Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 OF SUOMSSFUL FFM-RESPONSE TAXZTS EXPERIMWAL FINDINGS AND Cll3SlE1=T10NS Deborah L-Delanoy Psychology DepartTient University of Bdinburgh 7 George Square Edinburgh ERB 9JZ Scotland,, U.K. Abstract This paper reviews experimental, findings and observations cmcerning chaxacteristics of successful free-response targets. InfoxNation relevant to the following categories of target characteristics was examined: colour/black and wi-dte; ccmpley,/simple; novel/familiar; abstract/ concrete; dynamic/static; form/idea and meaning; emotion; and them/ content. Very few conclusions could be drawn from the data base, although a tentative finding relateddynamic, multi-sensory targets to ESP success. Other suggestive findings were reported for novel and abstract characteristics. The discussion considers possible reasons for the general lack of findings and presents a possible avenue for future research. AC1QXXffZDGEMENTS: M. Caroline Watt and Professor jarres Crandall contributed substantially to the research for this papert for which I am w0st grateful. My thanks also to Dr. Julie Milton and Ms. Watt for helpful comments on the papers content and again to Ms. mtt for the typing of the references. 230 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 This and the following paper, pres~ented bv '~'aroline Watt, represents the findings of a literature review e-)~~-)q what makes a successful (in terms of being accurately nerceived Z7!~7 the percpient) xWor unsuccessful free-response GESP target. '-M-ie rev_-_~v uas undertaken to assist the KOestler Lab in constructing a fre%--respor~s;e PCO _rget 1 for future research. We thought such a review '4e_s necessary as use in our initial discussions as to what type of targets we ue 1 ocking for that various researchers in our gro= revealed '_%eld differing qpWons/ideas as to what qualities a successful should have. gme differences were further reinforced ut.,iean x*v --~-_ed di-scussing various targets which we had used in our own =xlepender- -esearch, and other researchers with whose targets pools we c thwe of 4.amiliar. An 4.1 initial search through some of the major paraps-ycii,_:_.I-_-,- -journals and ~e books revealed very little coherently arrar ae~c, information Mpnling fre&-response targets. This review was underta:,ri-n ; , an attempt to remedy this situation. To this end, W'e eXacm-'ned relevant echological and psychological rimental findinc--- a-ld tI.,e=etical raps., expe p& vodelsi, Post hoc observations, and lab lore in hcpes of d.:_,,-Immeeng scrW f, c=ensus regarding psi-conducive target qualities and Ib iB first paper will present the findings from pELrapsychoIcg,,,-_ e_,qpe_,ixaentaI I firdings I including post hoc f indings and anecdotal obse_~~-;a- it should be stressed that this review I s ncr- m~e~ to be I joftustive. We have tried to scout out related info=a-=~ in the main 4 *Mls and newsletters (Journal of the American socie-t7,- _fz~r v,- _~Cal now Journal of Parapsychology, Journal and PrOciee-~1---igs of the Fch, Swieky for Psychical Research, European journal O~c P~--apslochology mal of Parapsychology, Parapsycbolcc.,- ~ew' and ..":'A.~.Pasearch Iatter). We have also examined various conferer~--* proceedings Parapsychological Association and Parapsychology Fourda_ --r, major logical source books, same of the popular lite_r=_-__=-e -ec garding VF demlopment of psychic abilities, some of the relal~ psychology iteraturer and other prominent books in our field wtuct-. likely to contain the information we were seeking. t was ObViously bqpossible to examine all of the possibly relat-e-,a - Our -ature survey of the historical literature was necessarily quj-:,z - ~=~ (in f8ft we examined only two main sources, Warcollier's -4~-=L-,c~,- and of the Living, 1886). Target-related information from forced choice studies :_a=- nc,_ been -V!tntically considered here, the primary reason for this on being reviews of this literature already conducted by Palme-- 1978) and ..*Wpw*.er (1977). However, general findings frcm t .:je:se s=ces At Ily will be referred to where appropriate in this V., The most frequent comments regarding targets fotinod t1jese 8 were generalizations regarding the: choice of target ML-me~_al. Fbr e e ocnuents might be made that targets, were chosen which w.~, v-vidly intrinsically interesting, pleasant, and so on. iC~ such my be viewed as conveying the.-,experinenters " perspect=_,.- of .&jat titutes an easy-to-perceive target, to list all such cccwI-,,_ would been a very tedious task for both the author and i-x-, =-::i;~-,ce. " rbeen er no cannent could be made upon the utility c.- wina:t~ Overe adopted when choosing targets unless one were - tc a lysis of the relevant studies, a project which was far the Y of t Of the Present undertaking. Thus, such comments were nor- iudrad a review xmless information was provided which related tal r characteristics to the success or failure of the stucly, tk)e 231 ,DDroved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 ............... Approved For Release 2000 ~filpibRjf!DMg target materiais were SR _W%?DR9~07&UQ81OM2 saw respect, with the author describing the reason for such selection. The initial task,in this undertaking required finding some way to organize the target information in a meaningful and useful manner. This proved to be quite problematic, as target materials and content are seldom one-dimensional." Thus it was required to find a means of categorizing a diverse range of target materials, such as film clips, actual geographical Bites, agents' experience of some sensory stimulus, and a large range of assorted pictorial material, each representing varying degrees of denotative and connotative ccuplexity. Indeed, even defining the target in many studies was not a straight-forward proposition. Fbr example, in telepathic designs, is the target the agent's experience of the target material or the target material itself? In approaching this task it was thought that the target information could perhaps be divided according to the type of target material used (e.g. art prints, film clips, geographical locations, etc.). However, this approach was rejected as in many cases there was not enough available information about a specific target material to allow sensible generalizations to be made. Also explored were various ways of trying to represent and categorize the obtained target information in a multi-dimensional mmmer, taking into account both denotative and connotative meaning. To this end, attempts were made to apply to the data various three-dimensional cmceptualizations of the sort obtained from the semantic differential. Thus, we sought to find one scale which would categorize the obtained target information. taking into consideration various connotative caqponents such as evaluation (does the information convey something which is good-bad, clean~dirty, sacred- profane, etc.), potency (weak-strong, powerless-powerful, light-heavy, etc.), and activity (fast-slow, active-passive, sharp-dull, etc.). This approach of organizing the data was rejected as there was not enough information about most targets to justify a post hoc fitting of the obtained information into such a model. Thus, in the end the task was necessarily defined by the type of information obtained in the literature search. Looking thr9ugh the data obtained, it was decided that the information could best be organized according to the following target characteristics: colour / black and white; complex / simple; novel familiar; abstract / concrete; dynardc / static; fom / idea and meaningS emotion; and theme / content. The "working definitions" of these categories will be delineated in the foll%ring appropriate sections of this paper. There were many instances where the sane data fitted into several different categorizations. Flor instance, in Krippner, Ullman, et al. (1972) the target consisted of a randomly chosen word, an art print which portrayed the word, and then~a imilti-sensory (auditory, gustatory, olfactory, tactile and kinesthetic) enviromrent relating to the word/picture was created for the agent. Such a target could easily be classified as complex, novel, dynamic, emotional, and as having a strong theme. In such situations, the author has attempted to refer to the information in all the relevant categories, but has only provided details of the study in the category where it was first mentioned. Colour/ Black and White The colour category referred to all target materials which were coloured, as opposed to black and white. A telepathic dream study by Krippner and Zeichner (1974) obtained a significant degree (p < .002) of psi-hitting using 74 art prints as the targets. A descriptive analysis of 232 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 the art prints was then performed using an adapation of Gough and Mpi I hn In.'Ej of the art r orNb&" using this list. If two judges checked the saw adjective for any picture, that adjective was deemed to describe the Particular Print. This analysis revealed that a htgher percentage of hits were associated with targets which had blue in them, where targets containing orange and yellow were associated with more misses (whether results were significant is not reported). Puthoff and Targ (1979), in an anecdotal cunwnt upon their rerrote viewing studies stated that most hits were associated with various nonanalytic aspects of a target, such as colour. However, in another remote viewing study (Targ, Targ and Lichtarge, 1986) where colour was superimposed over black and white slides of locations, it was found that the viewers were unable to perceive the colour. In C011111ellting upon these results the authors speculated that the lack of colour perception may have been due to the restricted number of colour choices which resulted in making the oolour perception a more analytic task than the free-response perception -of possible target sites. Much of WaraAlier's (1938) work used simple black and white line drawings as targets. However, he observed informally that when colour was in the target,, it appeared to be perceived as frequently as was the form of the drawing. A non-psi study by Braud, Davisr and Opella (1985) examined the frequency of occurrence of different types of imagery in dreaming and ganzfelet states. As this study used no targets, the results could indicate what types of imagery have an a priori probability of being uentioned more often than others. In relation to this category, they found that dreaming and ganzfeld imagery contain a predaninance of colour (among other things). These results could be pertinent to the findings discussed in this paper, in that some of these findings could be due to a sinple predominance of certain naturally-occurring types of imagery as opposed to reflecting actual transmission of target-related content. It is possible that the higher frequency of colour imagery in general could lead to spurious observations of success with colour targets unless formally examined. This should be borne in mind when considering anecdotal observations. MAy studies have been conducted using black and white targets, most notably those experimerts where the target consisted of simple line drawings. However,, we found no free-response work which compared the effectiveness of black and white to coloured targets. Md4ahan and Rhine (1947) conducted a forced-choice study using both coloured and black and wiAte Zener cards. They found a higher average score with the coloured cards than with the black and white, but the difference was not significant. The findings from this category do not indicate any clear-cut differences between the success-rate of colour and black and white target materials. As both have a long track-record of obtaining significant psi outccmes, research specifically aimed at comparing the two in a free-response setting would be needed before any' conclusions regarding the superiority of one over the other could be made. Ccmplex Z SiMle Information included in the "cwplex" category referred to comments and findings about target materials, most commonly pictorial, which were ccmplex and/or rich in content. Krippner and Zeichner (1974) found a higher percentage of misses with more complex targets (whether the finding was significant was not reported). Stuart (1946b) stated that 233 roved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP9§-00792ROO0701020006-2 Ap Wt~MUWRryRe8W 2QO 0 IqMW , Am P 9 R if 0006-2 rnfw JhVOW C ny s ead subjects. Kripprier (1970) expressed concern that caVlex targets would mislead not the subjects but the judges, as complex targets could make the evaluation procedure overly problematic, with the creative judge finding numerous correspondences between many dream sequences and complex, detailed -pictures. Cn the other hand, significant results have been obtained with very complex target material such as film clips (Psychophysical Research Laboyatory, 1985) and the multi-sensory target environment of Krippner,, Ullman, et. al. (1972) described inthe introduction. Information classified as "simple" included i6ferences to targets composed of clearp unequivocally definablep comnon objects and syMmls. Most frequently these targets were simple line drawings. Both Carington (1940) and Stuart (1946a) recmTnendedithe use of simple, as opposed to oaqpund, drawings so as not to confuse the subject. Warcollier (1963) noted that even though his targets were simple, percipients' responses still showed considerable distortion. As above, Krippner and Zeichner (1974) found a higher percentage of hits associated with more simple targets as measured by the number of adjectives used to describe the target (again, whether this finding was significant is not reported). Several forced choice studies have examined the use of multi.Ple-aspect targets. Generally these targets would be considered to be 'simple' by free-response standards. However, being multi-aspect by definition, they would represent more complex material than many forced-choice targets. Palmer (1978) in reviewing this work concluded that when multiple-aspect targets were used subjects tended "to score at least as high or higher on the total target than on any of its primary attributes. Such results suggest either that such targets are perceived holistically (even if the overt responses are fragmentary) or that a correct guess on one attribute somehow facilitates correct guesses on other attributes."(Palmer, 1978, P.88) In a review of six studies utilizing dual-aspect targets, Kennedy (1980) examined whether complex target information was treated as a gestalt or whether the individual parts, of the information appeared to be processed separately. No support for or against either mode of information processing wms obtained. The above - findings do not merit any clear conclusions . Befca~e such conclusions could be drawn direct comparison within studies of complex target material is needed. Novel / Familiar Information relating to unexpected, unfamiliar, unusual and/or incongruous target material was included in the novel category. Cavanna and Servadio (1964) conducted a pilot study to investigate suitable methodologies for studying the occurrence of ESP during states induced by taking hallucinogenic drugs. Their targets were photographs consisting of very incongruous elements, for example an upside-down foot, balancing an artificial eye between the toes. The results were non-significant, although this outcome could have been due to the difficulties involved in attenduig to a test situation when under the influence of an hallucinogenic drug. Krippner and Zeichner (1974) obtained a higher percentage (whether or not significant was not reported) of hits when targets were described as imaginative and interesting (qualities which could be construed as navel). Ulluen and Krippner (1973) ran a four subject. dream study in which the same target was used for half of the testing nights and a different target used for each RM period for the other half. They observed that the the four participants preferred the 234 Approved For Release 2000108115 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 use of diffe :80a le 1, ge tm ZRM* 7 k fW VO&4 e 0 ge ame . alOWbeif e engaged by novel ESP stimuli. In another of the dream studies (female subjects, eight nights ESP, eight of:ccntrol, no significant scoring) Ullman and Krippner (1973) commented that the subjects felt that the target material should be as unusual as possible. Roll and Harary (1976) found that winteresting responses" (hits) were obtained when spontaneous, unexpected changes were made in the experiment. Two examples they provided of this involved last minute changes being made to the target material. Several forced-choice studies have considered the effect of novelty of task and/or target material upon ESP performance. In reviewing these studies Carpenter (1977) concluded that novelty could facilitate psi-hitting for most subjects, but could be counter-rproductive for star subjects used to a specific routine. Information classified as "familiar" included references to targets which held varying degrees of recognition for the percipients. many studies have been conducted using targets of emotional significance to the subject and with which the subject would have been also necessarily familiar. However, as emotional significance was usually deemed the more important aspect of such targets, these studies will be considered under that section. Irwin (1982) conducted a study examining the influence of subjects' familiarity with the targets. Half of the targets (Maimonides slides) were exposed to the subjects prior to testing, and half were not. This manipulation had no significant effect upon the study~'s outcome. Warcollier,'s (1938) research lead him to anecdotally ctnclude that only elements of a target familiar to both the subject and agent could be successfully transmitted. Targ, Puthoff and May (1979) have commented on the basis of informal ,observations of their own research that use of either repetitive target sequences and/or use of target pools of which the subject had prior knowledge would inhibit remote viewing success. Ttxt few findings reported in this category do not support the drawing of any finn conclusions. There is some anecdotal support for the utility of using a different target, with which the subject is not familiar, for each testing of that subject. Also, the Krippner and Zeichner (1974) findings offer some support for the use of imaginative and interesting targets. Abstract / Concrete Abstract information included references to targets which portrayed a potentially realistic scene or object in either an abstract and/or unrealistic manner (to varying degrees) or in a not readily recognizable fashion. Krippner and Zeichner (1974) found a greater percentage of misses with targets which were described as unrealistic (whether this finding was significant was not reported). Ullman and Krippner (1973) in the series of dream studies with 'Erwin", reported that purely abstract pictures which lacked human fi esults than .gures gave poorer r targets which contained human figures engaged in activity. Information included in the concrete category would be references to target material which presented an object or scene in an immediately recognizable, undistorted manner. While: a great number of studies have used targets which could be characterized as being concrete, we found no specific reference regarding the utility of this characteristic in the free-response studies. Although Krippner and Zeichner's (1974) finding and Ullman and 235 Approved For Release 200,OtO8/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 Krippner's (1973), observation suggest that abstract targets nay not be conducive to psi-hitting, mc>re research is needed before firm .conclusions can be drawn. Dy~c / Static The dynamic categorization was used to refer to informations about targets which portrayed and/or conveyed movement, a sense of movement, and/or gustatory, olfactory, auditory,, tactile, and/or kinesthetic stimulation. Thus a wide diversity of target materials fell into this category including pictorial material (showing movement),, film clips (containing movement), and a variety of non-visual target material such as music excerptsp the taste of a food,, etc. In considering this large category perhaps it shoul.d,first be noted that Braud, Davis, and Opella (1985) in their non-psi, no target study, found a predominance of activity contained in ganzfeld and dreaming imagery. Gurney, myers and Fodmore (1886) reporting on the findings of the Society for Psychical Research's Census of Hallucinations found that in cases of apparent GESP of literal reproductions of the agent's bodily sensation (pain, smell, touch, etc.) were rarely transmitted. They noted from their own experience that while taste was perceived in experimental situations, they received no accounts of such in the spontaneous reports. 7he spontaneous cases seldom contained reports of touch, and when it was reported it was normally associated with auditory and/or visual impressions. Music and other auditory stimuli were frequently reported. Warcollier (1963) informally observed that moving objects or the ability of the target to suggest movement seemed to be perceived by the subject. Warcollier (1938) also expressed the belief that kinesthetic sensations should be easily transmitted,, but admitted to having little data to back this uP. Reporting on an Esalen 14eeting on Psi Research,, Schlitz (1984) reported general agreement ammg the participants that kinesthetic,, auditory and olfactory images were as important, if anot more so, as visual images in conveying psi information. Honorton and Schechter (1987), reporting on the significant (P 0.027, 1-0 outccne of 187 automated testing ganzfeld sessions, found that sessions using dynamic targets (video segments and other *lifelike" material) were independently significant (p m 0.007, 1-t)j, while those using static targets (defined as "still pictures") were at chance. The difference between the two was suggestive, but not significant (p = 0.079, 2-0. Likewise, Krippner and Zeichner (1974) found more hits associated with targets having dynamic content (whether this finding was significant was not reported). I Altom and Braud (1976) ran a pilot study aimed at exploring the idea that right-hemisphere brain activity may be conducive to psi. They used four different excerpts of music as targets, which it was thought might encourage right-hemisphere activity. They obtained a significant level of Psi scoring (p = 0.05). Kesner and Morris (1978) conducted a guided imagery, precognition study using music from records and their album covers as targets. The subjects' imagery was rated by an independent judge who individually rated subjects' visual and auditory imagery. Neither the results frcm the visual 'or the auditory ratings were independently significant, however the two cmbined were..(p < 0.02), suggesting that the more senses involved in a target, the better. Several dream studies have been conducted using dynamic target material. Krippner, Honorton, and Ullman (1972) obtained significant results (p < .001) usings thematically related slides, accampanied by an 236 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 tt-M*089igLng[AIRD~t3t"90?gi~gqOiMt?eriaI Krippner, a Off (1972) again elicited a significant level of psi-hitting (P = .004). An even higher level of significant scoring (p = .0002) was obtained by Krippner, Ullman, et. al. (1972) using the multi-sensory target environment described in the introduction of this paper. As previously mentioned,, Ullman and Krippner (1973) found that paintings of humans engaged in activity seemed to be more successful than abstract paintings in the Erwin series. The sepond Erwin study, which again obtained a significant degree of psi-hitting (reported effects "on the order of a thousand to cne" P.116), used art prints together with associated objects and activities on the part of the agent. Dunne and Bisaha (1979), reviewing seven remote viewing series, noted that dynamic targets were perceived as readily as stationary ones. Yet, Puthoff and Targ (1979) commenting upon their remote viewing work said that motion was very rarely reported,, even when it was an important componetit of the scene. Although, Targ, Puthoff, and may (1979) stated *that real-time activities at the target, site are often perceived" (p.94). These authors also noted that "in addition to visually observable detail, subjects scmetimes; report sounds, -smells, electromagnetic fields, and so forth, which can be verified as existing at target locaticns" (p.95). It should be noted that the above three observations were all ancedotal. Two studies made specific ccaparisons between static and dynamic target characteristics. Honorton and Schechter (1987) obtained highly significant psi effects with dynagdc targets, while static targets obtained chance results. Krippner and Zeichner (1974) found more hits associated with dynamic targets. The findings of Kesner and Morris (1978) and those of the reviewed dream studies further suggest the possible benefits of using multi-sensory target materials. Form / Meaning and Idea Comments related to the importance of the shape or form of the target or scme of its caTponents are included iti this category. Puthoff and Targ (1979), in discussing their remote viewing work stated "most of the correct information that subjects relate is of a nonanalytic nature pertaining to shape, form, coloure and material rather than to function or name" (p. 65). Barrington (1983), reviewing past work with the medium Stefan Ossawiecki, found many examples where the form of the target had been correctly identified but not the meaning, a situation which she labelled as "inoomprehending clairvoyance". Similarly, Warcollier (1938 & 1963) observed that frequently the shape of a target would be perceived without reference to the -target's meaning or idea, although he also notes that meaning and idea way also be perceived without specific reference to shape. Waroollier (1938) also discusses the work of Richonnet (no reference provided) noting that Richonnet thought that fcmn was both easier to perceive than meaning and would be perceived prior to perception of the identity (idea) of the ESP target. The "meaning and idea" categorization includes information referring to situations where the meaning, idea and or identity were perceived, without reference to the shape or physical appearance of the target. Carington (1940) believed that the idea of a target, not the form, was what would ccme through to the subject. Gurney, Myers and Podmore (1886) received reports which indicated that meaning and idea were the important aspects of the target. The example they provide of this is where a word in one language is received in another, having been suitably translated. Marsh (1960), in a study using simple line drawings as targets, cmuented that subjects tended to reproduce the ' concept of the target 237 Approved For Release 20.00/08115 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROOM1020006-2 rather than the, shape. Iodge apparently shared these beliefs as, according to Mrcollier (1938), he believed that an idea is more easily transmitted than a drawing (i.e. form). As noted'above, Puthoff and Targ (1979) believed that most correct information provided by subjects pertained to the ncnanalytic aspects of targets such as form, shape and colour. Indeed, they thought that errors could arise when the subject tried to make sense (i.e. label according to name and function) of such nonanalytical target components. This category presents some conflicting observations and opinions, all of which are anecdotal in nature, regarding the utility of form, as opposed to meaning and idea, in conveying psi,-related information. Given this state of affairs, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that research aimed at resolving this question is needed. Ewtion Any comments having to do with the emotional content of or emotional reactions to target materials were included in this category. Some researchers have also made cannents about specific target thems/content which could be interpreted as having a strong emotional component (e.g. war scenes, erotic scenes, religious themes, etc.). However, whether these themes would be regarded as positive or negative would probably vary greatly from subject to subject. Therefore, these findings will not be referred to in this section unless the author specifies that the emotionality of the target was an important factor in the study's success or failure Gurney, Mye~s, and Podinore (1886) observed that in spontaneous cases emotions were frequently received, often with the receiver having no idea why they were experiencing certain feelings. However, the erx)tion experienced by the percipient was later found to be appropriate to the event which was taking place at the time, unknown to the percipient (e.g. feeling sadness over the death of a close friend). Mroollier (1938) also cannents that in spontaneous cases, the message is almost always emotional. William and Duke (1979) conducted a study specifically examining various target qualities and their relationship to psi performance. They devised a 39-item Target Evaluation Rating which me-asured various target qualities, including overall emotional in-pact and positive and negative emotional dimensions, upon which each of 152 targets were rated. They then looked at data, gathered from 174 subjects, from other free-response studies which had used these targets. Fbr the purposes of their analysis, they excluded any target which had not been randamly chosen as a target at least three times in the previous studies. This criterion provided 22 targets, and ESP data from 91 subjects (overall significant psi-hitting was obtained, p < .047, 2-t). The individual psi scores obtained for each of these 22 targets were averaged to provide a caqxxsite psi score for each target. The composite psi scores were divided into good psi targets and poor psi targets resulting in 12 high psi-scoring targets and 10 lcw-psi scoring targets. Caq:)aring these targets to the total emotion score (the mean of the positive and negative emotion ratings) from the Target Evaluation Rating, they found that targets containing a stronger emotional content were significantly better (i.e. high psi-scoring targets) than non-emotional targets (p < .001). Sondow, Braud and Barker (1981) conducted a ganzfeld study also aimed at investigating target qualities, which obtained a significant outccme using a sum. of ranks (p < .04 1-t), but did not reach significance using direct hits as a measurement. Using the Target Evaluation Rating, 238 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 MvwddmW i - -0 -2f ive having a relatively high motion rating and f ive having a motion rating. Each high emotion pack consisted of two positive and two negative emotion pictures; the low emotion packs consisted of two natural scenes and two pictures of material objects. This complex study involved many different measurements and analyses, of which only those most relevant to this paper will be reported. The neutral (low) emotion target packs showed more psi-hitting than the high emotion pictures, with the difference approaching significance (p = .052, 2-t). Using a scale they devised to measure emotion which both the subjects and agents cmpleted, they found that wiien a high emotion picture was the target, receivers would feel more total emotion whilst in the ganzfeld than did receivers with a low emotion target pack (p < .04, 2-t). Also receivers felt more emotion when senders felt more emotion while sending (p < .04, 1-Q. However, Stanford (1984) has pointed out that this latter finding could be artifactual due to coaroonalities- of experience between subjects ahd agents (e.g. the weather that day). Using Osgood's Semantic Differential to measure the components of the target pictures, they found there more hits when the receivers' and senders evaluation of the targets, were in close agreement than when their categorizations widely differed. Of twenty targets where agreement was close, nine were direct hits (p = .04, 1-t). Both Williams and Duke (1979) and, Sondow, Braud and Barker (1981) found significant outcomes in various analyses examining how well their subjects liked (emotionally preferred) the target. Williams and Duke (1979),, comparing subjects" ratings of target preference for hit and missed targets for two different groups of subjects (with the rating being made prior to obtaining feedback as to the target identity), found the first group of 101 subjects significantly preferred targets with wtach they had obtained a hit (p < .035, 2-t),, as did the second group of 80 subjects (p < .0038, 2rt). A similar finding was reported in the Sondow et al. (1981) study, where a comparison between liking for psi-hit and for psi-missed targets again yielded a significant outccae (p < .00915, 2-t). Another analysis in this study showed that pictures received a significantly higher liking rank (p < .0094, 2-0 when they were the target than when they were a control. Braud and Icewenstern (1982) also found that psi-hitters liked their targets significantly better than psirmissers (p < .025, 1-t). Two other significant target preference findings were presented in Braud and Boston (1986). The authors replicated the preference effect (p < .036, 1-t), and also reported similar results from Braud, Ackles & Kyles (p < .045, I-Q. However, these findings nay be contaminated due to response bias problems. To quate Stanford (1984) "these findings could be artifactual;... Because of their desire for success, subjects may tend to like pictures which correspond to their ganzfeld mentationo, and such correspondence tends to be greater and more detailed when ESP has actually occurred. Thus such pictures may be liked appreciably more." (p. 107). Many forced-choice studies have examined the role of target preference. These findings have been reviewed by Carpenter (1977) and Palmer (1978). In drawing some conclusions about these findings Palmer comments that while a preferential effect has been found most often "with respect to response type rather than target type,, it (the preference hypothesis) offers our best hope to date of intergrating a very messy and inconsistent body of data concerning the effect of target type on ESP scoring in forced-choice experiments." (P. 87). Krippner,, Honorton,, et al. (1972) considered their targets 239 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 (thematically related slides and appropriate sound tracks) to be emotionally arOuSifig, and thought that their significant results provided support for the use'of such material. ~Ullrran and Krippner (1973) also felt "that an importe~lt ingredient in the success of experiments in dream telepathy over imAing telepathy ... is the use of potent, vivid, emotionally inpressive, human interest pictures to which both agent and subject can relate." (P. 210). Moss (1968; also see: Moss, 1969; and Moss & Gengerelli, 1968) described the evolution of her experimental methodology over a series of six experiments. Emphasizing the importance of using emotionally arousing targets, her tarots evolved to consist of slides accompanied by appropriate sound effects paired so as to present contrasting emotions. The results from these studies were very sketchily presented, although significant outcomes were described for some of the studies. Howevcx, no comparison was made between either emotionally arousing targets and neutral ones,, or between the effectiveness of the different contrasting emotions. In a series of studies Preiser (1986) found that ESP performance was highly dependent on the emotional loading of the target. material. The information about this study is limited as it was obtained from an abstract. However, while no overall significanoe was obtained, one part of the series did get a significant ESP outcome. Cavanna and Servadio (1964) stressed the careful choosing of targets which they considered to have definite emotional significance. Mile they did not obtain significant psi-scoring, they did express the belief that their future targets should be chosen to be even stronger, ewtionally. Some studies utilizing physiological measurements have used targets chosen to have specific emotional significance for individual subjects. Esser,, Etter, and Chamberlain (1967) used plethysmographic responses to personalized target material, devised from initial interviews with the participants. The resulting targets,, designed to have greater emotional significance for either the percipient or the agent, were either names of importance to the subject or sentences or quotes describing a emotional conflict of relevance to the participants. No significant outcomes were obtained, but the results were suggestive in that there was some correspondence between onset of the sending period and plesthysmograph responses. Dean (1971) contrasted plethysmograph recordings of vasooonstriction examining the reaction of subjects to targets consisting of either a blank card or a card upon which was written a name of a person who has emotional significance to the subject. He found larger vasoconstrictions. (i.e. more emotional arousal) for the names than for the blanks. This study also.h 'ad a group of control subjects for whcm the names would have had no special relevance. Interestingly, he found that the control subjects displayed a greater level of reaction to the names than did the subjects for whom the names had emotional significance. Haraldsson (1983) again used names of emotional significance to the participants as the target in a study using a plesthymnograph. No overall significant results were obtained, however, he did obtain a significant outoome in.the first 20 sessions of the study (p < .003), with results declining later. Several studies have compared targets having positive emotional qualities to those having negative emotional characteristics. William and Duke (1979), comparing good psi targets to poor psi targets, found that targets which contained a positive emotion were significantly better targets (p < .02) than those which did not and that targets which contained negative emotion were significantly worse (p, < .047) than those which did not. Sondow, Braud and Barker (1981) found no significant 240 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 dAVMmmambFbetWmspaUMM/tMQJ&ftffoAQZfMW7fiipi~WP-2F,iselberg and Donderi (1979) used 7 emotionally stimulating sound films as targets in a study incoPOrating both forced-choice and free-response conditions. "iey obtained a significant degree of'psi-hitting (forced-choice condition: p < .02; free-response condition: . p < .001). The film clips were classified as conveying either positive or negative emotions, although no significant difference was found between the scoring on the Positive and negative emotional targets. Krippner and zeichner (1974) found more misses when the target was described as pleasant and more hits when the target was described as unpleasant (whether these findings were significant is not reported). Cne forced-choice study which specifically addresses the positive/negative issue was conducted by Johnson (1971) who asked subjects to provide two words, one having an exoeedingly pleasant meaning for the subject and the other having a very unpleasant meaning, from which he created targets of associated woids/conoepts. These concepts (secondary targets) were paired with a digit from one to five (primary targets), although 20 per cent of the primary targets were left unpaired as a control (emotionally neutral targets). The subjects in this precognitive study were to guess what number would be selected as the target. Johnson compared performance on positive, neutral and negative emotions. No significant overall scoring was obtained, the positive targets showed a non-significant degree of psi-hitting, the negative targets significantly psi-mssed (p = .0094, 1-Q, and the neutral targets scored at chance. The difference between the positive and negative targets was significant (p < .005, 1-t). The anecdotal observations in this category reveal that many researchers believe emotional targets to be superior to non-emotional ones. However, only two studies (Williams & Duke, 1979; and Sondow et al.1 1981) explicitly examined this assumption and they obtained conflicting results. Cne analysis in Sondow et al. (1981) found that the percipient would experience more emotion with a high emotion target, but as this study also obtained a greater degree of psi-hitting with low emotion targets, this result could be seen as arguing against the use of high emotion targets. Nor can the physiological studies be readily interpreted as providing support for the utility of using target material chosen to have specific emotional significance for individual subjects. Aside fr(xn the general lack of significant outccrres of these studies, the Dean (1971) study actually obtained a greater response frcm his control subjects to whom the target material should have had no special relevance. The studies comparing positive emotional targets to those with negative emotive qualities also obtained conflicting results. Thus, again more research is needed before any conclusions can be drawn regarding the psi-caiducive effects of emotional targets. Them / Content This category includes all references which associate the specific content or them of individual targets with the sucoess/failure of these targets. William and Duke (1979) found that 'most of the psi-hitting targets were natural, while the missing targets were material objects-imtal, concrete, man-made, and mechanical."(p. 8) A post hoc analysis revealed this difference to be significant (p < .02). Dunne, Jahn, and Nelson (1983), reporting on several remote viewing studies, noted tliat there was no difference in effectiveness between the following site clvxacteristics: natural vs. man-made; permanent vs. transient; and indoor vs. outdoor. The Psychophysical Research. Laboratory (1985) 241 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 compared various categories of target content to see if sane were more successful than"others. The category of '"disasters" obtained significant "psi-lAtting (p =', .014, 2-t). Sexual themes were associated with significant pSi-M&EIBing (p = .008, 2-t). Ncn-significant scoring in the psi-hitting direction was obtained by (listed in descending order of strezxjth of effect) the categories of religion, sports/hunting, locales, and animals. Non-significant scoring in the psi-missing direction was obtained by the racing and fighting/varfare categories. A post hoc analysis by Sondow (1979) found that targets were chosen and non-targets avoicLed significantly often when the pictures showed horses (p < .01),, water (p < .02). fire (p < .03), and flying-leaping-swinging (p < .04). Such effects were not found with the target categories of food, war and famine, and music. Ullman and Krippner (1973) observed that the art prints oontaining/portraying religion, oolour, eating/drinking, emotions, and people tended to 'be successful, as did the agent's multi-''sensory involvement with the target. Stuart (1945), using simple line drawings as targets found that the two most successful targets portrayed a cartom character and a candle. The two least successful targets were a book and a mathematical equation. In another drawing study, Stuart (1947) found the best target was a church and the.worst was a train. Iastly, Braud, Davis, and Cpella (1985) found a predcminanoe of human characters and architectural content contained in ganzfeld and dreaming imagery. Iess frequent were mythical characters, animals, food, and unconnected body partE;. These findings could contribute to spurious anecdotal observations. Exanining these diverse content categories it was discoved that religion was mentioned three times as a generally successful target topic. Warfare was twice mentioned as being less successful. Williams and Duke (1979) found that natural targets were associated with psi-hitting, and the categories specified as successful by Sondow (1979) could also be classified as natural. However, given the wide diversity of actual targets which these findings represent, these similarities should be viewed at most as possible trends which require further reseach for conf irmation. Discussion The most consistent category findings of this paper relate to the possible advantages of using dynamic, malti-sensory targets. However, these findings are based on the outcome of relatively few studies and thus should be treated with caution pending further confirmation. The navel, category provided some tentative support for the use of new targets with which the subject is not familiar for each trial with that subject, and also suggested possible benefits of using imaginative and interesting targets. But again these finding are derived from very few studies. The two findings relevant to the abstract categorization both found abstract targets to be associated with poorer results. The emotionality of targets, often quoted in the literature as one of the yardsticks by which targets are chosen, has not been shown to be reliably associated with psi-hitting. Nor have any of the other categories investigated herein. In short, this review has not succeeded in shedding a great deal light upon what qualities/characteristics might discriminate successful from unsuccessful free-response targets. Indeed, the outcome of this paper could be viewed as demonstrating how very little we actually know about successful versus unsuccessful target characteristics. However, another interpretation of these findings could be that 242 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 target cnaracteristics can not be consistently related to successful FoMeletie years ago *XITMer (1963) cam-ented that "No two subjects respond alike to the Sam target. No two targets seem to affect the saine subject in the same way."(p. 56). Indeed, a great deal of experimentation has examined and revealed interactions between various trait factors and psi performance (for reviews of this literature see Palmer,, 1978; or Carpenterp 1977). other variables such as state, setting.. response method, and so on, may also influence the partictlar type of target which is successful in any given situation. Future research could profitably examine the effects of such variables. In addition, the developnmt of a descriptive set of scales, such as the three-dimensional scale discussed in the introduction of this paper, which could be used on an inter-laboratcry basis, could forward our knowledge of target success considerably. The development of such scales will be the focus of future research at the Bdinburgh Lab. 243 Approved For Release'2000108115: CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 Approved For Release 2000/08/15 : CIA-RDP96-00792ROO0701020006-2 REFERENCES DUNNE, B. J., JAHN, R. G. 8L NELSON, D. (1983). R. . 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