Geophysical variables and behavior: LXXI. Differential contribution of geomagnetic activity to paranormal experiences concerning death and crisis: an alternative to the ESP hypothesis.
A total of 621 reports (experienced over an approximately 70-year period) of putative psi experiences concerning death or crisis were differentiated according to traditional labels: telepathic, precognitive, and postmortem phenomena. The 232 telepathic experiences occurred during 24-hour periods in which the global geomagnetic activity was significantly less (quieter) than during the days before or after the experiences; this relationship was not displayed by the 186 precognitive or 203 postmortem cases. Key day differences in geomagnetic activity for the three classes of experiences were equivalent to a correlation of about 0.35. Although content analysis suggests that nocturnal psi experiences and temporal lobe epilepsy may share a similar mechanism, different classes of subjective psi experiences may not be affected by the same stimuli.
Persinger
M A
MA
Department of Psychology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
D003643:Death; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010268:Parapsychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013688:Telepathy