The first card-guessing ESP experiments were conducted by Rhine at Duke University in 1930. The cards consisted of five designs, now called ESP symbols, a square, a circle, a plus sign, a five pointed star, and a set of three wavy lines. The symbols were printed singly, in black ink, on cards resembling playing cards.
In the classic Rhine experiments on ESP, the subject tries to guess or "call" the order of the five symbols when they are randomly arranged in a deck of 25 ESP cards. The likelihood of calling a card correctly by chance is one in five. Therefore, it is possible to calculate how often a particular score is likely to occur by chance in a given number of calls. It was Rhine'' argument that when his subjects made high scores that could be expected by chance only once in a thousand tries, or once in a million, they displayed "extrachance" results, or ESP.
The early experiments faced several criticisms. Two were automatically dismissed: (1) The statistics were unsound which was refuted by the president of the American Mathematical Association. (2) That ESP is physical impossibility which begs the question.
Several appropriate criticisms were accepted by Rhine which he used to improve his experiments. Examples are: (1) There may have been sensory cues. An example of this is that if a strong light shined on the back of the ESP cards, it might be possible to see the symbol through the back. Currently to avoid this possibility the target card is covered by an oblique shielding, or kept far from the subject. (2) An experimenter that knows the target might whisper it or otherwise give a cue to the subject. Presently no one in contact with the subject knows the target. (3) More hits might be recorded than actually occurred.. Currently hits and responses are recorded by machine or by someone not knowing either.
Three criticism remain: (1) The "file drawer" effect. Only favorable results are published. Larger experimental data like one in a million make this unlikely. (2) Results are inconsistent and not repeatable. This can be remedied statistically. (3) Charges of fraud. Can be refuted by other reputable investigators obtaining similar results.
There was a finding which seemed puzzling until better understood. While some label it "missing-ESP" it might be thought of as reverse-ESP too. It is found among subject who dislike ESP. Even though the subjects were consciously trying to achieve good scores, they scored lower than chance. An unconscious factor seemed to come into play here. Experimenters have found they can predict higher scores for some groups (for example, those who are interested and relaxed), and lower scores for other groups (those who show fear, negativity, or boredom). The factor of missing-ESP indicates why ESP data is unreliable.
More recently computer games are increasingly being used to test ESP. The computer is programmed so that a random series determines the targets, and the subjects attempt to outguess the computer.
Another factor that researchers and experimenters must watched for in ESP and all psychical experiments is preconceived or previously learned knowledge. This concerns any knowledge which might influence the subject's activity. For example, a person might say she sensed her son would telephone her on that certain day at that specific time. If the son had previously called her in such a fashion, then her sensation must be suspect for it might have been based upon knowledge of her son's previous performance. A person might strongly feel that he would receive an email message from a friend on a certain day, and he does; but, can this be considered a ESP phenomenon considering that this person had not head from the other person for sometime and was expecting the message. The point being made is that when dealing with psychic phenomena all factors must be considered when examining the performance. (Source: angelicinspirations.com)
In the classic Rhine experiments on ESP, the subject tries to guess or "call" the order of the five symbols when they are randomly arranged in a deck of 25 ESP cards. The likelihood of calling a card correctly by chance is one in five. Therefore, it is possible to calculate how often a particular score is likely to occur by chance in a given number of calls. It was Rhine'' argument that when his subjects made high scores that could be expected by chance only once in a thousand tries, or once in a million, they displayed "extrachance" results, or ESP.The early experiments faced several criticisms. Two were automatically dismissed: (1) The statistics were unsound which was refuted by the president of the American Mathematical Association. (2) That ESP is physical impossibility which begs the question.
Several appropriate criticisms were accepted by Rhine which he used to improve his experiments. Examples are: (1) There may have been sensory cues. An example of this is that if a strong light shined on the back of the ESP cards, it might be possible to see the symbol through the back. Currently to avoid this possibility the target card is covered by an oblique shielding, or kept far from the subject. (2) An experimenter that knows the target might whisper it or otherwise give a cue to the subject. Presently no one in contact with the subject knows the target. (3) More hits might be recorded than actually occurred.. Currently hits and responses are recorded by machine or by someone not knowing either.
Three criticism remain: (1) The "file drawer" effect. Only favorable results are published. Larger experimental data like one in a million make this unlikely. (2) Results are inconsistent and not repeatable. This can be remedied statistically. (3) Charges of fraud. Can be refuted by other reputable investigators obtaining similar results.
There was a finding which seemed puzzling until better understood. While some label it "missing-ESP" it might be thought of as reverse-ESP too. It is found among subject who dislike ESP. Even though the subjects were consciously trying to achieve good scores, they scored lower than chance. An unconscious factor seemed to come into play here. Experimenters have found they can predict higher scores for some groups (for example, those who are interested and relaxed), and lower scores for other groups (those who show fear, negativity, or boredom). The factor of missing-ESP indicates why ESP data is unreliable.
More recently computer games are increasingly being used to test ESP. The computer is programmed so that a random series determines the targets, and the subjects attempt to outguess the computer.
Another factor that researchers and experimenters must watched for in ESP and all psychical experiments is preconceived or previously learned knowledge. This concerns any knowledge which might influence the subject's activity. For example, a person might say she sensed her son would telephone her on that certain day at that specific time. If the son had previously called her in such a fashion, then her sensation must be suspect for it might have been based upon knowledge of her son's previous performance. A person might strongly feel that he would receive an email message from a friend on a certain day, and he does; but, can this be considered a ESP phenomenon considering that this person had not head from the other person for sometime and was expecting the message. The point being made is that when dealing with psychic phenomena all factors must be considered when examining the performance. (Source: angelicinspirations.com)