The Psi Personality in Field Research

Researchers have long hypothesized that features of human personality are related to psi abilities such as extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK), whether such talents manifest in the laboratory or in field-research settings. For example, Schmeidler1) found when reviewing personality variables assessed by psi studies that traits such as extraversion, spontaneity, and lack of defensiveness correlated positively with success on psi tasks, whereas traits such as introversion, rigidity, and neuroticism appeared to be negatively related to psi success. In the present study, a projective psychological test was administered to several key members of a “sitter group” that reported frequent manifestations of psychokinetic phenomena during “table-tipping” sessions. Responses to the test were compared to projective-test responses provided by members of a team of parapsychological investigators.