In this study, approximately one thousand cases of spontaneous psychic experiences were analyzed to find out what range of forms the experiences more commonly took. Four main types were found: (1) Intuitive, in which the subject's experience was a simple, unreasoned impression or hunch. (2) Hallucinatory, in which the experience was projected as if it were a sensation. (3) Unrealistic dreaming, in which the experience was characterized by fantasy. (4) Realistic dreaming, in which the imagery was almost photographically realistic. Groups (1) and (2) occurred only in the waking state. The fact that these four types are common in mental life and are not peculiar to psychic experiences is of importance in understanding the process. The classification introduces new questions, such, for example, as what part personality differences may play in determining the form which a spontaneous experience will take. It appears that the main act of acquiring the knowledge occurs on the unconscious level and the form the impression will take in consciousness represents the mental device or "mechanism" by which knowledge of the stimulus event is carried over the threshold. Some act of selective judgment is inferred to occur below the level of consciousness.-Ed. Amid the various endeavors to understand and control psi ability, little attention has as yet been paid to the range and types of subjective forms of its expression in consciousness. However, now that it is recognized that the basic psi process occurs on an unconscious level, the importance of correctly interpreting its conscious manifestations is greater than ever before. Neglect of this aspect of psi has doubtless been due to the fact that in experimental situations, the form of the conscious expression is largely limited or channelled by the conditions of the experiment. For example, in card calling tests, the subject is likely to experience a series of visual images, correct or incorrect; in matching tests, to have a motor impulse to place the card in a given position, right or wrong. In spontaneous experiences, however, it would seem that much more of the method of operation of the process would be revealed, for in such experiences conditions are uncontrolled and responses are unrestricted. That they are unrestricted is evidenced by the many differences of form that result. The forms vary obviously from vague hunches and general intuitions to clear-cut and detailed impressions. It would seem, however, that the variations are not unlimited, for in studying large numbers of spontaneous case reports, similarities of form are observable, and eventually recognizable types emerge. This observation suggests that the forms may have a rationale, may be the result of general underlying principles. But
In this study, approximately one thousand cases of spontaneous psychic experiences were analyzed to find out what range of forms the experiences more commonly took. Four main types were found: (1) Intuitive, in which the subject's experience was a simple, unreasoned impression or hunch. (2) Hallucinatory, in which the experience was projected as if it were a sensation. (3) Unrealistic dreaming, in which the experience was characterized by fantasy. (4) Realistic dreaming, in which the imagery was almost photographically realistic. Groups (1) and (2) occurred only in the waking state. The fact that these four types are common in mental life and are not peculiar to psychic experiences is of importance in understanding the process. The classification introduces new questions, such, for example, as what part personality differences may play in determining the form which a spontaneous experience will take. It appears that the main act of acquiring the knowledge occurs on the unconscious level and the form the impression will take in consciousness represents the mental device or "mechanism" by which knowledge of the stimulus event is carried over the threshold. Some act of selective judgment is inferred to occur below the level of consciousness.-Ed. Amid the various endeavors to understand and control psi ability, little attention has as yet been paid to the range and types of subjective forms of its expression in consciousness. However, now that it is recognized that the basic psi process occurs on an unconscious level, the importance of correctly interpreting its conscious manifestations is greater than ever before. Neglect of this aspect of psi has doubtless been due to the fact that in experimental situations, the form of the conscious expression is largely limited or channelled by the conditions of the experiment. For example, in card calling tests, the subject is likely to experience a series of visual images, correct or incorrect; in matching tests, to have a motor impulse to place the card in a given position, right or wrong. In spontaneous experiences, however, it would seem that much more of the method of operation of the process would be revealed, for in such experiences conditions are uncontrolled and responses are unrestricted. That they are unrestricted is evidenced by the many differences of form that result. The forms vary obviously from vague hunches and general intuitions to clear-cut and detailed impressions. It would seem, however, that the variations are not unlimited, for in studying large numbers of spontaneous case reports, similarities of form are observable, and eventually recognizable types emerge. This observation suggests that the forms may have a rationale, may be the result of general underlying principles. But
DtTKE UNIVERSITYSES of telepathic sensitivity in animals have been reported from time to time during the last quarter century, but on the whole have been granted little recognition from students of science. In some instances they have been so completely settled negatively in the minds of investigators in advance of any study that the investigations have frequently been superficially made or not even considered necessary for the formulation of a conclusion. This attitude of "credulous skepticism", however, is plainly unfair and unscientific, regardless of the nature of the case, and has never served to demonstrate either the truth or the error of such claims in any field. In other words, there are no a priori grounds for a conclusion on such a problem as telepathy, and the "hard and irreducible facts" should be resorted to.One of the earliest cases claimed to be animal telepathy was that of the dog "Dodgerfield", owned by a Mr. Davies. This case was reported by Thoradike (11) in 1898. The dog could bring its owner the correct one out of four cards without any observed signal. The owner sat with closed eyes, hands concealed behind a newspaper, and silent except for the command, "Attention,Dodger! Bring it!" Thorndike, apparently in the absence of any decisive evidence either way, felt that it was a case of delicate association, the reading of cues in the owner's facial expression.In 1904, Krall (5) took up the study of William von Osten's horse, Clever Hans, at Munich. This horse was said to possess not only telepathic powers but also independent thinking and calculating ability. Krall himself tried to train other horses and other animals to do similar feats, and was successful with a few horses, one of them blind. Many people, scientific and otherwise, observed these horses perform. Among them was a committee of academic scientists headed by Stumpf, of Berlin. Most of the observers agreed, with the committee, that unconscious signals from the investigator guided the horse. Some suspected that a stable man, whom they supposed was hidden about the place, gave the signals. Pfungst (6) claimed to be able to guide the horse by signals himself. A few observers, on the other hand, were convinced that the
I N THE January number of this JOUKNAL we reported on a study of Lady, a "mind-reading" horse. This study was made at Richmond, Va. during the academic year of 1927-28. The (then three-year-old) filly had been claimed by the owner, Mrs. C. D. Fonda, to be of such superior intelligence as to be able to reply to questions by touching lettered blocks, and to execute mentally simple arithmetical problems. Of this superior intelligence we obtained no evidence; on the other hand we were able to show that Lady did not even recognize the letters of the alphabet.The horse was advertised by Mrs. Fonda as being capable also of "mind-reading", that is, able to receive mental influence from others without the use of its ordinary senses. She claimed that it was able to answer unexpressed questions by touching lettered or numbered blocks with its nose, the letters or numbers being mentally chosen by Mrs. Fonda or other persons present. It was to the investigation of this claim of telepathy that our principal efforts were directed.There was some movement on the part of Mrs. Fonda, inclination of the body, and movements of arm and whip; she also spoke frequently to the horse. While we did not discover any significance to these movements and while they appeared quite natural, they were at once suspected, and systematically eliminated. That is, Mrs. Fonda was gradually restricted to the point where all recognized possibilities of guiding the horse to the correct block by voice or visual cue were removed, not only individually but finally all together. Nevertheless the horse was successful. Good results were obtained with F (Mrs. Fonda) silent, motionless, and with eyes controlled, and with F separated from the horse, or with a screen between her and the animal. More than this, Lady was successful with F entirely ignorant of the block chosen, and with Dr. William McDougall and R as agents, or R alone, controlled and guarded against the giving of unconscious signals. It did not seem possible that any system of indications, conscious or unconscious, could operate under these conditions, and we felt ourselves com-287
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