Experiment 1 – Extra Sensory Phenomenon (ESP)

Name: Legaspi, John Lord D.

Course Subject: Experimental Psychology

Section: PSY215

Date Submitted: 04/26/2023

Extra Sensory Phenomenon (ESP)

Introduction

With the turn of the 21st Century and easier access to information, the masses seems to
be aloofes to beliefs in both religious and the supernatural. However, the beliefs in mind-
reading, fortune-telling, and many more still seem to make its mark in society both in
entertainment, such as movies and T.V., and everyday life. Branković (2019) wrote that ESP or
“psi” refers to extra-sensory perception, i.e. phenomena as telepathy (communicating with
thoughts), psychokinesis (the ability to move objects without physical contact), precognition (the
ability to predict future events). She further wrote that the belief in ESP is a far more “modern”
belief, compared to traditional and religious views, since it is in line with modern world views and
understanding.

To add to this, telepathy is defined as the transference of thoughts or feelings between two or
more subjects without the use of senses or other physical objects (Bhavsar, 2019). The
experiment revolves mainly around the possibility of attaining information without using one’s
own senses. This could either be done through the process of telepathy or a different
phenomena entirely.

Methodology

The objective of the experiment was to determine the probability of acquiring information
without using any of the five normal senses and to measure if the subject has Extra Sensory
Phenomenon abilities. The experimenter used a single deck of cards for the experiment and a
pen and paper to record the results of the subject’s guesses. From the deck of cards the
experimenter removed all face cards and from there only ace to ten cards from all four suits
remain. With all 40 cards, the deck was shuffled to times. The experimenter would pick the top
card from the deck. The card that was picked is held up with the back of the card facing the
subject. After that, the subject is told to guess which card is the experimenter holding (e.g., 10 of
Clubs and so on and so forth). Then, each result is recorded in the paper, including the number
of times the subject got it right and wrong. Lastly, the process of guessing and holding up a
card is repeated until there is no card left. The subject is a young adult in his 20s, currently
situated at Sampaloc, Manila. He is taking up a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in National
University – Manila.

Results

Table 1

Number of correct and incorrect guesses the subject made during the experiment.

Correct Guesses Incorrect Guesses Total

0 40 40

Discussion

The existence of ESP or psi, as some research refers to it, is at best debatable. Several
experiments and research regarding the idea have been done in the past. One of the most
interesting ones was an experiment conducted on twin brothers in Philadelphia by two
ophthalmologists, the results were reported in “Herald Tribune” of New York, under the article
“Twins Prove Electronic Extrasensory Perception” (Bhavsar, 2022). The experiment involved a
set of twins which was placed apart from one another, a significant distance of 800 kilometers.
Each twin is hooked up to an EEG machine set to monitor changes in brain activity. One twin
became a sender of message, while the other, who was in a controlled laboratory, was the
receiver. The researchers noted changes in brain activity for both subjects during the time which
the supposed “mental messages” were sent.

In contrast, my experiment with the subject points towards the notion that ESP does not
exist, based on how poorly the subject performed in the experiment. However, several experts
have noted on how and why this has been reported to have happened. Miroslaw and Janina,
(2015) suggested that the brain is a massive source of extremely low frequency (ELF) signals
which is the transmitted throughout the entire body and is sensitive to magnetic fields.
Brainwaves and natural biorhythms can entrain by strong external ELF signals, such as
stationary waves at Schumann resonance, by which, under the right circumstances creates a
channel for bioinformation transfer both internally and externally via ELF electromagnetic
waves. Lastly, Table 1 shows that the subject made 40 consecutive incorrect guesses. From
this, it is not hard to say that the subject does, in fact, not have extrasensory perception
whatsoever.

Conclusion

While some studies done in the past have shown possible instances of ESP, and in
specific cases where twins are subjected to experiments trying to prove telepathy and
precognition displayed promising results. However, with the subject’s poor performance of
incorrectly guessing for 40 tries or a 100% of the time, the experiment showed that the subject
does not have ESP abilities, and although the presence of ESP seems to be lacking in the
subject, it is a fair assumption to say that this does not disapprove the existence of ESP as a
phenomena because a singular subject is too small of a sample size to conclude the contrary.

References

Branković, M. (2019, February 28). Who believes in ESP: Cognitive and motivational
determinants of the belief in extra-sensory perception. PubMed Central (PMC).

Bhavsar, J. (2022). Concepts of Extrasensory Potential Telepathy in the Literature of Pandit

Shriram Sharma Acharya. Dev Sanskriti Interdisciplinary International Journal, 19, 23-33.

Kozlowski, M., & Marciak-Kozlowska, J. (2015). Schumann resonance and brain waves: A
quantum description. Neuroquantology, 13(2).

Zahran, S. K. (2019). A Perspective on Human Psychical Ability Nature Part One: Human
Sensation and Perception to Invisible Reality. International American Journal of
Humanities and Social Science, 5(1), 21-18.