Time-Reversed Interference
This Unconscious Precognition Test is based on results from research by Swedish
experimental psychologist Holger Klintman (1983, 1984). Klintman was investigating
a variation on the well-known Stroop Effect. In the Stroop Effect, people take longer
to react to a stimulus when conflicting information is present.
In the classic Stroop
Test, color words are printed in colored ink and the participant has to name the color of the ink.
J.Ridley Stroop (1935) discovered that people took longer to name the ink color when the word was incongruent than when the word was congruent.
For example, it took longer to say "red" when the stimulus was
GREEN, than when the stimulus was RED.
In Klintman's study, participants named a rectangular patch of color which was
then followed by the presentation of a congruent or incongruent color
word.
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A
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Red
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(Congruent) |
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B
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>>>
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Green
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(Incongruent) |
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C
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>>>
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Green
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(Congruent) |
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D
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>>>
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Red
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(Incongruent) |
Klintman found that, on average, people took longer to name the patch of color in
the incongruent conditions B and D than in congruent conditions A and C, apparently indicating a Time-Reversed
Interference (TRI) effect. This suggests that the naming of the color is
affected by an unconscious precognitive awareness of the word that will follow.
Unconscious Precogntion Test
Procedure
This test follows a similar procedure to that adopted by Klintman. You have to respond
to the color of the patch and to the word that follows by pressing the Left (green)
or Right (red) arrow keys. If TRI is found, the average reaction time to the patch
of color should be longer when the following word is incongruent (different),
than when it is congruent (same).
To familiarise yourself with the procedures, you should first attempt the 12 Practice
trials. Place a finger over the Left and Right arrows, in readiness for the color
patch, which will appear on the screen after the count-down. You should name the
colour shown out loud as quickly as you can and, at the same time, press the correct
key. A color word (congruent or incongruent) will be presented
immediately after you have made the correct response and you should also respond
to this word as quickly as you can by naming it out loud and simultaneously pressing the correct key.
Once you have practiced sufficiently, you can carry out more formal tests by choosing
a larger number of trials.
Analysis of Results
On completion of all trials, you will be shown the statistical analysis of the data.
The analysis uses the t-test (two-tailed) to compare the mean reaction times (M) to the
color patches. A separate analysis is performed on the Green and Red patches,
and on the combined data. Significant results are indicated when the probability
(p) is less than 0.05.
Note that reaction times to the words are
not analysed.
References
Klintman, H.
(1983). Is There a Paranormal (Precognitive) Influence in Certain Types of Perceptual
Sequences? Part 1, European Journal of Parapsychology, Vol. 5.1, 19-50.
Klintman, H. (1984). Is there a paranormal (precognitive)influence in certain types
of perceptual sequences? Part II, European Journal of Parapsychology, Volume 5.2,
125-140
Stroop, J. Ridley (1935).
Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology,
18, 643-662.
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