The only area of  the paranormal that has attracted serious scientific research is Extra Sensory Perception. Parapsychologist James Lumsden explains the techniques used to quantify ESP.

Anecdotal support for Extra Sensory Perception is not uncommon. It is estimated that just under half of the UK population will experience what is believed to be an ESP episode during their lifetime, with telepathy proving most likely.

These self reports, however, do not satisfy those who are sceptical of psychic phenomena. Human beings are fallible, they argue. ESP episodes must be due to misperception, self-delusion, coincidence and even fraud. If ESP is real you should be able to create it upon demand, and measure it under laboratory conditions.

So how do researchers go about measuring ESP? As you would expect, the aim is to create experimental conditions which limit any opportunity for the problem outlined above to manifest themselves. In turn it is also desirable to conduct studies where the outcome is unambiguous. You want to identify whether participants provide information that can be judged as accurate or inaccurate – straightaway. Accordingly, many studies employ what’s known as a formed choice protocol where there a fixed number of options to choose from. Heads or Tails? is forced choice.

You can read the rest of this feature in Paranormal Magazine issue 38

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