Sensing Accuracy:
A Survey of Experienced Remote Viewer's Awareness of Correctness & Being on Target
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31156/jaex.27505Keywords:
confidence calls, accuracy, remote viewing, anomalous cognitionAbstract
Objective. Remote viewing data frequently contain a mixture of accurate and inaccurate elements, which has raised concerns regarding its reliability in applied contexts. The objective of this study was to examine whether remote viewers report being able to recognize when specific pieces of information are correct. Methods. A survey using an experience-centered, phenomenological approach was administered to remote viewers with varying levels of training and experience, recruited through snowball sampling, yielding 122 valid responses. Analysis. Quantitative analyses and thematic coding of open-ended responses were conducted. Results. Results showed that 89% of participants reported experiencing a sense of correctness regarding specific target details that were later verified. Among those endorsing this experience, 37% reported it occurred occasionally, 42% often, and 7% during every session. Most respondents (86%) indicated this awareness was developed independently through personal practice while 14% attributed it to instruction. Participants identified recurring phenomenological markers associated with correctness, including unexpected or surprising information, persistent or repeating impressions, vivid or unusual imagery, suddenness or immediacy, emotional impact, and instant cognitive “downloads.” Attitudes toward the study’s focus were mixed, with participants expressing both supportive and critical perspectives. Conclusions. Remote viewers report subjective cues they associate with accuracy at the level of specific target elements, paralleling reports from participants in forced choice psi experiments, which may have implications for future research on confidence judgments and reliability in remote viewing applications.
References
Beischel, J., Mosher, C., & Boccuzzi, M. (2017). Quantitative and qualitative analyses of mediumistic and psychic experiences. Threshold: Journal of Interdisciplinary Consciousness Studies, 1(2), 51-91. http://www.tjics.org/index.php/TJICS/article/view/17/15
Beischel, J., & Boccuzzi, M. (2020). Development and deployment of the Windbridge Psi and Related Phenomena Awareness Questionnaire (WPRPAQ). Journal of Scientific Exploration, 34(1). https://doi.org/10.31275/2020/1623
Beischel, J., Rock, A. J., Pekala, R. J., & Boccuzzi, M. (2021) Survival psi and somatic psi: Exploratory quantitative phenomenological analyses of blinded medims’ experiences of communication with the deceased and psychic readings for the living. Journal of Near Death Studies, 39(2), 61–102. https://doi.org/10.17514/JNDS-2021-39-2-p
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brown, C. (2005). Remote viewing: The science and theory of nonphysical perception. Farsight.
Delanoy, D. L. (1989). Characteristics of successful free-response targets: Experimental findings and observations. In L. A. Henkel & R. E. Berger (Eds.). Research in parapsychology 1988, 92– 95. Scarecrow.
Honorton, C., & Schechter, E. I. (1987). Ganzfeld target retrieval with an automated testing system: A model for initial ganzfeld success. In D. H. Weiner & R. D. Nelson (Eds.), Research in Parapsychology 1986 (pp. 36–39). Scarecrow.
Honorton, C., Berger, R. E., Varvoglis, M. P., Quant, M., Derr, P., Schechter, E. I., & Ferrari, D. C. (1990). Psi communication in the ganzfeld: Experiments with an automated testing system and a comparison with a meta-analysis of earlier studies. Journal of Parapsychology, 54, 99–139.
Humphrey, B. S., May, E. C., & Utts, J. M. (1988). Fuzzy set technology in the analysis of remote viewing. Proceedings of the 31st Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association (pp.378-394).
Ingo Swann papers (n.d.). Irvine Sullivan Ingram Library, University of West Georgia Special Collections. https://aspace-uwg.galileo.usg.edu/repositories/2/resources/274
IRVA. (n.d.). What is remote viewing? International Remote Viewing Association. https://www. irva.org/remote-viewing/definition
Kanthamani, H., & Kelly, E. F. (1974). Card experiments with a special subject: I. Single-card clairvoyance. Journal of Parapsychology, 38(1), 17–35.
Katz, D. L., Grgić, I., Tressoldi, P., & Fendley, T. W. (2021). Associative remote viewing projects: Assessing rater reliability and factors affecting successful predictions. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 85(2), 65–90.
Katz, D. L., Lane, J. D., & Bulgatz, M. (2022). Effects of background context for objects in photographic targets on remote viewing performance. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 35(4), 752–787. https://doi.org/10.31275/20212273
Katz, D. L., & Tressoldi, P. E. (2022). Remote viewing applications: A survey of present-day RV practitioners. Journal of Parapsychology, 86(1), 135–157. https://doi.org/10.30891/joparapsy.86.1.013
Katz, D. L., & Knowles, J. (2023). Associative Remote Viewing: The art & science of predicting outcomes for sports, politics, finances and the lottery. Living Dreams Press.
Kolodziejzyk, G. (2012). Greg Kolodziejzyk’s 13-year associative remote viewing experiment results. Journal of Parapsychology, 76(2), 349.
May, E. C., Humphrey, B. S., & Mathews, C. (1985). A figure of merit analysis for free response material. Proceedings of the 28th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association, (pp.343-354).
May, E. C., Utts, J. M., Humphrey, B. S., Luke, W. L. W., Frivold, T. J., & Trask, V. V. (1990). Advances in remote-viewing analysis. Journal of Parapsychology, 54, 193–228.
May, E. C., & Spottiswoode, S. J. P. (1994). Managing the target-pool bandwidth: Possible noise reduction for anomalous cognition experiments. Journal of Parapsychology, 58(4), 303–313.
McCallum, W. A., & Honorton, C. (1973). Confidence and accuracy in ESP performance. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 67 (4), 367–380.
Mihas, P. (2023). Qualitative research methods: Approaches to qualitative data analysis. In R. J. Tierney, F. Rizvi & K. Ercikan (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education (Fourth Edition), pp. 302–313. Elsevier.
Milton, J. N. (1994). A study of free-response ESP performance and mental training techniques. In E. W. Cook & D. L. Delanoy (Eds.), Research in Parapsychology 1991 (pp. 59–63). Scarecrow Press.
Rock, A. J., Beischel, J., & Cott, C. C. (2009). Psi vs. survival: A qualitative investigation of mediums’ phenomenology comparing psychic readings and ostensible communication with the deceased. Transpersonal Psychology Review, 13(2), 76–89. https://www.windbridge.org/papers/TPR13RockBeischelCott2009.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Rock, A. J., Beischel, J., Boccuzzi, M., & Biuso, M. (2014). Discarnate readings by claimant mediums: Assessing phenomenology and accuracy under beyond double-blind conditions. Journal of Parapsychology, 78(2), 183-194. https://www.windbridge.org/papers/JP2014v78n2Rock-Beischel.pdf
Simmonds-Moore, C. A., & Holt, N. J. (2019). Exploring synesthesia and psi experiences: A comparison of synesthetes and non-synesthetes. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 562992. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.562992
Smith, D. (2014). Controlled Remote Viewing: Collected manuals and information to help you learn this intuitive art. Smith Publishing. https://www.remoteviewed.com/crv-manuals
Smith, P. H. (2005). Reading the enemy’s mind: Inside Star Gate—America’s psychic espionage program. Tom Dougherty Associates.
Swann, I. (1993). On remote viewing, UFOs, and extraterrestrial s. Fate Magazine, 46(9), 73–82.
Targ, R., Katra, J., Brown, D., & Wiegand, W. (1995). Viewing the future: A pilot study with an error-detecting protocol. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 9(3), 367–380. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:53531371
Targ, R., & Katra, J. (2000). Remote viewing in a group setting. Journal of Scientific Exploration,14(1), 107–114.
Tart, C. (2001) Learning to use extrasensory perception (reprint edition). iUniverse.
Tressoldi, P. E., & Katz, D. L. (2023). Remote viewing: A 1974–2022 systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 37(3), 467–489. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/p4ckz
Watt, C. A. (1989). Characteristics of successful free-response targets: Theoretical considerations. In L. A. Henkel & R. E. Berger (Eds.), Research in parapsychology 1988 (pp. 95-99). Scarecrow.
Watt, C. A. (1996). Knowing the unknown: Participants’ insight in three forced-choice ESP studies. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 90 (2), 90–98.
White, R. A. (1964). A comparison of old and new methods of response to targets in ESP experiments. Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research, 58 (1), 21–56.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Debra Lynne Katz, PhD, Jenifer Prather, MPH, RN, PhD(c), Jimmy Akin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JAEX are open access, freely and universally accessible online, and archived in the open journal’s Lund University website (https://journals.lub.lu.se). Articles in JAEX can be distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CCBY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, with appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, a link to the Creative Commons license, and an indication if changes were made.
