Discovery Lab Answers

Schlitz psi data

Marilyn J. Schlitz’s published psi research spans precognition, distant healing intention, and worldview transformation. Here’s what the sources retrieved for this question document:

Precognition / time-reversed priming

Schlitz led a major replication effort of Daryl Bem’s time-reversed priming protocol. The team (Schlitz, Bem, Marcusson-Clavertz, Cardena, and 15 co-authors) conducted two preregistered replication experiments, published in 2021 ^[1]:

• Experiment 1: 32 experimenters, 512 participants across multiple countries. The preregistered confirmatory hypothesis was not supported in the full sample across all languages (p = .22).
• Experiment 2: 30 experimenters, 586 participants, with a manipulation of pro-psi versus anti-psi framing statements. Again, the preregistered hypothesis was not supported in the full sample.

The paper reports that findings were inconsistent across analytic choices and did not replicate across both studies. (Bem’s original precognitive priming work had reported an effect size of d = 0.22 across nine experiments; the follow-up meta-analysis Bem et al. reported found d = 0.11, p = 0.003 across 15 priming studies, though the replication attempts here diverged from that.)

Distant healing intention (DHI)

Schlitz has conducted and reviewed work on whether intentional healing can influence surgical recovery. In a 2012 exploratory trial ^[4], 72 women undergoing plastic surgery were randomized to three arms: blinded distant healing intention, no-intent control, and open expectancy (non-blinded DHI). The primary outcome—collagen deposition—did not differ across groups. Post-hoc analyses found that patients’ prior belief in the efficacy of DHI was negatively correlated with mental-health outcomes (rho = −0.27, p = 0.04); in the reconstructive-surgery subgroup (higher-need patients), those in the blinded DHI condition showed better mood improvement than those in the cosmetic-surgery subgroup.

A 2014 transpersonal healing review ^[2] synthesized evidence from laboratory and clinical trials on distant healing and intercessory prayer. Schlitz noted that while effect sizes were small and often non-significant at the whole-sample level, effects were substantially larger for unhealthy or high-need subjects than for healthy controls, suggesting that patient motivation or need may moderate outcomes.

Worldview transformation and well-being

Schlitz co-led a 2014 community-based study ^[3] examining whether engagement in an integral spiritual practice program enhanced well-being. The study involved 65 participants (mean age 55, 65% female) across multiple US sites who completed a 6-month practice. Participants showed increases in well-being measures, including spiritual experiences and meaning.

For a more detailed view of Schlitz’s research trajectory and contributions, see her ESP-Nexus profile.