Purchase PDF  

Secondary Analysis of Sitter Group Data:
Testing Hypotheses from the PK Literature

James McClenon

​

Abstract. Psychical researchers offer a schema for investigating group psychokinesis (PK). Sitter groups put their hands on a table and, after socialization, report PK experiences. Batcheldor, Lucadou, Richards, and McClenon devised theories regarding this process. This endeavor resulted in hypothesis testing and theory revision. Although theories diverge, observations support two basic arguments: (1) Most people inhibit PK, while a minority facilitate it (facilitation-suppression theory), (2) group participation involving artifacts, shared ideology, quantum processes, and rapport facilitates PK (interaction theory). The Society for Research on Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT), founded by the author/poet John G. Neihardt in 1961, kept experimental notes evaluating levitation success for over four decades. Available notes allowed testing four formal hypotheses and various exploratory hypotheses derived from the two theories. Although evaluations supported the formal hypotheses, exploratory findings: (1) supported the facilitation-suppression theory, (2) failed to support the interaction hypothesis, (3) supported elements within the original theories. A revised theory offers testable hypotheses and suggestions for future research.
Keywords: psychokinesis, sitter groups, artifact induction, ritual healing theory, pragmatic information model