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THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN
SOCIETY FOR PSYCHICAL RESEARCH
VOLUME 84
JANUARY ~ 1990
NUMBER 1
Distant Mental Influence of Rate of Hemolysis of
Human Red Blood Cells
WILLIAM G. BRAUD1
.
ABSTRACT: A formal investigation was conducted in order to determine whether a rela-
tively large number of unselected subjects would be able to exert a distant mental influence
upon the rate of hemolysis of human red blood cells. For each of 32 subjects, red blood cells
in 20 tubes were submitted to osmotic stress (hypotonic saline). The subjects attempted to
protect the cells in 10 of the tubes using visualization and intention strategies; the remaining
10 tubes served as noninfluence controls. For each tube, rate of hemolysis was measured
photometrically over a 1-minute trial period. Subjects and experimenter were "blind" re-
garding critical aspects of the procedure, and subjects and tubes were located in separate
rooms in order to eliminate conventional influences. Results indicated that a significantly
greater number of subjects than would be expected on the basis of chance alone showed
independently significant differences between their "protect" and "control" tubes (p =
1.91 × 10-5). Overall, blood source (i.e., whether the influenced cells were the subject's
own cells or those of another person) did not significantly influence the outcome, although
there was a trend toward stronger hitting in the "own blood" condition. Additional analyses
of the results were performed by SRI International researchers to determine whether the data
were better described by remote action (causal) or by intuitive data sorting (informational)
predictions; the results of those mathematical analyses were inconclusive. This research is
presented in the context of methodologies for investigating a possible role of psi in self-
healing.
Laboratory research has indicated that under certain conditions persons
are able to psychokinetically influence a variety of biological systems (see
1 An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 31st annual convention of the
Parapsychological Association in Montreal, Canada, August 17-21, 1988. Parts of the intro-
ductory remarks are repeated or paraphrased versions of sections of an article previously
written for Parapsychology Review (Braud, 1986) and are used with the permission of the
Parapsychology Foundation. I am indebted to Rick Berger, Steve Dennis, George Hansen,
Scott Hubbard, Kay Mangus, Ed May, Diane Morton, Julie Nixon, Marilyn Schlitz, Helmut
Schmidt, Winona Schroeter, and Jessica Utts for their important contributions to various
phases of this investigation. This project was supported, in part, by a subcontract from SRI
International.
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Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research
Solfvin, 1984). At the Mind Science Foundation (MSF), we have been
able to observe successful distant mental influences upon the spatial orien-
tation of fish, the locomotor activity of small rodents, and the physiolog-
ical activity of another person (Braud, 1978a, 1979; Braud, Davis, &
Wood, 1979; Braud & Schlitz, 1983; Schlitz & Braud, 1985). Such
findings are consistent with an interpretation of psychic healing in which
the healing might be contributed, at least in part, by the healer's conscious
or unconscious psychokinetic influence upon the healee's bodily pro-
cesses.
It is a relatively straightforward matter to design experiments to isolate
a possible psi component in one person's healing of another. The healee
may be kept blind regarding the timing and nature of a healing attempt,
and various isolation and control procedures can be applied. However, it
is ordinarily impossible to study the role of psychic functioning in self-
healing in vivo using such techniques. The healer is necessarily aware of
the timing and nature of self-healing attempts, and therefore the psychic
process cannot be isolated from the many nonpsychic factors that can in-
fluence healing. We cannot distinguish a psychic effect from the more
conventional influences of expectation (the "placebo" effect), changes in
emotionality, self-regulation of neural, muscular, and hormonal activities,
etc. Fortunately, it may be possible to eliminate the influence of these
nonpsychic processes through the use of biological psychokinesis (bio-
PK) protocols that have proved useful in the study of distant mental influ-
ence. The strategy would involve the selection of some specific biological
activity to be targeted psychokinetically and then the removal of the mea-
sured biological activity, in space or in time, from the reach of all possible
nonpsychic self-influences.
Spatial or temporal isolation could be accomplished in three ways:
1. The experimental participant could attempt to influence cells, tissue,
or biochemicals that have been freshly removed from his or her body.
2. The participant could attempt to influence his or her own biological
activity that had been prerecorded at an earlier time and that had remained
unobserved until the subsequent influence attempt; this strategy involves
the so-called "time-displaced" or "retro-psychokinesis" design explored
by Schmidt (1976, 1981; Schmidt, Morris, & Rudolph, 1986). Another
method of removing the target biological activity in time would be to ask
participants to attempt to influence their own future activity. In this case,
the influence epochs would have to be coded in a way that would elimi-
nate the possibility that the participant might remember the desired out-
come and consciously or unconsciously self-regulate at the time of the
future test in order to bring about the desired changes.
3. The participant could attempt to influence a particular physiological
or biochemical process within his or her body while, at the same time, the
activity of a similar, externalized process is monitored to determine
whether the latter responds in "resonance" or in "sympathy" with the
former.
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Distant Mental Influence of Hemolysis Rate
If research participants succeed in influencing their biological materials
through psychic means when those materials are isolated, then it is likely
that the biological materials remain susceptible to psi influence under
ordinary, nonisolated conditions as well. Psi influence thus becomes a
viable component in self-regulation and hence in self-healing. We might
even find that persons are psychically able to influence their own cells or
activities more readily than they are able to influence the cells or activities
of another person. If this is indeed the case, it would suggest that psi's
contribution to self-healing may be greater than its contribution to the
healing of another person. It would also suggest that more impressive re-
sults might be obtained in bio-PK studies if experimenters selected target
systems that were more closely associated with the participant-influencers
in their experiments.
We have conducted numerous bio-PK experiments in which both se-
lected and unselected participants were able to alter significantly the ac-
tivity of specific biological target systems, mentally and at a distance. In
all of those studies, the amount of target system activity in the prescribed
direction during a number of influence periods was compared statistically
with its activity during an equal number of interspersed control (nonin-
fluence) periods. The obtained bio-PK results have been reliable and rela-
tively robust. For example, a recent review of all of the MSF's electro-
dermal bio-PK experiments conducted to date indicated a z = 4.08, p =
.000023, and mean effect size = 0.29 for all 13 experiments combined
(Braud & Schlitz, 1989). Experiments could be conducted, using an iden-
tical methodology, in which persons attempt to influence their own biolog-
ical materials.
If Eccles (1977) and others are correct in maintaining that one's mind
routinely exerts a true psychokinetic influence upon one's own brain
through "cognitive caresses" of the synapses of cortical neurons, then
perhaps the most ideal target material would be nervous tissue that had
been removed and cultured externally (or cloned). At first, it might appear
that such an experiment would not be feasible. However, a study of this
type could actually be done with the cooperation of a neurosurgeon. Brain
tissue that is removed for medical reasons and that is ordinarily discarded
might be artificially cultured and maintained as target material for bio-PK
attempts by the patient, following his or her recovery from the operation.
Outside of this seemingly science-fictional scenario, the next best target
material might be lymphocytes (white blood cells with important roles in
the immune process: B-cells, T cells, natural killer cells). Unfortunately,
the procedures required for the measurement of these cells or of their bio-
logical activities are relatively complex and beyond the capabilities of
most psi research facilities. It is noteworthy that several researchers re-
cently have reported results of experiments in which their subjects were
strikingly successful in self-regulating specific sub-populations of their
leukocytes (e.g., neutrophils) using relaxation and imagery techniques
(see Braud, 1986; Hall, 1984a, 1984b; Schneider, Smith, & Whitcher,
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1984). The work of Schneider et al. is especially interesting in view of the
accuracy, rapidity, and specificity of the influences that occurred without
the provision of conventional sensory feedback. The process appears goal-
directed and immediately reminds one of the similar goal-directed nature
of psychokinesis.
The third best, and logistically the easiest, material with which to work
would be osmotically stressed red blood cells. The goal of the experiment
would be to protect one's own red blood cells and retard their rate of
hemolysis. If red blood cells are maintained in fluids having a salinity
similar to that of the blood plasma, the cells survive for long periods.
However, if placed in a fluid having a salinity lower than that of the
plasma (e.g., in distilled water or in very dilute saline), the corpuscles
swell due to the movement of water through their semipermeable mem-
branes. Eventually the cells rupture and release their hemoglobin content
into the surrounding medium. The rate of hemolysis can be measured
using a spectrophotometer with an output to a computer and pen recorder.
Light of a given wavelength is passed through a tube of blood cells sus-
pended in dilute saline. Intact cells are relatively opaque to the light. As
the cells rupture, the solution becomes increasingly transparent. The spec-
trophotometer/computer/pen recorder system provides an objective
readout of the change in light passage over time, and hence the time
course of hemolysis. Rate of hemolysis can be measured during influence
trials in which the research participant attempts to mentally retard the he-
molytic process, that is, attempts to psychokinetically protect the red
blood cells from osmotic injury. These results can be compared with he-
molysis rates obtained during interspersed control trials in which no psy-
chokinetic attempts are made.
We conducted a preliminary experiment of this sort in our laboratory
several years ago. In that experiment, involving a single selected subject
and a small number of trials, a significant influence of hemolysis rate was
observed (Braud, Davis, & Wood, 1979). In the present experiment, we
sought to repeat that experiment with many more trials, a large number of
unselected subjects, and an improved methodology, in order to test the
reproducibility and generality of the finding. Briefly, subjects attempted
mentally to retard the rate of hemolysis of osmotically stressed human red
blood cells that were isolated from all conventional influences. The sub-
jects and the target system were kept in separate rooms. Rate of hemolysis
was monitored accurately by a spectrophotometer interfaced by means of
an analog-to-digital converter to a microcomputer. The experimenter
operating the equipment was blind regarding the scheduling of the influ-
ence (protect) versus noninfluence (control) attempts. Half of the subjects
worked with their own blood cells, and half worked with cells from an-
other person; both experimenter and subject were blind regarding the
blood source. The experimental design included features that we hoped
would help us determine whether any obtained psi effect might be most
parsimoniously interpreted as a true psychokinetic (remote action) effect
or, alternatively, as an instance of "intuitive data sorting" (see May,
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Distant Mental Influence of Hemolysis Rate
Radin, Hubbard, Humphrey, & Utts, 1985). Prior to the formal experi-
ment to be described in detail in this paper, two additional studies were
conducted-a pilot study and an "intermediate phase" study. Space limi-
tations permit only relatively brief summaries of those two studies.
SUMMARY OF THE PILOT PHASE
Thirty-two unselected subjects participated in a pilot study designed to
explore the new methodology and to determine whether blood source (own
blood cells vs. another person's blood cells) was an important factor. An
experimental session involved hemolysis measurements for 10 blood
tubes. The subject attempted to retard the rate of hemolysis of 5 of these
tubes, mentally and at a distance. The remaining 5 tubes served as control
tubes that the subject did not attempt to influence. The 5 influence and 5
control tubes were scheduled according to a random sequence that was
prepared by a third party and that was unknown to the experimenter who
made the hemolysis measurements. Light transmission through each tube
(which is proportional to hemolysis) was measured for each second of a
2-minute sampling period; the difference between the mean of the initial 5
seconds and the final 5 seconds of light measurements yielded a change
score that served as the hemolysis measure.
Following the completion of the experimental session, 10 additional
blood-containing tubes were measured for hemolysis rate. It was intended
that these 10 measurements would provide additional "nonlocal" baseline
data and would also be useful in comparing remote action (RA) versus
intuitive data sorting (IDS) predictions of the experimental outcome. Ac-
cording to the RA hypothesis, the mean of the 5 "local" control tubes
should be equivalent to the mean of the 10 nonlocal baseline tubes, and
the mean of the 5 influence tubes should be lower (i.e., in the direction of
less hemolysis or greater protection of the cells) than both of the former
means. According to the IDS hypothesis, the mean of the local controls
should be above, and that of the influence tubes should be below, that of
the nonlocal baseline tubes; the grand mean of the 10 tubes for the experi-
mental session should not differ from the mean of the 10 nonlocal baseline
tubes.
An analysis of variance of the hemolysis scores indicated extremely
great and highly significant variability among the subjects, but no other
significant main effects or interactions. Therefore, significant evidence for
a remote influence of the blood cells was not obtained in the pilot study.
There was, however, a nonsignificant tendency for a slight "protection"
effect in the "another's blood" condition, whereas the opposite effect
(i.e., less protection during the influence trials) occurred in the "own
blood" condition. The nonlocal baseline measurements were found to be
inadequate for their intended purpose because in every case but one the
mean percent light transmittance change score for the 10 nonlocal baseline
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tubes was lower than both experimental sessions means (i.e., consistently
lower than both the control and the influence tube means). It was deter-
mined that this consistent reduction in hemolysis for the nonlocal baseline
tubes (and to a lesser extent, for the tubes later in the experimental ses-
sions as well) was due to a progressive change in the blood cells contrib-
uted by several environmental factors that increased the "noise" level of
the experiments and that included higher apparatus (i.e., spectrophotom-
eter tube holder) temperatures during later tests, and increasing exposure
of the blood cells to temperature changes, air, and mechanical trauma
(i.e., mechanical agitation) during the course of repeated tests of a single
blood sample (i.e., multiple tests of the contents of a single Vacutainer
blood collection tube). As a result of the pilot sessions themselves, as well
as additional tests conducted concurrently with and subsequent to the pilot
experiment, the sources of these interfering factors were identified, and
steps were devised that could be taken to eliminate or greatly reduce them
in the formal study.
Temperature changes in the spectrophotometer tube holder were con-
trolled through (a) the addition of an external cooling fan to the apparatus,
(b) reducing the durations of the hemolysis measurement periods, and (c)
turning off the apparatus except when measurements were actually being
made. The substitution of a more effective anticoagulant (acid-citrate-dex-
trose) for that used in the pilot study (heparin) greatly diminished the ef-
fects of progressive exposure to room temperature, air, and mechanical
trauma during repeated pipette samplings so that hemolysis rate remained
relatively stable over the course of 20 measurements from a given main
Vacutainer source tube. When between 20 and 30 samples had been taken
from a main Vacutainer tube, this stability began to deteriorate.
SUMMARY OF THE INTERMEDIATE PHASE OF SALINITY TESTS
Following the completion of the pilot study, salinity tests were con-
ducted in order to determine salinity values that might mimic anticipated
psi-induced hemolysis rate changes. These tests provided the basis for
Monte Carlo analyses that were designed to determine appropriate param-
eters for an adequate differential test of the IDS versus RA predictions of
psi functioning that was to be conducted in the formal study.
A total of 332 hemolysis trials were completed using whole blood
samples collected from 10 different persons. For these tests, the "noise-
reducing" improvements mentioned above were incorporated. Hypotonic
salinity values of 0.425%, 0.429%, 0.434%, 0.442%, and 0.450% (corre-
sponding, respectively, to 50%, 50.5%, 51%, 52%, and 53.33% of 0.85%
normal physiological saline) were tested. Sampling epochs of 1-minute
duration were used, rather than the 2-minute periods of the pilot study. All
other procedures were identical to those of the pilot study. These were all,
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Distant Mental Influence of Hemolysis Rate
of course, "control" tests in which no subjects attempted to influence the
hemolysis process.
As anticipated, the "noise-reducing" improvements resulted in the vir-
tual elimination of the extreme variability seen in the pilot study and
yielded much greater stability (less degradation) of the blood samples. The
optimum salinity value for mimicking an anticipated psi-induced reduction
of hemolysis rate of approximately 1.0 standard deviation was found to be
in the vicinity of 0.429%-0.434% saline (equivalent to 50.5%-51.0% of
normal 0.85% physiological saline). Monte Carlo simulation analyses
conducted on these salinity data indicated that on the basis of the magni-
tudes of hemolysis changes observed in these intermediate phase salinity
tests, the use of 2 versus 8 samples (tubes) distributed throughout equiva-
lent "psi effort" periods would provide adequate measurements for a dif-
ferential test of the IDS versus RA interpretations of any psi effects ob-
tained in the formal experiment.
Another purpose of these salinity tests was to assure that our spectro-
photometric method was actually assessing hemolysis, rather than other
possible artifactual time-changing processes that could be confused with
hemolysis. A number of tests were performed using identical procedures
but with normal 0.85% physiological saline rather than hypotonic saline.
No hemolysis should occur with such a solution, and any changes ob-
served could be attributed to artifacts. As expected, hemolysis did not
occur in these normal saline tests; the photometric readings and curves
were completely stable throughout the sampling periods.
OVERVIEW OF THE FORMAL EXPERIMENT
On the basis of the findings of the preliminary study, the pilot study,
and the intermediate phase experiments, a final protocol for the formal
experiment was developed that included the following features:
1. Thirty-two subjects (from the same population and selected in the
same manner as in the pilot study) would each participate in one experi-
mental session. Hemolysis measurements would be made by the experi-
menter, W.G.B.
2. Sixteen subjects would attempt to influence (protect) their own
blood cells, and 16 would attempt to influence the cells of another person.
Both subject and experimenter would be blind regarding the source of the
blood until all 32 sessions had been completed. This "own" versus
"other" factor was retained in the formal experiment because of the trend
toward different outcomes in those two conditions observed in the pilot
study.
3. Blood samples would be collected in Vacutainer tubes containing
acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD) anticoagulant and would be refrigerated im-
mediately after the blood was drawn. Blood samples would be stored at
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4℃ and would be removed from the refrigerator only briefly, before each
hemolysis trial.
4. Hemolysis trials would be conducted between 14 and 42 hours fol-
lowing a blood draw. The ACD anticoagulant permits cold storage of
blood cells for as long as 3 to 4 weeks with minimal deterioration of red
blood cells.
5. The temperature increase of the spectrophotometer would be mini-
mized by means of an external cooling fan, the use of shorter sampling
epochs, and allowing the apparatus to remain on only during hemolysis
measurement periods.
6. A session would consist of four 15-minute periods-two control (C)
periods and two protect (P) periods. For half of the subjects, these periods
would be scheduled in a CPPC order; for half of the subjects, a PCCP
order would be used. This block-counterbalancing design was employed
in order to assure that any reasonably linear potential progressive error
(such as changes in hemolysis rate due to slight progressive warming of
the apparatus) would contribute equally to the two (C and P) conditions
and therefore not introduce a systematic bias. Whether a given subject's
sequence was CPPC or PCCP would be randomly determined by an asso-
ciate (M.S.) through use of the RAND table of random numbers. The
experimenter doing the hemolysis measurements would, of course, be
blind regarding these sequences. A subject would learn his or her proper
sequence by consulting a sealed envelope delivered to the subject after the
experimenter's interactions with the subject had been completed and the
experimenter had returned to the equipment room.
7. The beginning of each 15-minute period would be signaled by an
appropriate number of tones delivered to the subject's headphones. The
subject would have been instructed to attempt to mentally decrease the
rate of hemolysis of the distant red blood cells during the two 15-minute
protect periods. During the two 15-minute control periods, the subject
would attempt not to think about the experiment and would allow the cells
to hemolyze at their normal, rapid rate. During the two protect periods,
the subject would view a projected color slide of healthy, intact red blood
cells as an aid to visualization and intention. During the two control pe-
riods, the subject would close his or her eyes and think about matters
unconnected with the experiment.
8. During each 15-minute period, either two or eight hemolysis tubes
(samples) would be measured. Monte Carlo analyses conducted at SRI
International indicated that curves derived from 2 versus 8 tubes (samples)
would be sufficient for an adequate test of the IDS versus RA interpreta-
tions of any obtained psi effect. The subject would be blind regarding the
number of tubes being measured during any 15-minute period and would
be instructed to apply mental effort as steadily and as consistently as pos-
sible throughout the entire 15-minute protect periods. The experimenter
would learn whether to measure 2 or 8 hemolysis tubes during each 15-
minute period by consulting a sealed envelope delivered to him just before
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Distant Mental Influence of Hemolysis Rate
the beginning of the measurement session. This random, balanced tube
sequence would have been determined earlier by M.S., again using the
RAND table of random numbers.
9. Because the subjects must remain blind regarding the number of
tubes being measured during each 15-minute period, it would not be pos-
sible to provide them with real-time auditory feedback of the progress of
hemolysis, as we had hoped to do. Such feedback would provide subjects
with information about the number of tubes and would therefore violate
the blindness requirement and add a psychological confound to the experi-
ment. However, the subject would receive numerical feedback about he-
molysis outcomes at the conclusion of the session.
10. The subject's session would be preceded by 8 minutes of tape-re-
corded instructions for relaxation and guided imagery, designed to help
reduce distractions and focus attention upon the desired goal event-viz.,
decreased hemolysis during effort (protect) periods.
11. Hemolysis measurements would be accomplished with a procedure
identical to that used in the pilot study, with the following exceptions: (a)
the recording epochs would be 1 minute rather than 2 minutes in duration,
and (b) the subject would not hear tones signaling the beginning and end
of each tube measurement (as in the pilot study), but rather would hear
tones signaling the beginning of each of the four 15-minute periods.
12. Hemolysis scores would be analyzed in a manner identical to that
described in the pilot study. A similar ANOVA would be used to assess
the presence of a psi effect. In addition, all hemolysis percent change
scores would be normalized for purposes of additional IDS versus RA
analyses.
METHOD
Subjects
Thirty-two subjects participated in the study. Participants were selected
from a pool of normal, healthy individuals and were screened to eliminate
those with known allergic or immunological disorders or other illnesses
and those currently taking medication (other than oral contraceptives and/
or occasional cold medicines). Twenty-one of the subjects had already
participated in the pilot investigation and were asked to participate again
because of their familiarity with the procedure. Eleven subjects were first-
time participants who substituted for pilot study subjects who were unable
to take part in the formal study. The final sample consisted of 17 females
and 15 males, ranging in age from 23 to 53 years. Each subject was paid
$20 as a token of appreciation for the inconvenience and slight discomfort
of donating a blood sample and for participating in the subsequent 11/2-
hour laboratory session.
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Procedure
On a Monday evening, the experimenter met with a group of four par-
ticipants in order to explain the experiment in detail and to have the sub-
jects complete an Informed Consent Form, donate a 10 ml venous blood
sample, and schedule an appointment for an experimental session for later
that same week (i.e., on either the next day [Tuesday] or the day after
[Wednesday]). An attempt was made to schedule two experimental ses-
sions on Tuesday (at 10:00 a.m. and at 2:00 p.m.) and two sessions on
Wednesday (at 10:00 a.m. and at 2:00 p.m.). On the Monday evening, the
participant was given a two-page written description of the procedure and
was asked to read the description at home and become familiar with it.
The four blood samples were drawn by a registered nurse.2 The blood
collection tubes (Becton Dickinson Vacutainer tubes containing acid-
citrate-dextrose anticoagulant) were labeled with the names of the blood
donors and were placed in a small refrigerator immediately after the blood
draws. The refrigerator was maintained at 4° C throughout the experiment.
When all four blood samples had been drawn, the nurse switched the name
labels on two of the tubes, using a randomizing schedule that had been
prepared ahead of time by an associate of the experimenter (M.S.). This
schedule was always kept by the nurse (and a copy kept by M.S.) and was
unknown to the experimenter until the study had been completed. The
purpose of switching the labels of two tubes was to permit two subjects to
attempt to influence their own blood and two to attempt to influence an-
other person's blood that week, and to keep the subjects and the experi-
menter blind regarding the blood source until all 32 sessions of the study
had been completed.3
Following his or her arrival for the experimental session on Tuesday or
Wednesday, the experimenter showed the subject the equipment at the
target site, emphasized the spectrophotometer tube holder in which the
target tubes later would be placed sequentially, and then escorted the sub-
ject to the distant subject room, located in another part of the building (see
floor plan in the Figure). The subject sat in a comfortable armchair and
was told that shortly after the experimenter left the subject's room, an
assistant would slip an envelope under the subject's door. The subject was
2 The order in which the subjects' blood was drawn, and hence their subject numbers for
the blood source factor (i.e., whether they subsequently attempted to influence their own or
another person's blood) was determined by the alphabetical sequence of the surnames of the
four subjects who assembled on any given Monday evening blood-drawing session.
3 On one Monday evening, a last-minute cancellation by a subject resulted in three, rather
than the usual four, blood draws that evening. The next week, the subject who had cancelled
for the previous week appeared; there also appeared an additional subject who was not ex-
pected, resulting in six subjects that evening. For the two subjects who did not conform to the
schedule that evening, blood tubes were inadvertently switched, when they should not have
been. This resulted in a total of 18 subjects in the "another's blood" condition and 14
subjects in the "own blood" condition.
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11
LABORATORY
FLOOR
PLAN
10 Feet
SUBJECT
APPARATUS
Fig. Floor plan of the laboratory rooms in which the experiments were conducted. The
apparatus room and the subject room are situated in separate suites of the same building, with
an exterior corridor separating the two suite areas. Interior corridors separate the rooms
within each suite area. The subject room is windowless. The windows of the apparatus room
were completely occluded during experimental trials.
to retrieve that envelope and open it to find the random sequence of the
four 15-minute periods of the experiment. (The 32 period-sequence enve-
lopes had been prepared beforehand by M.S. using the RAND table of
random numbers and a private algorithm. Throughout the experiment, the
envelopes remained hidden from the experimenter. M.S. retained a copy
of the period sequences for the 32 envelopes.) During each of the two
15-minute control periods, the subject was to attempt to keep her or his
mind off of the experiment and to think of other matters; if she or he could
not help thinking about the experiment, the subject was asked to imagine
hemolysis proceeding at its normal, rapid rate. During each of two 15-
minute protect periods, the subject was to attempt to mentally retard the
rate of hemolysis of the red blood cells in the tubes for that period using
any of the mental strategies described on the instruction sheet. The experi-
menter demonstrated a slide projector that could be used by the subject
during the two protect periods. The 35 mm color slide depicted healthy,
intact red blood cells, and it was included as a helpful aid to the subject's
visualization of the desired goal. The subject was told that the beginning
of each period would be signaled by an appropriate number of tones (one
for Period 1, two for Period 2, and so on) presented through headphones.
:
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The subject was also told that the first period would be preceded by an
8-minute progressive relaxation and guided imagery exercise designed to
help the subject reduce distractions and focus attention upon the desired
goal event, that is, decreased hemolysis during the protect periods. The
exercise was accompanied by low-volume, ambient music and ocean
sounds. Low-volume ambient music was also presented through the sub-
ject's headphones throughout the four periods of the experiment and was
interrupted only for the four-period signaling tone presentations. The con-
clusion of the experiment was indicated to the subject by the cessation of
the music. At that time, the subject was to sign and date his or her period
sequence sheet and then be escorted back to the apparatus room by an
assistant.
The experimenter returned to the apparatus room, where the equipment
had already been readied for use. Just before entering this room and
closing the door, he indicated to an assistant that the experiment was about
to begin. The assistant gave him a sealed envelope that contained infor-
mation about his 2- versus 8-tube sequence for that session, and then de-
livered another sealed envelope to the subject; this latter envelope con-
tained the subject's protect versus control period sequence for that session.
The experimenter started the audiotape that presented the preliminary ex-
ercises to the subject. He then conducted the 20 hemolysis measurements
for the session. From his point of view, there were also four 15-minute
periods of measurements; two of the periods (indicated on a sheet within
his envelope) were to involve measurements of two tubes, and two of the
periods were to involve measurements of eight tubes. This number of
measurements factor was included to provide data for a differential test of
the IDS and RA predictions of psi performance (see below). The subjects
remained blind regarding the tube number schedule for the session.
Each of 20 identical 10-ml glass spectroscope tubes had been filled be-
forehand with 6.0 ml of 0.425% saline, and these had been kept in the
refrigerator at 4° C. The saline for all tubes for all sessions came from the
same stock solution of 0.85% normal physiological saline, purchased in
20-liter quantity from Fisher Scientific Supply Company and diluted with
distilled water to 0.425% by the experimenter before the study began.
This use of solution from the same stock eliminated variability that other-
wise might have been contributed by that factor. The experimenter re-
moved the main blood collection (Vacutainer) tube bearing that subject's
name from the refrigerator, inverted the tube eight times in order to assure
a homogeneous suspension of its blood cells, opened the tube, and placed
it in a test tube rack on the equipment table. He then removed the first of
the hypotonic saline tubes from the refrigerator and allowed it to stand at
room temperature and warm slightly so that moisture from the warmer
room-temperature air no longer condensed on the tube after the latter was
wiped with tissue. He placed the now frost-free saline tube into the holder
of the spectrophotometer and adjusted the controls of the device so that a
digital reading of precisely 100.0% light transmission was obtained for
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Distant Mental Influence of Hemolysis Rate
this blank tube. He pressed a computer keyboard key to initiate a subrou-
tine that signaled the subject in the distant room that a 15-minute period
was about to begin. He next removed the tube from the holder and added
to the tube 100 pl of whole blood from the main Vacutainer tube. He
quickly stoppered the saline tube with a rubber stopper, inverted the tube
twice to assure homogeneity of its contents, and quickly replaced the tube
in the spectrophotometer holder. When the holder cover was closed, the
chart recorder pen moved to indicate minimal light transmittance; at the
point of greatest excursion of the pen, the experimenter pressed a key-
board key to initiate the 1-minute sampling epoch for that tube. The Vacu-
tainer blood collection tube was then returned to the refrigerator, and the
next hypotonic saline tube was placed in the test tube holder so that it
might warm slightly for the next trial. The precise timing of all procedural
events was controlled by the experimenter through the use of several pro-
cedural cues and by means of extreme stereotypy of responding.
Throughout the sampling epoch, the chart recorder and the digital readout
of the spectrophotometer were shielded so that they could not be observed
by the experimenter. This was done in order to eliminate immediate feed-
back to the experimenter in the hope that this might reduce the latter's own
psi contribution to the experimental outcome.
Percent light transmittance measures at a wavelength of 660 mp (an
absorbance minimum for hemoglobin) relative to the blank tube con-
taining saline alone were taken by means of a Sequoia-Turner Model 390
spectrophotometer with digital and chart recorder readouts. The spectro-
photometer provided an analog output that varied from 0 to 1.0 v DC and
was linearly related to percent light transmittance (with 0 v DC = 0% T
and 1.0 v DC = 100% T). This output was increased by a factor of 10 by
means of a differential amplifier, and the resulting 0 to 10.0 v DC signal
was fed into an analog-to-digital converter installed in an IBM PC-XT
compatible computer. The A/D converter (CGRS Microtech PC DIADAC
1) uses an industry standard AD 574A 12-bit A/D chip with 0.0024 volt
accuracy and 35 usec conversion speed. A software program was written
that sampled the A/D converter at the end of each second of the 1-minute
trial period. Thus, the system automatically provided 60 measurements of
the time course of hemolysis (i.e., percent transmittance) during each 1-
minute trial. The 60 values were written to a floppy disk file and were also
printed out at the end of the trial. In addition to this digital data collection,
an analog chart record was obtained for each trial (using a Markson Model
1202 pen recorder).
At the end of the 1-minute sampling epoch, the experimenter removed
the tube from the holder and began his preparations for the remainder of
the trials. Approximately one minute elapsed between trials. If a period
called for the measurement of two tubes, those two tubes were measured
at the middle of the 15-minute period, that is, at times corresponding to
the measurement of tubes 4 and 5 of an eight-tube period. The main Va-
cutainer blood collection tube and the hypotonic saline tubes remained in
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the refrigerator except when needed for the measurements. The comple-
tion of the hemolysis measurements for the 20 tubes of an experimental
session required one hour.
When the 20th and final tube had been measured, and the results had
been printed, the experimenter notified his assistant that the session was
over. While the assistant went to the subject's room, the experimenter
made photocopies of the data sheets and of his tube-number schedule.
When the assistant returned with the subject, the assistant photocopied the
subject's control/protect period sequence sheet. The assistant and the ex-
perimenter then exchanged copies of their respective sequence sheets and
data printouts. These duplicate records were filed for safekeeping by the
assistant and by the experimenter.
The experimenter and the subject then went to the experimenter's of-
fice, and the subject described the techniques used to attempt to influence
the blood cells. After this interview, the experimenter calculated the re-
sults for the experimental session and provided the subject with informa-
tion about the session outcome. This information consisted of verbal and
numerical feedback about the hemolysis rates for the 20 tubes. The exper-
imenter thanked the subject for his or her participation, and the subject left
the laboratory.
RESULTS
When all 32 experimental sessions had been completed, the blood
source information was decoded so that a determination could be made of
which subjects attempted to influence their own blood and which at-
tempted to influence blood from another person. For each session, change
scores were calculated for each of the 20 blood sample tubes (trials). For
each tube (trial), the mean of the initial five A/D converter values was
subtracted from the mean of the final five A/D converter values. This
change score represented the change in percent light transmittance from
the first 5 seconds to the last 5 seconds of the 1-minute trial and provided a
quantitative measure of the rate of hemolysis for a specific blood sample
tube. For each subject, change scores were available for 10 control tubes
and 10 influence (protect) tubes; for each tube condition, scores were
available for either 2- or 8-tube measurements during each 15-minute pe-
riod. Using these change scores, a three-factor analysis of variance was
used to test the major hypotheses of the study. In this ANOVA, the three
factors were: blood Source (own vs. another's, between); Subjects,
random and nested under Source; and Condition (protect vs. control,
within). The three experimental questions explored in this formal study
were the following:
1. Would the rate of hemolysis (change scores) for the protect tubes
differ from that for the control tubes? Such an effect would be indicated,
in the absence of a significant Condition X Subjects interaction, by a
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Distant Mental Influence of Hemolysis Rate
significant Condition main effect in the ANOVA. Should the Condition X
Subjects interaction effect prove significant, the condition effect would be
examined separately in each of the individual subjects, using appropriate
within-subject error estimates.
2. Would the degree of influence of hemolysis rate differ for the two
blood sources (own cells vs. another's cells)? Such an effect would be
indicated by a significant interaction of the Source and Condition factors
of the ANOVA.
3. Would results for the two-tube measuring periods differ from those
for the eight-tube measuring periods, and would the function describing
this two- versus eight-tube effect match more closely the RA or the IDS
prediction?
For the statistical tests, any probability value found to be less than or
equal to .05 would be deemed significant.
The summary table for the ANOVA is given in Table 1, and means and
standard deviations for the various groups and conditions are given in
Table 2. The main effects for Condition and Source did not reach signifi-
cance, nor did the Source x Condition interaction. However, the main
effect for Subjects and the Condition x Subjects interaction were highly
significant. The former effect, of course, indicates significant variability
in outcome among the 32 subjects of the experiment. The significant Con-
dition x Subjects interaction indicates that the effect of Condition (protect
vs. control) differed from subject to subject; therefore, an interpretation of
the Condition main effect was inappropriate, and individual subject by
subject condition comparisons were called for.
These individual comparisons were made by means of matched t tests,
computed for each of the 32 subjects. These were calculated by comparing
the hemolysis (change) scores for a subject's 10 protect tubes with the
scores for his or her 10 control tubes. Individual t tests were calculated
using separate estimates of variance, instead of using the combined esti-
mate of error variance from the ANOVA, because of the wide spread
among the variances across subjects. The t scores for the individual sub-
jects are presented in Table 3. The independently significant subjects (i.e.,
those with |z| [18] > 2.101, p < . 05, two-tailed) are indicated by as-
Table 1
ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE SUMMARY TABLE
Source
df
SS
MS
F
P
Source (own vs another's)
1
0.3480
0.3480
0.001
.981
Condition (protect vs control)
1
2.2278
2.2278
0.461
.503
Subjects
30
18078.7369
602.6247
297.626
<10-16
Source X Condition
1
2.6061
2.6061
0.539
.469
Condition x Subjects
30
145.1072
4.8369
2.389
.000063
Error
576
1166.2668
2.0248
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Table 2
MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FOR THE PERCENT CHANGE SCORES FOR THE
VARIOUS CONDITIONS
Blood Source
Control
Protect
Overall Mean
Own
X = 43.63
X = 43.36
x = 43.50
SD = 5.07
SD = 5.10
SD = 5.08
Another's
X = 43.45
X = 43.45
X = 43.45
SD = 5.94
SD = 5.73
SD = 5.83
Average %
X = 43.53
X = 43.41
X = 43.47
Own/Another's
SD = 5.57
SD = 5.46
SD = 5.51
terisks.4 The condition effect was significant in 9 of the 32 subjects. This
is to be compared with the 1.6 significant scorers expected on the basis of
chance alone. The probability of observing 9 or more independently sig-
nificant scorers among 32 subjects is 1.91 × 10-5 (exact binomial test).
In seven of those subjects, scoring was in the direction of psi hitting
(i.e., slower hemolysis in the protect than in the control tubes); in two
subjects, scoring was in the direction of psi missing (i.e., faster hemolysis
in the protect than in the control tubes). In order to determine whether
these nine independently significant subjects show a general tendency to-
Table 3
SCORING RATES (t TESTS) FOR INDIVIDUAL SUBJECTS
Subject
1
Subject
t
1
-2.17*
17
1.24
2
1.47
18
-0.98
3º
0.31
19º
2.14*
4
-1.26
20°
-0.68
50
-0.51
21.
-1.04
6
1.28
22
-1.14
7
0.39
23°
3.39*
8
-1.15
24
0.26
9
-0.51
25°
3.04*
10º
-0.25
26°
1.96
11
-0.84
27
-1.46
12º
2.52*
28
-0.70
13
2.96*
29
3.08*
14
0.17
30°
2.53*
15
-2.79*
31°
-1.24
16°
-1.52
32
1.10
* Independently significant (p < . 05)
* Indicates "own blood" condition
4 In order to identify significant scorers, a two-tailed test was used, allowing for the possi-
bility of significant psi missing. This was done because the pilot study had yielded a consid-
erable number of scores in the missing direction. If one wishes to predict only psi hitting, a
critical : = 1.73 (p < . 05, one-tailed) could be used. By such a hitting-alone criterion, eight
independently significant hitters may be identified (Subject No. 26 now reaches signifi-
cance). The probability of observing 8 out of 32 independently significant hitters is 1.39 x
10-4.
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Distant Mental Influence of Hemolysis Rate
ward hitting, a single-mean t test may be calculated for the nine t values,
comparing them with MCE = 0; such a test yields evidence for significant
hitting (X = 1.63, SD = 2.23, t [8] = 2.07, p = . 035, one-tailed).
In the overall (ANOVA) analysis, no effect was found for the Source
variable: Scores for the "own" and "another's" groups were virtually
identical. The Source x Condition effect, which would have indicated a
dependence of the protect versus control effect upon the source of the
blood, was clearly nonsignificant. Therefore, we must conclude that blood
source was not an important variable in this investigation. However, an
interesting trend emerges when we examine the blood source for the nine
independently significant subjects. For this subgroup (for which there was
evidence for a psi effect), a comparison of the t scores of the five subjects
who influenced their own blood with those of the four subjects who in-
fluenced another person's blood yields a trend of greater positive scoring
(i.e., psi hitting) for the "own blood" subjects (see Table 4). Because of
the small number of subjects involved in the comparison, this trend is not
significant (t [7] = 1.73, p = . 12, two-tailed). The large magnitude of
the difference, however, suggests that blood source would be an inter-
esting variable to explore in future studies of this type.
An anonymous referee of this paper described the results of a post hoc
analysis that he or she performed on the "own" versus "other" scores;
that analysis pointed to a possible true scoring pattern for the two blood
source conditions. The referee reported that for the 14 subjects who
worked with their own blood cells, a 2 x 2 table can be constructed that
divides them by positive versus negative change score x significant
versus nonsignificant change. Of the 7 with positive change, 5 were sig-
nificant; of the other 7, none were significant (p < . 02). The corre-
sponding table for the 18 subjects working with someone else's blood cells
yields nonsignificant differences for these same classifications.
The raw data collected in this experiment were sent to researchers at
SRI International so that they might perform certain mathematical anal-
yses of the scores to determine which of two models of psi, the RA model
or the IDS model, would provide better predictions of the obtained re-
sults for the 2-tube versus 8-tube conditions. Space limitations do not
Table 4
COMPARISON OF OWN VS. ANOTHER'S t SCORES FOR INDEPENDENTLY
SIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS
Own
Another's
2.52
-2.17
2.14
2.96
3.39
-2.79
3.04
3.08
2.53
X = 2.72
X = 0.27
SD = 0.44
SD = 2.76
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permit a detailed description of the rationale, nature, or specific results of
those analyses. However, the gist of their conclusion was that the extreme
heterogeneity of the data made it impossible to make an adequate determi-
nation of which model provided a better fit of the obtained scores. They
argued that psychic functioning, whatever its underlying mechanism, is
highly individualized, making it difficult to test a specific theory using
data combined across subjects; in the present experiment, insufficient data
were collected for any one subject to allow tests of RA versus IDS predic-
tions within individuals. Additional details regarding the IDS/RA analyses
may be found in an SRI International technical report (Hubbard, Utts, &
Braud, 1987).
We conducted our own analyses of the tube number factor simply by
comparing the differences between the mean change scores for the control
and the protect periods for the 2-tube condition with the corresponding
differences for the 8-tube condition. Matched t tests were used for these
comparisons. One t test was calculated using the 'data from all 32 partic-
ipants. A second t test was calculated using the data from only the 9 par-
ticipants whose scoring rates had been independently significant. Neither
analysis indicated a significant difference between the two tube conditions
(X difference = 0.08, t [31] = 0.25, p = . 80, two-tailed, and X differ-
ence = 0.41, t [8] = 0.74, p = . 51, two-tailed, respectively). According
to our understanding of the IDS model, psi scoring rate should be higher
for the 2-tube than for the 8-tube condition (i.e., scoring rate should de-
cline with "n length"). According to a direct psychokinesis or RA model,
psi scoring rate should not depend upon the number of tubes being mea-
sured during a participant's "effort" period (i.e., scoring rate should be
independent of "n length").5 Thus, the absence of a 2-tube versus 8-tube
scoring difference is more consistent with a remote action than with an
IDS interpretation.
George Hansen (personal communication, May 28, 1988) raised an
issue concerning the statistical analysis of the present study. The issue
concerns the assumption of independence of measurements within a 15-
minute period. He mentioned that substantial trial dependencies have
been observed in some of the biological target systems used by other in-
vestigators and wondered whether similar dependencies might be present
in this hemolysis work. If the individual "trials" (i.e., tube measure-
ments) are not independent, then the t tests might not be appropriate. This
independence issue may be addressed as follows:
1. Trial dependence would be more problematical in a situation in
5 Some models of PK or RA could predict a diminished psi effect at the level of the
individual trial (or at the level of the individual tube, in the present study) for long as
opposed to short "n lengths" due to a kind of "watering down" or "spreading thin" effect
of the increased number of targets at the greater n length. The total psi effect for the entire
ensemble of large n events, however, should be comparable to that for the entire ensemble of
small n events.
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which the very same target organism participated in all trials of an ex-
tended measurement block-for example, placing a laboratory rat in a test
apparatus for 15 minutes and measuring its activity 10 times (i.e., for 10
"trials") during that long period. In the present hemolysis experiment, a
different tube of blood (with different target cells) was used for each of the
"trials" (i.e., tube measurements) within a 15-minute epoch. This is anal-
ogous to making activity measurements in 10 different laboratory rats
placed sequentially in the measuring apparatus throughout a 15-minute
period, all rats being selected or sampled from a common group colony
cage.
2. The target tubes could not be randomized on an individual basis in
the present study due to the nature of one of the experimental questions
(i.e., the "few-versus-many-tubes" IDS question), which required mul-
tiple trials during a prolonged "effort" period, and therefore a blocked
design. The order of the blocks (PCCP or CPPC) was randomized in order
to control for any time-correlated systematic error.
3. Factors (e.g., temperature changes, handling differences, etc.) that
might influence hemolysis rate were identified during the pilot and inter-
mediate phases of the study and were eliminated or controlled so that they
were no longer present or active in the formal experiment.
4. Before the formal experiment began, numerous test runs were con-
ducted that involved multiple tube measurements under conditions iden-
tical to those of the experimental tests, but in the absence of psi influence
attempts. Such tests indicated that the tubes displayed independent activi-
ties over time periods as long as those required for the completion of 20
trials. Inspection revealed no obvious trends or dependencies in the tube
data. Furthermore, autocorrelation coefficients were calculated for all tube
sets of this preexperiment series for which at least 20 sequential tube mea-
surements were available. None of these autocorrelation analyses, each
carried out for lag numbers 1 through 10, provided evidence for trends or
dependencies.
5. Jessica Utts (personal communication, June 1, 1988) indicated that a
positive correlation of the hemolysis values across time would inflate the t
tests. Although indicating that there was no easy way to check for tube
independence, she did calculate correlation coefficients of hemolysis rate
versus the numbers 1 through 10, for each of the 64 sets of tubes (32
control sets and 32 protect sets) for which she was supplied the raw data.
She reported that the results showed an average correlation of - . 03 for
the control sets and - . 001 for the protect sets; this indicated that there
was no obvious trend or dependency.
Taken together, these various findings and considerations are more con-
sistent with an assumption of trial (tube) independence than with one of
trial (tube) dependency within time blocks.
A different statistical issue was raised by a referee who inquired as to
whether the data were sufficiently close to normality to justify the use of t
tests. Utts (personal communication, June 1, 1988), in checking the he-
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molysis data of the present experiment for normality, found that their his-
tograms looked relatively bell-shaped and that nonparametric Mann-
Whitney U tests calculated for the 32 subjects yielded results virtually
identical to those of the t tests reported above (scoring rates were indepen-
dently significant for 9 of the 32 individuals). She concluded that the t
tests were valid (assuming the scores were independent).
DISCUSSION
As expected, within- and between-subjects variability in this formal ex-
periment was greatly reduced by the changes in experimental protocol that
resulted from observations made in the pilot and intermediate phase ex-
periments. This reduction in the experiment's "noise" level permitted the
observation here of psi effects that could not be detected in the pilot study.
Significant differences in rate of hemolysis between experimental (i.e.,
mentally "protected") and control blood samples were found in an extra-
chance number of subjects.
It may be possible to discover important differences between subjects
who exhibited significant positive scoring and those who exhibited signifi-
cant negative scoring or chance scoring through detailed psychological
analyses that would consider both short-term ("state") and more persis-
tent ("trait") characteristics of the subjects. State analyses could focus
upon the types of mental strategies used by the subjects in their attempts
to influence the target cells. Some subjects, for example, employed a di-
rect strategy of visualizing the blood cells in a very realistic manner,
whereas other subjects employed a more indirect strategy of visualizing
objects that were similar to the blood cells and possessed characteristics
similar to those that protected cells might possess. Are more direct strate-
gies more effective than indirect strategies based upon associations and
symbolic representations? Trait analyses could be accomplished by asking
all participants of the formal study to return to the laboratory for various
personality assessments. Such assessments would, of course, be carried
out by laboratory personnel who are blind to the subjects' hemolysis re-
sults. Initial assessments might involve psychological instruments such as
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Participant Information Form,
which have already been shown to correlate with other types of psi perfor-
mance (e.g., Berger, Schechter, & Honorton, 1985; Honorton, Barker,
Varvoglis, Berger, & Schechter, 1985). Possible interactions between
state and trait factors could also be examined.
In the present study, several factors may have interfered with the emer-
gence of even stronger psi effects. These factors were: (a) the presence of
relatively large individual differences in the characteristics of the subjects,
(b) the long durations of the psi "effort" periods and of the experimental
sessions as a whole, and (c) the absence of real-time feedback to the sub-
jects concerning the state of the target system. Factor (a) could be mini-
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21
mized in future studies by more stringent selection of participants in terms
of prior histories of successful bio-PK performance and of personality
characteristics known to be correlated with psi performance. Factors (b)
and (c) were necessitated by the "tube number" component of the present
design (i.e., the assessment of two versus eight tubes in each 15-minute
protect or control period). Lengthy "effort" periods were required to ac-
commodate the measurement of eight tubes, and the requirement of
keeping the subject "blind" to the number of tubes prevented the admin-
istration of feedback because that would have allowed the subject to keep
track of the number of tubes measured. Future experiments unconcerned
with a tube-number factor could include briefer psi-influence periods and
could also provide feedback. It should be noted, however, that there exists
a growing body of evidence that suggests that real-time sensory feedback
to the subjects is not a necessary condition for the occurrence of strong psi
effects (e.g., Berger, 1988; Braud, 1978b).
The major purpose of the present study was to determine whether a
significant psi effect involving hemolysis could be observed using a large
number of unselected subjects and an improved experimental protocol.
The extrachance number of independently significant subject perfor-
mances provides an affirmative answer to this question. One of two sec-
ondary goals of the study was to explore the issue of whether an IDS
interpretation or an RA interpretation provides a better explanation of the
results. (The other secondary goal was to study the "own" versus "an-
other's" blood cells factor.) According to an RA interpretation, the sub-
jects (or the experimenter) actually retard hemolysis rate in a causal or
quasi-causal manner, yielding values that would not have occurred in the
absence of influence attempts. According to an IDS interpretation, the
experimental personnel take advantage of already existing fluctuations of
hemolysis rate among different blood samples, "sorting" those values by
the scheduling and timing of their trials so as to produce an effect that
simulates a causal effect. It is important to remember that an IDS effect is
still a psi effect, but an informational rather than a causal one.
There were several opportunities for intuitive data sorting in the present
experiment. The person (M.S.) who provided the random schedule for
blood source, tube condition, and tube number used a fixed rule that in-
volved converting published weather information into an entry point for a
table of random numbers. However, arbitrary decisions were still possible
in assigning odd or even digits to the various sources, conditions, and tube
numbers, and such decisions by M.S. provided possible entry points for
IDS that could influence both between- and within-subject effects. A
second possible source of sorting involved subject scheduling for the ini-
tial blood-drawing sessions. Which subjects happened to arrive at the
laboratory on a given Monday evening for blood drawing would determine
their places or positions in the test schedule, and hence the particular
blood samples that would be assigned to them; this could provide addi-
tional IDS entry points. Subject-scheduling IDS effects could be mediated
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Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research
by the experimenter (W.G.B.), by the laboratory personnel who suggested
and scheduled potential subjects, and/or by the subjects themselves. A
third possible source of sorting involved the experimenter's hemolysis
measurements. By consciously or unconsciously altering the timing of his
actions, he could determine the start point of the measured hemolysis
curve, and this in turn could influence the hemolysis rate measure. The
experimenter was aware of this possibility, and therefore he exercised
great caution in maintaining the consistency and stereotypy of his labora-
tory technique in an attempt to obviate this factor. Only automated proce-
dures could eliminate this factor, and even then, the elimination may or
may not be absolute, depending upon the completeness of the automation.
It is important to note that deliberate timing changes could influence only
the tube number effect in the present experiment, because this was the
only independent variable for which the experimenter was not blind. Be-
cause he was unaware of the blood source or of the scheduling of the
protect versus control periods, any timing changes that could influence
those two effects would necessarily have to be psi-mediated. It should be
added that subjects may have influenced hemolysis rate indirectly by ex-
erting a true, causal remote action influence upon the experimenter's
timing behavior, so that what appears to be IDS by the experimenter could
in reality be RA by the subject. As the reader will begin to appreciate, a
truly definitive test of the IDS model, or even a definitive identification of
IDS and RA components, is an exceedingly complex and difficult task.
The issue of whether the results of this experiment are described more
closely by an IDS model or by an RA model was not resolved unequivo-
cally by the mathematical analyses carried out at SRI International. Our
own statistical analysis of the tube number factor did not indicate the pres-
ence of the significant difference between the 2-tube and 8-tube conditions
that the IDS model would have predicted. The absence of a performance
difference between the two tube conditions is more consistent with an RA
(psychokinesis) interpretation than it is with an IDS (informational) inter-
pretation of the obtained results.
In the blood experiments reported here, the hemolysis process occurred
in vitro and was produced by osmotic stress. Caution should be exercised
in the generalization of the results of this study to in vivo hemolysis. In the
body, red blood cell lysis can occur through osmotic stress, but is more
often contributed by other factors (Hillman & Finch, 1974; Ponder, 1971).
The rationale for selecting blood cells was that perhaps material that had
once been part of the body might be more susceptible to distant mental
influence than would be the case for more "alien" biological materials.
At the very least, the use of such "familiar" material would be expected
to increase the participants' motivational levels and hence increase the
likelihood of positive results. Red blood cells were chosen as "targets"
for these initial bio-PK investigations because their rate of hemolysis
could be measured by means of the equipment and facilities available to
us. However, this choice was not without its difficulties because the bio-
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Distant Mental Influence of Hemolysis Rate
logical status of red blood cells is somewhat peculiar. On the one hand,
human mature red blood cells have no nucleus, cannot reproduce, and
have limited lifespans (approximately 120 days). On the other hand, as
Ponder (1971) notes: "On metabolic grounds, mammalian erythrocytes
are living cells; although in absolute terms the rates of respiration and of
glycolysis are small, from the standpoint of cellular physiology the metab-
olism is far from negligible" (p. 366). Red blood cells certainly qualify as
biological systems. In future cellular bio-PK investigations, however,
perhaps the use of white blood cells or of artificially cultured neural cells
may yield more dramatic results than those obtained in the present study.
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