Psychokinesis (PK) refers to the putative ability of mind or intention to influence physical systems without known physical intermediary. Researchers distinguish between macro-PK — large-scale, directly observable effects such as object movement or metal deformation — and micro-PK — subtle statistical deviations in random physical processes detectable only through large data sets. Most modern laboratory research focuses on micro-PK due to its greater amenability to controlled experimentation.
Daniel Dunglas Home (1833–1886) was among the most investigated physical mediums of the Victorian era. Observed by scientists including William Crookes, Home reportedly levitated furniture and his own body, handled hot coals, and caused musical instruments to play untouched. Crookes's published accounts remain controversial but were never conclusively attributed to fraud during his lifetime.
Nina Kulagina, a Soviet subject studied in the 1960s–70s, was filmed appearing to move small objects — matchsticks, compass needles — under allegedly controlled conditions. Soviet and Western observers debated the validity of the controls applied.
Uri Geller gained international prominence in the 1970s for apparent metal bending and spoon deformation. Physicists Russell Targ and Hal Puthoff at SRI International published studies in Nature (1974) describing positive results under laboratory conditions. Subsequent investigations by James Randi and magician Steven Shaw demonstrated that similar effects could be produced by standard conjuring techniques, casting serious doubt on the provenance of Geller's effects.
Ted Serios was investigated by psychiatrist Jule Eisenbud for claimed "thoughtography" — impressing mental images on photographic film. Critics identified optical devices that could account for his results.
Physicist Helmut Schmidt pioneered the use of quantum-based Random Event Generators (REGs) to test PK in the 1970s. His devices used radioactive decay as a truly random source, making pre-knowledge or mechanical manipulation implausible. Schmidt reported consistent above-chance scoring across thousands of trials, with subjects attempting to influence the output direction. His work established the methodological template for micro-PK research.
The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory, founded in 1979 by Robert Jahn and managed by Brenda Dunne, conducted the most extensive micro-PK database assembled. Over approximately 2.5 million experimental trials across ~100 million binary decisions, unselected operators attempted to mentally shift REG output toward pre-assigned targets. Results reported by Jahn and Dunne (1987, 1988) showed a cumulative effect size of approximately 0.0003 bits per bit — tiny but reproducible across operators and across years. The probability of the overall database arising by chance was estimated at less than 10−4.
PEAR also conducted Global Resonance Experiments, deploying REGs at group events (concerts, workshops, meditations) to test whether collective emotional focus produces correlated device output. These formed the precursor to the Global Consciousness Project.
The Global Consciousness Project (GCP), initiated by Roger Nelson in 1998 and running continuously to the present, operates a network of 70+ hardware REGs distributed worldwide. Each device streams its output to a central server. The hypothesis is that large-scale shared human attention — particularly during events of global significance — produces statistically detectable correlations across geographically separated devices.
The most cited result is the September 11, 2001 signature: network variance increased significantly before and during the attacks. Analysts have also reported pre-event anomalies in several cases, raising questions about the direction of causality. Critics argue that post-hoc selection of analysis windows inflates significance estimates.
Laboratory metal bending research peaked in the 1970s. Physicist John Hasted at Birkbeck College studied children who claimed to bend metal objects under laboratory conditions. Strain gauges attached to specimens recorded mechanical stress in the absence of apparent physical contact in some trials. However, the child subjects were difficult to observe continuously, and subsequent investigators noted that unsupervised periods correlated with most claimed effects.
James Randi's demonstrations, and those of his associates (notably Steve Shaw and Michael Edwards in "Project Alpha"), showed that professional conjurers could consistently deceive parapsychology researchers not trained in detecting sleight-of-hand. This raised the bar for controls in all subsequent PK research.
Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis (RSPK) is the term coined by William Roll to describe poltergeist cases — episodes where objects move, fly, or break apparently spontaneously in the vicinity of a particular person (the "focus," often an adolescent). Roll investigated over 100 cases. Unlike hauntings, RSPK is person-centered rather than location-centered. Naturalistic explanations (including undisclosed fraud by the focus individual) account for many cases, but a subset have resisted conventional explanation after investigation.
Matthew Manning, a British subject, was studied extensively in the 1970s. During periods of poltergeist activity in his household during adolescence, investigators including A.R.G. Owen documented object movements. Manning later participated in laboratory trials with Targ and Puthoff and others, producing statistically notable results in some controlled settings.
No consensus mechanism has been established. Theoretical proposals include the observer effect extended from quantum measurement theory (retrocausal PK on pre-recorded random events), intention-field models, and information-theoretic frameworks. PEAR's theoretical "M5" model proposed that consciousness and physical systems share a common substrate that allows bidirectional exchange of information under certain conditions of resonance between operator and device.
This page presents documented research and reported phenomena. No claims about validity or mechanism are made by this archive.