Editing Parapsychology (section)

==History==
===Early psychical research===
[[File:Henry Slade with Zöllner.png|thumb|upright|[[Henry Slade (medium)|Henry Slade]] with [[Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner]]]]
In 1853, chemist [[Robert Hare (chemist)|Robert Hare]] conducted experiments with [[Mediumship|mediums]] and reported positive results.<ref>{{cite book|first=Terence|last=Hines|author-link=Terence Hines|title=Pseudoscience and the Paranormal|publisher=[[Prometheus Books]]|location=Amherst, NY|pages=50–52|date=2003|isbn=1573929794}}</ref> Other researchers such as [[Frank Podmore]] highlighted flaws in his experiments, such as lack of controls to prevent trickery.<ref>[[Frank Podmore|Podmore, Frank]]. (1897). ''Studies in Psychical Research''. G. P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 48–49</ref><ref>[[Frank Podmore|Podmore, Frank]]. (1902). ''Modern Spiritualism: A History and a Criticism''. Methuen Publishing. pp. 234–235</ref> [[Agenor de Gasparin]] conducted early experiments into [[table-tipping]]. For five months in 1853, he declared the experiments a success, being the result of an "[[ectenic force]]". Critics noted that the conditions were insufficient to prevent trickery. For example, the sitters may have moved the table with their knees, and no experimenter was simultaneously watching above and below the table.<ref>[[Frank Podmore|Podmore, Frank]]. (1897). ''Studies in Psychical Research''. New York: Putnam. p. 47</ref>

The German [[Astrophysics|astrophysicist]] [[Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner]] tested the medium [[Henry Slade (medium)|Henry Slade]] in 1877. According to Zöllner, some of the experiments were successful.<ref>[[Gordon Stein|Stein, Gordon]]. (1996). ''The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. p. 703. {{ISBN|1573920215}} "Slade succeeded only on tests that allowed easy trickery, such of producing knots in cords that had their ends tied together and the knot sealed, putting wooden rings on a table leg, and removing coins from sealed boxes. He failed utterly on tests that did not permit deception. He was unable to reverse the spirals of snail shells. He could not link two wooden rings, one of oak, the other of alder. He could not knot an endless ring cut from a bladder, or put a piece of candle inside a closed glass bulb. He failed to change the optical handedness of tartaric dex-tro to levo. These tests would have been easy to pass if Slade's spirit controls had been able to take an object into the fourth dimension, then return it after making the required manipulations. Such successes would have created marvelous PPOs (permanent paranormal objects), difficult for skeptics to explain. Zöllner wrote an entire book in praise of Slade. Titled ''Transcendental Physics'' (1878), it was partly translated into English in 1880 by spiritualist [[Charles Carleton Massey]]. The book is a classic of childlike gullibility by a scientist incapable of devising adequate controls for testing paranormal powers."</ref> However, flaws in the experiments were discovered, and critics have suggested that Slade was a fraud who performed trickery in the experiments.<ref>[[John Mulholland (magician)|Mulholland, John]]. (1938). ''Beware Familiar Spirits''. C. Scribner's Sons. pp. 111–112. {{ISBN|978-1111354879}}</ref><ref>[[Ray Hyman|Hyman, Ray]]. (1989). ''The Elusive Quarry: A Scientific Appraisal of Psychical Research''. Prometheus Books. p. 209. {{ISBN|0879755040}} "In the case of Zöllner's investigations of Slade, not only do we know that Slade was exposed before and after his sessions with Zöllner, but also there is ample reason to raise questions about the adequacy of the investigation. [[Hereward Carrington|Carrington]] (1907), [[Frank Podmore|Podmore]] (1963), and [[Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick|Mrs. Sidgwick]] (1886–87) are among a number of critics who have uncovered flaws and loopholes in Zöllner's sittings with Slade."</ref>

The [[Society for Psychical Research]] (SPR) was founded in [[London]] in 1882. Its formation was the first systematic effort to organize scientists and scholars to investigate paranormal phenomena. Early membership included [[Philosophy|philosophers]], scholars, scientists, educators and [[politician]]s, such as [[Henry Sidgwick]], [[Arthur Balfour]], [[William Crookes]], [[Rufus Osgood Mason]], and Nobel Laureate [[Charles Richet]].<ref name=Beloff>{{Cite book|last=Beloff |first=John |title=Handbook of parapsychology |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold |year=1977 |isbn=978-0442295769}}</ref> Presidents of the Society included, in addition to Richet, [[Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick|Eleanor Sidgwick]] and [[William James]], and subsequently Nobel Laureates [[Henri Bergson]] and [[Lord Rayleigh]], and philosopher [[C. D. Broad]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Past Presidents|url=http://www.spr.ac.uk/page/past-presidents-parapsychology|publisher=Society for Psychical Research|access-date=21 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223112644/http://www.spr.ac.uk/page/past-presidents-parapsychology|archive-date=23 February 2015}}</ref>

Areas of study included [[telepathy]], [[hypnotism]], [[Odic force|Reichenbach's phenomena]], [[apparitional experiences|apparitions]], [[hauntings]], and the physical aspects of [[Spiritualism (religious movement)|Spiritualism]] such as [[table-tilting]], [[Materialization (paranormal)|materialization]], and [[Apport (paranormal)|apportation]].<ref>Thurschwell, Pamela. (2004). ''Literature, Technology and Magical Thinking, 1880–1920''. Cambridge University Press. p. 16. {{ISBN|0521801680}}</ref><ref>McCorristine, Shane. (2010). ''Spectres of the Self: Thinking about Ghosts and Ghost-Seeing in England, 1750–1920''. Cambridge University Press. p. 114. {{ISBN|978-0521767989}}</ref> In the 1880s, the Society investigated apparitional experiences and [[Anomalous experiences|hallucinations in the sane]]. Among the first important works was the two-volume publication in 1886, ''[[Phantasms of the Living]]'', which was largely criticized by scholars.<ref>Douglas, Alfred. (1982). ''Extra-Sensory Powers: A Century of Psychical Research''. Overlook Press. p. 76. {{ISBN|978-0879511609}} "Phantasms of the Living was criticized by a number of scholars when it appeared, one ground for the attack being the lack of written testimony regarding the apparitions composed shortly after they had been seen. In many instances several years had elapsed between the occurrence and a report of it being made to the investigators from the SPR."</ref> In 1894, the ''Census of Hallucinations'' was published which sampled 17,000 people. Out of these, 1,684 persons admitted to having experienced a hallucination of an apparition.<ref>Williams, William F. (2000). ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy''. Routledge. p. 49. {{ISBN|1579582079}}</ref> The SPR became the model for similar societies in other European countries and the United States during the late 19th century.

Early [[clairvoyance]] experiments were reported in 1884 by [[Charles Richet]]. Playing cards were enclosed in envelopes, and a subject was put under hypnosis to identify them. The subject was reported to have succeeded in a series of 133 trials, but the results dropped to the chance level when performed before a group of scientists in Cambridge. J. M. Peirce and [[Edward Charles Pickering|E. C. Pickering]] reported a similar experiment in which they tested 36 subjects over 23,384 trials, which did not obtain above-chance scores.<ref name="Hansel 1985">[[C. E. M. Hansel]]. ''The Search for a Demonstration of ESP''. In [[Paul Kurtz]]. (1985). ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology''. Prometheus Books. pp. 97–127. {{ISBN|0879753005}}</ref>

In 1881, [[Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick|Eleanor Sidgwick]] revealed the fraudulent methods that [[Spirit photography|spirit photographer]]s such as [[Édouard Isidore Buguet]], [[Frederick Hudson (photographer)|Frederic Hudson]], and [[William H. Mumler]] had utilized.<ref>Edmunds, Simeon. (1966). ''Spiritualism: A Critical Survey''. Aquarian Press. p. 115. {{ISBN|978-0850300130}} "The early history of spirit photography was reviewed by Mrs Henry Sidgwick in the Proceedings of the SPR in 1891. She showed clearly not only that Mumler, Hudson, Buguet and their ilk were fraudulent, but the way in which those who believed in them were deceived."</ref> During the late nineteenth century, many fraudulent mediums were exposed by SPR investigators.<ref>Moreman, Christopher M. (2010). ''Beyond the Threshold: Afterlife Beliefs and Experiences in World Religions''. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. p. 163. {{ISBN|978-0742562288}} "SPR investigators quickly found that many mediums were indeed, as skeptics had alleged, operating under cover of darkness in order to perpetrate scams. They used a number of tricks facilitated by darkness: sleight of hand was used to manipulate objects and touch people eager to make contact with deceased loved ones; flour or white lines would give the illusion of spectral white hands or faces; accomplices were even stashed under tables or in secret rooms to lend support in the plot... As the investigations of the SPR, and other skeptics, were made public, many fraudulent mediums saw their careers ruined and many unsuspecting clients were enraged at the deception perpetrated."</ref>

Largely due to the support of psychologist [[William James]], the [[American Society for Psychical Research]] (ASPR) opened its doors in [[Boston]] in 1885, moving to [[New York City]] in 1905 under the leadership of [[James H. Hyslop]].<ref name="Berger">{{Cite book |last=Berger |first=Arthur S. |author2=Berger, Joyce |title=The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research |publisher=Paragon House Publishers |year=1991 |isbn=978-1557780430 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpa00berg }}</ref> Notable cases investigated by [[Walter Franklin Prince]] of the ASPR in the early 20th century included [[Pierre L. O. A. Keeler]], the [[Great Amherst Mystery]] and [[Patience Worth]].<ref>Larsen, Egon. (1966). ''The Deceivers: Lives of the Great Imposters''. Roy Publishers. pp. 130–132</ref><ref>Berger, Arthur S. (1988). ''Lives and Letters in American Parapsychology: A Biographical History'', 1850–1987. McFarland. pp. 75–107. {{ISBN|978-0899503455}}</ref>

===Rhine era===

In 1911, [[Stanford University]] became the first academic institution in the United States to study [[extrasensory perception]] (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK) in a laboratory setting. The effort was headed by psychologist [[John Edgar Coover]] and funded by [[Thomas Welton Stanford]], brother of the university's founder. After conducting approximately 10,000 experiments, Coover concluded that "statistical treatments of the data fail to reveal any cause beyond chance."<ref>{{cite book|first=Egil|last=Asprem|title=The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism and Esoteric Discourse, 1900–1939|publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]]|location=Leiden, Netherlands|date=2014|isbn=978-9004251922|pages=355–360}}</ref>

In 1930, [[Duke University]] became the second major U.S. academic institution to engage in the critical study of ESP and psychokinesis in the laboratory. Under the guidance of psychologist [[William McDougall (psychologist)|William McDougall]], and with the help of others in the department—including psychologists [[Karl Zener]], [[Joseph Banks Rhine|Joseph B. Rhine]], and [[Louisa E. Rhine]]—laboratory ESP experiments using volunteer subjects from the undergraduate student body began. As opposed to the approaches of psychical research, which generally sought [[Qualitative research|qualitative evidence]] for paranormal phenomena, the experiments at Duke University proffered a [[Quantitative research|quantitative]], [[statistical]] approach using [[Zener cards|cards]] and dice. As a consequence of the ESP experiments at Duke, standard laboratory procedures for the testing of ESP were developed and adopted by interested researchers worldwide.<ref name="Berger"/>

[[George Estabrooks]] conducted an ESP experiment using cards in 1927. Harvard students were used as the subjects. Estabrooks acted as the sender, with the guesser in an adjoining room. Estabrooks conducted a total of 2,300 trials. When Estabrooks sent the subjects to a distant room with insulation, the scores dropped to chance level. Attempts to repeat the experiment also failed.<ref name="Hansel 1985"/>

The publication of J. B. Rhine's book, ''New Frontiers of the Mind'' (1937), brought the laboratory's findings to the general public. In his book, Rhine popularized the word "parapsychology", coined by psychologist [[Max Dessoir]] over 40 years earlier, to describe the research conducted at Duke. Rhine also founded an autonomous Parapsychology Laboratory within Duke and started the ''[[Journal of Parapsychology]]'', which he co-edited with McDougall.<ref name=Berger/>
[[File:Zener cards (color).svg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Early parapsychological research employed the use of [[Zener cards]] in experiments designed to test for the existence of [[telepathy|telepathic communication]], or clairvoyant or precognitive perception.]]
Rhine, along with associate Karl Zener, had developed a statistical system of testing for ESP that involved subjects guessing what symbol, out of five possible symbols, would appear when going through a [[Zener cards|special deck of cards]] designed for this purpose. A percentage of correct guesses (or hits) significantly above 20% was perceived as higher than chance and indicative of psychic ability. Rhine stated in his first book, ''[[Extrasensory Perception (book)|Extrasensory Perception]]'' (1934), that after 90,000 trials, he felt ESP is "an actual and demonstrable occurrence".<ref name="Rhine1934">J. B. Rhine (1934). Extra-Sensory Perception. (4th ed.) Branden Publishing Company 1997. {{ISBN|0828314640}}</ref>

Irish medium and parapsychologist [[Eileen J. Garrett]] was tested by Rhine at Duke University in 1933 with Zener cards. Rhine placed certain symbols on the cards, sealed them in an envelope, and asked Garrett to guess their contents. She performed poorly and later criticized the tests by claiming the cards lacked a [[Energy (esotericism)|psychic energy]] called "energy stimulus" and that she could not perform clairvoyance to order.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jenny|last=Hazelgrove|title=Spiritualism and British Society Between the Wars|publisher=Manchester University Press|location=Manchester, England|date=2000|isbn=978-0719055591|page=[https://archive.org/details/spiritualismbrit00haze/page/204 204]|url=https://archive.org/details/spiritualismbrit00haze/page/204}}</ref> The parapsychologist [[Samuel Soal]] and his colleagues tested Garrett in May 1937. Soal conducted most experiments in the Psychological Laboratory at [[University College London]]. Soal recorded over 12,000 guesses, but Garrett failed to produce above chance level.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=A. S.|last1=Russell|first2=John Andrews|last2=Benn|title=A New Discovery|journal=Discovery: The Popular Journal of Knowledge|volume=13|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge, England|pages=305–306}}</ref> In his report Soal wrote "In the case of Mrs. Eileen Garrett we fail to find the slightest confirmation of J. B. Rhine's remarkable claims relating to her alleged powers of extra-sensory perception. Not only did she fail when I took charge of the experiments, but she failed equally when four other carefully trained experimenters took my place."<ref>[[Samuel Soal]]. ''A Repetition of Dr. Rhine's work with Mrs. Eileen Garrett''. Proc. S.P.R. Vol. XLII. pp. 84–85. Also quoted in [[Antony Flew]]. (1955). ''A New Approach To Psychical Research''. Watts & Co. pp. 90–92.</ref>

The parapsychology experiments at Duke evoked much criticism from academics and others who challenged the concepts and evidence of ESP. Many psychological departments attempted to repeat Rhine's experiments with failure. W. S. Cox (1936) from [[Princeton University]], with 132 subjects, produced 25,064 trials in a playing card ESP experiment. Cox concluded, "There is no evidence of extrasensory perception either in the 'average man' or of the group investigated or in any particular individual of that group. The discrepancy between these results and those obtained by Rhine is due either to uncontrollable factors in experimental procedure or to the difference in the subjects."<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cox | first1 = W. S. | year = 1936 | title = An experiment in ESP | doi = 10.1037/h0054630 | journal = Journal of Experimental Psychology | volume = 19 | issue = 4| page = 437 }}</ref> Four other psychological departments failed to replicate Rhine's results.<ref>Cited in [[C. E. M. Hansel]] ''The Search for a Demonstration of ESP'' in [[Paul Kurtz]]. (1985). ''A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology''. Prometheus Books. pp. 105–127. {{ISBN|0879753005}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Adam | first1 = E. T. | year = 1938 | title = A summary of some negative experiments | journal = Journal of Parapsychology | volume = 2 | pages = 232–236 }}
* Crumbaugh, J. C. (1938). ''An experimental study of extra-sensory perception''. Masters thesis. Southern Methodist University.
* {{cite journal | last1 = Heinlein | first1 = C. P | last2 = Heinlein | first2 = J. H. | year = 1938 | title = Critique of the premises of statistical methodology of parapsychology | journal = Journal of Parapsychology | volume = 5 | pages = 135–148 | doi=10.1080/00223980.1938.9917558}}
* Willoughby, R. R. (1938). ''Further card-guessing experiments''. Journal of Psychology 18: 3–13.</ref> After thousands of card runs, [[James Charles Crumbaugh]] failed to duplicate the results of Rhine.<ref>[[James Alcock|Alcock, James]]. (1981). ''Parapsychology – Science Or Magic?: A Psychological Perspective''. Pergamon Press. 136. {{ISBN|978-0080257730}}</ref>

[[File:Hubert Pearce with J. B. Rhine.png|thumb|[[Hubert Pearce]] with J. B. Rhine]]
In 1938, the psychologist [[Joseph Jastrow]] wrote that much of the evidence for extrasensory perception collected by Rhine and other parapsychologists was anecdotal, biased, dubious and the result of "faulty observation and familiar human frailties".<ref>[[Joseph Jastrow]]. (1938). ''ESP, House of Cards''. The American Scholar 8: 13–22.</ref> Rhine's experiments were discredited due to the discovery that [[sensory leakage]] or cheating could account for all his results, such as the subject being able to read the symbols from the back of the cards and being able to see and hear the experimenter to note subtle clues.<ref>[[Harold Gulliksen]]. (1938). ''Extra-Sensory Perception: What Is It?''. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 43, No. 4. pp. 623–634. "Investigating Rhine's methods, we find that his mathematical methods are wrong and that the effect of this error would in some cases be negligible and in others very marked. We find that many of his experiments were set up in a manner which would tend to increase, instead of to diminish, the possibility of systematic clerical errors; and lastly, that the ESP cards can be read from the back."</ref><ref>Charles M. Wynn, Arthur W. Wiggins. (2001). ''Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science Ends...and Pseudoscience Begins''. Joseph Henry Press. p. 156. {{ISBN|978-0309073097}} "In 1940, Rhine coauthored a book, ''Extrasensory Perception After Sixty Years'' in which he suggested that something more than mere guess work was involved in his experiments. He was right! It is now known that the experiments conducted in his laboratory contained serious methodological flaws. Tests often took place with minimal or no screening between the subject and the person administering the test. Subjects could see the backs of cards that were later discovered to be so cheaply printed that a faint outline of the symbol could be seen. Furthermore, in face-to-face tests, subjects could see card faces reflected in the tester's eyeglasses or cornea. They were even able to (consciously or unconsciously) pick up clues from the tester's facial expression and voice inflection. In addition, an observant subject could identify the cards by certain irregularities like warped edges, spots on the backs, or design imperfections."</ref><ref>[[Terence Hines]]. (2003). ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. p. 122. {{ISBN|1573929794}} "The procedural errors in the Rhine experiments have been extremely damaging to his claims to have demonstrated the existence of ESP. Equally damaging has been the fact that the results have not replicated when the experiments have been conducted in other laboratories."</ref><ref>Jonathan C. Smith. (2009). [https://books.google.com/books?id=sJgONrua8IkC&dq=rhine+pseudoscience&pg=PT226 ''Pseudoscience and Extraordinary Claims of the Paranormal: A Critical Thinker's Toolkit'']. Wiley-Blackwell. {{ISBN|978-1405181228}}. "Today, researchers discount the first decade of Rhine's work with Zener cards. Stimulus leakage or cheating could account for all his findings. Slight indentations on the backs of cards revealed the symbols embossed on card faces. Subjects could see and hear the experimenter, and note subtle but revealing facial expressions or changes in breathing."</ref>

[[Magic (illusion)|Illusionist]] [[Milbourne Christopher]] wrote years later that he felt "there are at least a dozen ways a subject who wished to cheat under the conditions Rhine described could deceive the investigator". When Rhine took precautions in response to criticisms of his methods, he failed to find any high-scoring subjects.<ref name="Milbourne">[[Milbourne Christopher]]. (1970). ''ESP, Seers & Psychics''. Thomas Y. Crowell Co. pp. 24–28</ref> Another criticism, made by chemist [[Irving Langmuir]], among others, was one of [[Selection bias|selective reporting]]. Langmuir stated that Rhine did not report scores of subjects that he suspected were intentionally guessing wrong and that this, he felt, biased the statistical results higher than they should have been.<ref>[[Robert L. Park]]. (2000). ''[[Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud]]''. Oxford University Press. pp. 40–43. {{ISBN|0198604432}}</ref>

Rhine and his colleagues attempted to address these criticisms through new experiments described in the book ''[[Extrasensory Perception After Sixty Years]]'' (1940).<ref name=ESP60>Rhine, J.B. (1966). Foreword. In Pratt, J.G., Rhine, J.B., Smith, B.M., Stuart, C.E., & Greenwood, J.A. (eds.). ''[[Extrasensory Perception After Sixty Years]]''. 2nd ed. Boston, US: Humphries.</ref> Rhine described three experiments: the [[Pearce-Pratt experiment]], the [[Pratt-Woodruff experiment]], and the Ownbey-Zirkle series, which he believed demonstrated ESP. However, [[C. E. M. Hansel]] wrote, "It is now known that each experiment contained serious flaws that escaped notice in the examination made by the authors of ''Extra-Sensory Perception After Sixty Years''".<ref name="Hansel 1985"/> [[Joseph Gaither Pratt]] was the co-experimenter in the Pearce-Pratt and Pratt-Woodruff experiments at the Duke campus. Hansel visited the campus where the experiments took place and discovered the results could have originated through a trick, so they could not supply evidence for ESP.<ref>[[C. E. M. Hansel]]. (1980). ''ESP and Parapsychology: A Critical Re-Evaluation''. Prometheus Books. pp. 125–140</ref>

In 1957, Rhine and [[Joseph Gaither Pratt]] wrote ''[[Parapsychology: Frontier Science of the Mind]]''. Because of the methodological problems, parapsychologists no longer utilize card-guessing studies.<ref>[http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/back_from_the_future ''Back from the Future: Parapsychology and the Bem Affair''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231102646/http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/back_from_the_future |date=2011-12-31 }}. ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]''. "Despite Rhine's confidence that he had established the reality of extrasensory perception, he had not done so. Methodological problems with his experiments eventually came to light, and as a result parapsychologists no longer run card-guessing studies and rarely even refer to Rhine's work."</ref> Rhine's experiments into [[psychokinesis]] (PK) were also criticized. [[John Sladek]] wrote:

<blockquote>His research used dice, with subjects 'willing' them to fall a certain way. Not only can dice be drilled, shaved, falsely numbered and manipulated, but even straight dice often show bias in the long run. Casinos for this reason retire dice often, but at Duke, subjects continued to try for the same effect on the same dice over long experimental runs. Not surprisingly, PK appeared at Duke and nowhere else.<ref name="Sladek 1974">[[John Sladek]]. (1974). ''The New Apocrypha: A Guide to Strange Sciences and Occult Beliefs''. Panther. pp. 172–174</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Mr. Zirkle and Miss Ownbey ESP experiment.png|thumb|upright=1.25|Mr. Zirkle and Miss Ownbey]]
Parapsychologists and skeptics criticized the Ownbey-Zirkle ESP experiment at Duke.<ref name="Lamont 2013">[[Peter Lamont (historian)|Peter Lamont]]. (2013). ''Extraordinary Beliefs: A Historical Approach to a Psychological Problem''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 206–208. {{ISBN|978-1107019331}}</ref> Ownbey would attempt to send ESP symbols to Zirkle, who would guess what they were. The pair were placed in adjacent rooms, unable to see each other, and an electric fan was used to prevent the pair from communicating by sensory cues. Ownbey tapped a telegraph key to Zirkle to inform him when she was trying to send him a symbol. The door separating the two rooms was open during the experiment, and after each guess, Zirkle would call out his guess to Ownbey, who recorded his choice. Critics pointed out the experiment was flawed as Ownbey acted as both the sender and the experimenter; nobody controlled the experiment, so Ownbey could have cheated by communicating with Zirkle or made recording mistakes.<ref name="Lamont 2013"/><ref>[[C. E. M. Hansel]]. (1989). ''The Search for Psychic Power: ESP and Parapsychology Revisited''. Prometheus Books. p. 46. {{ISBN|0879755164}}</ref>

The Turner-Ownbey long-distance [[telepathy]] experiment was also flawed. May Frances Turner positioned herself in the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory, while Sara Ownbey claimed to receive transmissions 250 miles away. For the experiment, Turner would think of a symbol and write it down, while Ownbey would write her guesses.<ref name="Sladek 1974"/> The scores were highly successful and both records were supposed to be sent to J. B. Rhine, however, Ownbey sent them to Turner. Critics pointed out this invalidated the results as she could have simply written her own record to agree with the other. When the experiment was repeated and the records were sent to Rhine, the scores dropped to average.<ref name="Sladek 1974"/><ref>[[Bergen Evans]]. (1954). ''The Spoor of Spooks: And Other Nonsense''. Knopf. p. 24</ref><ref>[[C. E. M. Hansel]]. (1989). ''The Search for Psychic Power: ESP and Parapsychology Revisited''. Prometheus Books. pp. 56–58. {{ISBN|0879755164}}</ref>

Lucien Warner and Mildred Raible performed a famous ESP experiment at Duke University. Warner and Raible locked a subject in a room with a switch controlling a signal light elsewhere, which she could signal to guess the card. Ten runs with ESP packs of cards were used, and she achieved 93 hits (43 more than chance). Weaknesses with the experiment were later discovered. The duration of the light signal could be varied so that the subject could call for specific symbols. Certain symbols in the experiment appeared far more often than others, indicating poor shuffling or card manipulation. The experiment was not repeated.<ref name="Sladek 1974"/><ref>[[C. E. M. Hansel]]. (1989). ''The Search for Psychic Power: ESP and Parapsychology Revisited''. Prometheus Books. p. 53. {{ISBN|0879755164}} "First, the recording was not completely independent, since the flash of light in the experimenters' room could be varied in duration by the subject and thus provide a possible cue. Second, there were five different symbols in the target series, but the experimental record showed that two of these arose more frequently than the other three."</ref>

Duke's administration grew less sympathetic to parapsychology, and after Rhine's retirement in 1965, parapsychological links with the university were broken. Rhine later established the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man (FRNM) and the Institute for Parapsychology as a successor to the Duke laboratory.<ref name="Berger"/> In 1995, the centenary of Rhine's birth, the FRNM was renamed the [[Rhine Research Center]]. Today, the Rhine Research Center is a parapsychology research unit, stating that it "aims to improve the human condition by creating a scientific understanding of those abilities and sensitivities that appear to transcend the ordinary limits of space and time".<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of the Rhine Research Center |publisher=Rhine Research Center |url=http://www.rhine.org/f_hist.htm |access-date=2007-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529210149/http://www.rhine.org/f_hist.htm |archive-date=2007-05-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Establishment of the Parapsychological Association===
The [[Parapsychological Association]] (PA) was created in [[Durham, North Carolina]], on June 19, 1957. J. B. Rhine proposed its formation at a parapsychology workshop held at the Parapsychology Laboratory of Duke University. Rhine proposed that the group form itself into the nucleus of an international professional society in parapsychology. The aim of the organization, as stated in its Constitution, became "to advance parapsychology as a science, to disseminate knowledge of the field, and to integrate the findings with those of other branches of science".<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Parapsychological Association |url=http://www.parapsych.org/history_of_pa.html |website=The Parapsychological Association |access-date=2007-06-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221213451/http://www.parapsych.org/history_of_pa.html |archive-date=2008-12-21 }}</ref>

In 1969, under the direction of [[anthropologist]] [[Margaret Mead]], the Parapsychological Association became affiliated with the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] (AAAS), the largest general scientific society in the world.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Melton |first=J. G. |title=Parapsychological Association |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology |publisher=[[Thomson Gale]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0810394872}}</ref> In 1979, physicist [[John A. Wheeler]] said that parapsychology is pseudoscientific and that the affiliation of the PA to the AAAS needed to be reconsidered.<ref>{{Cite journal| last=Wheeler | first=John Archibald | author-link=John Archibald Wheeler | title=Drive the Pseudos Out of the Workshop of Science | date=January 8, 1979 | journal=[[New York Review of Books]] | publication-date=May 17, 1980}}</ref><ref name=Wheeler>{{Cite book| last = Wheeler | first = John Archibald | author-link = John Archibald Wheeler | title = Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics | publisher = [[W. W. Norton]] | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0393046427 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Yk5cth-oZmQC&q=aaas+meeting+parapsychology&pg=PA343}}</ref>

His challenge to parapsychology's AAAS affiliation was unsuccessful.<ref name=Wheeler /> Today, the PA consists of about three hundred full, associate, and affiliated members worldwide.<ref name=Harvey>{{Cite book|last=Irwin |first=Harvey J. |title=An Introduction to Parapsychology| edition=4th |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jB88qA7C9oYC&q=An+Introduction+to+Parapsychology.&pg=PP1 |isbn=978-0786418336 |access-date=2007-07-31}}</ref>

===Stargate Project===
Beginning in the early 1950s, the [[CIA]] started extensive research into [[behavioral engineering]]. The findings from these experiments led to the formation of the [[Stargate Project (U.S. Army unit)|Stargate Project]], which handled ESP research for the U.S. federal government.

The Stargate Project was terminated in 1995 with the conclusion that it was never useful in any intelligence operation. The information was vague and included a lot of irrelevant and erroneous data. There was also reason to suspect that the research managers had adjusted their project reports to fit the known background cues.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170113100257/http://www.lfr.org/lfr/csl/library/AirReport.pdf An Evaluation of Remote Viewing: Research and Applications] by Mumford, Rose and Goslin "''remote viewings have never provided an adequate basis for 'actionable' intelligence operations-that is, information sufficiently valuable or compelling so that action was taken as a result (...) a large amount of irrelevant, erroneous information is provided and little agreement is observed among viewers' reports. (...) remote viewers and project managers reported that remote viewing reports were changed to make them consistent with known background cues (...) Also, it raises some doubts about some well-publicized cases of dramatic hits, which, if taken at face value, could not easily be attributed to background cues. In at least some of these cases, there is a reason to suspect, based on both subsequent investigations and the viewers' statement that reports had been "changed" by previous program managers, that substantially more background information was available than one might at first assume.''"</ref>

===1970s and 1980s===
<!-- "Psychotronics (parapsychology)" redirects here. -->
The affiliation of the Parapsychological Association (PA) with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, along with a general openness to psychic and [[occult]] phenomena in the 1970s, led to a decade of increased parapsychological research. During this period, other related organizations were also formed, including the Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine (1970), the Institute of Parascience (1971), the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research, the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]] (1973), the International Kirlian Research Association (1975), and the [[Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory]] (1979). [[Parapsychology research at SRI|Parapsychological work]] was also conducted at the [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI) during this time.<ref name="Melton"/>

The scope of parapsychology expanded during these years. Psychiatrist [[Ian Stevenson]] conducted much of his [[reincarnation research|research into reincarnation]] during the 1970s, and the second edition of his ''[[Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation]]'' was published in 1974. Psychologist [[Thelma Moss]] studied [[Kirlian photography]] at [[UCLA]]'s parapsychology laboratory. The influx of spiritual teachers from Asia and their claims of abilities produced by [[meditation]] led to research on [[altered states of consciousness]]. American Society for Psychical Research Director of Research, [[Karlis Osis]], conducted experiments in [[Out of body experience|out of body]] experiences. Physicist [[Russell Targ]] coined the term [[remote viewing]] for use in some of his work at SRI in 1974.<ref name="Melton"/>

The surge in paranormal research continued into the 1980s: the Parapsychological Association reported members working in more than 30 countries. For example, research was carried out and regular conferences held in [[Eastern Europe]] and the former [[Soviet Union]]<ref name="Melton"/><ref>{{cite web|title=USSR Psychoenergetics Research Project|url=https://psycho-dynamics.com/USSR-Psychoenergetics/|website=Psychodynamics Research Institute|access-date=2024-04-29}}</ref> although the word parapsychology was discarded in favor of the term psychotronics.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beloff|first=John |title=Parapsychology: A Concise History |publisher=St Martin's Press|year=1993|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jazrr0cd-VwC&pg=PA158 |isbn=978-0312173760}}</ref> The main promoter of psychotronics was [[Czechs|Czech]] scientist Zdeněk Rejdák, who described it as a [[physical science]], organizing conferences and presiding over the International Association for Psychotronic Research.<ref name="praguepost">{{cite news|last=German|first=Erik|title=Is Czech Mind Control Equipment Science-Fiction or Science-Fact?|url=http://www.praguepost.com/archivescontent/32141-mind-machines.html|access-date=16 December 2012|newspaper=The Prague Post|date=July 5, 2000}}</ref>

In 1985, the Department of Psychology at the [[University of Edinburgh]] established a Chair of Parapsychology, awarding it to [[Robert L. Morris (parapsychologist)|Robert Morris]], an experimental parapsychologist from the United States. Morris and his research associates and PhD students pursued research on topics related to parapsychology.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jazrr0cd-VwC&q=parapsychology:+a+concise+history+book |title=Parapsychology: A Concise History |author-link= John Beloff |via=Google Books |access-date=2014-04-11|isbn=978-0312173760 |year=1997 |last1=Beloff |first1=John |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan }}</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:Bernard-carr.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=[[Bernard Carr]], past president of the [[Society for Psychical Research]]|[[Bernard Carr]] (astronomer), one-time president of the [[Society for Psychical Research]]]]

Since the 1980s, contemporary parapsychological research has waned considerably in the United States.<ref name="Smee">{{cite journal |last1=Odling-Smee |first1=Lucy |title=The lab that asked the wrong questions |journal=Nature |date=28 February 2007 |volume=446 |issue=7131 |pages=10–11 |doi=10.1038/446010a |pmid=17330012 |bibcode=2007Natur.446...10O |s2cid=4408089 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Early research was considered inconclusive, and parapsychologists faced strong skepticism from their academic colleagues.<ref name="Melton"/> Some effects thought to be paranormal, for example, the effects of [[Kirlian photography]] (thought by some to represent a human [[Aura (paranormal)|aura]]), disappeared under more stringent controls, leaving those avenues of research at dead-ends.<ref name="Melton"/> Most parapsychology research in the US is now confined to private institutions funded by private sources.<ref name="Melton"/> After 28 years of research, [[Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory]] (PEAR), which studied [[psychokinesis]], closed in 2007.<ref name="Smee"/>

Two universities in the [[United States]] have academic parapsychology laboratories. The Division of Perceptual Studies, a unit at the [[University of Virginia]]'s Department of Psychiatric Medicine, studies the possibility of [[reincarnation research|survival of consciousness after bodily death]], [[near-death experiences]], and [[out-of-body experiences]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/clinical/departments/psychiatry/sections/cspp/dops |title=The Division of Perceptual Studies – School of Medicine at the University of Virginia |publisher=Medicine.virginia.edu |access-date=2014-04-11 |archive-date=2014-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508224826/http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/clinical/departments/psychiatry/sections/cspp/dops |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Gary Schwartz]] at the [[University of Arizona]]'s ''Veritas Laboratory'' conducted laboratory investigations of [[mediums]], criticized by [[scientific skeptics]]. Several private institutions, including the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]], conduct and promote parapsychological research.<ref name="Smee"/>

Over the last two decades, some new sources of funding for parapsychology in Europe have seen a "substantial increase in European parapsychological research so that the center of gravity for the field has swung from the United States to Europe".<ref name=hji/> The United Kingdom has the largest number of active parapsychologists of all nations.<ref name=hji>Harvey J. Irwin and Caroline Watt. [https://books.google.com/books?id=E3EzxyOufbgC&q=attacks+on+parapsychology An introduction to parapsychology] McFarland, 2007, pp. 248–249.</ref> In the UK, researchers work in conventional psychology departments and do studies in mainstream psychology to "boost their credibility and show that their methods are sound". It is thought that this approach could account for the relative strength of parapsychology in Britain.<ref name="Smee"/>

As of 2007, parapsychology was researched in some 30 countries,<ref name=hji/> and some universities worldwide continue academic parapsychology programs. Among these are the [[Koestler Parapsychology Unit]] at the [[University of Edinburgh]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.koestler-parapsychology.psy.ed.ac.uk/ |title=Koestler Parapsychology Unit|publisher=University of Edinburgh|access-date=2008-04-10}}</ref> the Parapsychology Research Group at [[Liverpool Hope University]] (this closed in April 2011);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hope.ac.uk/parapsychology-research-group/parapsychology-research-group.html|title=Parapsychology Research Group|publisher=Liverpool Hope University|access-date=2009-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820073028/http://www.hope.ac.uk/parapsychology-research-group/parapsychology-research-group.html|archive-date=2011-08-20|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hope.ac.uk/parapsychology-research-group/studying-parapsychology.html |title=Studying Parapsychology |publisher=Liverpool Hope University |access-date=2009-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819072707/http://www.hope.ac.uk/parapsychology-research-group/studying-parapsychology.html |archive-date=2011-08-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the SOPHIA Project at the [[University of Arizona]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lach.web.arizona.edu/veritas_research_program|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326053523/http://lach.web.arizona.edu/veritas_research_program|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-03-26|publisher=University of Arizona|title=The VERITAS Research Program|access-date=2007-11-14}}</ref> the Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology Research Unit of [[Liverpool John Moores University]];<ref>{{cite web|date=2007-09-17|url=http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NSP/100541.htm|title=Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology|publisher=Research Unit of Liverpool John Moores University|access-date=2007-11-14|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217090508/http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NSP/100541.htm|archive-date=2010-12-17}}</ref> the Center for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes at the [[University of Northampton]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northampton.ac.uk/research/psychology/the-centre-for-the-study-of-anomalous-psychological-processes-csapp |title=Center for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes |publisher=University of Northampton |access-date=2007-11-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116114021/http://www.northampton.ac.uk/research/psychology/the-centre-for-the-study-of-anomalous-psychological-processes-csapp |archive-date=2013-11-16 }}</ref> and the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at [[Goldsmiths, University of London]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru/ |title=Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit|publisher=Goldsmiths, University of London |access-date=2007-11-14}}</ref>

Research and professional organizations include the [[Parapsychological Association]];<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.parapsych.org/ |title=Parapsychological Association|journal=Nature |volume=181|issue=4613|pages=884|access-date=2007-11-14|bibcode=1958Natur.181Q.884.|year=1958|doi=10.1038/181884a0|s2cid=4147532|doi-access=free}}</ref> the [[Society for Psychical Research]], publisher of the ''Journal of the Society for Psychical Research'' and ''Psi Encyclopedia'';<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spr.ac.uk/ |title=Society for Psychical Research|website=spr.ac.uk|access-date=2007-11-14}}</ref> the [[American Society for Psychical Research]], publisher of the ''Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research'' (last published in 2004);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aspr.com/index.html |title=American Society for Psychical Research |website=aspr.com|access-date=2007-11-14}}</ref> the Rhine Research Center and Institute for Parapsychology, publisher of the ''[[Journal of Parapsychology]]'';<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rhine.org/ |title=Rhine Research Center and Institute for Parapsychology|publisher=Rhine.org|access-date=2007-11-14}}</ref> the Parapsychology Foundation, which published the ''International Journal of Parapsychology'' (between 1959 and 1968 and 2000–2001)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parapsychology.org |title=Parapsychology Foundation |website=parapsychology.org|access-date=2007-11-14}}</ref> and the Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research, publisher of the ''Australian Journal of Parapsychology''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aiprinc.org |title=Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research |website=aiprinc.org |access-date=2007-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828192605/http://www.aiprinc.org/ |archive-date=2011-08-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ''European Journal of Parapsychology'' ceased publishing in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ejp.org.uk/ |author=Stevens, Paul |editor=Baker, Ian |location=UK |publisher=Poole House |issn=0168-7263 |title=European Journal of Parapsychology |access-date=2007-11-14 |archive-date=2011-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815131533/http://ejp.org.uk/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Parapsychological research has also included other sub-disciplines of psychology. These related fields include [[transpersonal psychology]], which studies transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human mind, and [[anomalistic psychology]], which examines paranormal beliefs and subjective anomalous experiences in traditional psychological terms.<ref name="Smee"/><ref name="Zusne 1989">{{cite book | last1=Zusne | first1=Leonard | last2=Jones | first2=Warren H. | title=Anomalistic psychology: a study of magical thinking | publisher=L. Erlbaum | publication-place=Hillsdale, NJ | year=1989 | isbn=0805805087 | oclc=19264110 | page=}}</ref>