Grants: Parapsychological Association Research Endowment

Research Grants
Parapsychological Association Research Endowment

The Parapsychological Association has received a generous donation from Dr. Gertrude Schmeidler to establish an endowment for scholarships and grants-in-aid. The purpose is to encourage parapsychological research by students and other researchers. Dr. Schmeidler is one of parapsychology's leading researchers and educators, and with this endowment, she will continue and broaden her contributions to scientific parapsychology. The awards will be administered by the Board of the Parapsychological Association, via a committee established to evaluate scholarship and grant requests. One or more awards will be made each year, and the Board's preference will be to enable two or more projects that require on the order of $2,000 to $5,000. The awards are intended to pay for direct costs of conducting research, but may also be used to help defray other expenses, providing the applicant is able to document the relevance of such support to parapsychological research he or she will conduct. In accordance with the goals of the Parapsychological Association to achieve a scientific understanding of psychic phenomena, including telepathy, clairvoyance, remote viewing, psychokinesis, psychic healing, and precognition, experimental research will be a primary target for support, but proposals addressing phenomenological, sociological, historical, and other approaches will be considered. Applications for renewal of grants are acceptable. The committee will accept brief but formal proposals (less than 3000 words), in either plain text or a Word document, submitted electronically as an email attachment if possible. Applications should be submitted by June 30, and awards will be announced at the Annual meeting. Please send all materials and inquiries to: Roger Nelson rdnelson@princeton.edu The proposal should have a cover page with the Title and a Brief Abstract of the research, contact information for the applicant, and a short statement of personal qualifications. The latter should include indication of student status or a degree from an accredited university. The body of the proposal should describe the planned research, with a clear statement of the hypothesis or other focus of the work, a short summary of the literature or other background, some information about methodology, and a statement of the resources needed, including a simple budget. The proposal should include plans for dissemination or publication of a report of the work. Please include letters of support from people who will be involved in supervising or helping with the work, and other documentation that will help the committee in its deliberations. Judgments will be made based on the quality of the proposal, its professionalism, and its prospects for completion as a useful contribution to the field. --------- The Parapsychological Association Research Endowment (PARE) was created in 2003 through the generosity of Dr. Gertrude Schmeidler. Its purpose is to provide small grants that enable research and study in parapsychology.

PARE Grant 2004 Awarded to Suneetha Kandi, Ph.D.

The first grant has been made from the Parapsychological Association Research Endowment created by Prof. Gertrude Schmeidler. The award will support research by Suneetha Kandi, Ph.D., from the Institute for Human Science and Service, Visakhapatnam, India. She proposes to explore the efficacy of various yoga practices in developing psi, based on ancient techniques described in the yoga treatises. Few studies have been conducted on yoga in parapsychology, although effects of meditation have been explored to some extent. Numerous techniques of yoga are regarded as preliminary but important in accessing the higher levels of consciousness by the individual. In this study, subjects will be given training in four different yoga techniques. Data will be collected in forced-choice and free-response ESP tests and personality tests will be used for broader perspective. Dr. Kandi is herself a student of Yoga, and has published a number of papers on that and related topics. She intends to broaden her range to work in the challenging area of parapsychology. She is currently on the faculty of the Institute for Human Science and Service.

PARE Grant 2005 Awardees

The PARE committee received five proposals for the 2005 funding cycle. Most were of sufficiently high quality they could in principle be funded, and the committee decided to partially fund one project and wholly fund two. Sergio Schilling received funding to support his project, “An inheritance model for spontaneous and experimental psi experiences”. It is a well-researched and documented proposal with interesting ideas. Devin Terhune was granted funds requested for his study of “Individual differences in the visual phenomenology of out-of-body experiences and the determinants thereof”. It addresses background questions that appear to be foundational for OBE research. David Wilde also is looking at the OBE experience in his research, “Do Out-of-body Experients Have Better Visual Imagery Skills Than Non-Experients?” His appears to be an innovative approach, with sound methodology and manageable goals.

PARE Grant 2006 Awardees

Nicola Holt proposed to extend and improve her PDA based ESP study, which is intended to develop methods for natural environment research. She was granted funds to help defray expenses for the project, “Developing experience-sampling methodology to explore psi in ‘every-day life’ ”. Richard Knowles applied for funds to acquire equipment needed for his ongoing OBE studies and was granted part of his request in recognition of his strong commitment. His project is called, “Induction, Correlation, and Validation of the Out-of-Body Experience” David Luke also was partially funded in his proposal to defray expenses in his study of “Luck Beliefs and Psi-Mediated Instrumental Response (PMIR)”. Devin Terhune and Annalisa Ventola received full funding of a modest proposal for support of their project, "Evaluating photographic anomalies: Examining the roles of photographic expertise, context, paranormal belief, and tolerance of ambiguity”. It is Devin's second award, and it supports a continuation and extension of last year's work.

PARE Grant 2007 Awardees

Fiona Campbell received a grant to study “Social interaction in the Sitter Group Environment.” The study includes 3 kinds of sitter groups, and will focus on their interpersonal interactions and the effect that may have on their anomalous experiences. David Wilde will receive a grant to pursue “The Occurrence, Phenomenology and Psychological Correlates of Out-Of Body and Near Death Experiences.” He will study OBE experiences, bottom up, preparing for larger program of assessments. Peter Bancel will receive a PARE grant for “Measuring Global Consciousness: Statistical Valence of Global Events.” Random Event Generator (REG) data recorded during the World Cup games of 2002 and 2006 have shown marginal or null significance despite huge public interest. A refined valence measurement will be applied, seeking better understanding of correlations with this class of engaging events.