The grants competition for the 2015 Parapsychological Association Research Endowment (PARE) has come to a close, and two grant proposals have been awarded. The Parapsychological Association (PA) will be providing funds to support an investigation into out-of-body experiences (OBEs) induced by hypnosis in a controlled environment, as well as a three-year-long survey investigate individual differences in psychosocial and neurological predictors of surveillance detection via extrasensory means (scopathesia). Each research initiative will explore areas that have far-reaching implications for furthering the science of parapsychology and understanding the nature of consciousness.

Luciano Pederzoli, M.Eng. (EvanLab) will direct proposed research into out-of-body experiences (OBEs) induced by hypnosis in a controlled environment at EvanLab in Florence, Italy. He will explore whether OBEs induced by hypnotic induction may closely resemble spontaneous occurrences of OBEs. Pederzoli and team will record the first-person phenomenology and real-time neural correlates of participants having the experience. EEG results and hypnosis sessions will be recorded and published. The researchers hope their methods will overcome two circumstances that have previously inhibited similar experiments—the availability of trained hypnotists with solid experience in these types of inductions, as well as the availability of participants who are willing to have an induced OBE.

Ross Friday, PhD candidate (University of Greenwich) will investigate individual differences in psychosocial and neurological predictors of scopathesia. Friday will collect data during a proposed three-year-long survey of individual differences in psychosocial and neurological predictors of surveillance detection via extrasensory means (scopathesia). The study design will have participants in both roles—as the person being stared at and the person staring at another—in an attempt to replicate previous results. Additionally, Friday and his team will explore the sense of being listened to, as well as the relationship between belief in the paranormal and lability of the temporal lobe (the area of the brain involved in memory, emotion, the processing of sensory input, and derivation of meaning).

Funding for PARE awards was made possible through a generous donation by Dr. Gertrude Schmeidler, who was a leading researcher and educator in the field of parapsychology. The awards are administered annually by the Board of the Parapsychological Association. One or more awards are made each year to cover the direct costs of conducting scientific research.

Donations to support the mission of the PA, including the funding of research initiatives, can be made by contacting Executive Director Annalisa Ventola at annalisa@parapsych.org or visiting our Support Page.

About the Parapsychological Association
The PA is the international professional organization of scientists and scholars engaged in the study of consciousness-related experiences and phenomena known as “psi” (or “psychic”) experiences. The primary objective of such studies is to achieve a scientific understanding of these experiences. The PA was first established in 1957 and has been an affiliated organization of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 1969. The PA provides an international forum for scholarly exchange through annual conferences, generally held in North America or in Europe, and through the publication of its Mindfield bulletin. There are approximately 350 PA members around the world.