186 0mv F Release 2000/08/11 : C'A-RDP96-00792ROO0700040002-~arapsychology in the Ibero-American World mhp 187 or sycip araV TheJou 00 a high concentration of Spiritists whose beliefs threaten the estab- lished Catholic dogmas. However, when he uses parapsychological evidence of certain phenomena as a scientifi backup to establish facts, when this same evidence is still very q troversial for many parapsychologists, his position is untenable. onetheless, his work has to be seen in the cultural and ideol cal background from which he has worked (Alvarado, 1991). Another Iiiniension of Brazilian psychi I research is the work by researchers ' h Spiritist orientation. e example is that con ucl the gineer and psychical earcher Hernani Guimar d Led by aes Andrade, w In 1963 founded t Brazilian Institute of Psy- chobiophysical R arch (IBPP). The ame was chosen to make it clear that the Inst te intended to plore biological and physical as well as purely ps ical phenom a. One of the most significant things about this Insti e is that it erged from within the Spiritist movement (Playfair, I Andr e, a Spiritist himself, has con- r -plan. ' d a detaai .le investigations of reincarnation ducted well ta lei cases along the lities f Ia Stev son s work. His poltergeist cases 01 are particularly interesting 0 example, the one published in a TY- t monograph entitled 0 Folt re Gitarulhos (1984). These cases in- volve very dramatic phe e :apports, damage to furniture and persons, apparitions of stran eatures, and spontaneous fires. In evaluating and interpreting es, Andrade leans toward the dis- carnate agencies hypothesis, me , es with possible witchcraft com- ponents (Alvarado, 1984b;MwAndralk, 1984). Also, as Mich-el--Ange ndrade's interpretation of the Amorim (1990) has rema-Ild abou'R cases: 7, 9V Andrade interprets thfdiffere ,of occurrences present in this nt ty iof case [the Guarulhos's Ise] as supportil a Spiritist world view in the Umbanda tradition- [he Umbandattradjon has several million adher ents especially in h ger cities. es African, Catholic, Indian, t g and Spiritist elem#ts and may be charakrized as a relatively extra- ecclesiastic of p ar Catholicism with an nt Afro-Brazilian sects. (p. 199) Of It, 0 According to morim, not only does Anliacdeenitnterpret his cases g @ts @ along the Spirit' lines but he also acceF s ral beliefs of this ir't religion, such the existence of all sorts irits, like Exus and h irits'. t] a ,/Ha r is Umulums. H also believes that the sorcer is able to practice Is magic within e terreiros (a place specialized these procedures) to harass vic s according to Quimbanda laws (t lack magic side s , of the Umb da religion). Concerning Andrade's interpretation of the aforementioned case of Guarulhos, Amorim (1990) also states: Approved For Release 2000/08/11 Thus, he rejects the usual attributions of RSPK outbreaks to a living agency. In defense of his position he points to the fact that a psycho logical examination of No@mia [a participant in the case], the most prob able RSA agent, was conducted by two psychologists belonging to the IBPP teai%,He states, "Mrs. No4Emia didn't display any irm of psychi I ab___ I as belo ca ity that could justify viewing her as belo to the 'psy- chokinetic a 9 -onfor YI Vt of a poltergeist' category in confor y with the theo- retical patter%,suggested by the current hypoth ." . . . He adds that )Zth i ne ative his macro-PK F*ts ... of her capacities were a negative, (p. 199) Rhat to some ex It is importantXhowever to int ouP tent the I , r e his ociates seem to reflect the cases investigate( nd a@ an.7 'ture ofr influence of the belie%and culture o razilian society (Hess, 1990). Andrade has also PUN parapsyt!hology in Poil (1967). A basic introdi used in parapsychology, tistical model used in ei, There are other grc scientific approach to ps recently established E Parapsicologia. T * T / one o e first systematic treatises of one 0e se itled Parapsicologia Experimental e eItled nual of the quantitative method nual0 es a detailed description of the sta- es a clet nts with ESP cards. ents with I a Brazil who are interested in a more research. One of these groups is the stituto de Investiga@6es Ciendficas to different approach, in pursue a em group s pa. one separate from more tr tional approaches associated with om J Spiritist or Catho * orientat sical of most Brazilian research 0 ori, ion centers. It recei support . University of Sdo Francisco to v supl from organize its fir 'conference in para%ychology, held in 1990, which Of s w uded pa - h n rs i a incl Icipants from t e rsity as well as researchers -0 @ro n-Arg i r h e from Arg ina, Brazil, and Mex@ic he group plans to conduct 5up g ty in its n d experim tal research that will be repo d in its newjournal, called xperim ta' epo icologia. Acco 'ng to its president, Wel- 0 k n c el'jsta rasile,, it Revista rasileira de Paraps g /Iin 'st to lingt i Zangari, it will include abstract English as well as in ng a En t S P gis Z@ he utrcr tio g S sh. The journal will also include tra ations from major ex- h . deta a n imental and theoretical articles publis, in the English-lan- ime@ tal ar 3publis in :)I\ uage journals. uage journal v i There are also other groups involved in pa sychology in Brazil ed npa s DaDer beca that are beyond the scope of this paper beca of limitations of space and because of our initial goal of evaluating Brazilian para psychology .from the perspective of its impact on the Ibero-Ameri can countries. Argentina For many years Argentina has been the top-ranking country in Ibero-America in terms of experimental parapsychological research, CIA-RDP9@-00792ROO0700040002-5 Approved For Release 2000/08/11 188 The journal of Parapsychology However, research has diminished in the last few years, partly be- cause of the recent deaths of two of the leading contributors, J. Ri- cardo Musso and Enrique Novillo Pauh. Early research began in Argentina about the same time the Duke University Laboratory was established in the United States. The 1930s witnessed one of the most important events in the history of Argentine parapsychology. In 1931, the first institute of psychology was established at the University of Buenos Aires. The institute in- cluded paranormal psychology as one of the areas to be investigated by the department. Parapsychology appeared to be joined to psy- chology from the beginning. The chairman of the psychology de- partment, Enrique Mouchet, was interested in clairvoyance research and had come to the conclusion that it was necessary to include paranormal psychology in the syllabus of courses offered by the de- partment (Musso, 1973). However, Argentinian researchers have had to struggle with the traditional spiritualistic methodology that characterized the study of psychical research in this country in the past. The research being conducted in the young Duke Parapsychology Laboratory had a ma- jor impact on the new generation of Argentinian researchers. The move toward a more quantitative approach to the study of scientific parapsychology was pioneered by a young engineer by the name of Jos6 Ferndndez, who was teaching physics at the University of Bue- nos Aires. Although Ferndndez belonged to a Spiritualist group called ATMAN, he had been in search of an adequate methodology to investigate the psychic phenomena manifested by mediums and clairvoyants. He ho@ed to be able to apply statistical principles to the responses given by the mediums. Ferndndez presented the results of these experiments in 1941 to a meeting of the Sociedad Cientifica Argentina. Fern;kndez's efforts to introduce quantitative methodol- ogy in Argentina had a major impact on the approaches that other young researchers were to follow in establishing scientific parapsy- chology there. Another development during this period was the creation of the Asociaci6n Argentina M6dica de Metapsiquica in 1946 by a group of physicians headed by Orlando Canavesio. The aim of this society was to evaluate the medical and legal status of parapsychology sci- entifically and to promote its development in scientific circles as well as to determine its proper classification, that is, to decide whether the discipline belonged to psychology or physiology, or whether it could be considered to be a new branch of science. Canavesio himself wrote his doctoral thesis on a study of elec- troencephalographic records 9k1p0Ai@bd4W1ke1Tkkes26W&Ot#l CIA-RDP@6-00792ROOO700040002-5 Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 189 lished a journal called Revista Midica de MetapAquica summarizing the research of the society. Included among the articles published in the journal was a study of the use of dowsers by the government to find water in towns where the lack of water had become a hard- ship for its inhabitants. During this period, the work of Canavesio was important because of his connection to the government, a con- nection that helped to legitimize parapsychological studies in Argen- tina (Musso, 1973). The creation of the Instituto de Psicopatologfa Aplicada in 1948 by the Secretary of Public Health was another important develop- ment. The aim of the government was to establish tight control over the Spiritist activities in Argentina, which were considered to be a social evil. More specifically, the aim was to control the exploitation of people engaged in nonscientific practices such as healing, and so on. The Institute created a subsidiary, the Comit6 de Investigaciones Metapsiquicas, which was assigned to conduct experimental research with gifted subjects, specifically during mediumistic sessions. The Committee intended to explore the medical and legal implications of Spiritist practices, as well as to determine whether genuine para- psychological phenomena were exhibited during these sessions by the gifted subjects. The Committee was also interested in uncover- ing negative factors that might induce mental illness, such as neu- rosis, in the participants. More specifically, it seems that the real ob- Jective of the Committee was to determine whether the promoters of these mediumistic sessions were practicing medicine illegally (Parra, 1989). In 1949 Jos6 Ferndndez founded the Sociedad Argentina de Parapsicologia. Fernindez, who was already known for his quanti- tative approach to psychic phenomena, continued to promote the statistical approach used by the Duke researchers. This approach was reflected in the Society's main objective, which was to study and investigate parapsychological phenomena with emphasis on the de- velopment of statistical methods. By then Ferndndez had received from Rhine a copy of Extra-Semo?y Perception After Sixty Years (Pratt, Rhine, Smith, Stuart, & Greenwood, 1940). The book had a major impact on Fermindez, who applied Rhine's mathematical models to his own research. Fern.Andez also circulated the book among his friends (Musso, 1973). The Society conducted the first serious experiments on clairvoy- ance in Argentina using ESP cards and statistical procedures. The study, with gifted subjects, obtained significant results. Ferndndez &%4&t1w 6esults of these experiments in a pamphlet entitled CIA-RDP9.'6-00792 ROW? LTUIZ - Approved For Release 2000/08/11 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0700040002-5 190 TheJournal of Parapsychology Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 191 Psicologia ExperimenW. The Society also conducted otherthrown by a military coup; most state universities experi- were forced to ments such as the one with the well-known clairvoyant eliminate the study from their curricula. In Conrado Cas- spite of the prevailing tiglione. The study used the empty-chair technique similarnegative conditions standing in the way of university to that status for the used with Ludwig Khan and with Gerard Croiset (Musso, subject, a new quarterly publication was founde& 1973). The Cuadernos de The first Instituto Argentino de Parapsicologia was Parapsicologia, perhaps the most important publication established in the history in 1953. It brought together several men who representedof Argentinian experimental parapsychology, took the most the responsibility critical approach of the time, men such as Jos6 Ferndndez,of disseminating a high level of academic parapsychology. Orlando Headed Canavesio, J. Ricardo Musso, and Naum Kreiman. The Instituteby Naurn Kreiman, it has been the most professional was organ of sci- organized to include a main scientific research department,entific parapsychology in Argentina to the present along time. with several sections, such as the medical-biological Owing to the military takeover of the government section and a that elimi- physics and mathematics section. The principles of the nated most of the parapsychology courses offered Institute re- at the state uni- flected the critical approach their members followed versities, parapsychology did not enjoy the same in conducting status at the begin- their research. One of these was to subject every hypothesisning of the 1970s as it had during the period to sci- of university entific examination, so that only those that would withstandexpansion of the 1960s. Some new developments the during this period most stringent tests would remain. In addition to the kept the torch lit, however. Among the most important creation of the ones was the Institute, this period of the 1950s was also characterizedcreation of the Institutc, de Parapsicologia by a grow- in 1970. It is headed by ing interest in publishing books on parapsychology, Naum Kreiman, a bio-statistician and a co-founder One of the first of the Instituto systematic treatises on parapsychology in Spanish writtenArgentino de Parapsicologia in the 1950s. Kreiman by J. Ri- has played a key ca-rdo Musso (1954) was called En los Limites de la role in the development of the quantitative approach P-sicologia: Desde el to the study Espiritismo hasta la Parapsicologia [On the Limits of of parapsychology for the last 30 years. From Psychology: From 1964 to the present Spiritualism to Parapsychology]. Other developments he has conducted numerous original experiments included a pa- as well as repli- per by Musso in 1957, which was published in a journal cations of some of the most important experiments put out by conducted in the ministry of education of the province of Buenos foreign countries. With the help of his wife Aires. It was and collaborator, Dora the first time a paper on parapsycl Augy had I---- flul uccul PUUII3II%.@ LAI a lvn;sky, and Ladislao V61"11P7 he has ronchirted numerous exDer- government review. In addition, parapsychology was incorporatediments that have been published in the Cuadernos. Among them are as a course in five different universities. In 1960, exploratory testing with ESP cards (Kreiman & Ricardo Musso was Ivnisky, 1964); ESP awarded a professorship at Rosario University to teach using photographs as targets (Kreiman, 1965); parapsychol- the sheep-goat effect ogy, and, for the first time in any country, a course in ESP (Kreiman, 1972); the effect of feedback in parapsycho- on ESP (Kreiman & logy was made a requirement for a doctoral degree in Ivnisky, 1973); ESP and memory (Kreiman, 1975); psychology memory and (Rueda, 1989). precognition (Kreiman, 1978); psi and volition (Kreiman & Ivnisky, In 1962 the Institute conducted studies confirming the 1980); brain laterality and ESP (Kreiman, 1981); sheep- precognition of goat effect, using primary-school children as subjects.human actions (Ivnisky & Kreiman, 1981); and The results remote viewing were published in the journal of Parapsychology (Mu9so,(Kreiman, 1983). 1965). Other important experiments included "An ESP Drawing ExperimentInstitute members such as Dora Ivnisky have done with extensive a High Scoring Subject," also published in theJournal work in keeping the Argentinian parapsychological of Parapsychol- community in- ogy (Musso & Granero, 1973). Moreover, Musso and his formed of activities around the world by translating wife and numerous ex- colleague, Mirta Granero, conducted an international periments and theoretical papers from languages experiment other than Span- on long-distance ESP called the "Antarctic Experiment."ish from the Journal of Parapsychology and elsewhere. Although The diligent the results were not statistically significant they experimental work done by Kreiman since the 1950s were important be- and continuing cause the experiment involved subjects from twenty differentto the present time makes him one of the most coun- important laboratory tries (Musso, 1973, p. 168). researchers in Argentinian and lbero-American parapsychology. The expansion period of parapsychology was interrupted Another important development during this period in was the cre- 1966 when the then currenA Argentiptan gQvfrnment was over- ation of an Institute of Parapsychology at the Catholic University of pproved For-Release 2000/08/11 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0700040002-5 Approved For Release 2000/08/11 CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0700040002-5 192 The journal of Parapsychology Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 193 C6rdoba by the Catholic priest Enrique Novillo Pauli.Recently, a new parapsychology journal, the Revista One of the Argentina de principal activities of the Institute was to teach Psicologfa Paranormal, has appeared. It is published courses on parapsy- by an indepen- chology in the school of psychology at the University.dent group of parapsychologists called LAPAS (Laboratory The staff of of Para- the Institute also provided consultation and orientationpsychology) and edited mainly by Alejandro Parra. to bishops, judged by its priests, and families about phenomena such as poltergeistscontent, the journal seems to be a worthwhile addition and to the cur- bleeding religious images. Unfortunately this instituterent efforts to keep the Argentinian audience well recently informed on closed down after the death of Father Novillo. professional parapsychology. However, some of the experiments of Prior to the creation of the Institute, Novillo the researchers in this group have not been well Pauli had been at received by other the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man Argentinian researchers, who consider the experiments in North Car- to be flawed olina where he conducted some PK research with seeds(Kreiman, 1990; see also Alvarado, 1990). LAPAS as targets has also started a under the auspices of the Organization of American Spanish-language parapsychology information center. States. Novillo The Center is Pauli presented the results of his experiments at building a computer data bank from which Spanish-speaking the annual conven- para- tion of the Parapsychological Association in 1972 (Novillo Pauli, gists may obtain information about a bibliography on para- psycholo 1973). During the period of his stay at the FRNM, psychology similar to the Parapsychology International he also prepared Abstracts pub- a book on parapsychology entitled Los Fen6menos lished by Rhea White (Villanueva, 1990). Parapsicol6gicos: Psi en el Laboratorio (1975), which included reports In addition to these recent developments, CSICOP of his PK studies. has made its The studies were also reported in the Spanish-languageway to Argentina. A former member of Naum Kreiman's parapsycho- research logical journals Cuadernos de Parapsicologia (1974)group, Ladislao Mdrquez, has created an Argentinian and Psi Comunica- version called ci6n (1976). Centro Argentino Para la Investigaci6n y Refutaci6n de la Pseudo- In spite of the marked decline since the 1970s, ciencia (CAIRP). The most important aims of CAIRP an important re- are to de- cent development is the organization of a parapsychologynounce fraud and to promote a critical scientific confer- assessment of the ence in Argentina in 1987, the Primer Encuentro claims made by pseudoscientists. The board of directors, de Parapsicologfa. headed by It was sponsored by the University of Salvador of Ladislao Mdrquez, also includes foreign members, Buenos Aires and Martin Gardner, held under the direction of Enrique Novillo Pauli. for ;n-.t2nre_ Soinu of -L'ILC top- ics discussed at the conference were mental healingThe prospects for Argentinian parapsychology in studies, altered the 1990s states of consciousness in relation to psi performance,seem less favorable than those of the booming period and quantum of previous mechanics (Alvarado, 1989b). Soon afterward, Argentinayears. The present difficulties in the Argentinian suffered economy have in- the loss of two of its most important pioneers, creased for researchers, making it difficult for J. Ricardo Musso, them to obtain funds president of the Instituto Argentino de Parapsicologiato support their research and publications. (which he di- rected until his death in 1989) and, in the same In a recent survey conducted on the present status year, Enrique Novi- of parapsy- Ilo Pauli. Consequently, the activities of Musso's chology in Argentina, Naum Kreiman reported that institute declined, research has and the institute at the University of El Salvador decreased substantially over the last five years. headed by Enrique Most of the recent Novillo Pauli closed down. Since then, the Institute-ofresearch reports have come from Kreiman's Institute Parapsychol- of Parapsy- ogy headed by Kreiman has remained as the most importantchology. Educational activities in the field are source almost nil except for of professional parapsychology in Argentina. a course being offered at a small university called John F. Kennedy During the 1980s, parapsychology in Argentina was University (Kreiman & Ivnisky, 1989). character- ized by a marked decline in experimental activities.In a letter published in the journal of Parapsychology, Most of the Jorge Villa- work during this period was conducted by members nueva (1990) pointed out some of the major problems of the Institute that Argen- of Parapsychology under Kreiman, who, as in previoustinian researchers face at the present time. Among years, main- them are lack of tained a constant interest in reporting original support from public and private institutions, lack experiments, includ- of serious books ing replications of foreign experimental works. in Spanish to provide responsible information on They also continued the subject, and to publish regularly their quarterly journal, whichlack of proper technology and other means to conduct contained trans- sophisticated lations of some of the most irr*bojasparcl~.,Pijblishe~,,io, Enilish. research. Some of these problems, Villanueva suggests, may be di- or R(Hease 0 0/0 711 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0700040002-5 Approved For Release 2000/08/11 CIA-RDP, 96-00792ROO0700040002-5 194 The journal of Parapsychology Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World 195 minished by increasing communication and collaboration with for- eign parapsychologists. 10 Early psychical research in Pilerto Rico was strongly influenced by the nineteenth-century Spiritualist movement that had also spread to other countries. Mcvilumistic s6ances in which raps and communication, with the spiri@ were common drew attention mostly from people wit@ a religiol 5 th, It was perhap) is nfl, in 1904 a more c 'tical ic Z@" al e- booklet Breve Tra de d e toterapia, Morales con e ded n d e n t place without assumin the he possession as being a uggestion ugge nomena to our own syc ic sy ic t1lc t experiments made til t force in our being hat is c 1ts c ai lifting a table, or li ing our tj g our 'o ro is under our co 1. He als He a cation could be e lained exp /e dium and the tter. tter. interest. ce that led Agapito Morales to publish amination of these phenomena. In his a n n ipnotismo, Magnetismo, Espi-ritismo y Suges- I that all those occurrences could take d a c action of spirit agencies. He interpreted and attributed paranormal phe- f_ faculties. He considered that all of the ay, ay demonstrate that there is an invisible pable, for instance, of playing a guitar, p v wn bodies. According to him this force believed that mediumistic communi- Is by qieans of telepathy between the me- Another or influence in the formation of a more empirical 0 t h er and c I a proach to parapsyc \ t ica -r,t,ca h6@ogy was the work of Francisco a p Ponte, a de ist who became presideqt of the Puerto Rican Feder- a e i d ation of Sp' itists. Ponte visited EuropMn 1912 to familiarize him- f It Is S t p thtewo@ self with t e work of several Spiritualisti,@@enters, as well as psychi- e /ah en Cal resear h centers. He had had the 0. tunity to participate in rC OPP mediumi tic sdances in Italy with famous ediums such as Lucia mi jcs tea Sordi a d Eusapia Palladino. During these 6ances he witnessed a d Eusa manife tations of apparent telekinesis and terializations (Alva- ttiosC a n 9.Po 87n rado, 987; Ponte, 1914). Later Ponte returned to Puerto Rico and trie to reproduce the same phenomena with local mediums. He reporte me of his find- ings on materializations, of body parts during s6ances to Walter Franklin Prince, then Research Officer of the ASPR. Ponte's work was important because of the critical and empirical approach he brought to his research on s6ance phenomena (Alvarado, 1979a), '0 This section on Puerto Rican parapsychology partly summarizes information contained in an article by Alvarado (1979a). The theoretical ideas of Ralph U. Sierra are also interesting. Sierra, who was interested in the psychology of ESP, believed that to develop telepathy it was necessary to develop first an internal state of tranquility so that the electrical activity of the brain did not interfere with the telepathic process (Sierra, 1966). Some of the most important developments, however, took place during the last two centuries. At the educational level, it is impor- tant to note the work of Celinda Madera who, during the 1970s, offered @ series of courses and lectures at different campuses of the UniversiN of Puerto Rico. Madera's courses focused on the human- r a I a s s 0 f si S h istic and t anspersonal aspects of PSI. ed train- a n s e s 0 n e c t i She @erself had receiv p p p P 0 n i v r a r a s c sh 0 'o ing at Du e University's Parapsych ,o- Laboratory (Alvarado, e U e s y p i-t 1979a). 4 r A d r u e z E C u c C In 104, estor A. Rodriguez E udero, a lawyer, published a e s 0 R 0 g s b u a r s c h 0 ar series of essa about parapsychol gy and Spiritualism in his book e s a a 0 t a p y g y p Los Caminos d ios. He discussed great variety of paranormal phe- e s H d j s c u s e d r e a t e 0 s d e s g h in b c 1v e w t 0 s 0 nomena. His in in objective w to show that parapsychology dem- H I n 0 e t s J -e -tu Vin onstrates the spi *tual aspect f man (Rodriguez Escudero, 1974). a ct f an 0 m th s (R ape p tl Another deve pment 1 1977 was the creation of the Instituto ve@ws edepment 977 rev ti de Inves a iones sicofi cas at the University of Puerto Rico, May aclones sicof cas at the Jg c g pus Foueto conduct inves u agiiez campus. e to conduct investigations in parapsychology and related are , h nstitute carried out studies of various param da eas thnt earJed 01 t rs, stl utcr eters of Kirlian pho raphy and of the effects of hypnosis on ESP. Jrljan pho rap by and of the th ear mvestivatjons However, these- r ear investigations were never made available ' d Alfonso Martinez Taboas began 'f' e r A b at '0 n d for publication. uring is perio r u c p p P ar to publish a ne sletter Ex rando lo Paranormal, a semipopular mag- is r a ndo lo h n e s u b s a xP p I va r 0 azine later e ted by Carlos Ivarado starting in 1976. d r 10 a d a t e r t e n e e v a s' Martine Taboas and Carl Alvarado wrote articles on parapsy- T ar I A I M r e a b C tl ra( ztil@ Sh Lo 0@ an @ltS Io r Cho ,panish for the pa is journal Psi Comunicaci6n; they 11Sp Is pa Ish )01 s.r Iel Iso ub shed in otherjournals. eir articles covered a wide range sopbsh dIn ourna ue0 also pub Ihe @eden rado Ott of topi s. Among these, Alvarado ote on experimental studies of topis6Amon g IAlva B/E76 h,C9 ets f I OBEs (1976), historical precedents f the so-called psychic discov- (I st( s,Ipr erie behind the Iron Curtain (1978 the use of historical knowl- Je beh nd the 'urtam 78 I(19i9),Iin(19 ed (1979b), and onj. B. Rhine (198 Martinez Taboas published 7 b and B Rh e8 a review of the problem of repeatability in parapsychology (1979), critiques of psychological and physiological concepts of poltergeist research (1977, 1980, 1984; Martinez Taboas & Alvarado, 1981), and a discussion of the concept of parsimony applied to parapsy- chology (1983). The work of Martinez Taboas and Alvarado has been very im- portant in the effort to bridge the language barrier between the Spanish researcher and the non-Spanish-speaking researcher. This Approved For Release 2000/08/11 CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0700040002-5