Using Virtual Reality to Test for Telepathy: A Proof-of-Concept Study
Journal of Scientific Exploration December 24, 2020 D. Vernon, Thomas C. Sandford, Eric Moyo 2 citations
Telepathy, the idea that one person can acquire another's thoughts or feelings from a distance via a non-usual route, was tested by immersing a Sender in a virtual reality environment depicting positive arousing experiences while a Receiver was in partial sensory isolation. Eleven pairs of participants each completed five trials. The Receiver's task was to identify the correct target image from five options. Initial analysis showed hit rates not differing significantly from chance. A post-hoc analysis of participants' top two choices showed a 52% hit rate, significantly above the 40% chance level. Hit rate correlated with belief in psi. The authors argue the results are more suggestive than conclusive of a telepathic effect.