Observer Effects on Quantum Randomness: Testing Micro-Psychokinetic Effects of Smokers on Addiction-Related Stimuli
Markus A Maier, Moritz C. Dechamps
Journal of Scientific Exploration June 30, 2018 DOI: 10.31275/2018.1250 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study with pre-registered replication Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Regular cigarette smokers and non-smokers |
| Topics | Addiction |
| Citations | 17 |
| Key findings | Study 1 found strong evidence that smokers' unconscious smoking-related goals influenced a quantum random number generator (Bayes factor 66.06), while non-smokers showed no deviation from chance. A pre-registered, highly powered replication failed to reproduce the effect and supported the null (Bayes factor 11.07). Combining both datasets showed an appearance-then-decline pattern only in smokers, which the authors interpret via von Lucadou's "Model of Pragmatic Information" as resembling a dampened harmonic oscillation. |
Abstract
A vivid discussion revolves around the role of the human mind in the quantum measurement process. While some authors argue that conscious observation is a necessary element to achieve the transition from quantum to classical states during measurement (Wigner, 1963), some go even further and propose a more active influence of the human mind on the probabilities of quantum measurement outcomes (e.g. Atmanspacher, Römer, & Walach, 2002; Penrose & Hameroff, 2011). This proposition was tested in micro-psychokinesis (micro-Pk) research were intentional observer effects on quantum random number generators (RNGs) were investigated. In the studies presented here we extended this line of research and tested the impact unconscious goals on micro-Pk. Our focus was cigarette addiction as an unconscious drive and hypothesized that regular cigarette smokers would influence the outcome of a quantum RNG that determined whether the participant was going to see a smoking-related or a neutral picture. Study 1 revealed strong evidence for micro-Pk (BF = 66.06) supporting the H1. As expected, no deviation from chance was found with non-smokers. In Study 2, a pre-registered highly powered replication attempt, failed to reproduce this result and showed strong evidence for H0 (BF = 11.07). When the data from both studies are combined a remarkable change in effect across time (resembling a combination of appearance followed by decline) can be seen only in the smoker’s subsample. Appearance-and-decline effects were absent in the non-smokers sample and in a simulation. Based on von Lucadou’s Model of Pragmatic Information we suggest that (micro-)Pk effects follow a systematic pattern comparable to a dampened harmonic oscillation. This concept may shed new light on past and future Pk research.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition | |
| Neural Correlates of Ongoing Conscious Experience: Both Task-Unrelatedness and Stimulus-Independence Are Related to Default Network Activity Participants performing a go/no-go task while undergoing functional neuroimaging | 2011 | Observational neuroimaging study using thought-probes during a go/no-go task | |
| Mindful attention reduces neural and self-reported cue-induced craving in smokers Treatment-seeking smokers, meditation-naïve, 12-hour abstinent | 2011 | Experimental study | n = 47 |
| DOI-Induced Activation of the Cortex: Dependence on 5-HT2AHeteroceptors on Thalamocortical Glutamatergic Neurons Rat | 2000 | Experimental study | |
| Noribogaine is a G-protein biased κ-opioid receptor agonist. | 2015 | Experimental study with binding experiments, functional assays, and computational simulations |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Why Most Research Findings About Psi Are False: The Replicability Crisis, the Psi Paradox and the Myth of Sisyphus Frontiers in Psychology September 18, 2020
- Intentional Observer Effects on Quantum Randomness: A Bayesian Analysis Reveals Evidence Against Micro-Psychokinesis Frontiers in Psychology March 21, 2018
- A preregistered multi-lab replication of Maier et al. (2014, Exp. 4) testing retroactive avoidance. PLoS One August 31, 2020