Intentional Observer Effects on Quantum Randomness: A Bayesian Analysis Reveals Evidence Against Micro-Psychokinesis
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Plain English Summary
Can you nudge matter with your mind? Researchers at a major German university tested this with over 12,500 people across three countries, asking relaxed participants to mentally influence a quantum random number generator (a device producing unpredictable numbers via quantum physics). The verdict? A resounding no. Using rigorous Bayesian testing where they collected data until evidence was decisive, they found clear 10-to-1 odds favoring zero effect. No personality type helped. One curious wrinkle: results showed a wobbly wave-like pattern over time that differed from runs with no human watching, but that finding was exploratory rather than pre-planned.
Actual Paper Abstract
Intentional effects of human observation on the output of quantum-based random number generators (tRNG) have been studied for decades now. This research has been known as micro-psychokinesis (micro-PK) and many studies in the ο¬eld reported evidence for mentally induced non-random deviations from chance. A most recent meta-analysis from BΓΆsch et al. (2006) revealed a very small and heterogeneous overall effect size that indicated a signiο¬cant deviation from chance across studies. There remains doubt among the scientiο¬c community on the existence of micro-PK given: (i) the small and heterogenous effect; and (ii) the fact that several independent replication attempts of prominent studies failed to conο¬rm the original results. The study presented here was intended to provide decisive evidence for or against the existence of micro-PK. An online experiment with 12,571 participants was conducted. The Bayesian analysis revealed strong evidence for H0 (BF01 = 10.07). Thus, micro-PK did not exist in the data. A closer inspection of the temporal change of the effect seemed to suggest a non-random oscillative structure with a higher frequency than observed in simulated data. The possible role of entropy and the relation to the model of pragmatic information from von Lucadou (2015) is discussed.
Research Notes
A high-powered, decisive null result for micro-PK from LMU Munich. The Bayesian stopping rule and massive N make this one of the strongest negative findings in the RNG-PK literature. The post hoc dampened-oscillation analysis β comparing human vs. simulated frequency parameters β is speculative but connects to von Lucadou's Model of Pragmatic Information and the broader decline-effect debate.
An online experiment with 12,571 participants from Germany, Spain, and Italy tested whether relaxed and optimistically primed observers could influence the output of a quantum-based true random number generator (Quantis tRNG) via micro-psychokinesis. Using Bayesian sequential testing with a pre-specified stopping criterion of BF=10, the study found strong evidence for the null hypothesis (BF01=10.07; M=50.02%, SD=5.06). No personality moderators were significant. Exploratory analysis revealed a dampened oscillatory pattern in the cumulative z-score that differed from simulated (no-observer) data in oscillation frequency.
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π Cite this paper
Maier, Markus A, Dechamps, Moritz C, Pflitsch, Markus (2018). Intentional Observer Effects on Quantum Randomness: A Bayesian Analysis Reveals Evidence Against Micro-Psychokinesis. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00379
@article{maier_2018_intentional_observer,
title = {Intentional Observer Effects on Quantum Randomness: A Bayesian Analysis Reveals Evidence Against Micro-Psychokinesis},
author = {Maier, Markus A and Dechamps, Moritz C and Pflitsch, Markus},
year = {2018},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00379},
}