Abstract
This meta-analysis is an investigation into anomalous perception (i.e., conscious identification of information without any conventional sensorial means). The technique used for eliciting an effect is the ganzfeld condition (a form of sensory homogenization that eliminates distracting peripheral noise). The database consists of studies published between January 1974 and December 2020 inclusive. The overall effect size estimated both with a frequentist and a Bayesian random-effect model, were in close agreement yielding an effect size of .088 (.04-.13). This result passed four publication bias tests and seems not contaminated by questionable research practices. Trend analysis carried out with a cumulative meta-analysis and a meta-regression model with Year of publication as covariate, did not indicate sign of decline of this effect size. The moderators analyses show that selected participants outcomes were almost three-times those obtained by non-selected participants and that tasks that simulate telepathic communication show a two-fold effect size with respect to tasks requiring the participants to guess a target. The Stage 1 Registered Report can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.24868.3
Highlights
The possibility of identifying pictures or video clips without conventional means, in a ganzfeld environment, is a decades old controversy, dating back to the pioneering investigation of Charles Honorton, William Braud and Adrian Parker between 1974 and 1975 (Parker, 2017).In the ganzfeld, a German term meaning ‘whole field’, participants are immersed in an homogeneous sensorial field were peripheral visual information is masked out by red light diffused by translucent hemispheres placed over the eyes, while a relaxing rhythmic sound, or white or pink noise, is fed through headphones to shield out peripheral auditory information
Studies retrieval Retrieval of studies related to anomalous perception in a Ganzfeld environment is simplified, firstly by the fact that most of these studies have already been retrieved for previous meta-analyses, as cited in the introduction
The number of task types show that the main types are Type 2: the target is chosen before the ganzfeld phase) and of Type 3: the target is chosen before the ganzfeld phase and presented to a partner of the participant isolated in a separate and distant room
Summary
The possibility of identifying pictures or video clips without conventional (sensorial) means, in a ganzfeld environment, is a decades old controversy, dating back to the pioneering investigation of Charles Honorton, William Braud and Adrian Parker between 1974 and 1975 (Parker, 2017).In the ganzfeld, a German term meaning ‘whole field’, participants are immersed in an homogeneous sensorial field were peripheral visual information is masked out by red light diffused by translucent hemispheres (often split halves of pingpong balls or special glasses) placed over the eyes, while a relaxing rhythmic sound, or white or pink noise, is fed through headphones to shield out peripheral auditory information. Even if there are different verbatim versions, the instructions describe what they should do mentally in order to detect the information related to the target and how to filter out the mental contents not related to it. This information will be described aloud and recorded for playback before or during the target identification phase. After the relaxation phase, which can range from 5 to 15 minutes, they are exposed to the ganzfeld condition for a period ranging from 15 to 30 minutes During this phase, participants describe verbally all images, feelings, emotions, they deem related to the target usually a picture or a short video-clip of real objects or events
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