Human electrodermal response to remote human monitoring: classification and analysis of response characteristics

Stevens, Paul (2000). Human electrodermal response to remote human monitoring: classification and analysis of response characteristics. Journal of Parapsychology, 64(4) pp. 391–409.

Abstract

This study reanalysed datasets from two past studies and attempted to identify some characteristics of human electrodermal reactions to remote monitoring by another human – an aspect of Direct Mental Interaction with Living Systems (DMILS) research. The objective was to see if an electrodermal DMILS response were similar to a sensory response and, if not, to see if there were any useful characteristics that could be used to identify the DMILS response. A second objective was to compare the electrodermal response seen in DMILS to that seen in reaction to a weak magnetic field, with the aim of starting to explore potential mechnisms or physiological response systems that might produce the observed DMILS effects. No electrodermal activity was observed that could be easily identified as comparable to a sensory reponse and there was no evidence of a consistent difference between activate and calm periods. Consistent between-participant differences were noted when comparing DMILS responsiveness to resting electrodermal activity. Overall, a consistent scale-invariant pattern was found showing response-similarities between the type of influence periods: based on the variance of electrodermal activity, there were significant differences between any type of influence attempt and rest periods (p<0.01 and p<0.0002, both 2-tailed for the two DMILS datasets used). This pattern was also seen in the magnetic field exposure data, possibly indicating similarities between DMILS and magnetic response mechanisms.

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