1282

An Experimental Approach to Dreams and Telepathy: II.

Report of Three Studies

BY MONTAGUE ULLMAN, M.D., AND STANLEY KRIPPNER, PH.D.

Three studies were designed to investigate the experimenter from a precarious reliance
telepathic effects in REM sleep. On each upon spontaneous recall. In its application
night a target (art print) was rando,nly to the study of the telepathic dream it be-
selected by an agent who spent the night in came possible for the first time to transcend
a distant room attempting to telepathically the limitations of the clinical approach
influence the subjects dreams, which were and to introduce into the experimental
monitored by EEG techniques and tape design a number of factors. These included
recorded. Typed transcripts were sent to quantification-i.e., having a designated
outside judges fbr blind comparisons with number of subjects spend a certain number
the targets. For each study, the ratings of nights in the laboratory; control of
given the actual target-transcript combina- variables relating to the type of target
tions were significantly higher than those material one is trying to send; specifica-
given the incorrect target-transcript com- tion of the conditions under which the
binations. sending occurs-i.e., isolating the
sender or agent from the subject; and
random selection of the target picture. It
I NTEREST IN the possible occurrence of te- was also possible to have independent
lepathy in dreams moved from an anec- judging-i.e., having outside judges who
dotal level (spontaneous reports of dreams know nothing about the order in which
purporting to depict actual events simulta- the target pictures are chosen for a series
neously occurring unknown to and at a dis- of experimental nights attempt to both
tance from the dreamer) to a clinical level rank and rate their judgments as to which
when reports of presumptively telepathic target comes closest to the material
dreams of patients occurring in the context described in the transcribed record of
of the therapeutic situation began to appear the subjects dreams for a given night.
in the psychiatric literature. This began in Finally, appropriate statistical techniques
Freuds own writings and has clustered in for evaluating the results of the judging
publications appearing in the past two dcc- process were developed.
ades(3). Following an earlier report(3) describing
With the development of electro- exploratory studies utilizing the application
physiological techniques for monitoring of of the REM monitoring technique to the
dreaming during the total period of sleep study of the telepathic dream, our labora-
it became possible for the first time to tory has engaged in a number of follow-
engage in a dream study in a way that freed up studies involving repeated nights with a
selected subject. Three of these studies
Read at the 125th anniversary meeting of the Amer- will be summarized.
ican Psychiatric Association, Miami Beach, Fla., May
5-9. 1969. First Study
The authors are with the Maimonides Medical
Center. 4802 Tenth Ave., Brooklyn. N. Y. 11219.
where Dr. UlIman is director, department of psy- The first experimental series to utilize a
chiatry. and Dr. Krippner is senior research associate. single subject was completed in 1964. The
This work was supported in part by grants from the
subject, a New York psychologist selected
Ittleson and Scaife Foundations and by the Society
for Comparative Philosophy. on the basis of his performance in a pre-
The authors express their thanks to Charles Honor- liminary screening study, was paired with
ton, research associate. Maimonides Dream Labora-
tory. for his assistance in the preparation of this
a staff psychologist working in the labora-
manuscript. tory. The main hypothetical formulation

[116] Anier. J. Psichiat. /26: 9. March 1970

MONTAGUE ULLMAN AND STANLEY KRIPPNER 1283

stated that telepathic transfer o1 informa- An eight-channel Model D Medcraft

tion from an agent (or sender) to a EEG was used to monitor spontaneous
sleeping subject could be experimentally electrical brain activity and periods of
demonstrated. rapid eye movement. All verbal com-
Method munication between the subject and the
experimenter at the EEG controls was
Seven postcard-size prints of famous
mediated through an intercom system
paintings served as potential targets. The
and was recorded on tape. The agent
contents of this pool were unknown to
was in a room 40 feet distant, eliminating
the subject. but he was told that the agent
the possibility of verbal communication be-
would attempt to transmit an art print
tween agent and subject once the experi-
to him on each experimental night. This
ment had comnienced. The agent selected
. as originall intended as a l2-
an art print randomly once the subject
night series: due to the illness of the subject.
was in bed. All target pictures had been
however, only seven nights were completed
placed in sealed envelopes so that their
and the data were analyzed on that basis.
identity would be unknown until the
The targets. randomly selected from the
agent reached his private room and
pool for the seven experimental nights,
opened the container.
included Bedtime by Keane. The
The experimenter awakened the subject
Yellow Rabbi by Chagall. The Sacra-
each time his EEG activity indicated
ment of the Last Supper by Dali (figure
that he had been dreaming and asked the
I), School of the Dance by Degas.
subject to report his dream. As soon as
Paris From a Window by Chagall.
the subject was awakened in the morning.
Persistence of Memory by Dali, and
a post-sleep interview was held over the
Apples and Oranges by Cezanne. An intercom by the experimenter. The purpose
eighth target. Boats on the Beach by of this interview was to obtain additional
Van Gogh, was used in a preliminary information and associative material
screening session with the subject. relating to each dream. The tape was
FIGURE 1
Sacrament of the Last Supper

Anier. J. P.sic/iiat. 126: 9. Marc/i /970 [117]

 1284 EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO DREAMS AND TELEPATHY

transcribed, and copies were sent to three feeding of the multitudes. . . . Once again I think
outside judges. of Christmas.
Copies of the target pictures were SUBJECTS GUESS AS TO THE TAR-
sent to the judges, and a process of blind GET: Having to do with. . . fishermen. . .

matching produced statistical data that The picture ofthe physician.

could be used to evaluate the telepathy
hypothesis. The instructions to the judges Second Study

read, in part:
Two years following the completion of
Familiarize yourself with all seven of the the first study with a single subject, a replica-
targets. Familiarize yourself with the first dream
tion was attempted using the same subject-
protocol. Rank the targets against the dream
agent combination and the same judges. An
protocol. giving the rank of #1 to that target
eight-night series was completed in which
which comes closest to the dream content and the
rank of #2 to that which comes next closest,
a number of additional precautions were
etc. When you are finished, you will have seven taken to ensure against sensory leakage. In
separate rankings. one for each target. Go on addition, special efforts were made to involve
to the second dream protocol. Again rank the the agent more deeply with the target
targets, giving the rank of #1 to that target material.
which comes closest to the dream content, etc. Method
Repeat the procedure until all seven targets have
A pool of ten postcard-size prints of
been ranked against all seven dream protocols.
famous paintings was created; each potential
Results target picture was enclosed in an opaque
The ranks were initially evaluated by envelope, which was sealed. Each envelope
means of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov one- had a small letter in its upper corner match-
sample test; the rankings of one judge were ing a letter on a sealed box of multisensory
not significant (Judge A: D =0.428, p <0.15) material relating to the art print. During the
and those of two judges were statistically first study, the nightly log of the agent indi-
significant (Judge B: D =0.571, p <0.02; cated that he had spontaneously dramatized
Judge C: D =0.57 1, p <0.02). or acted out some of the scenes depicted in
The means of the ranks of Judges A, B, the target picture. In order to facilitate this
and C were then subjected to two-way dramatization as well as to more deeply
analysis of variance according to the Scheff#{233} involve the agent in the theme and mood of
technique(2). These results were statistically the target, an assistant prepared a series of
significant (F = 18.14, p <0.001, 1 and 34 the objects relating to each art print. These
dfl. objects, taken in conjunction with the picture,
Example #1. The following excerpts were designed to create a multisensory
illustrate the correspondences between the involvement of the agent with the target
target and dreams when Dalis The picture. For example, Daumiers The Bar-
Sacrament of the Last Supper was random- rel Organ was accompanied by a Protes-
ly selected: tant hymnal. The other targets included
FROM SUBJECTS DREAM REPORTS: Downpour at Shono by Hiroshige (figure
I havent any reason to say this but somehow 2), accompanied by a small Japanese um-
boats come to mind. Fishing boats. Small size brella and instructions to take a shower
fishing boats. A dozen . or so men pulling
. .
(figure 3), Portrait of Jahangir as a Young
a fishing boat ashore right after having returned
Prince by Bichitr (accompanied by Indian
from a catch. I was looking
. . at a. . Christ- . .
beads), Both Members of the Club by Bel-
mas catalog. Christmas season. The picture . . .

that Im thinking about now is the doctor lows (accompanied by a boxing glove), the
sitting beside a child that is ill. Its one of . . .
Major Pelham exhibit from the Civil War
those classical ones. Its called The Phy- . . . Centennial display in Richmond. Va. (ac-
sician. companied by several toy soldiers), The De-
FROM SUBJECTS ASSOCIATIONAL scent from the Cross by Beck mann (accom-
MATERIAL:The fisherman dream makes panied by a crucifix), Interior of the Syna-
me think of the Mediterranean area, perhaps gogue by Katz (accompanied by candles
even some sort of Biblical time. Right now my and matches), and Advice to a Young Ar-
associations are of fish and the loaf, or even the tist by Daumier (accompanied by water

[118] Amer. J. Psychiat. 126. 9, March 1970

MONTAGUE ULLMAN AND STANLEY KRIPPNER 1285

FIGURE 2 entered in the analysis of variance matrix:

Downpour at Shono
the eight actual target-protocol combina-
lions were compared with the 56 incorrect
target-protocol pairs. The resulting data were
statistically significant (F = 6.43, p <0.001, 7
and 21 dl). Therefore the telepathy hypoth-
esis was confirmed and the results of the
previous study were replicated.
Example #2. When Hiroshiges Down-
pour at Shono was randomly selected,
the agent stood in a shower (located in his
suite) under a small Japanese umbrella.
The following excerpts demonstrate the type
of target-protocol correspondences obtained.
FROM SUBJECTS DREAM REPORTS:
Its as though I was doing some drawing. . . . I
had the feeling as though it were in a down posi-
tion. like a low table. Down on the floor. Seems
thats what I meant by down. Something
about an Oriental man. Walking with some- . . .

one on the street. Raining. .

FROM SUBJECTS ASSOCIATIONAL

MATERIAL: The fountain makes me think of
Hiroshige.
pictures and scenes Ive seen of Rome. . . They
NY have so man fountains. . . . I remember
talking about fountains being renewing of
colors, a brush, and canvas). life. . . . I was walking on the street. It seemed
During each experimental night the subject it was raining a little bit. . . . Of course, it
was sleeping in a darkened sleep room; the was raining. .

agent was situated in a suite 96 feet distant. SUBJECTS GUESS AS TO THE TAR-
Upon arriving in his suite, the agent opened GET: In terms of just standing out. I would say
the randomly selected envelope and the the fountain. For some reason
. . Im going
.

box containing the multisensory materials. to say that it had something to do with. foun- . .

He acted out the instructions in the box and tains or something. Fountain. Maybe water.
. . .

utilized the multisensory materials in con- Supplementary Analysis. A frequent

junction with the target picture. attempting criticism of the first study centered around
to influence the subjects dreams. the allegation that dreams are so ambiguous
After the protocols for all eight experi- that virtually any picture would correspond
mental nights had been collected and tran- in some way to a dream transcript. This
scribed. three outside judges rated each of argument can be effectively countered by
the 64 possible target-protocol pairs. These pointing out that the judges worked blind
64 pairs were presented to each judge in a FIGURE 3
different random order; eight judgings were Multisensory Materials for Target 2

presented at a time so that the sitting effect li

could be evaluated as well as the target effect,
the experimental night effect, and the telep-
athy effect. A Latin-square analysis of
variance was utilized to evaluate the data.
The judging sheet for each target-protocol
pair contained a 100-unit scale and read, in
part. Color the space that represents, in
your judgment. the correspondence between
target material and protocol content.
Results
Means of the three judges ratings were
A,ner. J. Psychiat. /26: 9, March /970 [119]
1286 EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO DREAMS AND TELEPATHY

and that they matched each of the eight 2. The agent remained in his suite for the
targets against each of the eight transcripts. entire night. The subject remained in his
Nevertheless, critics of the first study room for the entire night, with the exception
claimed that a control judging should of occasional visits to the nearby washroom.
have been attempted in which pictures that Thus, communication from the agent to the
were not in the target pool were matched subject was impossible due to their physical
against the dream transcripts. location.
For the second study, a thorough check 3. The range of target material was un-
of this allegation was made. A fourth judge known to any of the individuals present at
(Judge D) was given copies of the eight tran- the experiments. The targets and the multi-
scripts for the second study as well as the sensory material had been prepared by staff
eight targets used for that study, the seven members who were never present on any
targets used for the first study, and a target of the experimental nights.
used for a screening session. The 16 targets
were paired with all eight protocols, produc- Third Study

ing 128 target-protocol combinations. These Method

were judged by means of the 100-unit rating For this eight-night series, the procedure.
scale described previously. outlined for the second study was followed
Before Judge D attempted the 128 ratings, with certain modifications. The subject, a
eight target-protocol combinations were psychologist on the staff of an out-of-state
randomly assigned by a consulting statisti- university, was selected on the basis of suc-
cian using the eight control targets. The cessful performances in a telepathy experi-
Yellow Rabbi became the control target ment at another dream laboratory. He was
for night one, Persistence of Memory allowed to select his own agent from the
for night two, Apples and Oranges for Maimonides staff, having been introduced
night three, Bedtime for night four, to several staff members during a days visit.
Boats on the Beach for night five, The Over the course of the eight-night study,
Sacrament of the Last Supper for night two female agents and one male agent were
six, School of the Dance for night seven, utilized.
and Paris From a Window for night eight. A total of several dozen target pictures
Upon completion of this judging process, was prepared. Eight were randomly chosen
ratings for the correct and the control on each experimental night by the agent,
target-protocol combinations were placed who then selected at random one of the
in separate analysis of variance matrices eight as his target picture. The target pictures
and were evaluated using the Scheff#{233}tech- actually utilized included The Discovery of
nique(2). America by Christopher Columbus by
The correct target-protocol combina- Dali, The Wine Taster by Vermeer, The
tions received higher ratings from Judge D Repast of the Lion by Rousseau, Kathak
than did all other combinations in the Dancing Girls by an unknown Indian
matrix. These data were statistically signifi- artist, The Enigma of Fate by Dc Chirico,
cant (F =8.11, p<O.Ol, 8 and 64 dl). The Trees and Houses by Cezanne, Gangster
control combinations did not yield signifi- Funeral by Levine (figure 4), and Man
cant data (F =0.71). Therefore, the allega- with Arrows and Companions by Bichitr.
tion that significant data can be obtained The introduction into the experimental
from chance target-protocol combinations design of a different target poo1 for each
was not demonstrated. session enabled the subject, a psychologist,
In addition to the supplementary analysis, to do his own judging each morning. He
a number of special precautions were taken followed the ranking procedure previous-
ly described.
in this study to ensure that no sensory clues
It was decided in advance to consider as
relating to the target could reach the subject:
hits all correct target pictures that had
1. The two rooms used to house the sub- been ranked as #1, #2, #3, or #4, and to
ject and agent were at opposite ends of the regard as misses all pictures that had been
building and were 96 feet apart, separated ranked as #5, #6, #7, or #8. Additional
by two bends in a corridor and three doors. judging, utilizing the ranking technique, was
[120] Amer. J. Psvchiai. 126: 9, March /970
MONTAGUE ULLMAN AND STANLEY KRIPPNER 1287

FIGURE 4
Gangster Funeral

accomplished by Judge D. level.

Following the subjects judging. he was An analysis of the motivational factors
told the correct target by the agent. The that came into focus during the psychiatric
subject was then interviewed by a staff psy- interview suggested that the telepathic effect
chiatrist. This interview centered around the was linked to sexual and aggressive content.
dreams and associational material of the In the example that follows the subject
subject as well as around the agents written revealed guilt about sexual fantasies concern-
associations to the target picture. ing the agent-an attractive female social
worker. The guilt involved the psychiatric
Results
interviewer (Dr. Ullman) as a superego
The results of the subjects rankings were figure who appeared in the dreams reference
assessed by the binomial method. When to security police.
the ranks were inspected, there were eight Exanzple #3. Levines Gangster Funeral
hits and no misses. This distribution is was used on a night when the following
significant at the 0.004 level. material was collected:
The rankings of Judge D were assessed FROM SUBJECTS DREAM REPORTS:
by the binomial method. Five direct cor- There was a conversation going on at a table be-
respondences (i.e., ranks of #1) were tween myself and two other male characters. .

obtained; this is significant at the 0.001 One of them was Fred. . . .1 was sort of joshing

A,ner. J. Psychiat. /26: 9. March /970 [121]

 1288 EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO DREAMS AND TELEPATHY

or kidding him about the clothing that he was tracking remains very elusive. Our studies
wearing. He had on a rather garish suit. It . . .
suggest that it is a focused effect, i.e.,
seems as if he had on a vest which was not exactly that it occurs between a designated agent
matching the suit. And it seems
. . as if I had
and percipient rather than capriciously.
to talk to the police, the security police. It . . .
This is by no means exclusively so, and the
seemed like there were maybe six people there. .

and this one guy who seemed to be lying down full range of adventitious or capricious
on the bed was saying something about, this effects is an unknown quantity. Two other
means he has a dirty mouth. leads have emerged. One is that not every-
FROM SUBJECTS ASSOCIATIONAL one has the same power acting as agent;
MATERIAL: . . . He had on this loud, garish, the other that not everyone has the same
woolen suit with a vest that didnt quite match power acting as subject. The idea of a field
It seems I had to report into the security effect in which the key variables are linked
police or something but for some reason
. . I to the subject-agent interaction suggests it-
had to check in with the security police. I think self. We have taken a few beginning steps
the association very clearly is Monte as in the direction of exploring this possibility.
security police . . Lying
. over on the couch
In the last series completed the subject-agent
fairly close to me there was some guy who said,
relationship was structured on the basis of
Lets play the dirty record. Something . .
personal selection and rapport, while the
about inpatient service. and that they were
. .

running it much more like a jail or a prison. emotional climate in which the experiment
but he was pleased about it. Almost seemed to took place was explored between subject and
be boasting about it-the tough methods that agent in a dynamically oriented interview
they were using in the prison. . situation on the morning following the ex-
SUBJECTS GUESS AS TO THE TAR- perimental night. Approaching it in this
GET: My guess would be that. the target . . fashion, we highlight certain immediate here-
picture had a great deal of rich textual quality to and-now emotional linkages. We are also
it. . I would say people have to be in it because
.
interested in the possible influence of con-
this was a very people-dominated night from stitutional and developmental linkages as
beginning to end. There was never any episode these might occur if the pairing of subject
that did not involve people. Also, it seemed . .
and agent were to take place on the basis of
as if there was a lot of emphasis on sitting pos-
kinship. In this connection, working with
tures.
identical twins might be helpful.
Discussion Can further psychological manipulation
of either subject or agent or both further
If our findings are interpreted as support- enhance the effect? Our present design is
ing the idea that extrasensory effects can be limited to generating a spontaneous altered
made to appear in dreams on a greater than state of consciousness in the subject. What
chance basis-and we see no other inter- would happen if we also generated an altered
pretation at the present time-they raise state in the agent through hypnosis or by
many questions and provide few answers. somehow linking the target to the dreaming
The demonstration either that information consciousness of the agent? We are begin-
transfer can occur through as yet unidenti- ning to test out some of these ideas in a
fied sensory channels or that a resonance pilot fashion.
effect can be induced linking, in remarkably In an effort to further define subject-
congruent ways, the brain activity of two agent interaction it might be fruitful to ex-
individuals in sensory isolation from each plore the possible relevance of differing or
other would give some credence to at least congruent perceptual styles. Along the di-
a proportion of the many spontaneous and mension of field dependency, for example,
anecdotal accounts of such happenings. More what might be the best combination of sub-
important, however, would be the open ques- ject and agent?
tion ofjust how much communication of this The importance of the target material it-
kind does gain access to dream conscious- self and the degree of involvement of the
ness under normal conditions. agent in the target has received emphasis in
It is obvious that the phenomenon we are the successful results obtained by Moss and
Gengerelli(l) when target material was
Dr. UlIman. selected with a view to eliciting sharp and
[122] Amer. J. Psvchiat. /26.9, March 1970
MONTAGUE ULLMAN AND STANLEY KRIPPNER 1289

dramatic affective responses in the agent. of paranormal data. In order to get a con-
We have begun to make more use of multi- tinuing yield of paranormal data we must
sensory stimuli. The visual impact of the be able to identify and control the signifi-
target picture is reinforced by presenting cant variables. This dilemma is not new to
the agent with an array of objects and tasks, parapsychology. What makes for some
all of which are related to the theme of the optimism in connection with our own ap-
picture but which invoke the use of other proach is the hope that, with the vast
sensory modalities. amount of dream research being carried out
Further studies are needed to assess the
currently, replication of our results may
relative facilitating influence of dream con-
be forthcoming from other laboratories.
sciousness compared with the kind of
cognitive recall that can be obtained from REFERENCES
other stages of sleep. We have some data to
suggest that hypnagogic and hypnopompic I. Moss, T., and Gengerelli, J. A.: Telepathy and
Emotional Stimuli: A Controlled Experiment, J.
states are as favorable to the occurrence of
Abnorm. Psychol. 72:341-348, 1967.
paranormal effects as the dream state itself.
2. Scheff#{233}, H.: The Analysis of Variance. New York:
At this point in time we find ourselves
John Wiley& Sons. l955.chap. 10.
in a kind of parapsychological Catch 22. 3. UlIman, M.: An Experimental Approach to
In order to test out some of the above ideas Dreams and Telepathy, Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 14:605-
we must continue to get an identifiable yield 613, 1966.

In 1821 Chief Justice John Jay said to his nephew William Heathcote DeLancey:
Let me tell you, William: the true history of the American Revolution can never be
written. Jay declined to give his reasons, saying, You must be content to know that
the fact is as I have said, and that a great many people in those days were not at all
what they seemed nor what they are generally believed to have been.

-EDWARD FLOYD DELANCEYS introduction to

Thomas Jones History of New York
During the Revolutionary War, 1879

Amer. J. Psvchiai. /26. 9, March /970 [123]