CTSP 08 - caleblack.comcaleblack.com/psy1133_files/CTSP08.pdf · Psychokinesis • Also called...
Transcript of CTSP 08 - caleblack.comcaleblack.com/psy1133_files/CTSP08.pdf · Psychokinesis • Also called...
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 1
PsychicPowers&TalkingtotheDeadChapter8
TypesofPsychicPowers
• Whiletheword“psychic”isonly150yearsoldorso,storiesaboutthesedatebackmillienia
• Today,theyareoJenlumpedtogetherunderthetermpsiandtendtobethreemainthings:– ExtrasensorypercepNon– Psychokinesis– AJer-deathcommunicaNon
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 2
ExtrasensoryPercepNon
• Includestelepathy,ordirectmindtomindcommunicaNonofinformaNon
• LikeProfessorXoftheX-Men
ExtrasensoryPercepNon
• Anotherkindisclairvoyance,beingableto“see”thingsnotactuallypresent,eitherphysicallyortemporally– PrecogniNon– RetrocogniNon– Remoteviewing
Psychokinesis
• Alsocalledtelekinesis,thisisthemanipulaNonofphysicalobjectsusingonlymindpower
• Bendingobjects,stoppingwatches,makingdicefallacertainway,levitaNng…
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 3
AJerDeathCommunicaNon
• Speakingtothedead,usuallydonebya“medium”
• Storiesofthisthroughouthistory,buttherewasamajorresurgenceinthelate1800s
BeliefinPsychicPowers
• Storiesaboutthesesortofthingsforthousandsofyearsacrossallcultures
• 41-50%ofpeopleinUSandUKbelieveinESP,some15-21%believeinADC
• Butwhatdoestheevidencesay?
StudyingthePsychics
• LonghistoryofskepNcalandscienNficinquiry,daNngbacktoLucianofSamosata
• 2ndcenturysaNristwhoexposedapriestwhohad“amazingpowers”asafraud
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 4
SpiritualismandScience
• TheriseofSpiritualismintheU.S.causedmassiveinterestinpsychicpowersinmid-1800s
• ThissameNmeincludedariseisuseofscienNficmethodstostudyallphenomena
• Thesecollidedin1882withtheformaNonoftheSocietyforPsychicalResearchinLondon
RiseofParapsychology
• TheSPRwasoriginallydedicatedto“exactandunimpassionedenquiry”aboutpsi
• Ledtosimilargroupsbeingformedinothercountries,aswellastheinternaNonalParapsychologicalAssociaNonin1957
• Severaljournalsstarted,dedicatedtothetopic
J.B.Rhine
• Mostprominentearlyresearcher,hadgraduatedegreesinbotany,butswitchedfieldsandstudiedpsychologyatHarvard– ChangewasinspiredbyatalkontheparanormalgivenbySirArthurConanDoyle
• CoinedthetermparapsychologyandfoundedtheDukeParapsychologyLabinlate1920s
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 5
Rhine’sResearch
• Earlyonheexposedtwofamousmediumsasfrauds,earningthewrathofDoyle
• EarliestresearchoJeninvolvedtheuseofZenercardstotestpsiinvariousways
Psi-PosiNveResearch
• Intwobookspublishedby1940,RhinedetailedtheresultsofstudiessupporNngpsi
• Numerousstudies,somebyquitewell-knownscienNsts,havebeenpublishedsincethenthatalsosupporttheexistenceofvariouspsi
• Notlimitedtopsychology,includesworkbyphysicists,engineers,andmanyothers
DarylBem’sResearch
• CornellprofessorandoneofthemostinfluenNalsocialpsychologistsintheworld
• Beganresearchonpsiinlate1980s,hisfirstmajorpublicaNonexaminedGanzfeldprotocols
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 6
Bem’sGanzfeldStudy
• Reviewed20yearsworthofresearch,concludedthattherewasstrongevidence
• Expectedratesof“hits”wouldbe25%,andthenfoundratesof32-35%intheliterature
• Bemwasconvincedthedatashowedevidencefortheexistenceoftelepathy
Bem’sPrecogniNveStudy
• NextmajorpublicaNoninpsitestedretrocausality–ifsNmulipresentedaJerthefactcouldinfluenceone’scurrentbehavior
• Of9reportedstudies,8showedevidencethatprecogniNonexisted
• PublishedintopNersocialpsychologyjournal
CriNcallyExaminingPsiResearch
• Over80yearsworthofresearchhavehadposiNvefindings
• But,mostscienNstsdonotthinkpsiisreal,like98%oftheNaNonalAcademyofScience
• Tounderstandwhy,weneedtouseourcriNcalthinkingskillstoexaminethestudies
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 7
CriNcallyExaminingPsiResearch
• Replicabilityandrulingoutrivalhypothesesneedtobeexaminedfirst
• Rhine’sresearchwasreplicatedbyfiveotheruniversityteams,eachfindingnoevidenceforESPinthousandsoftrials
• SowhydidRhinefindit?
MethodologicalProblems
• Rhine’sfindingsseemtobeanarNfactofhavingpoorlycontrolledtrialsandanalyses
• Hugeamountsofsensoryleakage– Samecardswererepeatedlyused– Cardswereverythin,almostsee-through– Frontsofcardswereabletobeseenineyeglassesofexperimeter
ARepeatedPanern
• Poorexperimentalcontrols,methodologicalflaws,andlackofreplicabilityareanalltoocommonpanerninpsi-posiNveresearch
• Allofthemajorstudiespointedtobybelievershavemassiveflawsandcannotbetakenseriouslybyoutsideresearchers
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 8
DebunkingthePsychics
• Propercontrolshelppreventusfromfoolingourselveswhenitcomestopsychics
• LonghistoryofskepNcshelpingpeopleavoidbeingfooled,fromLucian2000yearsagotoHarryHoudiniintheearly1900stoJamesRandioverthepast40years
Houdinivs.thePsychics
• Houdiniknewallthetricksofthemediumsfromhisdaysinatravelingcircus
• Evendemonstratedthemtostaunchbelievers,likeSirArthurConanDoyle
Houdini&Doyle
• Theywereclosefriends,butDoyle’swifewasa“channeler”andmedium
• LadyDoyleeven“channeled”Houdini’smotherforhim– ThemessagewasinEnglish,whichhemotherdidn’tspeak,andincrediblygeneric
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 9
Houdini&Doyle
• TheirfriendshipcompletelydissolvedaJerHoudinipartneredwithScien6ficAmericantoinvesNgateandacNvelydebunkclaims
• TimeandNmeagain,hefound“mediums”usingcommonmagician’strickstolevitatetablesorhave“spirits”ringbells
JamesRandi&ProjectAlpha
• MagicianslikeJames“TheAmazing”Randihadforyearstriedtohelpparapsychologistsetupprotocolstopreventbeingfooled
• Inlate1970s,helearnedofthenewlyfundedMcDonnellLaboratoryforPsychicalResearchandsetinmoNon“ProjectAlpha”
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 10
ProjectAlpha
• Randiaskedtwoyoungmagiciansheknewtosaytheyhad“psychicpowers”andapplytobestudiedatthelab
• Healsoofferedhisfreehelptotheresearcherstomakesuretheyweren’ttrickedbymagicians
• Hisofferwasturneddown,butthetwomenwereaskedtocomeinandbetested
ProjectAlpha
• Overthenext4years,thetwomenwentthroughover160hoursoftesNng– Randirepeatedlywrotetothelab,suggesNngcontrolstouseinthetestsandwasignored
• Then,Randidemonstratedhowtheir“powers”couldbeduplicatedattheParapsychologicalAssociaNon’sconference
ProjectAlpha
• Thewholeaffairwasrevealed,tomixedreacNons
• Manypraiseditasexposingthepoorrigorinparapsychology,otherdeemeditasunethical
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 11
Lessons(Not)Learned
• Emphasizedtheneedtoforresearcherstocollaboratewiththoseskilledinfoolingothers
• FrequentlydonebyskepNcsandthoseconducNngresearch,butinfrequentlybytheparapsychologists
SpeakingtotheDead
• Mediumspurporttobeabletospeaktothosewhohavediedandrelaymessagesfromthem
• Longhistoryofpeopleclaimingthesepowersandmakingothersbelieve,fromtheFoxsistersandMadamBlavatskyinthelate1800stoJohnEdwardandTeresaCaputotoday
InvesNgaNngMediums
• Equallylonghistoryofthembeingexposedasfraudsandhoaxers
• EventheFoxsisters,foundersoftheSpiritualistmovement,adminedtheirtricks
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 12
ModernMediums
• Tendtorelylessondarkroomsandmagictricks,andmoreon“reading”people
• Coldreadingandhotreadingexploitournaturalbiases,canbelearnedbyanyone,andhavenothingtodowiththesupernatural
• Canbeusedtomimicdifferentpsipowers
ColdReading
• ExploitstheForereffect– IfsomeoneisgivengenerallyposiNvestatementsthatsupposedlyaretailoredtothemfromatrustedsource,theyratethemasbeingaccurate
• Rowland(2002)outlinesseveralaspectstomakingacoldreadingworkwell
MakingaColdReadingWork
• Beinghighlypersonableandlikable
• EncouragingcooperaNonandvolunteeringofinformaNon
• EstablishingaritualisNcatmospherethatisinNmatebutalsodissuadeschallenges
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 13
MakingaColdReadingWork
• Mediumconveysthattheyareexperienced,knowledgeable,andconfident
• Discussexactlyhowtheprocess“works”
• Makesexcusesinadvanceforanyfailuresthatmayoccur
MakingaColdReadingWork
• BeginswithabarrageofstatementsandquesNons(the“shotgun”)
• Whenyougeta“hit,”focusonthatandignoreanythingelseyouhavepreviouslysaid
• Usestatementsthatseemspecific,butrelyonstaNsNcalortrivia-typeknowledge
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 14
MakingaColdReadingWork
• Turnyourmissesintohitsviaexcuses
• Rememberthe“goldenrule”–alwaystellpeoplewhattheywanttohear!
AnActualExample
• ThisvideoshowspurportedmediumJohnEdwardperformingagroupreading
• Watchhowheexploitsthecoldreadingtechniquesdiscussed
• PsychicMediumJohnEdwardReadsOurAudience|TheMeredithVieiraShow
HotReadings
• WhenthemediumhasgainedinformaNonbeforehandandusesitasifitisfromthedead
• Manydifferentwaystodothis– Onlinesearchesforestablishedclients– Accomplicescirclinginaudience– Havingaudiencemembersfillingoutcards
7/24/16
www.caleblack.com 15
Conclusions
• Theevidenceisnotonthesideofpsychicpowersbeingreal
• Weseeaconsistentpanernof– Claimedpowersbeingfoundoutashoaxes– PsiposiNveresearchnotbeingwellcontrolledorreplicable
– Lackofpsychicpowersmakingthemselvesknowninthelab