Abstract

Examined the hypothesis that random noise during ganzfeld sessions favors ESP performance by reducing the cognitive constraints thought to interfere with ESP. Correlations of Ss' scores on the Absorption scale of the Differential Personality Questionnaire with the internal-state consequences and extrasensory outcomes of ganzfeld stimulation were also examined. 100 Ss (predominantly university students) were randomly assigned to either pink noise or silence conditions during ganzfeld. The task was embedded in a discrete free-association task. Non-psi cognitive measures were developed from word association data, and a 5-item postganzfeld questionnaire was administered. The noise-silence manipulation did not significantly influence the cognitive measures. The absorption measure correlated significantly with the subjective sense of the mean length of the interstimulus interval, and it correlated at a suggestive level with self-reported relaxation during ganzfeld. It is concluded that absorption may be a useful measure for ganzfeld ESP research, but the hypothesis that noise (as contrasted with silence) reduces cognitive constraints was not supported. (13 ref)