Republic of the Philippines
Bicol University
College of Social Science and Philosophy
Department of Psychology
Daraga, Albay
Tiffany M. Balde
BS Psychology 2B
Psyc 06 - Experimental Psychology
Experimental Report: An empirical analysis of Extrasensory Perception Claims
ABSTACT
Everyone knows about the five senses. The concept that lies in Extrasensory Perception
utilized of what is referred to as the sixth sense other than that of sight, smell, hearing, touch and
taste. Extrasensory perception has long been a source of debate among psychologists and
philosophers of science. Many people think they have extrasensory perception, such as the
capacity to communicate with others through thought or more likely to predict the future. The
notion of extrasensory perception (ESP), sometimes known as the sixth sense, states that a
person can make contact or interact with distant events and people using undiscovered
techniques that do not involve the use of sensual organs. Natural experimental scientists and
detractors of this phenomenon contend that the claims associated with it are fraudulent,
pseudoscientific, and illogical. This is because it does not fit within the entire range of
information obtained through the natural sciences.
In the experiment, a true experimental design was used as a design which this experiment
seeks to establish the reliability of a sample subject's ESP in comparison to the general
population. Following the completion of each step, data were entered into SPSS and a one
sample t-test was used to analyze the study's participants. The study evaluates if a population
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Republic of the Philippines
Bicol University
College of Social Science and Philosophy
Department of Psychology
Daraga, Albay
deviates from a planned or fixed value (the score of the sample subject), hence the analysis was
chosen because there were 30 distinct respondents. The experiment's results, based on the data
gathered, indicate that there is statistical insignificance (p>0.05). Furthermore, the results of the
sample person and those of the population did not differ statistically significantly. This disproves
the assertion that the person has extrasensory perception.
INTRODUCTION
Reality is more complex than it appears. In this human experience, we only understand
what we can decode using the finite instruments of the five senses. Although there are vast
realms of existence outside of physicality, we have been trained to only see through a limited
lens because it makes us less spiritually capable and easier to control. Our entire nervous system
consists of neuron circuits sending electricity through the body and the brain is the computer that
system. Allowing us to observe and understand our surroundings with our at least five senses
endowed with humanity. Although the information provided by our senses and sense perceptions
is often accurate, this is not always the case. Additionally, psychic powers are weird, unusual
mental gifts that enable people to perform various feats that the laws of science are unable to
account for. Some of these abilities include the capacity for mind reading, the capacity for
anticipating events, and even the capacity for speaking with the dead. Extrasensory perception
(ESP) takes on many different forms to access the mysteries of nature that our normal senses
cannot perceive.
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Republic of the Philippines
Bicol University
College of Social Science and Philosophy
Department of Psychology
Daraga, Albay
ESP has been defined as ‘anomalous processes of information or energy transfer,
processes such as telepath, that are currently unexplained in terms of known physical or
biological mechanisms’ (Bem & Honorton, 1994, p.4). Although unexplained by current
scientific thought, surveys continually indicate that belief in ESP is extremely common (Moore,
2005) and many individuals are adamant that they have experienced ESP at first hand (Greeley,
1987). Additionally, psychologists and sociologists have collected thousands of retrospective
case reports of alleged ESP phenomena (Irwin & Watt, 2007). The high prevalence of ESP
beliefs, even among well-educated individuals (Rice, 2003; Wuthnow, 1978), calls for a better
understanding of their psychological determinants. In two studies we, therefore, investigated
cognitive and motivational determinants of ESP beliefs, more precisely which kind of cognitive
style predicts these beliefs and whether they are deeply founded in some basic existential
concerns, example, fear of death.
Extra-sensory perception (ESP) is a term frequently scoffed in psychology and other
branches of research because it is thought to be a "paranormal" or supernatural phenomenon that
is best suited for science fiction movies. Nevertheless, a sizable amount of scientific evidence -
to the astonishment of many academics - may imply otherwise.
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Republic of the Philippines
Bicol University
College of Social Science and Philosophy
Department of Psychology
Daraga, Albay
METHODOLOGY
Design
The true experimental study design, which depends on statistical analysis to support or
refute a researcher's hypothesis, was used in this experiment. A set of techniques is developed
through experimental design to systematically examine a hypothesis. A thorough understanding
of the system you are researching is necessary for a successful experimental design.
Additionally, this experiment seeks to establish the reliability of a sample subject's ESP in
comparison to the general population.
Participants
The participants of the study are thirty (30) college students, ages 19 to 21, who are
enrolled in Bicol University currently taking up Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
Apparatus and Materials
Pen and paper were used to write down the participants' responses. Statistical Package for
the Social Sciences (SPSS), usually known as IBM SPSS Statistics, is a set of software packages
that analyzes scientific data pertaining to the social sciences. It was the statistical tool utilized in
the experiment. A quick-visual modeling environment that supports the simplest to the most
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Republic of the Philippines
Bicol University
College of Social Science and Philosophy
Department of Psychology
Daraga, Albay
complicated models is provided by SPSS. For surveys, data mining, market research, etc. SPSS
data is employed. The One-Sample T-test, a statistical hypothesis test used to evaluate whether
an unknown population mean differs from a particular value, will be utilized as the determinant
and interpreter of the results utilizing this software.
Procedure
Participants were given access to a room with no assigned seating arrangement. From the
students in the front row to the last, they were asked to make their way to the test-desk. They
were instructed to think of the numbers which is from one through seven in any order, and then
they were asked to write them down on the provided paper.
Meanwhile, the test-user also recorded each participant's guesses by asking each
participant to predict the sequence at random with the direction that numbers can be repeated.
The accuracy with which they predicted the supplied number sequences was used to calculate
their scores.
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Republic of the Philippines
Bicol University
College of Social Science and Philosophy
Department of Psychology
Daraga, Albay
RESULTS
Below are the following data that is presented using the One-Sample T-test as the
statistical technique for the experiment:
One-Sample Statistics
N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error
Mean
VAR00001 30 .9667 .71840 .13116
Table 1. Summary of the data obtained from the experiment
One-Sample Test
Test Value = 1
95%
Confidence
t df Sig. Mean Difference
Interval of the
(2-tailed)
Difference
Lower Upper
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Republic of the Philippines
Bicol University
College of Social Science and Philosophy
Department of Psychology
Daraga, Albay
VAR0000 .254- 29 .801 -.03333
1
-.3016 .2349
Table 2. The results of the calculations using a One-Sample T-test with a 0.05 or 95%
confidence level.
Statistical Analysis
After all the steps were completed, data were entered into SPSS using a one sample t-test
to analyze the study's subjects. The analysis was chosen because there were 30 different
respondents, and the study examines whether a population deviates from a predetermined or
fixed value (the score of the sample subject).
According to the experiment's findings based on the data collected, there is statistical
insignificance (p>0.05). Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference between
the results of the sample person and those of the population. The claim that the individual has
extrasensory perception is refuted by this.
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Republic of the Philippines
Bicol University
College of Social Science and Philosophy
Department of Psychology
Daraga, Albay
DISCUSSION
The aim of this study was to ascertain whether approve or disprove the validity of ESP
through the results of the statements made by the members of a particular group. Thirty
respondents were given the task of writing down the numbers one through seven one at a time on
the provided paper in any order they chose, without any repetitions. After that, respondents were
asked to predict the number sequence that had been assigned to them based on the 29 other
responses. Data gathered from the respondents were calculated using a One-Sample T-test.
The study's results revealed that there is no difference between the scores of the sample
subject and the population in reference to the ESP claim, with a significance level of 0.05
yielding a computed p-value of 0.80 and a p-value of 0.05 indicating that the study was
significant.
The result of the study shows that there was no significant difference and the population
scores after the statistical treatment was applied that is why the experiment rejected the sample
subject’s claims of having extrasensory perception. Generally, their score is considered
"average," than higher than the general population. However, the consequences of their current
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Republic of the Philippines
Bicol University
College of Social Science and Philosophy
Department of Psychology
Daraga, Albay
situation could be disastrous. If given the option to redo the experiment with a larger sample size,
the results would be different.
Given the constraints shown throughout the experiment, it is strongly advised to choose a
bigger sample size (n>30) for more accurate results and data. Future researchers might use a
different method in place of the one employed in this experiment to examine the veracity of ESP
claims.
REFERENCES
the psychologist. “Extra-sensory perception - a controversial debate.” 06 July 2009,
https://www.bps.org.uk/volume-22/edition-7/extra-sensory-perception-controversial-debate.
William, Kate. What is SPSS? Definition, Features, Types, and Use Cases. SurveySparrow,
2022, https://surveysparrow.com/blog/what-is-spss/.
The British Psychological Society. (2009, July 6). Extra-sensory perception - a controversial
debate. BPS; The British Psychological Society.
https://www.bps.org.uk/volume-22/edition-7/extra-sensory-perception-controversial-debate.
