The case of a long-distance psychic: a pilot study on the accuracy testing of paranormal statements

Abstract

A Bosnian woman living in Sweden, who was having difficulty coping with a constant influx of unexplained images in her mind, sought the opinion of a parapsychologist. Thus she initiated contact with the author (L.S.). The woman claimed to have predicted some major world events and so, by way of e-mail correspondence, a pool of 55 items (i.e., statements about L.S.) was analyzed for its possible paranormal content so that the nature of her mental experiences could be assessed. The author found that 45 (82%) of these 55 items were true. The 55 items were administered to a demographically matched sample (N = 18). Various analyses of proportion-true (i.e., accuracy) scores were conducted. The results of six tests consistently showed significant differences between L.S.’s score and test scores, suggesting that the items were expressly pertinent to L.S. No sheep-goat effects were found. Post hoc analyses ruled out the possibility that L.S.’s significantly high scores were artifacts of response bias. The author concluded that there is strong evidence that the woman is psychic and that the items are the result of some kind of unexplained (putatively paranormal) process.