Abstract

Discusses perceptual experiments in which Ss were unknowingly influenced by a sender transmitting information extrasensorily. An effect was produced when extrasensory information was in contrast to that coming from normal channels and the sender actively tried to transmit his message instead of merely thinking about it. Information from ESP is viewed as a weak signal which is only detectable against a background of low input or noise from sensory channels, and in a situation which does not depend on guessing. It is suggested that anthropologists seeking to understand ESP should study cultures differing in their emphasis on cognitive functioning rather than those differing in relative primitiveness.