PARAPSYCHOLOGY ABSTRACTS INTERNATIONAL

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• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 27, 1998
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• Publication Date: June 1, 1988
• Content Type: OPEN

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Parapsychology Abstracts International Vol. 6, No. 1 June 1988
02687. Stevenson, Ian. Guest editorial: Why investigate
spontaneous cases? Journal of the American Society for
Psychical Research, 1987 (Apr), 81(2), 101-109. 23 refs
Psychical researchers are showing renewed interest in
spontaneous cases, but few newcomers to this branch of
our subject have had experience in the actual investigation
of cases. What is worse, many do not seem to understand
the importance of investigating cases instead of just accept-
ing them as submitted by correspondents or turned up in
surveys. Many cases in which someone makes a claim for
a paranormal communication prove, on investigation, to
provide no evidence supporting the claim. Moreover, unin-
vestigated cases are likely to have important omissions in
the information provided when they are submitted. These
deficiencies may lead to erroneous conclusions. However,
investigated cases that are voluntarily reported to a
research center may also have biases and be unrepresenta-
tive of the full range of experiences we need to study.
We should conduct new surveys of spontaneous cases in
which the cases turned up will be thoroughly investigated.
- DA
02688. Palmer, John. Have we established psi? Journal
of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1987
(Apr), 81(2), 111-123. 26 refs
To address the question, "Have we established psi?,"
one must distinguish between psi as a scientific anomaly
and psi as a "paranormal" process transcending generally
accepted limiting principles of nature. It is maintained
that psi as anomaly has been established, because conven-
tional science has yet to provide adequate conventional ex-
planations for the critical mass of ostensibly paranormal
experiences. However, psi as paranormal process has not
been established, not because the research methods have
failed to eliminate all conventional alternatives, but be-
cause no particular paranormal theory has yet achieved
adequate empirical verification. Verification of psi in the
latter sense requires a shift from a negative research ap-
proach, in which the top priority is elimination of conven-
tional hypotheses, to a positive approach, in which the top
priorities are to get the anomalies to occur and to uncover
their correlates. Most psi experiments are, like spon-
taneous cases, documented accounts of anomalies that
provide a subject matter to be explained but explain noth-
ing themselves. Nonetheless, experimental psi research can
point to important accomplishments, which include
demonstrating that the anomalies occur in laboratories,
reducing the plausibility of conventional hypotheses, un-
covering quasi-lawful correlates, and generating testable
models. - DA
02689. Cook, Emily Williams. The survival question:
Impasse or crux? Journal of the American Society for
Psychical Research, 1987 (Apr), 81(2), 125-139. 53 refs
This paper examines the present status of research on
the question of survival of human personality after death.
Parapsychologists have adopted several strategies for deal-
ing with the current impasse between the two major
hypotheses, but the approach that remains to be tried is to
implement the many lines of investigation that have been
suggested by previous research. It is concluded that only
serious testing of the rival hypotheses with renewed
research will determine whether survival research is at an
impasse or at a crux that will eventually lead to new
knowledge. - DA
02690. Roney-Dougal, Serena M. A comparison of psi
and subliminal perception: Exploratory and follow-up
studies. Journal of the American Society for Psychical
Research, 1987 (Apr), 81(2), 141-181. 9 figs; 45 refs; 9 tables
The aim of these studies was to explore various
aspects of response to subliminal and psi stimuli under
Ganzfeld conditions. Physiological and cognitive aspects of
the process were measured, together with several per-
sonality and cognitive tests. The participants were volun-
teers, some of whom previously had worked briefly with
the experimenter. The stimuli were prerecorded, themati-
cally related words, presented via headphones either to the
sender or to the participant according to the experimental
condition. Galvanic skin response and the participant's
mentation were recorded throughout each session. Per-
sonality and cognitive tests were administered prior to the
session. In the exploratory study, the participants did not
score significantly greater than chance on either the sub-
liminal or the psi conditions. The participants' overall
scoring was suggestively related to their attitude (p = .075)
and to their cognitive style (p = .03). The participants' at-
titudes correlated with their "openness-to-experience" rating
(p = .018) and with their cognitive style (p = .02), indicat-
ing that factors other than chance may have been present.
In the follow-up study, overall on both ranking and rating
sets of data, the target was chosen significantly above
chance (sum-of-ranks = 178, p = .018; rating t = 2.487, 79
df, p = .007, both one-tailed). Breaking this overall score
into its component parts, the rating data alone are sig-
nificantly above chance for both psi and subliminal percep-
tion (t = 1.736, 39 df, p = .04), and the ranking data are
suggestive (sum-of-ranks = 89, p = .069): The participants'
scores were related to their attitudes (p = .05) but not to
their cognitive styles (p = .31). The participants' attitudes
were related to their "openness-to-experience" (p = .001)
and to their cognitive style (p = .059), thus supporting
trends indicated in the exploratory study. These results
suggest that in an experience of this type, at the level of
cognitive decision (lexical choice of target), subliminal and
psi perception cannot readily be distinguished. - DA
02691. Brand, William. Dealing with displacement. Jour-
nal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 1987
(Jul), 81(3), 209-231. 46 refs
The history of the displacement effect, in which a
target other than the intended one is psychically perceived
or influenced, is traced from its accidental discovery by
Abbot in 1938 to its occurrence in contemporary psi inves-
tigations. Evidence suggestive of displacement is reviewed
in several contexts: restricted-response ESP experiments,
free-response ESP experiments, and PK experiments. Fac-
tors influencing displacement are discussed; these factors
appear to coalesce into three major clusters of negativity,
impatience, and distractability. A fourth displacement-
enhancing factor, which could be termed "playfulness/
curiosity/exploration," is proposed. A number of suggested
methods for minimizing displacement are presented. Most
of these methods are techniques for enhancing the salience
of the intended target and decreasing the salience or dis-
tinctiveness of nontarget items. - DA
02692. Matlock, James G. Archives and psychical
research. Journal of the American Society for Psychical
Research, 1987 (Jul), 81(3), 233-255. 86 refs
The importance of archives to the historian is well
known. The value of archives for education is receiving
increased recognition, but little attention has been paid to
their potential contribution to scientific research. This
paper emphasizes the place of archives in parapsychology.
Examples are given of the use of primary materials in
scholarly writings and laboratory studies. The require-
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