EXPERIMENTER EFFECTS AND THE REMOTE DETECTION OF STARING

Each of the two authors recently attempted to replicate studies in whi ch the ''receivers'' were asked to psychically detect the gaze directe d at them by unseen ''senders.'' R. W.'s studies failed to find any si gnificant effects; M. S.'s study gave positive results. The authors th en agreed to carry out the joint study described in this paper, in the hope of determining why they had originally obtained such different r esults. The experimental design was based on each author carrying out separate experiments, but running them in the same location, using the same equipment/procedures, and drawing participants from the same sub ject pool. The 32 experimental sessions were divided into two sets of randomly ordered trials. Half were ''stare'' trials during which the e xperimenter directed his/her attention toward the receiver; half were ''non-stare'' (control) trials during which the experimenter directed his/her attention away from the receiver. The receivers' electrodermal activity (EDA) was continuously recorded throughout each session. The EDA of R. W.'s receivers was not significantly different during stare and non-stare trials. By contrast, the EDA of M. S.'s receivers was s ignificantly higher in stare than non-stare trials. The paper discusse s the likelihood of different interpretations of this effect and urges other psi proponents and skeptics: to run similar joint studies.