Psychokinesis

Question 1

What are the types of psychokinesis?

Answer 1

Macro-psychokinesis

Micro-psychokinesis

Question 2

What is macro-psychokinesis?

Answer 2

When large enough objects/events are effected and you can see the effects e.g spoon bending

Question 3

What is micro-psychokinesis?

Answer 3

When very small objects are affected e.g influencing numbers on a random number generator

Question 4

What studies are related to macro-psychokinesis?

Answer 4

Batcheldor

Question 5

What was Batcheldor’s study?

Answer 5

He began his ‘training’ with a deliberate fake levitation event and gradually built up participants belief, leading to some impressive displays of levitation of objects. He suggested they could do this because he prevented their unconscious mind from interfering

Question 6

What did Batcheldor believe?

Answer 6

That everyone is capable of macro-psychokinesis but we feel to inhibited by our unconscious mind to perform it.

Question 7

What are the problems with Batheldors study?

Answer 7

The validity of studies such as this are challenged by the fact magicians can repeat such events.
As demonstrated with Randi’s project alpha, parapsychologists are poor at spotting fraudulent participants

Question 8

What is psychokinesis?

Answer 8

When you use your mind to manipulate or move an object or event

Question 9

What is project alpha?

Answer 9

An investigation carried out by former stage magician James Randi who was an expert in exposing fraud. He trained two young boys and had them present themselves as parapsychologists. They carried out ‘tricks’ including metal bending and mind reading. They were also instructed to be difficult to work with and refuse to cooperate with strict laboratory procedures. The researcher were very impressed with the results and described the boys as ‘gifted psychic subjects’

Question 10

What were the results of project alpha?

Answer 10

The researchers were very impressed with the results and describe the boys as ‘gifted psychic subjects’.

Question 11

What do the results of project alpha illustrate?

Answer 11

The lack of control of research and how easily manipulated parapsychologists can be by skilled conjurors

Question 12

What supports the lack of validity for macro-psychokinesis? Explain…

Answer 12

Metal bending has been successfully simulated by many conjurors but has never been replicated under fully controlled conditions

Question 13

How is micro-psychokinesis usually studied?

Answer 13

By the participants attempting the influence what numbers are generated in a random number generator
Or with a random event generator

Question 14

Explain the usual procedure for investigating micro-psychokinesis…

Answer 14

Participants are asked to generate a higher or lower number than the last, we would expect by chance to achieve this 50% of the time

Question 15

How is a random event generator used when testing micro-psychokinesis?

Answer 15

This device is an electric coin flipped that produces an equal number of heads and tails. Participants are asked to influence the random event generator and produce more heads than tails

Question 16

What studies are related to micro-psychokinesis?

Answer 16

Jahn et al

Bosch and Steinkamp

Question 17

What were Jahn et als findings?

Answer 17

They found from a 12 year testing program that even though the effects for individuals were small, when the scores across all trials were combined the effect size was very large, exceeding a probability of 1 in a billion

They also found that effects increased when two participants with a close emotional attachment worked together

Question 18

What did Bosch and Steinkamp do?

Answer 18

Conduct a meta-analysis of 380 micro-psychokinesis studies

Question 19

What were Bosch and Steinkamps findings?

Answer 19

There was a small but consistent effect on random number generation. However there was a massive variation between the findings of different studies. Older and smaller studies which were less well controlled found greater effects than newer, better controlled studies.

Question 20

What was Bosch and Steinkamp’s conclusion?

Answer 20

That there is some evidence for micro-psychokinesis although poor research methodology may be accountable in some studies.

Question 21

What are the controversies relating to statistical analysis and psychokinesis?

Answer 21

Meta-analysis of studies is problematic
File drawer effect
Early stopping

Question 22

Explain why meta-analysis of studies is problematic and why this is a controversy?

Answer 22

Studies often use slightly different methodologies so are not strictly comparable. The inclusion or exclusion of a few studies affects the outcome quite a lot.
Different analyses often reveal different interpretations of the data that often reflect the theoretical biases of the researchers

Question 23

How is the file drawer effect a controversy relating to statistical analysis and psychokinesis?

Answer 23

Studies are often not published if the results are not significant so the meta-analysis may be skewed in favour of studies with positive outcomes

Question 24

How is early stopping a controversy relating to statistical analysis and psychokinesis?

Answer 24

In some studies the experimenter stopped the experiment after a run of successful trials so that there would be a significant effect. If they had carried on, this effect may have been undercut by unsuccessful trials