.
(S/NF) Fifteen of the 32 topics are scheduled to commence at the start of fiscal year (FY) 1992. Of
these, 10 are designed for completion by mid FY 1994. If the applied research is successful, then by that
date, the following conclusions are one possible scenario: (Please see Figure 2-4 in Section IV for
more detail.)
? Individuals who are the best candidates for AC training are easily identified by their neurophysiolog-
icall responses to external stimuli.
? These individuals can be trained for operations by systematically lowering their internal awareness
thresholds for external events.
? Appropriate targets are chosen on the basis of specific physical properties.
? Protocols for data collection are improving, but more research is needed.
? Sophisticated mathematical procedures (i.e., fuzzy sets) provide quantitative analysis for laboratory
data and a priori assessments for operational data are nearly developed.
In addition, if the basic research is completely successful, we will have met most of the stated objectives
for that domain.
(U) The scenario for the applied research is a reasonable expectation, but admittedly, the basic re-
search scenario is optimistic. It is anticipated that significant progress will be realized by mid FY 1994.
(U) The remaining 17 items are variations that will be invoked depending upon the progress of the re-
search. Their general theme follows the above outline; however, the details may be considerably differ-
ent.
(U) The total plan can not be accomplished without the assistance of numerous university departments,
national laboratories and AMP laboratories. Thus the plan calls for significant integration of the re-
search into the broader context of academic science. (See the Integration Section V3.1 for details.)
(U) Tb assure that a scientifically sound approach is maintained throughout the 5 years, SAIC suggest
that a technical panel of academic and government experts be established. Their task is to closely moni-
tor the research, critically review the results and conclusions, and suggest avenues of research that may
lead to future breakthroughs.
(S/NF) SAIC further recommends that to effectively accomplish the stated objectives, a 175 man-year
program should be initiated in fiscal year 1992. The level of effort for the first two years is approximate-
ly $7.5 M and that will gradually increase over the next five years to a total of $30 M.
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III INTRODUCTION (U)
(U) With regard to this research plan, anomalous mental phenomena can be divided into two broad
categories:
(1) Anomalous Cognition: A form of information transfer in which all known sensorial stimuli are ab-
sent.
(2) Anomalous Perturbation: The perturbation of matter in which all known physical interactions are
absent.
Anomalous cognition (AC) includes phenomena that are described in the parapsychological literature
as extra--sensory perception (ESP), telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition, while anomalous per-
turbation (AP) includes psychokinesis, teleportation, levitation, and materialization. Complete defini-
tions and cross references to domestic and foreign synonyms can be found in Section VIII
(i.e.,Glossary). Both AC and AP taken together constitute what we call anomalous mental phenomena.
(U) For the purpose of this document, we define research that is primarily directed at improving the
quality of output (e.g., analysis techniques, choice of target material, etc.) as applied. Research that is
primarily directed at understanding the nature of the phenomena (e.g., signal transmission, neurophy-
siology, etc.) as basic. The applied and basic research domains are broad and contain substantial num-
bers of items in each category. These domains are highly interactive and mutually supportive.
Understanding the technical details of AC phenomena, for example, would improve its application po-
tential, and likewise, being sensitive to the restrictions of a real-world problem may provide insight
into underlying mechanisms.
1 Historical Background (U)
(S/NF) Government funded research of both these domains began in 1973 when the Central Intelli-
gence Agency initiated a modest effort to determine if a genuine phenomenon could be verified and to
assess the degree to which it could be applied to general intelligence problems. Through fiscal year
1985, a variety of intelligence agencies from the military services and the Defense Intelligence Agency
had supported predominantly application-oriented research programs at SRI International for the
intelligence community. Much of that support was minimal and/or sporadic and thus very little system-
atic research was conducted.1 While the understanding of anomalous mental phenomena at that time
did not allow for reliable operational use, nonetheless, enough had been learned to suggest that intelli-
gence applications were possible and that applied and basic research should be conducted to verify and
support potential operational applications.
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(S/NF) Beginning in the federal fiscal year 1986, the Army Medical Research and Development Com-
mand (USAMRDC) initiated a coordinated, 5-year, basic research investigation of anomalous mental
phenomena at SRI International. This program had three objectives:
(1) Provide incontrovertible evidence for the existence of anomalous cognition and anomalous pertur-
bation.
(2) Determine the physiological, physical, and psychological basis for AC and AP.
(3) Determine the degree to which AC data could be integrated into the intelligence community.
(S/NF) The program was fully funded for the first two years; half funded for the 3rd year; and not
funded by the USAMRDC for the 4th and 5th years of that contract. The House Appropriations Com-
mittee, however, funded the 4th year (at the same level as the 3rd) through DARPA to the USAMRDC
contract. The 5th year of that contract was not funded at all.
(S/NF) Regardless of this uncertain support history, SRI's program met, or partially met, its objec-
tives.2-5 An information-transfer anomaly (i.e., anomalous cognition) that could not be explained by
inappropriate protocols, incorrect analyses, or fraud was found to exist .6 SRI's program was not, how-
ever, able to verify the existence of anomalous perturbation.7-10
(U) Significant progress had also been realized in meeting the second objective. Preliminary results
suggest that the central nervous system (i.e., the brain) of individuals with known AC ability appear to
respond to isolated and remote AC stimuli. These responses are similar to those observed when their
eyes are stimulated directly."
(U) In addition, two theoretical models have been constructed. The first one, a heuristic model, sys-
tematizes the data of over 600 separate experiments spanning 22 years of research that had been pub-
lished in the open literature. It suggests a possible physical transfer mechanism for AC data.12 The
second one, a fundamental model, suggests that animals possess an additional sensorial system that is
sensitive to "information" directly.*
(S/NF) In addition to these major findings, the program realized a number of preliminary secondary
findings. They include, but are not limited to:
? Dynamic targets are statistically better than static targets in AC laboratory experiments, in simulated
operational activity, and in actual operations.
? Traditional psychological, medical, and behavioral screening methods are not successful at identify-
ing individuals with AC ability; however, empirical surveys indicated that approximately 1% of indi-
viduals from unselected populations do possess a robust, natural AC ability.13
? A number of empirically-based training methods were developed, but the results from these were
preliminary.14,15
? Anomalous Cognition does not depend upon distance or the time span between a target and an AC
receiver.16
It is beyond the scope of this report to provide a technical review of the long history of SRI's cognitive
sciences program in detail; however, complete documentation and technical briefings will be provided
upon request. In addition, the Section IX provides a list of the major documents that were produced
under that effort.
* (U) Uaditionally this "process" has been called "entropy" in the technical literature.
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2 Overview of the Research Plan (U)-
(S/NF) This document describes a plan which begins with the results and techniques of the earlier pro-
gram, and develops new concepts that are integrated into the general research community. In addition,
the plan suggests ways in which AC-derrived operational data might be integrated as general HU-
MINT information into the intelligence community. Because of the complex nature of the research
problem, the plan will be interdisciplinary and will involve a number of specific university departments
and government laboratories.
(U) The plan, itself, is shown in detail in Section IV, in which approximate start and stop dates for a
variety of tasks are included. Because all the applied research issues become critically important for any
basic research that involves experimentation (i.e., non-theoretical), they are described first. The ra-
tionale for selecting the topics for investigation can be found in Section V. This section also includes
references the the relevant research and a brief research history, where warranted. By necessity, the
plan will be long-term; however, a step-wise conservative approach that contains significant technical
and policy review is outlined in Section VI. Sections VII and VIII provide a list of references for this
document and a glossary of terminology, respectively. A complete bibliography of earlier research can
be found in Section IX.
(U) Finally, a separate Volume that contains a representative sample of publish papers that bare direct-
ly on anomalous mental phenomena research is available upon request.
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IV RESEARCH PLAN
(U) In this section we detail a comprehensive, long-term research plan for anomalous mental phenom-
ena (AMP).
1 Definition of Terms (U)
(U) In a typical AMP task, we define:
? Receivt-An individual who attempts to perceive and report information about a target.
? Agent-An individual who attempts to influence a target system.
? Target--An item that is the focus of an AMP task (e.g., person, place, thing, event).
? Target Designation-A method by which a specific target, against the backdrop of all other possible
targets, is identified to the receiver (e.g., geographical coordinates).
? Sender/Beacon-An individual who, while receiving direct sensorial stimuli from an intended target,
acts as a putative transmitter to the receiver.
? Monitor-An individual who monitors an AC session to facilitate data collection.
? essi r- A time period during which AC data is collected.
? Protocol-A template for conducting a structured data collection session.
? Response-Material that is produced during an AC session in response to the intended target.
? Feedback-After a response has been secured, information about the intended target is displayed to
the receiver.
? Analyst-An individual who provides a quantitative measure of AC.
? eciali -A given receiver's ability to be particularly successful with a given class of targets (e.g.,
people as opposed to buildings).
These terms will be used throughout this document, and a complete glossary, which compares AMP
terms from a variety of countries, can be found in Section VIII.
2 Research Objectives (U)
(U) Given that the earlier program was able to verify the existence of anomalous cognition (AC) and
not able to verify the existence of anomalous perturbation (AP), the research approaches to them will
be considerably different.
(U) The primary research objective for AP research is to validate the existence of a phenomena.
(SINE) Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the research objectives for AC. The objectives are
independent of whether the end-use is in an operations unit or in a fundamental research laboratory.
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The requirements for the best receivers, optimal targets, protocols and assessments are the same for
both circumstances. Therefore, research is shown in Figure 1 as supporting all potential uses of AMP.
Requirements for Specific Tasks/Applications
? Reliable/Calibrated Receiver
? Appropriate Target
? Optimum Protocol for Data Collection
? Optimum Data Assessment
? Integration of Results
Basic
? Source
? Transmission
? Detector
? Integration
Applied
? Receiver Selection
? Receiver Training
? Target Selection
? Protocols
? Analysis
? Integration
Figure 1 (U) Research Objectives
2.1 Basic Research (U)
(U) The objective of basic research is to understand the fundamental, underlying mechanisms for AC.
As a an analogy, we use a "transmission" model; a source of AC "radiates" information (i.e., transmis-
sion) that is detected. For example, consider vision. The source of "vision" informations is photons.
How photons radiate is the subject of the well-understood electromagnetic theory. The detection of
photons by animals is via the retina in the eyes. Because of our understanding of the entire process, we
have developed instrumentation that is quite effective at detecting photons, as well.
2.1.1 Source (U)
(U) The objective of source-research is to understand the fundamental nature of an AC source by de-
veloping a quantitative, intrinsic description of AC targets. By that we mean the target definition must
be independent of external perceptions. For example, a receiver's emotional response to a target is not
necessarily an intrinsic property of that target; rather, it can be thought of as a form of detector "effi-
ciency" (i.e., affecting the ability of the receiver to detect), and thus be considered as an applied topic.
2.1.2 Transmission (U)
(U) The objective of transmission-research is to understand how AC information traverses space and
time from the source to the detector.
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2.1.3 Detector (U)
(U) The objective of detector-research is to understand how AC information is sensed. Ultimately,
the long-term objective is to construct hardware that is capable of receiving AC information. In the
near-term, however, the objective is to understand the physiological mechanisms in humans. This is
equivalent to understanding the retina and its associated initial neurological precessing for the visual
system.
2.2 Applied Research (U)
(U) The objective of applied research is to improve the quality of AC responses. All aspects of the items
shown in Figure 1 under "Applied" are important and considered here.
2.2.1 Receiver Selection (U)
(U) The objective of receiver selection-research is to identify individuals who possess either a high-
quality natural AC ability or a trainable one. This research includes physiological, psychological, and
empirical methods (i.e., selecting receivers on the basis of performance in AC tasks).
2.2.2 Receiver Training (U)
(S/NF) The objective of training-research is to create a set of specialty-dependent training manuals
that have been shown to be efficient and effective in teaching high-quality AC for applications the lab-
oratory and operational settings.
2.2.3 Target Selection (U)
(S/NF) The objective of target selection-research is to develop a system to categorize potential AC
targets with regard to their inherent AC "visibility." In operations, it is likely that all potential targets
are not equally amenable to AC. Having a mechanism to sort them along this dimension, can signifi-
cantly improve AC applications to intelligence.
2.2.4 Protocols (U)
(U) The objective of protocol-research is to design a series of instructions for conducting AC sessions
that are optimized for each particular application. It is likely that different protocols will be required
for different target systems, receivers, and for laboratory and practical applications.
2.2.5 Analysis (U)
(S/NF) The long-term objective of analysis-research is to provide meaningful absolute measures of
the of information that is transferred by AC. The near-term goal, however, is to provide quantitative
assessments of AC data when the target systems are completely known, and provide quantitative, a
priori assessments under operational conditions when the target systems are not known in detail.
2.3 Integration (U)
(U) An important objective is to integrate basic and applied research results into the appropriate com-
munities. Many of the research items involve aspects that are important topics for investigation in uni-
versities and national laboratories. For example, understanding the brain's response to a momentary
visual stimulus is likely to assist our understanding of the brain's response to an AC stimulus. Similarly,
there are a number of laboratories that are currently engaged in AMP research. The objective includes
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providing a number of subcontracts to specific university departments and national and AMP laborato-
ries to support research that bares directly on the broader AC questions.
(S/NF) The objective for the results of the unclassified research both within the cognitive science pro-
gram (CSP) and that which is supported by the CSP, is to publish in main-stream technical journals
whenever possible. The objective for intelligence results is to develop HUMINT-like procedures so
that the existing HUMINT infrastructure can be used.
3 Method of Approach (U)
(U) A research plan that meets these objectives must be comprehensive, integrated, multi-disciplin-
ary, long-term, and flexible. Any AC experimental investigations of basic fundamentals require opti-
mal AC output; therefore, the applied research plan will be discussed first.` The plan for basic AC and
AP research follow in the next sections.
(U) Figures 2-4 are approximate timing chart for these research domains. Since it is beyond the scope
of this plan to provide protocols for individual experiments, these timing charts are as much an indica-
tion of priority as they are an indicator of temporal events. Closed, right-pointing arrows indicate the
start of a given activity, and closed, left-pointing arrows indicate the end of an activity. Open arrows
indicate decision points. If the research does not appear fruitful at that juncture, then it is abandoned.
If, however, the results warrant, the activity will continue. The plan covers the fiscal years (FY) from
1992 through 1996.
(U) This section provides a rationale for the proposed organizational plan as shown in Figures 2-4.
The rationale for individual research items within each section of these figures can be found in Section V
3.1 Applied Research Plan for AC
(U) Figure 2 shows the overall plan for the applied research. The topics follow those shown under
"Applied" in Figure 1.
3.1.1 Receiver Selection (U)
(U) The most promising potential for selecting receivers is to identify ancillary activity that correlates
with AC ability. If such activity can be identified, then receiver selection can be incorporated as part of
other screening tests (e.g., fighter pilot candidacy). Large populations can then be screened. There-
fore, this task begins in FY 1992. Among the items that will be examined are physiology (e.g., responses
of the brain to external stimuli) and hypnotic susceptibility (i.e., an individuals predisposition for being
hypnotized). The results of this effort will be examined continuously, however, a decision to end the
investigation will occur in mid FY 1994. Should the results at that time warrant, then refining of the
techniques will continue to the end of FY 1996. The reason the initial research spans 2.5 years is that to
validate even one psychological finding requires testing the candidate receiver using AC techniques.
Current statistical methods require many AC sessions per receiver, and experience has shown that only
a few sessions can be conducted per week per receiver.
(U) To allow for indications of success with the associated -functioning approach, research of psycho-
logical and behavioral techniques for receiver selection will begin after the first year. Previous research
* (U) It is likely that basic theoretical research will also require validation by non-AC physics and physiological experiments.
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has shown that, while statistically significant results have been observed with these techniques, the ef-
fects are small and understanding them is problematical.* While the same comments about the length
of time required for validation are true, these techniques have a lengthy research history, and thus a
definitive answer about their effectiveness should be available by mid FY 1994.
(U) The previous program was able to estimate that approximately one percent of the general popula-
tion possesses a high-quality, natural AC ability. The empirical method (i.e., asking large groups to
attempt AC) is labor intensive and very inefficient; therefore, we have included it in the research plan
only as a last resort. Thus it is scheduled to begin in mid FY 1994 only if the other techniques do not
provide useful results.
3.1.2 Receiver Training (U)
(S/NF) Training has been a major part of the previous program; however the laboratory results have
not been encouraging with regard to the empirical approach. That is, a few calibrated receivers have
transcribed their internal experiences as they are producing high-quality AC data into training hy-
potheses. Due to resource limitations, these have not been systematically validated, but because of ini-
tial successes they were nonetheless incorporated into operational activity.
(U) Beginning in parallel at the start of FY 1992, is a systematic examination of one in -use empirical
training method, and an exploration of associated functioning that may bare on the training issue. For
example, lowering an individuals visual subliminal threshold (i.e., the level below which an individual is
not consciously aware of visual material) might allow for a more sensitive response to AC targets. In-
cluded in this latter approach is an examination of the effects upon training of various altered states
(e.g., lucid dreaming and hypnosis).
(U) A definitive answer about the empirical method should be available at the close of FY 1993. Be-
cause of their inherent complexity and variety of AC specialties that are required, the associative tech-
niques continue for another year before an assessment is made. If no progress has been observed and if
there have been no positive results from basic research, the task ends. However, should appropriate
brain functioning be identified or should any of the other techniques appear promising (e.g., condition-
ing receivers with feedback), then the task will continue until the end of FY 1996.
(SINF) It is anticipated that all laboratory successes must be validated by simulating operational tasks.
These experiments involve identifying the speciality to be tested and its associated acceptance criteria,
and conducting sessions in which the complete target systems are known. This 3 -year activity runs con-
currently with the other tasks but with a 1-year offset to allow for planning.
3.1.3 Target Selection (U)
(U) Based on earlier research, the most promising approach to target selection has been a single physi-
cal characteristic called entropy (i.e., a measure of information that is inherent in the target). Begin-
ning in FY 1992, two and one half years have been allocated for the detailed study of this aspect of target
properties. Initially, little experimentation is required; rather, a retrospective examination of previous
target systems should indicate if this approach is valid. Included in this examination, are detailed calcu-
lations of natural target scenes. In mid 1994, a decision will be made whether to continue or abandon
the task depending upon the results to date. If warranted the task continues through FY 1996 with field
testing.
(U) All references in this section to previous research can be found as part of the justification in Section V (i.e., Rationale).
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Topic
Fiscal Year
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
Associated Functi
oning (Hypnosis, P
hysiology, etc.)
-
Receiver Selection
- - - -
Psychology (Sel -Report, Q-Sort,
- - - - - - - - - -
Behavioral, etc.)
Empirical (Mass
- - - - - - - -
Screening)
Associated Functi
oning (Altered Stat
es, Subliminal Thre
shold, etc.)
R
i
Tk
i
i
Empirical(Rece
iver-Specified)
---------
--------
ece
ver
a
n
ng
Pra
ctical Application
sts
Physical Charact
eristics (Entropy,
ize, etc.)
Target Selection
Other Ch
111110
- - -
aracteristics (Func
- - - - - - - - - -
tion, Emotion, etc.
- - - - - - - -
-
Conditions
(Receiver, Targets,
Feedback, etc.)
P
t
l
111111
Search
ro
oco
s
Session Dialog
- - - -
--------
Response Definiti
on (Written, Drawn
, Physiology, etc.)
Fuzzy Sets
Analysis
10
Neural Networks
----
A Priori sessment
---------
--------
-4
--
Data
Inte
rati
n
-
g
o
ent
U NCLASSIFIED
Figure 2 (U) Applied Research Plan for Anomalous Cognition
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(U) Beginning in mid FY 1993, however, an investigation of other potential intrinsic target properties
will be examined. Included in this task is developing a quantitative definition of targets that include
non-physical target parameters such a function and elemental structure. For example, a target may be
more readily sensed by AC if the collection of elements at the site (e.g., trees, buildings, roads) consti-,
tute a conceptually coherent unit as opposed to a collage of unrelated items. This task lasts until mid FY
1995 at which time it is scheduled to end.
3.1.4 Protocols (U)
(U) Given the laboratory success of AC experimentation, the protocol task can build upon a substantial
literature. Determining optimal, specialty-dependent protocols only requires extending current con-
cepts. The 3.5 years that have been allocated is primarily due to the statistical nature of AC analysis that
is required to determine the effects of environment, receiver, target and feedback conditions exper-
imentally.
(S/NF) Another aspect of the protocol task is to develop a reliable search capability. To be able to lo-
cate item of intelligence interest is a major requirement of the intelligence community. Because search
has not been particularly successful under laboratory conditions, we initiate the task in FY 1992. After
exploring a variety of procedures including information theory and empirical methods, if little progress
has been made, then the task ends in mid FY 1995. However, if results are promising, considering the
innate importance to the intelligence community, the task will continue through FY 1996.
(S/NF) After allowing time for understanding the optimal protocol conditions, we will initiate in mid
FY 1993 an investigation of the proper within session dialog between a monitor and a receiver. While
the form of this dialog is important in the laboratory, its effects upon operational sessions is critical.
How much is said when may mean the difference between a successful outcome or not.
(U) It is anticipated that both protocol development tasks can be terminated in mid 1995.
3.1.5 Analysis (U)
(U) As in the case of protocol development, this task can build upon a substantial previous history.
Since all forms of analysis require a quantitative definition of a response, this and the fuzzy sets task will
be initiated in parallel in FY 1992. The fuzzy sets task is started early because of the previous success of
the applications for AC data. Assuming that results will be realized from the definition task, a definitive
conclusion about fuzzy sets as an analysis tool is anticipated in mid FY 1994. Because of the broader
implications, the definition task extends another six months until the end of that year.
(U) One promising new approach for analysis is neural networks. These networks require a quantita-
tive definition of both targets and response before they can be effective; therefore, this task begins mid
FY 1992. The current results of the fuzzy set task will be used to initiate the neural network research.
Because of the existing and extensive applications of neural networks, a definitive answer can be ob-
tained in mid FY 1994. If at that time the research has been productive, the task is scheduled to last
through FY 1996.
(S/NF) A major requirement for successful operations, is an a priori estimate of the validity of a re-
sponse, Building upon the research of the other tasks for analysis, this one begins in FY 1993 and con-
tinues for two years. During that time a variety of adaptive database techniques will be studied to
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provide the proper receiver-dependent assessment. Two years are required to allow time for the adap-
tive procedures to stabilize.
3.1.6 Integration (U)
(U) Many of the research items outlined in this document contain elements that are of current interest
to a variety of university and national laboratories. In addition, other AMP laboratories have been con-
ducting similar research and can also contribute. In the data-fusion task, which begins in FY 1992, a
number of these laboratories will be subcontracted to perform specific tasks that address applied re-
search tasks. At the end of FY 1993, this aspect of data fusion will be examined, and if it is productive,
the task will continue through FY 1996.
(S/NF) Another aspect of data fusion is an intelligence one. How best should AC data be integrated as
additional HUMINT data into the existing infrastructure? This question can be answered in the two-
year time frame discussed above.
(S/NF) If the basic and applied research efforts are successful enough to warrant a permanent opera-
tions unit, then it becomes important to develop a training school to teach intelligence analysts the par-
ticulars of AC form of HUMINT data. This could begin as early as FY 1994 and last for two year. Near
the end of that period (i.e., mid FY 1995) the school would be deployed and 1.5 years would be allowed
for field evaluations.
3.2 Basic Research Plan for AC
(U) Figure 3 shows the overall plan for basic research of AC. The topics follow those shown under "Ba-
sic" in Figure 1.
3.2.1 Source (U)
(U) The most promising potential for understanding the nature of the source of AC information is the
detailed analysis of innate target information/entropy. This task is similar to the one described as part
of the target-selection task, above; however, the approach is more theoretical in scope. Beginning in
FY 1992, definitive answers should be available by mid FY 1993 because of the extensive research histo-
ry that is available. If the approach appears to be productive, the task could extend through FY 1996
because of significant physics implications.
(U) At the same juncture (i.e., mid FY 1993) we will initiate a search for other meaningful characteris-
tics that can describe the innate aspects of a source of AC information. Given the exploratory nature of
this task it will last only until mid FY 1995.
3.2.2 Transmission (U)
(U) The transmission task involves two separate theoretical calculations. The first of these begins in FY
1992 and builds upon substantial research suggesting a possible backward flow of information that is
consistent with the general relativity theory of Einstein. Called the four-dimension calculation task,
definitive results should be available by the end of FY 1993. Results include testable hypotheses that
will be incorporated in other areas of applied research.
(U) The other theoretical calculations involve the vector and scalar potentials of standard electromag-
netic theory. If they exist as propagating waves, they might provide a transmission mechanisms. Given
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the current controversy about these potentials, we will initiate this task in mid FY 1992 and expect de-
finitive answers in mid FY 1994. Both calculations will continue for another 1.5 years each, should they
yield positive results.
Topic
Fiscal Year
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
Information/Entro
y Analysis
Source
----
O
---------
ther Characteristic
--------
s
-------
00
Four-Dimensio
n Calculations
Tlansmission
Vec
tor and Scalar Wa
ves
Neuroscienc
e (MEG, Memory, e
tc.)
Detector
Other Physiology (Skin
P_
Animal Models
, etc.) - - --
- - - -
---------
- - - - - - - -
Physical Sciences (Physics, Statist
10
ics, etc.)
Integration
Psychological Sciences (Psycholo
y, Anthropology,
---------
ognitive, etc.)
-------
UNCLASSIFIED
Figure 3 (U) Basic Research Plan for Anomalous Cognition
3.2.3 Detector (U)
(U) The most important and promising aspect of understanding the nature of the AC detection system
in humans is through modern advances of neurosciences. Beginning in FY 1992, the earlier neurophy-
siological results will be validated and expanded to include a search for an evoked response. Since
memory is a frequent source of wrong information in AC responses, that is included in the general neu-
roscience task. Definitive results from these and similar tasks will be available in mid FY 1994. Should
any of these investigations prove productive, then the task will continue through FY 1996.
(U) Since there is less evidence for other physiological response in a human detector of AC, those inves-
tigations will begin in mid FY 1993. Definitive results should be available by mid FY 1995 and the task
will be abandoned unless there is substantial evidence for effects. If it continues, the task will end in FY
1996.
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(U) If the neuroscience speculations are correct in that humans possess an additional sensorial system
which is sensitive to information, then by analogy, animals should also possess similar abilities. Begin-
ning in FY 1993, if the results with human are promising, similar experiments will be conduct with vari-
ous animals. In mid FY 1995, results should allow us to determine if the task should be abandoned or
continue through FY 1996.
3.2.4 Integration (U)
(U) More than in the applied research domain, the basic research plan will liberally avail itself of the
existing research communities that specialize in neuroscience, physics and statistics and the broader
psychological/social sciences. Beginning in FY 1992 and continuing through FY 1994, we anticipate
active contractual relationships with a variety of university departments, national and AMP laborato-
ries. The success of the integration task will be evaluated at the end of FY 1994, and will continue
through FY 1996 only if the programs warrant it.
3.2.5 Other Considerations (U)
(U) Depending upon the results of the basic research in information theory and statistics provided by
subcontractors, we will initiate a 2-year effort in developing a potential communications system.
When this effort will begin, strongly depends upon when these results are available. Please see Section
V for details about AMP communication potential.
(S/NF) Countermeasures will be investigate over a 2-year time frame depending upon the results of
the basic research of anomalous perturbation. If, however, the information/entropy model is correct,
then it may be possible to mask sensitive target material. If the latter is true, this effort could begin as
early as mid FY 1993.
3.3 Basic Research Plan for AP
(U) An outline for the basic research of AP is shown in Figure 4. For one half of a year beginning in FY
1992, acceptance criteria will be establish for judging the historical literature for potential AP effects.
Using those criteria, a detailed review of the literature will begin in mid FY 1992 and, considering the
size of that database, will last until the end of FY 1993. Knowledge gained from this review may provide
insights for the development of new AP target systems or provide data so that particular experiments
can be replicated. Given the complexity of most AP experiments, considerable time is needed to plan
and conduct them properly. If the results warrant, application development may begin as early as FY
1994. The primary task of basic research of AP, however, is to attempt to validate its existence.
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search programs and technologies. This activity will continue uniformly from FY 1992 through FY
1996.
Fiscal Year
Topic
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
Criteria
Acceptance Criter
ia for Analysis
Historica
l Review of Literat
ure
A
l
i
na
ys
s
Ta
et S
t
Develop N
ew AP Target Syst
ems
rg
ys
ems
----
--------
Confirm Exist
ence of AP
Validation
- -
A
lications
De
velop Practical Ap
lications
pp
UNCLASSIFIED
Figure 4 (U) Basic Research Plan for Anomalous Perturbation
4 Conclusions (U)
(S/NF) This section has described a comprehensive, multi-facited, integrated, long-term research
plan for anomalous mental phenomena. Whenever possible, the plan builds upon earlier research and
provides milestone points to reevaluate the overall approach. As described in detail in Section VI (i.e.,
Recommendations), SAIC suggests that the government require significant policy and technical over-
sight so that optimal program direction and management can be maintained and that the overall pro-
gram meet the requirements of the intelligence community.
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Few
V RATIONALE (U)
(S/NF) The Cognitive Sciences Program (CSP) at Science Applications International Corporation
(SAIC) is currently engaged in applied and basic research in support of potential applications of anom-
alous mental phenomena for the intelligence community. Starting in February 1991, the CSP has initi-
ated a broad-based research effort to quantify the physics, physiology, psychology, and protocol
parameters that will increase the signal strength of anomalous phenomena to the point where it can be
integrated into existing intelligence methodology.
(S/NF) For any CSP activity that involves the use of humans as research subjects, SAIC will be in full
compliance with all laws and federal regulations of the Department of Defense and the Department of
Health and Human Services.
(U) We have suggested a plan that builds upon earlier research whenever possible, so in this section, we
provide a rationale for each of the research items. The organization follows that of Section IV. Because
basic research that involves experimentation, must avail itself of the results from applied research, the
latter topic is covered first. Applied anomalous cognition is covered first followed AC basic research in
Section 1.1.8 on page 37. Both applied and basic anomalous perturbation research are covered in Sec-
tion 2 on page 39. The rationale for integrating the investigation into the broader research community
and how the operational activity may be integrated into the intelligence community can be found in
Sections 3.1 and 3.2 on pages 41 and 44, respectively. Finally, the rationale for including foreign asses-
sment can be found in Section 4 on page 44.
1 Anomalous Cognition (U)
(S/NF) Conceptually, the anomalous-cognition rationale is organized to:
? Identify individuals with natural high-quality AC talent or potential talent (i.e., with training).
? 'hair those individuals to improve and stabilize their output.
? Identify optimal target systems.
? Develop optimal data-collection protocols.
? Locate specific targets.
? Provide quantitative analysis procedures.
? If warranted, define and develop curricula for an intelligence analyst training school.
? Conduct basic research.
The effort for each of these topics is designed to obtain results, in a timely manner, for basic and applied
research that are in direct support to intelligence applications. Each topic is discussed in the following
section.
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1.1 Major AC Topics for Research (U)
(U) The research topics described in this section are primarily applied. No topic, however, is exclusively
applied or basic; rather, only the primary emphasis determines the research domain.
1.1.1 Receiver Selection (U)
(U) In considering research of anomalous cognition, selecting receivers who are potentially capable of
demonstrating high-quality AC is of primary interest. '11aditional psychological screening methods
have not been particularly successful in the past, and general random behavioral screening is substan-
tially inefficient.17,18 Figure 5 outlines the approach for developing a receiver selection procedure in
which each figure element is numerically keyed to the text.
(U) Populations-Figure 5.1: The first step of selecting a receiver is to identify individuals who might
be ideal candidates for possessing natural AC ability. Such individuals might be chosen from the gener-
al population at large, chosen on the basis of special characteristics (e.g., neurophysiology), or drawn
from specialized groups such as photointerpreters. Past research has indicated that careful selection of
populations can significantly enhance the likelihood of finding good receivers.19
(U) Hypnotic Susceptibility-Figure 5.2: A selected individual enters into a complete screening pro-
gram that explores avariety of physiological and psychological techniques. As part of a general explora-
tion of the effects of hypnosis on improving AC reception, earlier results showed that the best receivers
also scored high (i.e., 10-12 out of 12) on the standard Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale.20 This
was an unexpected and post hoc casual observation; therefore, careful validation has not yet been car-
ried out. Perhaps, whatever internal structures that allow some individuals to be hypnotized more easily
than others might also potentially influence an individual's capacity as a receiver. Because of the sim-
plicity of implementation and the standard nature of this susceptibility measure, the research plan in-
cludes determining its efficacy as a receiver-selection procedure.
(U) Micro (?)-Physiology-Figure 5.3: As part of the general neurophysiological investigation,11 we
observed that the best receivers produced exceptional central-nervous-system responses to direct
light stimuli (i.e., N100 visual evoked response). As in the hypnotic susceptibility case, this also was an
unexpected and post hoc finding. Perhaps the internal hard-wiring of the visual cortex bares on the
question of AC reception as well. The techniques used to measure visual evoked responses are stan-
dard and relatively easy to implement, so this, along with an investigation of a variety of other ?-physi-
ological variables, will be a major part of the effort to identify good receivers.
(U) Self Report-Figure 5.4: As the name implies, this field of parapsychology has traditionally fo-
cussed on the psychology of receivers. Part of that effort has been devoted to the selection process;
however, it has not been particularly successful. A summary of this research can be found in the Hand-
book of Parapsychology.21 Small, but statistically significant personality effects have been observed in
Ganzfeld and AC studies.22,13 Th driving factor in these experiments, however, is the data-collection
procedures rather than something inherent in the AC process. For example, the Ganzfeld procedure
requires individuals to relate, without censorship, out loud to strangers, their internal impressions. The
Meyers-Briggs Type Inventory (i.e., one self-report personality test) indicates that good receivers in
this procedure tend toward extroversion.22 This is the very type of individual who would most likely feel
comfortable in this circumstance. Whereas, good AC receivers tend toward introversion, which is con-
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sistent with the techniques used in that procedure.13 The research plan includes examining this hypoth-
esis in detail.
Selected
Populations
Unselected
Populations
F
Hypnotic 2
Susceptibility
=Phyiolgy
Self Report
F
Behavioral
8
Empirical
9
Others
Procedure-Specific
Criteria for
Acceptance
Candidate
Receiver
Figure 5 (U) Receiver Selection (The numbers are keys to text paragraphs.)
(U) Q-Sort-Figure 5.5: The Q-Sort is an empirically-based, self-report personality instrument.23
It differs from other instruments in that individuals are not forced to describe themselves along pre-
specified dimensions. For example, many traditional self-report instruments require respondents to
assess the degree to which they perceive themselves as being assertive. Yet, it is possible that assertive-
ness is not even in the lexicon for a given individuals self-assessment. The Q-Sort removes this objec-
tion by asking an individual to sort personality descriptions into groups that best and least describe
themselves. A preliminary investigation of the Q-Sort to identify good receivers was promising, and
thus, exploration of it is included in the overall research plan.
(U) Personality Assessment System (PAS)-Figure 5.6: The personality assessment system is a behav-
ioral measure of personality. One of the major criticisms of self-report instruments as measures of
personality is that the output is filtered by the very personality that is under investigation. The PAS
assumes, in a sophisticated model of personality, that performance in specific tasks is affected by per-
sonality variables. Early exploration of the PAS as a receiver-selection procedure were quite promis-
ing, however the investigations were prematurely terminated. While the PAS procedure is quite
elaborate to administer, nonetheless it is included as part of the research plan, because of its initial suc-
cess.
(U) Behavioral -Figure 5.7: In an earlier pilot study, a trained behavioral psychologist was able to
select the best AC sessions from a single series consisting of good and bad examples of AC responses.3
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In that experiment, a set of subjective, large-scale behavioral measures were developed from a number
of previously video-taped AC sessions of the same receiver. Based on those measures, the psycholo-
gist was asked to sort good and bad sessions from the test series. The preliminary results were encourag-
ing, and thus, this technique is included in the research plan.
(U) Empirical-Figure 5.8: Because the PAS and self-report methods have previously not been par-
ticularly successful at screening individuals for natural, high quality AC ability, the empirical approach
was favored by the earlier program. This approach assumes that the best way to identify individuals is to
ask large numbers of them to participate in AC experiments and select those that score well. While this
procedure appears to work, it is very inefficient and labor-intensive. Only approximately 1% of indi-
viduals from unselected populations demonstrate high-quality, natural AC ability.13 The empirical
approach is included in the research plan as a last resort. The techniques described above will be ex-
amined first.
(U) Others-Figure 5.9: Finally, the "Others" category is a schematic representation of new potential
selection procedures that may arise during the course of the investigation.
(U) Criteria forAcceptance-Figure 5.10: The next step indicated in Figure 5, is to establish criteria for
accepting a given screening procedure. It is likely that a specific procedure may not provide candidates
for all types of AC tasks; therefore the criteria must be sensitive to potential receiver specialities.
(U) It is important to realize that each of the possible selection procedures that is examined require
careful, and sometimes lengthy, testing so that the selection/rejection criteria are statistically meaning-
ful.*
(S/NF) A successful conclusion of this topic will include a series of speciality-dependent selection
manuals that can be used to optimize the staff of an operations unit, and provide additional receivers
1.1.2 Training (U)
(S/NF) Once a receiver has been selected, that individual must be trained for the laboratory environ-
ment, an operational unit, or both. Regardless of the end use, the initial stages of the training are simi-
lar. Figure 6 outlines the approach for developing efficient training methodologies in which each
figure element is numerically keyed to the text.
(U) Baseline Calibration-Figure 6.1: In order to assess the effectiveness of training, a critical first
step is to establish baseline measures of the receiver's innate abilities. This?involves a variety of stan-
dardized, speciality-dependent AC tasks, and considerable research is required to identify them. For
example, suppose that Specialty A involves an individual who, by using an AC skill, is proficient at de-
scribing personalities. Baseline calibration measures must measure a trainee's a priori innate skill in
this and all other specialties, so that the efficacy of the training can be determined. At present, the only
known, statistically valid way to measure AC ability is to conduct many trials over an extended period of
time. As more is learned about AC mechanisms, it is likely that increased statistical power will allow us
to reduce the number of trails, and thus the time period and the resource commitment that is required.
` (U) In general, all of the AC research described in this section requires extensive time and resources to be statistically valid.
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(U) Once the baselines have been determined, the receiver will be trained by a number of specific tech-
niques. Those shown in Figure 6 have been chosen because there is supporting evidence that suggest
that each may contribute to AC-training.
Subliminal 2
Threshold
Specialist
3
A
Altered
F
States
9
Practical Application
'
Specialist
4
Ibst-Bed
B
Biofeedback
B
li
R
s
S
i
li
ase
ne
N
esponse
Specialist Dependent
pec
a
st
Calibration
Calibration
C
Criteria
J
Feedback
Conditioning
ecialist
S
p
D
6
Failed Mini
mum Criteria Failed
Minimum
H
Em
irical
for Acceptance Criteria
p
Procedure is Abandoned Receiver Exits
Program
Specialist
E
Others F
Figure 6 (U) 'Ilaining (The numbers are keys to text paragraphs.)
(U) Subliminal Threshold-Figure 6.2: In the preliminary investigation of the Personality Assessment
System, Saunders showed that individuals who possessed a low internal threshold of environmental
awareness (i.e., constantly aware of, or sometimes distracted by, the environment) ultimately per-
formed well in AC tasks.NO TAG Because of the potential distraction of the lower threshold, the initial
performance is likely to be substandard; however, if the receiver can be disciplined to recognize distrac-
tions, the final performance will be markedly improved. The literature suggests that the visual submini-
mal threshold can be lowered by training. Using a tachistoscope (i.e., a device to display visual material
for very brief intervals), individuals learn to increase their sensitivity to brief visual displays. The hy-
pothesis, then, for potential AC training is that a lower visual subliminal threshold will enhance an indi-
vidual's AC detection capability.
(U) Altered States-Figure 6.3: Honorton has suggested that somatic-sensory input is a source of
"noise" that interferes with AC functioning. He used that argument as a justification for the use of
various altered states in his AC research. Judging from the magnitude of the AC effects he observes, his
Ganzfeld altered state produces about the same level of functioning that is observed in our non-al-
tered state approach.19,6 There are two other altered states, however, that we propose as potential
training enhancements. They are dreaming and hypnosis.
(1) Dreaming, a form of altered state that reduces somatic-sensory input, has been examined in detail
as a procedure to elicit AC data. It has not been particularly successful at producing consistent
high--quality responses. One possibility for the lack of success is that the dreamer is give little, or
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no detailed instructions prior to sleep. In the unstructured dreaming approach, receivers are asked
to describe their internal experiences without regard to any particular instructions. Lucid dream-
ing, which is defined as a dream during which the dreamer becomes aware that his or her experience
is a dream, can be structured to include complicated pre-sleep instructions that are later carried
out during the lucid part of the dream.24 By employing this type of altered state as a potential train-
ing technique, we test the hypothesis that structured dreaming can assist in training receivers.
(2) Hypnosis is another form of altered state that may reduce somatic-sensory noise and that also in-
cludes the possibility of structure. AC task instructions can be provided either in the trance state or
as post-hypnotic suggestions. The earlier program showed promising results in a preliminary in-
vestigation of hypnosis, but those techniques were not specifically applied in a training environ-
ment.20 By employing various hypnosis procedures, we will test the hypothesis that structured
hypnosis can assist in training receivers.
(U) Biofeedback-Figure 6.4: It is an established fact that certain aspects of the so-called autonomic
responses (i.e., physiological functions such has blood pressure and brain activity) can be controlled by
conscious activity. The techniques of biofeedback are mature and are easily adapted to new circum-
stances. For example, suppose we wish to control the level of some blood chemical by biofeedback tech-
niques. All that is needed is an instrument that can monitor and display the instantaneous level of that
chemical rapidly (i.e., less that 0.2 seconds). The trainee is simply asked to attend to the instrument
display; mentally suggest a desire to control the target chemical in the specified direction; and relax. By
mechanisms of adaptive learning and operant conditioning, conscious control can be gained with a
minimum of training. If, as a result of the neurophysiological research, neurons or other micro-physio-
logical structures, can be identified as participating specifically in AC reception, then those micro-
physiological structures can be monitored and the techniques of biofeedback are valid. Using
biofeedback methodology, we test that hypothesis that training specific physiological structures to re-
spond to AC stimuli will improve the total output of an AC session.
(S/NF) Feedback Conditioning-Figure 6.5: We extend the operant conditioning concept to the
large-scale. Suppose that we wish to train a receiver to be specifically responsive to directed energy
devices. In a feedback conditioning technique, a receiver is asked to respond rapidly to AC targets that
include, among other things, directed energy devices. After the response, feedback is provided immedi-
ately. The hypothesis being tested'by the feedback conditioning procedure is that a receiver will learn to
recognize internal signatures that correspond to specific AC targets.
(S/NF) Empirical-Figure 6.6: The most common procedure that has been employed in training for
operations and for laboratory experiments has been empirical. Certain receivers who have consistently
performed well in AC tasks have described their internal personal experiences as a guide for training.
In the earlier program, one such empirical method was developed and transferred as a potential train-
ing technique to the Army INSCOM.14,15 These techniques are called empirical because they are ex-
clusively based upon the experience of good receivers and are not necessarily generalizable to a larger
population. The research plan includes an detailed validation of existing empirical methods and the
development of any new ones that might arise.
(U) Others-Figure 6.7: Finally, the "Others" category is a schematic representation of new potential
training procedures that may arise during the course of the investigation.
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(U) Response Calibration-Figure 6.8: As each technique is added to the training regimen, resulting
AC responses are compared to their respective baselines"to determine the degree of improvement.
Those techniques that fail predetermined statistical criteria are abandoned for a given receiver's train-
ing.
(S/NF) Practical Application-Figure 6.9: To assess the efficacy of the training for the operational en-
vironment, the receiver will participate in a simulated operational setting. We intend to follow similar
procedures as in the past for operational simulation.25'26 The targets for this test-bed will be known in
detail by the analysis team, and the target types will be similar to those in actual operations. Therefore,
detailed analysis will be possible and a receiver's operational readiness can be determined. In the event
that all techniques fail to demonstrate improvement, the receiver exits the program.
(S/NF) A successful conclusion of this topic will include a series of training manuals that will include
acceptance criteria for individual operational AC-specialists.
1.1.3 Target Selection (U)
(S/NF) A trained receiver requires appropriate targets. Research has shown that there are meaningful
differences among target types and that all targets are not identically sensed by AC abilities. Specifical-
ly, in the laboratory, targets that contain dynamic activity are sensed significantly better than are photo-
graphs.19 Preliminary calculations involving concepts from thermodynamics appear to confirm this
finding. In an operational setting, highly dynamic targets (e.g., directed energy systems) are often de-
scribed in accurate details as well.
(U) The target-selection topic examines a number of possible target descriptions and establishes cate-
gories based on a variety of target measures (e.g., physical, emotional, functional, etc.). These mea-
sures are designed to indicated the degree to which a target may be sensed by AC. Figure 7 details the
research approach in which each figure element numerically is keyed to the text.
(S/NF) Elements-Figure 7.1: An extensive literature exists within the field of parapsychology that
deals directly with an elemental description of target material.27,28 By elements, we mean that an AC
target is segmented into declarative statements. For example, if the target is a small, red, VW car on the
Golden Gate bridge, then an element list consists of the segmented words (i.e., small-red-VW-car-
Golden-Gate-bridge). This technique, however, does not include relations among the elements nor
does it include coherent conceptual information units. Regardless of this shortcoming, the former pro-
gram was able to developed mathematical structures (i.e., fuzzy sets) that can be used as reasonable
descriptions of targets 29 The research on elements will primarily be directed at identifying stable sets
that can describe laboratory targets and different sets that can describe targets of operational interest.
(U) Concepts-Figure 7.2: Concepts are more information-intense than are simple elements. While
it is true that collections of elements can bind together to form information units called concepts, a dif-
ferent ordering of the same elements may imply a totally different concept. In the example above, a
Golden Gate VW on a small red bridge is completely different than the intended meaning. In general,
the more information rich the linguistic unit, the more difficult it is to generalize. The problem of sys-
tematizing and categorizing natural language, a current topic in artificial intelligence research, is an
extreme example of the difficulty. A complete description of a target must include some form of infor-
mation units. Therefore, the concepts-aspect of targets is included in the research plan.
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F
3
Fhnction
Candidate
Target
4 1 Target I pe-Specifics
Emotion Definition Threshold For Target
Acceptance
6 Candidate Target is not Accepted
Entropy
s
Value [_ 1
Others
Figure 7 (U) Target Selection (The numbers are keys to text paragraphs.)
(S/NF) Function-Figure 7.3: For any operations application, understanding the functional aspect of
a target is mandatory. Tivo targets might otherwise be completely identical except for their intended
purpose. For example, a bacteriological and chemical weapons manufacturing facility can be made to
look identical to a baby-formula production plant. In the earlier program, one of the receivers was
often able to identify.the function of targets, so function can be obtained by AC techniques.30 The im-
pact of function of a target is critical to understand; therefore it is included in the research plan.
(U) Emotion-Figure 7.4: Previous research has indicated that the emotional content of target materi-
al influences the quality of the AC response. A vast literature exists in experimental psychology that
indicates our traditional modes of perception are highly influenced by the emotional contents of the
scene. For example, individuals tend to ignore (i.e., not consciously observe) visual material that is ex-
ceptionally distasteful or completely unexpected. Tb understand the degree to which these effects
translate to AC perception is included as a topic in the current research plan.
(U) Value-Figure 7.5: It is part of the lore of putative psychic phenomena, that the intrinsic value of a
target is :important. The reports are confused, however. In some cases, receivers claim that unless the
target is important (i.e., valuable) they are unable to perceive it; yet in other cases, it is claimed that AC
abilities cannot be used for personal gain. There has been no systematic research to investigate the
effects of intrinsic value of the target on AC perception; therefore, we include it in the current research
plan.
(U) Entropy-Figure 7.6: To date, the most promising target aspect that might predict AC "visibility" is
the change of classical thermodynamic entropy. Roughly speaking, entropy is a measure of disorder or
chaos. For photographs or video presentations, the spatial and temporal changes of entropy can be
calculated directly as information.31 Honorton has shown a persistent and significant preference for
Historical 9
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moving video targets as opposed to static photographs in Ganzfeld experiments, and this preference is
qualitatively predicted by an change-of-entropy model.19 Very preliminary results, that were ob-
tained at the close of the previous project, indicate that the calculated changes of entropy for a few vid-
eo targets correlated with the quality of the AC responses. A complete discussion of target entropy can
be found in Section 1.1.8 (i.e., Basic Research) on page 37. The entropy aspect of targets is included in
the research.
(U) Others-Figure 7.7: Finally, the "Others" category is a schematic representation of new potential
target aspects that may arise during the course of the investigation.
(S/NF) Target Definition-Figure 7.8: The target aspects taken together will constitute a formal defi-
nition of the target. For example, a quantitative target definition might include a fuzzy set of object
elements such as a directed energy weapon and chemical weapons. In addition it might include the tar-
get entropy and any other relevant aspects. This definition is the one that will be used in both laboratory
experiments and in operations, where possible. In both domains, having a quantitative definition of the
target material is critical for any valid form of quantitative analysis of the data from AC.
(S/NF) Historical Evaluation-Figure 7.9: Currently the only known mechanism devised to determine
the efficacy of a target for AC is to test it empirically. During the research and development phase, the
test results will influence the development of the acceptance criteria. Once deployed a potential target
can be compared to a set of predefined acceptance criteria before it is allowed to be used.
(S/NF) Regardless of whether a candidate target is intended for a laboratory experiment or for an op-
erational activity, the target analysis is identical. This subdivision constitutes a structural definition of
the target which can be analyzed with regard to predetermined acceptance criteria and historical per-
formance. Establishing appropriate criteria and meaningful target aspects are substantial research is-
sues.
(S/NF) A successful conclusion of the target-selection topic will be specific guidelines for the optimal
selection of targets for the laboratory and for the operational setting.
1.1.4 Protocol Selection (U)
(S/NF) Once the primary constituents of an AC session have been identified (i.e., a receiver and a tar-
get), a session protocol must be selected to optimize the data collection. Protocol is here defined as an
established way of carrying out an anomalous cognition (AC) task. Protocol effectiveness may be mea-
sured by quality, quantity, and/or usefulness of the AC information elicited by its use. The require-
ments for protocols that are designed for laboratory settings are considerably more restrictive than
those required for operational settings. For example, providing limited information to a receiver while
an operational session is in progress (i.e., intermediate feedback) might facilitate the acquisition of the
desired data. This kind of feedback is strictly prohibited, however, in most protocols designed for labo-
ratory experiments.
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(U) An example of a simple session protocol-for AA'A,C-laboratory experiment is shown in Table 1.
Table 1
(U) Schematic Protocol for an AC Session
Time
Action
1000
A receiver and monitor are sequestered in a laboratory.
1005
An assistant randomly selects one target photograph from a set of 100.
1015
Session begins.
1030
Session ends.
1035
Raw data is copied and secured.
1040
Feedback of the intended target is provided.
A receiver and session monitor enter a laboratory. At a pre- arranged time, an assistant selects a target.
This is done randomly in order to keep both the receiver and assistant from attempting to "second
guess" each other with regard to what target is selected. While it is assumed that the monitor and possi-
bly the receiver are familiar with the target set, both are "blind" to the specific choice. The AC session
lasts for approximately 15 minutes during which the monitor assists the receiver in obtaining as much
information about the intended target as possible.` After the data is secured, feedback of the intended
target is provided to the receiver to bring closure to the session.
(U) The session-protocol development topic is lengthy and somewhat difficult; nonetheless it is very
important. A schematic block diagram of the approach can be found in Figure 8 in which each figure
element is keyed to the text.
(S/NF) The initial step in identifying an effective protocol is to identify the task at hand. Tasks are
determined by the questions that need to be answered about a specific target. In operational situations,
often more than one task is needed to answer all of the questions about one target. For example, a
receiver might be asked to describe the function of a distant location and identify important personnel
at the site. Each task type may require a different protocol.
(U) Historical Protocol-Figure 8.1: To begin development, we identify a historical protocol, if one
exists, that is specific to the task. Various session protocols are extensively discussed in the open litera-
ture. Although some of these protocols have been used successfully for many years, there are many
variables that have not yet been the subject of a systematic and scientifically rigorous examination. The
research plan includes a compilation of all known protocols that have been used in the past, and in-
cludes a meta-analysis to evaluate them for effectiveness for the tasks at hand.
* (U) In a formal protocol, how this is done is completely specified.
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Protocol
H
Environmental
Conditions
Receiver s
Conditions
a
Target Designations
Task-Specific
Protocol
Session
Dialog
Feedback 6
Conditions
Response
Conditions
Figure 8 (U) Protocol Development (The numbers are keys to text paragraphs.)
(U) Environmental Conditions-Figure 8.2: By environmental conditions we mean any environment
surrounding the receiver that might effect either the reception or reporting of AC information, and
includes the physical and psychological conditions. The physical environment (e.g., temperature, geo-
magnetic field, etc.) and the physical and mental condition of the receiver (i.e., emotional state, hunger,
ambiance etc.) are important considerations. The research plan includes designing and conducting ex-
periments to identify and verify specialty -dependent environmental conditions that-enhance AC data
collection.
(U) Receiver Conditions-Figure 8.3: By receiver conditions we mean explicitly the state under which
optimal data collection can occur. In Section 1.1.2 (i.e., Training) on page 21, we discuss altered states
as possible training aids. It is true that the same training aids may also be the best routine way in which
to collect AC information. Besides hypnosis and lucid dreaming, which were discussed as part of train-
ing, we list a number of other altered/emotional states that will be included in our broad-based re-
search plan:
? Emotion/Stress-It has been observed anecdotally that receivers perform well in very stressful cir-
cumstances. For example, receivers who are asked to function on television may often perform excel-
lently. What are the limits? What specifically are the stress points that influence the receiver?
? Sensory Depravation-A state in which an individual is isolated from all external stimuli. One such a
state might be accomplished in a sensory depravation tank. The Ganzfeld is a mild form of sensory
isolation that has proven successful. What are the limits of sensory depravation?
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? Physical Condition andAge-An example might be the physical condition (i.e., athletes) of the receiv-
er. Another might be the question of whether children experience AC and whether it is to a greater or
lesser extent than adults.
? Meditation-This is a state of deep, continued reflection. Honorton has examined meditators as a
specific population and found that they are not necessarily better at AC than unselected individuals.
In this study, however, meditation itself, as a mechanism for data collection, was not examined.
? Prayer-A devotional state of deep reflection. Do receivers with a strong religious bias perform bet-
ter in AC tasks? 'Ib what degree can the act of prayer be used in collecting AC data?
? Right/Left Hemisphere-Budzynski has demonstrated marked improvement in clinical therapy by ad-
dressing the right brain hemisphere with emotionally compelling statements while at the same time
keeping the left hemisphere "busy" with an analytical task.32 Can this technique be adapted to AC
data collection?
The research plan includes investigation of these various types of altered states as part of the session
protocol development task. For example, each of these conditions can be artificially generated to ex-
amine its effects on good receivers, or specific individuals who are partitioners (e.g., advanced medita-
tors) can be trained as receivers and compared to the earlier group.
(S/NF) Target Designations-Figure 8.4: Target designation is the method by which a specific target,
against the backdrop of all other possible targets, is identified to the receiver. The target designation
technique is used specifically to focus the attention of the receiver onto the intended target. Often the
AC target designation technique is determined by an operational situation. The following are currently
used methods of target designation:
? Geographical Coordinates-The geographical coordinates (i.e., degrees North and degrees East) are
used to focus receiver on an unknown target in a known location. For example, describing the func-
tion of a known foreign facility.
? Encrypted Coordinates-One difficulty with geographical coordinates as a target designation is that
the coordinates, themselves, contain information about the site. For example, a target at 72 degrees
north in winter is likely to be cold. To avoid this problem, some groups have encrypted the numbers to
a meaningless series of digits and letters.
? Known Sender/Beacon-In this technique, the location of a known individual is the specified target
site.
? Unknown Sender/Beacon-The location of a named, or otherwise designated individual, who is un-
known to the receiver, specifies the target site.
? Abstract-Any word or symbol that, in itself, bares no relation to the target site, but is nonetheless
linked to it is an abstract target designation. For example, the word "target" can be linked to a photo-
graph by announcing at the start of the session, "I have a photograph that needs a description. Access
to that photograph is through the word `target'."
The current research plan includes investigation of these various types of potential target designators as
part of the session protocol development task. For example, the results from a calibrated receiver can
be compared among different target designations. Although it is an issue for basic research, the appar-
ent indifference to target designation implies a multi-dimension transmission mechanism. (See Sec-
tion 1.1.8 on page 37.)
(S/NF) Session Dialog-Figure 8.5: The first consideration in the session dialog is should there be a
session monitor? Some receivers are able to perform well without a monitor to facilitate the session,
while others are unable to function without one. In those cases where there is a monitor, the next ques-
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tion is to what degree should she/he interact with the receiver? Too much interaction can be invasive in
the process, but an appropriate question now and then can restimulate a receiver who may be momen-
tarily stuck. Another consideration in the operational situation is: to what degree should the monitor
be informed about the intended target? In the laboratory, the answer is clear; none. But is this neces-
sarily true in operations? The current research plan includes investigation of these points to determine
the optimal amount of session dialog for both the laboratory and the operational setting.
(U) Feedback Conditions-Figure 8.6: Feedback is defined here as target information used to debrief a
receiver. We currently have little information on how the various elements of feedback effect the quali-
ty, quantity, and/or usefulness of information attained by AC. One experiment demonstrated no differ-
ences in AC quality as a function of weak sensorial feedback.35 It is not currently known if more robust
amounts of feedback play a significant role in the amount of information available to the receiver. If
nothing else, the amount of feedback may certainly play an important role in the psyche of the receiver.
Regardless of the type of feedback, it is possible to provide:
? Whole Feedback-Complete information about a target is available and used to debrief a receiver.
For example a receiver might be taken to the target site.
? Partial Feedback-Only incomplete information about a target is available to be used for debriefing.
For example, only a single photograph of a real target site is available.
(S/NF) It is not currently known if feedback type plays a significant role in the amount of information
available to the receiver. The type of feedback used is often determined by the nature of the intended
target. For example, if the target is a photograph, then the feedback is also usually a photograph. In
experimental situations feedback is often the target itself or some multidimensional representation of
it (e.g., video footage of a target site). In operational situations, however, feedback type is determined
by both the nature of the AC task and the amount of information known about the target. For example,
if the AC task is to describe the function of a particular building, the only available feedback might be a
photograph of the building.
(S/NF) The following is a list of various feedback types that will be explored as part of the overall re-
search plan:
? Visual--Feedback consists only of direct visual stimuli to the receiver. It may appear in static form
(i.e., photographs, prints, drawings, and written material) or may be dynamic (i.e., video).
? Auditory-Feedback consists only of direct auditory stimuli that may be administered either is verbal
information or simply as sounds relating to the intended target.
? Tactile-Feedback consists only of direct tactile stimuli. An example of this might be an experiment
where a wrong answer provokes a mild shock, or touch (e.g., vibration).33
? Smell--Feedback consists only of direct olfactory stimuli. Suppose the target site is a suspected
chemical weapons facility. Providing non-toxic odors as feedback might facilitate responses to these
types of targets.
? Mixed--Feedback consists of one or more of the stimuli types listed above.
For calibrated receivers, AC experiments using standard targets will be conduct during which the major
independent variable is the feedback type. Statistical comparisons among the types may reveal a pref-
erence for a given receiver.
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(U) Additional important research questions are the intensity of each of these feedback types and when
should they be given? Should the feedback experience be sensorially robust or should the feedback be
presented below the threshold for conscious awareness? These questions, too, are included for study in
the research plan.
(S/NF) The previous program had examined, in depth, the specific aspect of providing feedback to the
receiver within and after a session 34,35 In experimental protocols, feedback is most often given imme-
diately or shortly after the conclusion of the AC task (i.e., future). In an operational protocol, however,
feedback may come at any time or not at all.
(U) Response Conditions-Figure 8.7: An AC response is defined as any means by which a receiver
externalizes AC information. The investigation of the most optimal time for AC response production is
directly tied into the questions of what the mechanisms of AC information transfer are and how these
mechanisms work, and what the task type is. The following are possible response times that are in-
cluded for study in the overall research plan.
? Precognition-When an AC response provides information about an event that has not yet occurred,
or about a target that has yet been chosen. This AC information is accessed without the possibility of
a prediction or inference based on currently known clues, cues, or patterns.
? Real-Time-When an AC response provides information about any subject (e.g., person, place,
thing, event), as it exists at that very moment in time.
? Retrocognition-When an AC response provides information about an event that has already oc-
curred which could not have been learned of or inferred by currently known means.
(U) Up to now, the decision to use one response type over another has been determined primarily by;
individual receiver abilities, the AC task type, and available methods of AC response analysis. The fol-
lowing are the four general categories of response types that are included for study in the overall re-
search plan:
? Forced Choice-The AC response consists of a choice that must be made among a number of possibi-
lities presented to the receiver. For example, the receiver may be shown a number of photographs
and asked to select the one that is the designated target.
? Free Response-The AC response consists of a free, uninhibited, reporting of internally perceived
information by the receiver. These responses can be recorded on tape, written, drawn, and/or mod-
eled, depending on the AC task type.
? Stimulus/Response-This AC response is a kind of controlled free response. In this technique, a re-
ceiver, while participating in an AC task, is presented with a stimulus (e.g., the word "target") and
responds with whatever is in his/her mind at that moment. The full AC task response may consist of a
series of these relatively short stimulus/response pairs. These responses can also be recorded on tape,
written, drawn, and/or modeled, depending on the AC task type.
? Physiological This response might consists of macro- and/or micro-physiological indicators of
AC. For example, a receiver's brain could be monitored for a response to some remote event (e.g., a
light flash), or a receiver's skin might respond to an AC stimulus.41
Currently, the only known way to identify a preference for response type is to conduct a considerable
number of AC trials during which the other pertinent variables (e.g., receiver, target, target designa-
tion) are held constant. Standard statistical methods will be used to search for preferences among the
data.
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(U) Others-Figure 8.8: Finally, the "Others" category is a schematic representation of new potential
protocols that may arise during the course of the investigation.
(S/NF) Task-Specific Protocol-Figure 8.9: The goal of the protocol development task is to define
practical and effective task-specific protocols. As is evident by the length of this section, considerable
research is necessary to adequately define a session protocol for the laboratory and operational situa-
tions. A successful conclusion of this topic will be a set of laboratory and task-specific operations-
tested protocols.
1.1.5 Search (U)
(S/NF) One particular protocol deserves special consideration. Because modern intelligence collec-
tion methods are now good at providing facility descriptions, that aspect of AC has become less impor-
tant. The search problem, which is defined as the inverse of the usual AC circumstance, has replaced
direct AC for primary intelligence interest. A typical search problem involves locating a specified tar-
get. For example, suppose the complete details (i.e., photograph, biographical information) are know
about a hostage. What is missing is the hostage's exact location? For reasons not yet understood, this
activity seems much more difficult than direct AC; however, there have been a number of examples in
the intelligence community and in the open literature that are impressive and suggest that search is pos-
sible, in principle. Figure 9 outlines an approach to the search problem in which each figure element is
numerically keyed to the text.
(U) Establish Criteria for Evidence-Figure 9.1: Understanding the search problem has been prob-
lematical. Most of the research conducted to date has not been systematic; however, there are a few
laboratory experiments that should be reexamined because either of their inherent interest or their sta-
tistical results 36,37 These experiments primarily involve using AC abilities to locate items that had been
place upon a predetermined grid, or to locate objects (e.g., ship wrecks) that are known but difficult to
find. In all of these laboratory cases, detailed criteria for evidence of a search phenomena have not
been established. Thus, we include defining that criteria before a review of the pertinent literature can
be accomplished in the research plan.
(U) Historical Review and Analysis-Figure 9.2: Having established the criteria for evidence for
search, the next step is to critically analyze all the earlier experiments. Those that fall below the accep-
tance criteria are no longer considered; however, those that do are subjected to a series of practical
applications tests for validation trials.
(U) Information Theory-Figure 9.3: The most promising new approach is to adapt information
theory to the search problem. Most importantly, early experiments indicated that suitable coding of
target material enhanced identification of the correct target 38 The primary question to be answered is,
can coding theory be applied to the location of a known target? There is a considerable literature on
coding and information theory, thus this is included in the research plan.
(U) Empirical-Figure 9.4: As is the case for training (i.e. see Section 1.1.2 on page 21), it is possible
that an empirical approach will prove useful. This technique involves locating a receiver who is particu-
larly good at search and ask that individual to describe the experience. A protocol is developed based
upon that description. Given the empirical approach's moderate success in training, it is included in the
research plan for search, as well.
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(U) Others-Figure 9.5: Finally, the "Others" category is a schematic representation of new potential
search protocols that may arise during the course of the investigation.
Information 3
Theory
Establish Criteria t
For Evidence
4
LI Empirical
Other
Historical Review
Analysis
Failed Minimum Criteria
Reject Specific Concept
Establish Criteria 6
for Acceptance
7
Specialty-Specific
Practical Application
Test-Bed Search Protocol
Failed Minimum Criteria
Reject Specific Concept
Figure 9 (U) Search Investigation (The numbers are keys to text paragraphs.)
(S/NF) Establish Criteria for Acceptance-Figure 9.6: Regardless if a search protocol had evolved
from earlier experiments or was new, criteria for its acceptance in the operational arena must be estab-
lished. It is likely that the criteria will be specialty dependent. This critical aspect of establishing a
search protocol is most important, and therefore is included in the research plan.
(S/NF) Practical Application Test-Bed-Figure 9.7: The importance of the acceptance criteria is
shown here. Search is primarily of interest to the operational community, so tests of possible protocols
must reflect the operational environment. The tests must be operational like (i.e., as much like a real
case as possible), yet contain enough laboratory aspects so that meaningful statistical evaluations may
be conducted. Identifying appropriate test-beds, therefore, is included in the research plan.
(S/NF) A successful completion of this topic will be a set of specialty-dependent protocols that have
proven value in operational settings.
1.1.6 Analysis (U)
(S/NF) Having constructed a complete AC-data collection session (i.e., receiver, target, and proto-
col), the next important topic is data analysis. The kind of analysis required depends upon a priori
knowledge of the intended target. In the laboratory, all the possible targets, including the intended one,
are known in detail, thus enabling a detailed analysis. Yet in operations, only partial or little informa-
tion about the target is known.
(S/NF) The solution to the analysis problem is conceptually simple; all that is needed is an analytical
definition of the target and response, and a way of comparing the two. The AC response usually consists
of a form of natural language (i.e., written and drawn material); however, a quantitative definition of
natural language is currently one of the unsolved problems of artificial intelligence. Similarly, a quanti-
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tative definition of all real targets, including types usually found in operational settings, is also a cur-
rently unsolved.
(S/NF) An additional problem arises in the assessment of AC data for the intelligence community. A
detailed, high-quality example of AC data may have little value to an intelligence analyst, because that
information was known from other sources. Likewise, a poor example of AC data might provide a single
element as a tip-off for other assets, or provide the missing piece in a complex analysis, and thus be
quite valuable. Therefore the intelligence utility of AC data is only weakly connected to the AC quality,
and thus is highly circumstantial. Therefore a data fusion protocol is needed for AC-derived opera-
tional data.
(U) In spite of these difficulties, an extensive literature exists on various successful methods of analyz-
ing laboratory AC data. Most of the techniques do not require quantitative definitions of responses and
targets, but rely on human judgement for the analysis. One example is that an analyst is asked to rank-
order a number of possible target photographs (including the intended target) from best to least match
with a given response. Dawes has shown, however, that complex judgements, such as this, are best di-
vided between human analysts and computers.39 A recent publication from the earlier program ex-
plores this idea by applying a sophisticated mathematical technique, known as fuzzy sets to the analysis
of AC data 29
(U) The analysis topic includes a quantitative definition of a response; uses the existing target defini-
tion; and develops a series of quantitative analytical comparison techniques. Figure 10 outlines this
approach in which each figure element is numerically keyed to the text.
(U) Target-Figure 10.1: All quantitative descriptions of a response must include the identical forms
that were used for a quantitative definition for a target. (See Figure 7, element 8 on page 25.) For exam-
ple, if the target definition includes elements only, then the response definition must also only include
elements.
(S/NF) Physical-Figure 10.2: An AC response usually consists of written and drawn material. The
current research plan broadens this definition to include the physical environment (e.g., geomagnetic
field, temperature), because those variables may influence the overall quality of the response.40 This
would be particularly important for developing a priori estimates for operations.
(S/NF) Receiver Dependence-Figure 103: The response definition must be sensitive to individual
differences. Receivers are different among themselves, and they may not be individually consistent
from session to session. For example, a one-to-one translation dictionary (i.e., for words or drawings)
is one method of attending to one form of receiver dependence. Suppose one receiver consistently re-
sponds with a directed energy system when the intended target a was bacteriological and chemical
weapons facility. By exchanging a bacteriological and chemical weapons facility for the directed energy
system, the quality of the response is enhanced at least to the degree of the receiver's consistency. xx
(U) Others-Figure 10.4: Finally, the "Others" category is a schematic representation of new potential
response types that may arise during the course of the investigation. Additions to the definition of the
response include a variety of receiver's physiological and behavioral responses during the session. For
example, research has shown that the electrical properties of the skin (i.e., electrodermal activity) re-
spond in AC sessions.41 This research plan will expand this concept toward a possible AC polygraph,
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because such a device would greatly enhance the quality of the responses. Likewise, there may be other
non-verbal responses that indicate response quality.
(U) Response Definition-Figure 10.5: Regardless of the aspects described above, the raw response is
reduced to a quantitative definition that is used as part of the formal analysis.
Target
Definition
AC
Response
Physical
Receiver 3
Dependence
a
L Others
Receiver
Database
Response
Definition
Quantitative
Measure
Figure 10 (U) Analysis (The numbers are keys to text paragraphs.)
(U) Receiver Database-Figure 10.6: All aspects of a response will be included in a receiver-depen-
dent database, and in those cases where the targets are known and a quantitative measure is available, it
too is included in the database. This database is consulted to incorporate specific receiver depen-
dences. By updating the database on a session-by-session basis, an adaptive description of receivers
is available to assist in any a priori assessments that are required.
(S/NF) A Priori Assessment-Figure 10.7: Often in operations very little is known about the target. In
these cases a reliable a priori assessment of the AC data would assist in the overall intelligence analysis.
An a priori judgement will be made from a response that has been modified by the current receiver-de-
pendent database. This assessment will follow the particular response/target definition that is used.
For example, if only elements are involved in the definitions, only elements will be provided in the asses-
sment. Considerable research is necessary before a reliable method can be deployed, and it is likely that
a large number of responses are required for each receiver speciality so that the database will be accu-
rate.
(U) Analytical Comparison-Figure 10.8: In those cases in the laboratory where the target systems are
known completely, a detailed analytical comparison is possible. Currently, the following three evalua-
tions are employed:
(1) Accuracy The percent of the target material that is described correctly. While accuracy is useful,
it is insufficient to provide an assessment of AC; a receiver could, in principle, read an encyclopedia
as a response and mention something about everything! In this circumstance, accuracy is not a
measure of AC at all.
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(2) Reliability-The percent of the response material that is correct. A highly reliable receiver is one
who has little incorrect information in his/her response. This too, however, is not a good measure of
AC. If a receiver knows about the general target system (e.g., photographs of natural scenes), a
good guess such as "outdoors" would likely be 100% reliable, but not mediated by AC.
(3) Figure of Merit-The product of accuracy and reliability. The figure of merit (FM) is a sensitive
measure of AC. To obtain a high FM, a large fraction of the target material must be describe cor-
rectly (i.e., high accuracy) with little incorrect information (i.e., high reliability).
One possible mathematical definition of accuracy and reliability uses fuzzy sets,29 others, however,
should be developed. Regardless of the internal mathematical definitions, the concept of FM holds not
only for the response as a unit, but also with the individual response elements.
(U) Rank- Order-Figure 10.9: A high FM is qualitatively desirable, but an absolute quantitative eval-
uation of an individual figure of merit is not yet possible. A statistically valid relative assessment is pro-
vided by the rank-order method. Suppose for a given session, the target is randomly selected from a set
of 100 photographs. For that response, 100 figures of merit are calculated; one each for all the potential
targets, and then they are ordered from largest value to the smallest. The position in this list of the FM
that corresponds to the intended target is called the rank-order number. Rank-order numbers from a
series of sessions can be combined to produce a statistically valid overall assessment of AC. This re-
search plan includes a detailed investigation to provide a relative measure of AC and to gain insights
toward an absolute measure.
(S/NF) Quantitative Measure-Figure 10.10: The current trend in behavioral science is to quote re-
sults not as traditional p-values (i.e., the probability that a repeated experiment would provide a result
that is equal to or more deviant than the observed one) but rather as effect sizes. Statistically, p-values
depend upon the number of samples in the study, whereas, by definition, effect sizes do not. As Utts has
shown, if only p-values are considered, major errors are induced in accepting or rejecting hypothe-
ses.42 Cohen has defined effect sizes less than 0.1 is small, effect sizes between 0.1 and 0.4 as moderate,
and effect sizes greater than 0.4 as robust. A typical value for unselected receivers is 0.3, but for the
CSP's experienced receivers 0.6 is typical and 1.0 has been frequently observed. The current research
plan will expand these measures and develop additional ones.
(S/NF) The analysis topic is long-ranged. This plan includes research to provide a meaningful abso-
lute measure of AC and reliable predictive assessments in the absence of target information. Much can
be learned from the artificial intelligence and neural network communities to assist in recognizing accu-
rate patterned responses from noisy data. One near-term successful milepost for this topic, however,
is an enhanced application of fuzzy sets to laboratory and operational data.
1.1.7 An Intelligence Analyst Training School (U)
(S/NF) The ideal circumstance for the use of AC data in the intelligence community would be to treat
the data as just another form of HUMINT. With more traditional forms of HUMINT, intelligence ana-
lysts are trained to assess the data and to provide a global analysis when HUMINT data are fused with
information from other collection assets. AC data should not be treated differently. Since at some fu-
ture time, it is likely that AC data will be routinely required to be analyzed by specialists, this research
plan includes developing a strategy to construct a curriculum for a training school which specializes in
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teaching intelligence analysts about AC assets -arid provides guidelines for producing HUMINT intelli-
gence reports to be easily integrated with the re';t of HUMINT data.
1.1.8 Basic Research (U)
(U) All effort primarily designed to understand the fundamental nature of anomalous mental phenom-
ena is defined as basic research. Figure 11 outlines this approach for AC in which each figure element is
numerically keyed to the text.
Source
(Target)
2
IYansmission
h
Detector
(Receiver)
Support and Develop 4
Applications
UNCLASSIFIED
Figure 11 (U) Basic Research (AC) (The numbers are keys to text paragraphs.)
(U) Anomalous Cognition basic research contains three major concepts that, at a minimum, can serve
as a template for research. The target is generalized to be considered the source of AC information.
That information "propagates" across space and time to reach the receiver. This aspect is called the
transmission of information. Finally, the information is received by a detector, which is an expanded
concept of the receiver as defined above. Thus, information from a source is transmitted across space
and time to a detector.
(U) Source-Figure 11.1: The definition of the target has been discussed in Section 1.1.3 (i.e., Target
Selection) on page 24. From a basic research perspective, the physical characteristic of the target is of
primary interest in understanding the nature of the source of AC information. Currently, the most
promising results are with classical thermodynamic entropy, specifically the Shannon formulation.31
Preliminary investigations have computed the total change of entropy for a few targets as:
AS = ? dr + Jdt , (1)
and have shown a crude correlation with AC quality. In other words, if the total amount of "informa-
tion" that is indicated by the spatial characteristics of the target is added to the temporal "information,"
the results appear to correlate with AC quality. The research plan includes a continuation of this calcu-
lation for all targets from the previous program and from the AC research field in general. In parallel,
the plan also includes research on how to calculate the total change of entropy (i.e., Equation 1) for
actual scenes as opposed to photographs and video material. In addition, there may be other physical
target characteristics that should be examined. The program plans to identify and research these in its
search for the source of AC information.
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(U) Transmission-Figure 11.2: Basic research on transmission primarily includes general relativity
calculations of possible four-dimensional (4-D) energy transmission mechanisms. Research has
shown that it is possible to gain statistical access to future unrealized events 43 This implies that infor-
mation may propagate backward in time, an idea that is a current topic of interest in the general relativi-
ty community.44,45,46 If these physics speculations in the literature prove to be true, then causality must
have a slight statistical aspect. In other words, usually effects follow causes, but occasionally physics
allows for effects to occur before causes. The research plan includes subcontracts to general relativists
who are able to develop specific testable theories about stochastic causality. The tests will be conducted
using traditional physics experiments where possible and AC experiments when necessary. In particu-
lar, what 4-D volume must be considered so that the average direction for causality is forward?
(U) A second possibility for a possible transmission mechanism is the vector and scalar potentials from
standard electricity and magnetism theory. It is still an open question whether or not propagating waves
constructed exclusively of these potentials exist; however there is enough evidence of their innate exis-
tence to warrant their investigation as potential mechanisms.47
(U) Detector-Figure 11.3: Basic research on human detectors (i.e., receivers) has been the primary
focus of parapsychology research community. As the name implies, a substantial emphasis has been on
the psychological and/or personality variables and their correlations with AC performance. For the
most part, this has not been particularly successful. While there is substantial statistical evidence for
AC, its correlation with these variables have been weak or non-existant. The research plan includes
focusing its detector research primarily on the central nervous system. As mentioned in the introduc-
tion, the preliminary results are encouraging.11 The goal is to locate a set of neurons that may be acti-
vated by AC stimuli (i.e., AC-evoked response). The five other senses can serve as a model. If AC is
sensed by an additional sensorial system, it islikely that the early neuronal processing will be similar to
the early processing by the other systems.
(U) Another area of interest to basic research of the human detector involves the mechanisms of
memory. Memory and imagine has traditionally been a source of noise in AC experiments, and under-
standing its structure might provide ways in which to reduce this noise. 14
(U) Continuing the analogy, all psychological, and possibly all physiological aspects of a human detec-
tor (i.e., receiver) can be considered as the detector efficiency. This view has the advantage of allowing
the general problems of basic research to be parsed into potentially non-interacting subsections.
(U) If the mechanisms of AC are understood, then, in principle, the human receivers might be replaced
by physical hardware. The very long-term goal of the detector research is to produce such a device, but
in the near-term, the goal is to verify the neurophysiological preliminary results, and to understand the
impact of psychology/physiology on the detector efficiency and thus its impact on AC performance in
general.
(S/NF) Support and Develop Applications-Figure 11.4: The implications of basic research of anoma-
lous cognition are profound in at least two different domains. If the mechanisms could be understood,
the applications appear limitless. Even if nature restricts the ultimate accuracy of a single AC response,
understanding the limitations can also yield a variety of useful applications. In addition, by definition,
we will know how to create operational units staffed by highly trained AC-receiver personnel. In the
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extreme, we may be able to augment or possibly replace the human receivers with appropriate hard-
(U) Academically, the advances seem limitless, as well. The precognition data tells us that we have a
profoundly incomplete understanding about the nature of space-time. If an additional sensorial sys-
tem can be verified, then we will also have a similarly incomplete picture of animals. lb what degree
does evolution and, for humans, accepting personal responsibility for one's actions and health have to
do with a putative AC sensorial system? Psychology, communication, health, and longevity are just a
few of the affected areas. The potential for time travel, either physically or informationally provides
fascinating speculation for history and general human evolution.
(U) Tb realize many of these speculations, AC basic research is a long-term activity. A near-term goal
of the research plan is to gain enough insight into the central nervous system so that biofeedback-like
training can improve AC reception.
1.1.9 Communication (U)
(U) Research has demonstrated that by using appropriate protocols, it is possible to "send" and receive
a simple binary message using AC abilities.48 Usually the techniques involve a redundancy coding
scheme to enhance slightly above-chance guessing. For example, suppose the chance probability of
guessing the color of a standard playing card is 50%. Suppose also that an AC receiver is successful at
guessing the color correctly 60% of the time. In one experiment where the raw binary hitting rate was
60%, redundancy coding increased the hit rate to 100%. In that study, 50 binary bits were guessed cor-
rectly without a single error.48
(S/NF) The current research plan includes improving the communications potential of AC. Earlier
redundancy coding efforts were very inefficient, and modern communication theory can significantly
improve the technique. Besides the possibility of a "secure" communications channel, it is possible that
kidnapped victims and POWs could "send" information about their circumstances to specifically
trained receivers.
1.1.10 Countermeasures (U)
(S/NF) Countermeasures can be examined from both the AC and AP perspectives. If the basic re-
search about the source and/or transmission characteristics prove correct, then countermeasures are
possible within the context of AC primarily through jamming and deception. Countermeasures will re-
main part of the application potential of the CSP's basic research program.
2 Anomalous Perturbation (U)
(U) The areas of research under the general heading of anomalous perturbation (AP) can be divided
into two broad categories: macroscopic and microscopic. Macro-AP involves a mental interaction
with "human-sized" objects, whereas micro-AP implies an interaction with microscopic amounts of
matter including individual atoms, single biological cells, or nanotechnology-size devices.
(U) Research of anomalous perturbation is problematical in that the definition of AP is a negative one:
After all known sources of perturbation have been eliminated, what is left is defined asAR To isolate a physi-
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cal/biological system completely from all known sources of perturbation is very difficult. Yet, subjective
and laboratory reports of large-scale, putative AP effects continue to appear in the open literature.
(U) The former program analyzed 10-years of research literature and found that a definite conclusion
about the existence of macro-AP was not possible and concluding anything about its existence from the
"field" literature was even more difficult.49 Also in that program, many different physical systems were
examined. After careful experimentation, the program was still unable to confirm the existence of niac-
ro-AP in the laboratory.8,9 In a related effort, a single quantum measurement experiment involving
photons showed that consciousness was not a necessary condition for reality.10
(U) A schematic block diagram, which outlines the research approach for macro-AP, can be found in
Figure 12 in which each figure element is keyed to the text.
Establish Criteria Develop New
For Evidence Experiments
Historical Review
and Analysis
Failed Minimum Criteria
Reject Specific Concept
Conduct and Analyze 4
Experiments
Failed Minimum Criteria
Reject Specific Experiment
Figure 12 (U) Basic Research (AP) (The numbers are keys to text paragraphs.)
(U) Establish Criteria for Evidence-Figure 12.1: The first step in researching macro-AP is to ex-
amine the historical literature once again to determine if their are reasonable candidates for replica-
tion. Because careful AP research tends to be expensive, the criteria should be quite restrictive. For
example, it probably is not worth the effort to attempt a replication of an experiment that was poorly
conducted in the first place. Rather, experiments should be chosen because they were well done and yet
still report some AP effect. The research plan includes a careful construction of a set of criteria that is
based upon previous work and the advise of experts from appropriate disciplines.
(U) Research of microscopic anomalous perturbation is more substantial. A recent report in Founda-
tions of Physics analyzed over 800 individual micro-AP experiments involving random number genera-
tors.50 In these experiments, it is generally claimed that an unknown micro-AP process perturbs the
generating hardware to produce distorted output statistics. The report further analyzed an extensive
set of alternative hypotheses to explain the robust, combined statistical result, and found that none
were sufficient to account for the data. However, the heuristic model, Decision Augmentation Theory,
has convincingly shown, that these effects are due to a form of AC rather than AP.12
(U) Historical Review and Analysis-Figure 12.2: Once criteria have been established for evidence of
macro-AP, then the research plan calls for a detailed review and analysis of the literature. The analysis
includes careful consideration of possibly subtle, but other known influences. For example, could elec-
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trostatic effects account for the claimed macro-AP? Studies that fail the minimum criteria for accep-
tance will be no long considered.
(U) Develop New Experiments-Figure 12.3: If enough circumstantial evidence can be found in the
historical literature, then a number of new tests should be developed. Among these are included nano-
technology-size devices as AP targets, the Mossbauer effect, and single a-particle perturbation. The
current research plan calls for developing protocols for AP studies on these target systems and the de-
velopment of other potential target systems (e.g., inertial guidance systems).
(U) Conduct and Analyze Experiments-Figure 12.4: The research plan includes conducting AP ex-
periments with new target systems and replicating experiments with older targets. These experiments
require considerable time and resources, since little is known about the appropriate protocols or about
the AP agents (i.e., who can perform a macro-AP task). In addition, significant engineering effort is
required to validate each device as a potential AP target. Because of the negative definition of AP, it is
critical to isolate each device from potential environmental interactions (e.g., stray E&M fields). After
the devices have been citified, then putative AP agents will be asked to perturb the systems. Predeter-
mined acceptance criteria are needed, and if any positive effects are observed, other laboratories must
also replicated the experiments.
(S/NF) Develop Applications and Theory-Figure 12.5: Even more speculative at this time is the de-
velopment of applications of putative macro-AP phenomena. If macro-AP can be verified, then a
host of applications arise. For example, distorting an inertial guidance system at the moment of lift off
of an ICBM; remote control of Mars or Lunar landers; and a thought-controlled switch for communi-
cations are just a few. The research plan does not include much attention for developing potential mac-
ro-AP applications, rather the predominant effort will be expended upon verification.
(U) The future research of micro-AP should begin with attempts to falsify the predictions of the Deci-
sion Augmentation Theory in a variety of target systems.
3 Integration (U)
(S/NF) Research of anomalous mental phenomena must be integrated not only within its own commu-
nity, but, more importantly, within the broader range of physical and behavioral sciences in the universi-
ties and national laboratories. In addition, intelligence applications should also be integrated with that
special user community.
3.1 Research Integration (U)
(U) Figure 13 shows a number of disciplines that are specifically related to AC and AP research. The
bi-directional arrows indicate that an exchange of data and ideas are possible between the disciplines
shown and the Cognitive Sciences Program (CSP). For example, some of the current ideas in meta-
analysis of behavioral data that are popular within the psychology community came for the traditional
parapsychological research community.51 Yet most all of the psychological screening techniques that
are popular with the CSP were developed within traditional psychology.
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(U) A brief justification for each of the disciplines shown in Figure 13 follow below. The research plan
intends to initiate subcontracts to respected researchers in these fields to facility basic research of
anomalous mental phenomena. -
Psychology
General Relativity Anthropology
Quantum Measurement Cognitive Psychophysiology
Thermodynamics Sciences
Program 10 Psychoimunology
Statistics/Signal Analysis (CSP) Cognitive Neuroscience
Neural Networks Cognitive Psychology
Artificial Intelligence
Figure 13 (U) Integration of Scientific Disciplines
(U) In 1990 the American Anthropological Association (AAA) formed a new division, the Society for
the Anthropology of Consciousness (SAC), This division has established a technical journal to support
interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, experimental, experiential, and theoretical approaches to the anthro-
pological study of consciousness. The current research plan includes collaborative research with mem-
bers of this division who may be able to contribute to the applied research issues of receiver selection,
training development, and protocol development; and the basic research issues of transmission, detec-
tor, and source theories by providing cross-cultural examples. These members might also be useful in
the assessment of foreign data.
(U) The psychophysiology of vision has already contributed to the earlier program.35 Much of what is
currently known about the mechanisms and techniques of subliminal perception comes from this disci-
pline. The current research plan calls for a collaborative effort with researchers in an attempt to under-
stand how the central nervous system process subliminal stimuli. This should assist in the CSPs search
for an AC evoked response in the brain.
(U) The relationship between mind and body is currently discussed in the research literature as well as
in the popular press.52 Researchers at the California Institute for Transpersonal Psychology (CITP)
have been active in investigating the role of mental attitudes and body chemistry. While there may not
be a direct link with AC, and exchange of techniques and experimental designs would be helpful. Thus
the current research plan includes collaborative research with (CITP) and other appropriate laborato-
ries to explore the potentials of psychoimunology.
(U) The Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience contains at least one article of interest to the CSP each issue.
This discipline is where most of the cognitive work with the neuromagnetism is conducted. The CSP has
already discussed the possibility of a collaborative effort with researchers at the NIH.
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(U) Stanford University has been conducting research on internal mental imagery. The manipulation
and control of this imagery is extremely important in understanding the source of internal noise during
an AC session and a collaborative effort with Stanford should yield immediate results in noise reduc-
tion.
(U) As was mentioned in Section 1.1.6 (i.e., Analysis) on page 33, artificial intelligence has been study-
ing both element with regard to AC analysis-natural scenes and natural language. While artificial vi-
sion may not yield immediate results, some of the aspects of scene analysis would contribute.
(U) Neural networks have already been used successfully in AP research 53 These networks are partic-
ularly good at recognizing subtle patterns in complex data, and are being applied in the subjective arena
of decision making in business.54 In order to improve AC analysis, the CSP will conduct a collaborative
effort with SAIC scientists who are active in neural network research and with selected individuals who
have had success with highly subjective data.
(U) Statistics is the heart of AC research in that most of the results are usually quoted in statistical
terms. Hypothesis testing has traditionally been the primary focus, but there are other possible ap-
proaches that should be explored (e.g. Bayesian Statistics). Statistics researchers at Harvard have al-
ready expressed interest in contributing to the CSP research effort.
(U) A major portion of the CSP's effort will be a search for an AC evoked response in the brain. Sophis-
ticated signal processing is required in that magnetic signals from the brain can not be easily character-
ized by standard statistical practices.11 Thus many of the traditional signal analysis methods are invalid.
Los Alamos National Laboratory has expressed interest in contributing in this domain.
(U) Classical statistical thermodynamics may be the heart of understanding the nature of an AC source
of information. As was mentioned in Section 1 (i.e., Historical Background) on page 4, a physical
property called entropy may be related to what is sensed by AC. The CSP intends to collaborate with a
variety of university physics departments to calculate the appropriate parameters.
(U) Researching the nature of quantum reality (i.e., reality at the atomic scale or smaller) involves un-
derstanding the mechanisms and definitions of what constitutes a measurement. The earlier program
published results providing valuable insight into the role of consciousness in determining quantum real-
ity; however, a number of single-neutron experiments, which can explore the same idea, should be con-
ducted. Researchers at an Austrian university in Vienna, have been studying the effects of very "cold"
neutrons.55 Their experiments are particularly suited for the study of conscious effects on single par-
ticles.
(U) As was mentioned in Section 1.1.8 (i.e., Basic Research) on page 37, physics research has indicated
that it may be possible for information to travel backward in time 45 It is well known that the laws of
physics allow for time reversal on the micro-scale; however, one of the current problems in modern
physics is to understand why, at the macro-scale, time seems to be unidirectional. If we assume that the
Second Law of thermodynamics is valid, then we must determine the constraints placed upon the prima
fascia evidence for precognition. The first implication is that causality, itself, must have a fundamental
statistical component. If this were true, then the difficulties associated with macro -time reversal (e.g.,
redundant histories) vanish. Stochastic causality has been the topic of investigation within the general
relativity community, and he physics department at the California Institute of Technology has been one
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center for this research. The CSP will collaborate with them to calculate time-reversed information
flow parameters.
3.2 Integration Into the Intelligence Community (U)
(S/NF) In Section 1.1.7 (i.e., An intelligence Analyst Raining School) on page 36, we discussed how AC
data, in support of operational activity, should be considered as just one additional source of HUMINT
data. If the research plan, which is described in this document, is successful, then it is appropriate to
consider integrating this new capability in to the general intelligence community. If the data are consid-
ered as HUMINT, then the infrastructure already exists for seamless integration into the intelligence
community.
SGIB
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VI RECOMMENDATIONS (U)
(S/NF) This report has described a comprehensive, multi-facited, integrated, long-term basic and
applied research plan. If all the topics, including a number of subcontracts to the general research com-
munity, are fully implemented in parallel, the plan entails an effort of approximately 175 man-years
(i.e., approximately $30M) over the next five years. This includes a prime contractor, a large variety of
subcontractors, appropriate hardware, support, and significant collaboration with appropriate govern-
ment agencies in support and development of intelligence applications.
(S/NF) The CSP suggests a dynamic effort that builds upon the previous and current program toward
the fully implemented research endeavor in the next few years. A vigorous program can be initiated
with a support level of approximately $7.5M for fiscal years 1992 and 1993. This would allow the contin-
uation of the current CSP effort and allow enough time to expand the subcontractors, consultants and
SAIC personnel in order to accomplish the research outlined in this plan.
(S/NF) The overall plan provides for many milepost checks not only to effectively guide the research,
but also to establish fiscally responsible asymptotes for the research and development effort. The CSP
further recommends that the government maintain significant policy oversight and direct that the tech-
nical effort be closely monitored by a panel of scientific experts. In addition, in this proposed program
the CSP will be in full compliance with all laws and federal regulations of the Department of Defense
and the Department of Health and Human Services.
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VIII GLOSSARY (U)
1 Introduction (U)
(U) Anomalous mental phenomena (AMP) can be divided into two broad categories, anomalous cogni-
tion (AC) and anomalous perturbation (AP). Anomalous cognition (AC) includes phenomena that are
described in the parapsychological literature as extra-sensory perception (ESP), telepathy, clairvoy-
ance, and precognition, while anomalous perturbation (AP) includes psychokinesis, teleportation, levi-
tation, and materialization.
(U) The beginnings of AMP research date back to the early 1880s. As suggested by the name parapsy-
chology, AMP research had its roots in the field of psychology. Today, however, AMP research has be-
come an ever increasing multi-disciplinary and multi-national effort. One of the primary problems of
such a vast effort is that of defining conventional terms that can cut across all of the various disciplines
and national boundaries.
2 Objective (U)
(U) The purpose of this glossary is to provide definitions for most of the technical terms found in this
research plan and, where possible, to provide cross references to like-terms used by other major re-
searchers of AMP around the world. The following abbreviations will be used to indicate terms which
are primarily used in the following countries:*
? [PRC] People's Republic of China
? [CZECH] Czechoslovakia
? [NETH] Holland
? [FR] France
? [HUN] Hungary
? [USSR] Soviet Union
? [US] United States
(U) The following abbreviation will be used to denote terms, found within this research plan and used
specifically by the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory, as opposed to those used primarily by other AMP
researchers within the United States and Western Europe. (It may be assumed that unmarked terms
are used generally within the United States and Western Europe, although the specific country or coun-
tries of primary usage is unknown.)
* (U) A cross-reference summary can be found in Tble 1.
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3 Definitions (U)
(U) It should be noted that no judgements have been made here as to the validity of putative phenome-
na or methods described by the following terms. These definitions are given solely as they are used
within the AMP literature.*
Abstract Technique. [CSP] A target designation/AC response technique which involves a stimulus/
response pairing. A Receiver, while participating in an AC task, is presented with a stimulus (e.g.,
the word "target") and responds with whatever is in his or her mind at that moment. The resulting
full AC response may consist of a series of these relatively short stimulus/response pairs.
Accuracy. The percent of the target material that is described correctly.
Active -Agent Telepathy. See Mental or Behavioral Influence of an Agent (MOBIA).
Agent. See Sender.
Analysis Dimensions. Specific issues of interest in the analysis of AMP responses.
Analyst. [CSP] An individual who provides a qualitative analysis of a response to its intended tar-
get. For research tasks, this individual is always blind to the target. See Judge.
Anomalous Cognition (AC). [CSP] A form of information transfer in which all known sensorial
stimuli are absent. Includes phenomena that are described in the parapsychological literature as
extra-sensory perception (ESP), telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
Anomalous Mental Phenomena (AMP). [CSP] The scientific study of Anomalous Cognition and
Anomalous Perturbation. See also PSI, Psychoenergetics, Parapsychology, Exceptional Functions of
the Human Body (EFHB).
Anomalous Perturbation (AP). [CSP] The perturbation of matter in which all known physical in-
teractions are absent. Includes psychokinesis, teleportation, levitation, and materialization.
Anpsi. PSI in animals.
Anthropic Science. [PRC] The scientific study of the ultimate capabilities of the human body or
human potential. See also Somatic Science.
Apport. An object alleged to arrive by paranormal means in a closed space, including the supposed
passage of matter through matter. See also Teleportation.
Association Theory of Telepathy. Theory proposed by Carington which holds that if two ideas are
associated in one mind, this association may become effective in another mind which is presented
with one of these ideas. See also K-Idea, K-Object.
Auditory Feedback. [CSP] Feedback consisting only of direct auditory stimuli.
Automatism. Any complex sensory or motor activity carried out by a person without his conscious
direction and usually when in a dissociated state.
Automatist. A person who practices or experiences automatism. Sometimes used as a synonym for
Sensitive, Receiver, or Mental.
Beacon. An individual who, while receiving direct sensorial stimuli from an intended target, acts as
a putative transmitter to a remote individual (i.e., Receiver) who is attempting to receive the same
information via AC. See Agent, Sender.
Biocommunication. [USSR] See Telepathy.
Bioenergetics. [USSR] See Anomalous Mental Phenomena (AMP).
* (U) Many of the following definitions can be found in Handbook of Parapsychology, Ed. Benjamin B. Wolman, Van Nostrand
Reinhold Company, New York (1977) UNCLASSIFIED.
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Bioholography. [USSR] See Psychometry.
Bioinformation. [USSR] SeeExtrasensory.Perceptioh (ESP).
Biolocation. [USSR] See Clairvoyance, Search, Dowsing.
Biolocational Effect. [USSR] See Search, Dowsing.
Biolocational Method [USSR] See Search, Dowsing.
Biological Radiocommunication. [USSR] See Telepathy, Biocommunication.
Biophysical Effect [USSR] See Search, Dowsing.
Biophysical Method [USSR] See Search, Dowsing.
Call. The response made to a target in an anomalous cognition (AC) experiment.
Checker. See Analyst, Judge.
Clairvoyance. Extrasensory awareness of objects or objective events. See Extrasensory Perception
(ESP), Remote Viewing, Paranormal Cognition.
Confidence. [CSP] An analysis dimension that has to do with a historical body of information on
the strengths and weaknesses of individual receivers. -It might be, for example, that Receiver X has
a 65% success rate at identifying the location of missing individuals. From this information a confi-
dence rating could be determined for information provided by Receiver X on similar targets.
Designated Target. The target that is chosen from a target packet to be the intended focus of an AC
experiment.
D6ji Vu. An illusion of memory in which one experiences a new event or scene as if it had been lived
through before.
Displacement. Anomalous cognition (AC) responses to targets other than those for which the calls
were intended.
Dowsing. A form of motor automatism in which a dowsing rod or other device is used to indicate
the location of concealed items (e.g., water, oil) by following the direction in which the rod turns in
the user's hands.
Dynamic Target. [CSP] A target consisting of moving and/or changing stimuli (e.g., film and/or
laser disk technology).
Encrypted Coordinates. [CSP] A target designation technique in which a coded form of geograph-
ical coordinates is used.
Entropy. Entropy is a measure of disorder or chaos.
Entropy Theory. [CSP] Theory suggested by May. The idea that calculated changes of classical
thermodynamic entropy for AC targets might correlate with the quality of AC responses.
Exceptional Functions of the Human Body (EFHB). [PRC] See also Extrasensory Perception (ESP),
Anomalous mental phenomena (AMP).
Extrasensory Perception (ESP). See Anomalous Cognition (AC), Paranormal Cognition.
ESP Projection. An out-of-the-body experience during which the individual is seen at a distant
point and/or brings back a vertical description of what he observed at that point. See also Remote
Viewing, Traveling Clairvoyance.
Feedback. [CSP] Target information used to debrief an AC task participant.
Figure of Merit (FM). The product of accuracy and reliability. The figure of merit (FM) is a sensi-
tive measure of AC. Tb obtain a high FM, a large fraction of the target material must be describe
correctly (i.e., high accuracy) with little incorrect information (i.e., high reliability).
Focusing Effect. See Target Preference, Response Bias.
Force Fields. Term proposed by Joseph Brozeck. See Anomalous Perturbation (AP).
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Forced Choice. A type of AC response which consists of a choice that must be made between a
number of possibilities presented to the AC Receiver. For example the Receiver may be presented
with a number of photographs and asked to select the photograph which has been chosen as the
designated target.
Free Response. [CSP] A type of AC response which consists of a free, uninhibited, reporting of
internally perceived information by the AC Receiver.
Geographical Coordinates. A target designation technique.
Geomagnetic Fields. [CSP] The magnetic field produced by the rotation of the Earth in conjunc-
tion with solar activity which may have an effect on AMP.
Heliobiology. [USSR] Term proposed by Chizhevskii. The hypothesis that cosmic energy affects
the human and animal organism directly.
Hypnosis. An altered state of consciousness in which is induced by a hypnotist.
Hypnotic Susceptibility. A test to measure to what degree an individual is susceptible to hypnosis.
Immediate Feedback. [CSP] All feedback is presented to the Receiver after the AC task is com-
plete.
Intermediate Feedback. [CSP] The Receiver is presented with a certain amount of feedback as the
AC task is taking place (e.g., biofeedback).
Judge. An individual who conducts analyses of AC responses (especially when rank-order analysis
is used). See Analyst.
K-Ieda. Term coined by Carington to refer to an idea (other than that of the target) shared by an
agent and percipient and thought to facilitate telepathic transmission of the target by means of as-
sociation. See also Association Theory of Telepathy.
K-Object. An object associated with an agent and present with the percipient during an experi-
ment to enhance the shared K-idea and thus facilitate telepathic transmission of the target by
means of association. See also Association Theory of Telepathy.
Lucid Dreams. An altered state of consciousness. A dream state in which the dreamer realizes that
he or she is dreaming, and in which the dreamer has a certain amount of control within the dream.
Map Dowsing. A form of dowsing in which the dowsing rod or other device indicates the location of
concealed items (e.g., water, oil) on a map of the area rather than in the geographical area itself.
Majority Vote. An evaluation method in ESP testing in which the symbol called most often by a
Receiver (or group of Receivers) for a given target is defined as the response to that target. See also
Redundancy Coding, Repeat Guessing Technique.
Meditation. An altered state of consciousness. A state of deep, continued reflection.
Mental. See Receiver, Sensitive.
Mental or Behavioral Influence of an Agent (MOBIA). Term suggested by Stanford as a new term
for "active-agent telepathy"; he proposes that the agent can play an active role in telepathy and
that such "telepathy"is really a form of psychokinesis. See Mental, Receiver, Sensitive.
Meta psychics. [FR] See Psychical Research, Anomalous Mental Phenomena (AMP).
Mind Reading. See Telepathy.
Minus Function. Observation by Ehrenwald that PSI phenomena are likely to occur during sleep
and other deficit states of the organism, thus leading him to postulate that PSI is a compensatory
extension of normal capacities.
Mixed Feedback. [CSP] Feedback consisting of more than one type of the stimuli
Monitor. [CSP] An individual who is with the Receiver while AC is in progress and helps to facili-
tate the AC task. This individual is always blind to the information which is hoped to be elicited by
AC during scientific experiments.
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Multiple Aspect Target. A target with two or more features, each of which may be guessed correctly
or incorrectly by the subject.
Nonreduction Method of Analysis. A method of analysis in which the AC response is 1141 to be re-
duced into quantitative bits. For example a forced choice response type clearly cannot be broken
down into smaller bits since this kind of response consists only of a yes/no decision on each of the
target possibilities. Non-reduction forms of analysis end with a quantitative measure of AC infor-
mation transfer based on first place matches of the response with the correct target.
Optional Stopping Hypothesis. Raised as a counterhypothesis to the occurrence of experimental
PSI, it argues that enhanced deviations may be obtained in what is actually a chance series if testing
is stopped at a favorable point.
Outbound Target. [CSP] A target consisting of dynamic multisenorial stimuli provided via visita-
tion of an actual target site.
Packet. [CSP] A number of targets that are classified as belonging to the same group for the pur-
pose of rank-order judging.
Paragnost. [NETH] See Receiver.
Paramnesia. A distortion of recognition or memory. See Deja Vu.
Paranormal. A synonym for Receiver or Parapsychological.
Paranormal Cognition. See Extrasensory Perception (ESP), Remote Viewing Clairvoyance.
Paraphysics. The study of the physics of Anomalous mental phenomena (AMP).
Parapsychic. J.B. Rhine's term for a high scoring subject in PSI research.
Parapsychical. A synonym for Paranormal; attributed to the operation of PSI.
Parapsychology. The branch of psychology which deals with the study of Anomalous mental phe-
nomena (AMP).
Partial Feedback. [CSP] Only some information about a target is available to be used for debrief-
ing an AC task participant. For example, only a single photograph of a real target site is available
for AC feedback.
Passage of Matter through matter. See Apport, Teleportation.
Percipient. See Receiver, Subject.
Physiological Response. [CSP] A type of AC response which consists of macro- and/or micro-
physiological indicators of AC. For example, a Receiver's brain could be monitored by a magni-
toencephlagraph (MEG) for a response (N100) to some remote event (e.g., a bomb blast).
Postcognition. See Retrocognition.
Post-Hoc. [CSP] When information is provided after the fact.
Prayer. An altered state of consciousness. A devotional state of deep reflection.
Precognition. When information is provided about an event that has not yet occurred, or about a
target that has yet to be chosen. This AC information is accessed without the possibility of a predic-
tion or inference based on currently known clues, queues, or patterns.
Premonition. See Precognition.
Prevision. See Precognition.
Protocol. A template for conducting a structured an AMP session. Protocols will consist of differ-
ing elements depending on what research issue or what operational information is to be addressed.
PSI. See Anomalous mental phenomena (AMP).
PSI Field Hypothesis. Theory proposed by Roll which postulates that events connected with physi-
cal objects produce changes in the "PSI fields" surrounding the objects such that these fields maybe
apprehinded by ESP.
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PSI Gamma. Neutral term for extrasensory perception (ESP) proposed by Thouless and Wiesner.
See anomalous cognition (AC).
PSI--Hitting. The use of PSI so that the target at which the subject is aiming is hit significantly more
often than would be expected by chance.
PSI Kappa. Neutral term for psychokinesis (PK) proposed by Thouless and Wiesner. See anoma-
lous Perturbation (AP).
PSI Mediating Vehicle. Any symbol, image, or object which enables the Receiver to bring informa-
tion received by ESP into conscious awareness.
PSI Missing. The use of PSI so that the target at Which the subject is aiming is missed significantly
more often than would be expected by chance.
Psychical Research. The systematic study and investigation of phenomena which cannot be de-
scribed or explained in terms of established physical principles; older term for parapsychology.
Psychobiophysics. [USSR] See Parapsychology, but including certain phenomena that are not now
generally accepted as parapsychological.
Psychoboly. Term coined by Tanagras to denote psychokinesis, especially when used for malevolent
purposes, as in alleged "evil-eye" phenomena.
Psychoenergetics. [USSR] See Parapsychology.
Psychokinesis (PK). The influence of the mind on external objects or processes without the medi-
ation of known physical energies or forces. See anomalous Perturbation (AP).
Psychometry. Term coined by Buchanan which literally means "soul measurement"; refers to tests
in which a receiver holds an object and obtains impressions relating to its history and/or events in
the lives of persons who have been in contact with it. See also Bioholography.
Psychotronics. [CZECH] See Parapsychology, but including certain phenomena that are not now
generally accepted as parapsychological.
Physiological Response. A type of AMP response consisting of macro- and/or micro-physiologi-
cal indicators of AC. For example, a Receiver's brain might be monitored by a magnitoencephla-
graph (MEG) for a neurological response (N100) to some remote event (e.g., a light flash).
Qi. [PRC] The underlying information carrier of EFHB.
Random Behavior Trial. Term used primarily in connection with anpsi experiments to indicate
those trials on which the animal reacts, for no apparent reason, in a way contrary to its usual habits
or customary patterns.
Rank-Order Judging. An analysis method in which a single AC response is judged against a pack-
et of n (n = number) possible targets by a judge (analyst). This judge is blind as to which of the possi-
ble targets within the target packet is the actual designated target. The analysts task, in this case, is
to determine which of the possible targets best matches the Receiver's response. The best match
receives a rank-order of 1, while the next best receives a rank-order of 2, and so on to n.
Reading. A synonym for Protocol or Response.
Real.-Time. [CSP] When information is provided about any subject (e.g., person, place, thing,
event) as it exists at that very moment in time which could not have been learned or inferred by
currently known means.
Receiver. [CSP] An individual who attempts to perceive and report information about a target in
the absence of all known sensorial stimuli (i.e., the individual experiencing AC).
Reduction Method of Analysis. [CSP] A method of analysis in which both the response and target
are reduced to quantitative bits according to the dimensions of interest. Analysis dimensions are
chosen based on the original AC task. For example, if the original task was to determine the un-
known function of a known building, then the primary analysis dimension would be function. It
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should be noted here that there will almost always be a need to use more than one analysis dimen-
sion at a time.
Redundancy Coding. See Majority Vote and Repeat Guessing Technique.
Reliability. The percent of the response material that is correct. A highly reliable receiver is one
who has little incorrect information in his/her response.
Remote Viewing (RV). [CSP] A type of AC task in which a Receiver attempts to access information
about an unknown target in a known location via AC.
Repeat Guessing Technique. See Majority Vote and Redundancy Coding.
Respondent Dependence. [CSP] An analysis dimension that deals with the idiosyncrasies of an
individual Receiver's AC response style.
Response. Any means by which a Receiver externalizes AC information. This externalization can
be in one or more forms depending on the AC task type (e.g., recorded, spoken, written, drawn,
modeled, etc.).
Response Bias. A tendency of the Receiver to show specific behavior patterns in response to cer-
tain targets, or target types (e.g., to call certain target symbols frequently and to avoid others). See
Target Preference, Focusing Effect.
Response Bias Hypothesis. Theory first developed by Stanford postulating that bias against a given
response increases the likely hood that this response, when made, will be a hit.
Retrocognition. Knowledge of a past event which could not have been learned or inferred by nor-
mal means.
Right/Left Hemisphere Presentation. [CSP] When feedback is presented to the Receiver in such a
manner that the information can be processed only by either the right or left hemispheres of the
brain.
Run. A group of successive trials in PSI testing which may be of any predetermined length.
Scatter Effect. Ehrenwald's term for the finding that PSI responses are rarely in one-to-one
agreement with the target, but may be displaced in time or space; the responses are likely to be scat-
tered around the target rather than hitting the bull's eye.
Scatter Theory. Hypothesis proposed by Ehrenwald to account for the scatter effect by attributing
it to the fact that PSI phenomena are biologically incongruous.
Score. The number of hits made in any given unit of trials, usually a run.
Search. [CSP] The ability to locate an intended target without the assistance of known sensorial
stimuli. A search task involves gaining information on the unknown location of a known target via
AC.
Second Sight. See Clairvoyance.
Secondary Effect. Term refering to significant PSI scoring revealed by effects such as consistent
missing, displacement, etc., rather than by direct hitting on the target.
Selected Populations. [CSP] A population who's members have a particular skill which might in-
volve or be related to the use of AC.
Selection Procedure. [CSP] A procedure used to identify AMP training candidates from various
populations.
Sender. An individual who, while receiving direct sensorial stimuli from an intended target, acts as
a putative transmitter to a remote individual (i.e., Receiver) who is attempting to receive the same
information via AC. See also Agent, Beacon.
Sensory Automatism. Visual or auditory imagery, sometimes fully externalized, experienced by a
person without his conscious direction and usually when in a dissociated state.
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Sensory Depravation. An altered state of consciousness in which an individual is isolated from all
external stimuli. Such a state might be accomplished in a sensory depravation tank.
Sensitive. See Receiver, Mental.
Series. Several runs of experimental sessions that are grouped in accordance with the stated pur-
pose and design of the experiment.
Session. A unit of time within an AMP task comprising all the data collection trials, usually prede-
termined in number, carried out during one test occasion; an experiment or operational task may
consist of one or more sessions.
Sitter. See Monitor.
Somatic Science. [PRC] The scientific study of the ultimate capabilities of the human body or hu-
man potential. See alsoAnthropic Science.
Space and Time. Term proposed by Joseph Brozek. See Anomalous Cognition (AC).
Specialty. A class of targets that is particularly successful for a given receiver's ability (e.g., people
as opposed to buildings). See Focusing Effect, Response Bias.
Subject. See Receiver.
Subliminal Presentation. When feedback is presented to the Receiver so that it is just below his or
her threshold of consciousness.
Supernormal. Older term for paranormal.
Supernormal Conditioning. Synonym for ESP, coined by Osty.
Target. Any subject that is the focus of an AC task (e.g., person, place, thing, event).
Target Designation. [CSP] Any method by which a specific target is identified to the Receiver as
being the focus of a specific AC task against the backdrop of all other possible targets. The target
designation technique is used specifically to focus the attention of the individual carrying out the
AC task (i.e., Receiver)) onto the intended target.
Target Pack. [CSP] A set of possible targets from which the designated target for an AC experi-
ment came and which will be used later for rank- oder -judging.
Target Preference. See Focusing Effect, Response Bias, Specialty.
Telekinesis. [CZECH,HUN,USSR] Older term for psychokinesis in the West, however still pre-
ferred in the USSR and Eastern Europe.
Telepathy. Extrasensory awareness of another person's mental content or state. See Mind Reading,
Thought Transference.
Teleportation. A from of PK phenomena in which objects allegedly move over a distance and/or
through other objects. See also Apport.
Telesthesia. Term coined by Myers to indicate perception at a distance. See Clairvoyance Anoma-
lous cognition (AC).
Test Administrator. See Monitor.
Theta Phenomena. Term proposed by Roll to mean "relating to the question of survival," and to
denote the inquiry into the possibility of survival.
Thought Transference. See Telepathy, Mind Reading.
Tracer Effect. Term coined by Ehrenwald to indicate the appearance in the manifest content of a
dream, or other response, specific and distinctive features relating to a target event.
Training. A procedure that improves, to a significant degree, the output of an anomalous cognition
task.
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Training Candidate. [CSP] An individual who shows extraordinary natural AC ability (e.g., scores
high marks while acting as a receiver in initial AMP tasks), and is considered for entry into an AMP
training program.
Trance. A dissociated state characterized by lack of voluntary movement in which various forms of
automatism may be expressed; usually exhibited under hypnotic or mediumistic conditions. See
also Automatism.
Transformation of Matter. Term proposed by Joseph Brozek. See Theta Phenomina.
Traveling Clairvoyance. A form of clairvoyance in which the subject (often in a hypnotic trance)
seems to "travel" to a distant location and describes scenes or events taking place there. See also
ESP Projection and Remote Viewing.
Trial. In anomalous cognition (AC) tests, a single attempt to identify a target object; in anomalous
perturbation (AP) tests, a single unit of effect to be measured in the evaluation of results.
Unselected Populations. [CSP] A groups who's members have no known direct or indirect experi-
ence of AC.
Vertical Dream. A dream presumptively paranormal in that it corresponds in some of its details to
events beyond the dreamer's normal knowledge or sensory range.
Whole Feedback. [CSP] Complete information about a target is available and used to debrief an
AC task participant. For example an AC task participant might be taken to a target site for feed-
back.
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