Abstract

Reviews of the few experimental studies of PK and its relationship to attitudes, self-perceived "luckiness", personality, imagery, and "cognitive mode/style" have frequently been unable to present an unambiguous picture of individual differences in PK performance (e.g., Gissurarson, 1989, 1990-91, 1992a, 1992b; Gissurarson & Morris, 1991; Stanford, 1977). This apparent inconsistency may simply be due to the small num­ber of relevant PK studies. For the present study, the performance of subjects who had participated in two separate series of experiments was analysed retrospectively. Prior to enrolling in an experimental series by Watt on developing a prototype indicator of perceptual defence and vigilance, the subjects had participated in an experimental series by Gissurarson on psychokinesis. This enabled us to examine a hitherto unexplored PK-defensiveness relationship. Participants' performance on the perceptual defence/vigilance task correlated with their prior performance on a computer PK task, with low PK performance being associated with defensiveness (r_s= .23, N= 24, n.s.). This finding, in need of systematic replication, suggests that a defensiveness relationship with PK performance may be worth exploring further. Broader implications for models of ESP and PK are discussed.