Apparent Association Between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time
📄 Original study ↗Plain English Summary
Here's a wild one: your ability to pick up psychic impressions might depend on which way Earth is facing the stars. Researchers analyzed nearly 2,500 trials from 41 studies over 20 years and found that psychic performance spiked dramatically -- nearly four times the average -- at a specific local sidereal time (a clock based on Earth's position relative to the stars rather than the sun). The peak hit around 13.5 hours LST with rock-solid statistics. Even more impressive, an independent batch of studies confirmed the exact same peak time. The team tested whether ordinary clock-time patterns or quirks between experiments could explain it, and ruled those out. This remains one of parapsychology's most tantalizing hints that psi might have a physical, cosmic basis.
Actual Paper Abstract
Nothing is known about the physical mechanism of anomalous cognition (AC), or ESP. A first step towards generating focused hypotheses would be the discovery of a physical parameter which clearly modulated AC performance. In this paper, an association between the local sidereal time (LST) at which a trial occurs and the resulting effect size is described. In an existing database of 1,468 free response trials, the effect size increased 340% for trials within 1 hour of 13.5 h LST (p = 0.001). A independent database of 1,015 similar trials was subsequently obtained in which trials within 1 hour of 13.5 h LST showed an effect size increase of 450% (p = 0.05) providing confirmation of the effect. Possible artifacts due to the non-uniform distribution of trials in clock time and variations of effect size with experiment are discussed and rejected as explanations. Assuming that some unknown systematic bias is not present in the data, it appears that AC performance is strongly dependent upon the LST at which the trial occurs. This is evidence of a causal connection between performance and the orientation of the receiver (i.e., a term for subject or participant), the earth and the fixed stars.
Research Notes
One of the most provocative claims in parapsychology: a physical correlate of psi performance tied to celestial orientation. The independent replication strengthens the finding. Extended by Lobach & Bierman (2004) for telephone telepathy. Connects to the DAT framework of May et al. (1995) from the same Cognitive Sciences Laboratory program.
In 2,483 free-response anomalous cognition trials from 41 studies spanning 20 years, effect size showed a striking dependence on local sidereal time (LST). The original dataset (1,468 trials, 21 studies) revealed a 340% increase in effect size within one hour of 13.47h LST (p = 0.001). An independent validation set (1,015 trials, ~20 studies) confirmed the peak at identical LST with a 450% increase (p = 0.05). Combined data yielded ES = 0.467 at peak versus 0.122 overall (gain = 3.82x, t = 3.85, p = 0.0001). Monte Carlo permutation testing gave p = 0.0014. Clock-time distribution and inter-experiment artifacts were tested and rejected as explanations.
Related Papers
Cites
- Decision Augmentation Theory: Toward a Model of Anomalous Mental Phenomena — May, Edwin C (1995)
- A Perceptual Channel for Information Transfer over Kilometer Distances: Historical Perspective and Recent Research — Puthoff, Harold E (1976)
- An Assessment of the Evidence for Psychic Functioning — Utts, Jessica (1996)
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📋 Cite this paper
Spottiswoode, S. James P (1997). Apparent Association Between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time. Journal of Scientific Exploration.
@article{spottiswoode_1997_apparent,
title = {Apparent Association Between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time},
author = {Spottiswoode, S. James P},
year = {1997},
journal = {Journal of Scientific Exploration},
}