Advanced ESP Test

Our Advanced ESP Test allows you to scientifically test your telepathic and clairvoyant abilities using a card-guessing procedure widely adopted in parapsychological research.

The ESP Targets

The targets used for these tests are the standard ESP Cards (sometimes called Zener Cards) as used by the parapsychologist J.B. Rhine in his classic studies of Extrasensory Perception. These show five different symbols.

Randomization

In this test, a card is selected on each trial by a pseudo-random computer algorithm. There is no discernible pattern to the sequence of cards.

Your task is to try to guess each card as it is selected.

With Advanced ESP Test, you can choose different test procedures. This is especially useful for research purposes.

Clairvoyance and Telepathy

In the Clairvoyance procedure, the computer will randomly select a card prior to each guess. You have to guess each card.

In the Telepathy procedure, two people are needed. One person ('sender') views the randomly selected card and tries to telepathically communicate the symbol to the other person. This second person ('receiver') then tries to guess the correct card and tells the sender the guess. The sender then clicks the guessed symbol to record the data. The next card will then be shown to the sender and the procedure is repeated.

Open and Closed Decks

In the Open Deck procedure, the card for each trial is chosen by the computer without taking into consideration which symbols have already been chosen. This is equivalent to shuffling a deck of cards, choosing one card, and then replacing the card in the deck before the cards are shuffled again. In this way the different symbols will not necessarily be chosen the same number of times. Open Deck procedures are generally preferred because the probability of selecting any symbol on each trial always remains the same. This simplifies the statistical analysis.

In the Closed Deck procedure, each card is chosen the same number of times. This is equivalent to shuffling a deck of cards and then guessing each card in turn, without replacing the cards in the deck after each guess. With the Closed Deck procedure, the probabilty of selecting symbols will vary throughout the test, depending on which cards have already been chosen. This makes the statistical analysis of results rather more complex.

Cards Seen or Unseen

In the Cards Seen procedure, the actual card is shown after every guess, together with a running total of hits.

In the Cards Unseen procedure, the actual card is not shown after the guess (a blank card is shown instead) and the number of hits obtained is hidden until the end of the test.

Note: If the Closed Deck procedure is selected for clairvoyance, then the Cards Unseen option MUST be selected. Otherwise it becomes possible to count the cards as they are shown, enabling the person to guess more accurately as the series of trials continues. The program will not let you choose this combination of options. For the same reason, when using a closed deck procedure for telepathy, it is important that the sender does NOT give feedback to the receiver after each guess.

Number of Cards

You can choose various options for the number of trials in the test (up to a maximum of 1000 individual trials). You should choose at least 50 trials to obtain a reliable indication of your performance.

At the end of the test, your results are automatically analyzed statistically.

The statistical procedure used is known as the z-test.This compares the number of hits obtained with the number expected by chance guesswork.

The value of z (a useful indicator for statisticians), and the probability (p) of the result are both shown. If the probability is small (less than 0.05) the results are said to be statistically significant and may indicate evidence of ESP.

The smaller the probability (p) obtained, the greater the possible evidence for ESP.

If you obtain significantly more hits than the number expected by chance, this indicates psi-hitting. This is what is normally hoped for.

Paradoxically, however, if significantly less hits are obtained than expected by chance (known as psi-missing), this can also indicate ESP (because it suggests an awareness of the actual target in order to be able to avoid it).

Results in the direction of psi-hitting are indicated by a positive z score, whereas a negative z score indicates results in the direction of psi-missing.

Further Testing

If you wish to test your performance over several tests, record the number of hits (and total guesses) on each test. You can then test for the combined significance of your results using our Hit-Miss Psi Test Statistical Calculator.