Overview

Simon J. Sherwood has established himself as a leading researcher in the study of anomalous cognition in altered and threshold states of consciousness. His work spans dream ESP, precognition, hypnagogic/hypnopompic phenomena, and apparition reports. Sherwood’s approach combines rigorous experimental design with systematic literature review, making him a central figure in contemporary parapsychology’s effort to map the conditions under which psi phenomena are reported and to identify the cognitive and personality variables that may modulate psi performance.

His research is distinguished by two complementary strategies: conducting original experiments with controlled methodologies and synthesizing the broader experimental literature through comprehensive reviews. This dual approach has allowed him to both contribute new empirical data and to contextualize individual studies within the larger landscape of psi research. His collaborations with colleagues at the University of Derby and other institutions have produced a substantial body of work that addresses both the phenomenology of anomalous experiences and the experimental conditions that may facilitate psi.

Life and career

Sherwood conducted research across multiple institutions, including the University of Derby, Queen Margaret University, and the University of Northampton. His career in parapsychology has been marked by a focus on systematic empirical investigation and the integration of psychological variables into psi research design.

Early in his career, Sherwood contributed to the broader literature on clinical education and medical practice, publishing work on how clinicians learn to request permission for autopsies.⁷ This work, though outside parapsychology proper, reflects his early training in research methodology and his capacity to conduct rigorous empirical investigations across domains.

His transition to parapsychology research centered on altered states of consciousness as windows into anomalous cognition. Beginning in the late 1990s, Sherwood undertook a series of experimental investigations into dream ESP, precognition, and the role of personality factors in psi performance. This work positioned him at the intersection of cognitive psychology, personality assessment, and parapsychology, a positioning that has allowed him to bring psychological sophistication to the design and interpretation of psi experiments.

Research

Dream ESP and anomalous cognition in sleep

Sherwood’s most sustained research program has focused on ESP in dreams. This work builds on the foundational Maimonides Dream ESP Program, which demonstrated that dream content could correspond to randomly selected target material under laboratory conditions. Sherwood and his collaborators have extended and refined this research tradition.

In 2003, Sherwood and Roe published a comprehensive review of dream ESP studies conducted since the Maimonides program.⁸ This review synthesized the experimental literature and provided a foundation for understanding the state of the field. The review was subsequently updated to include more recent studies, establishing a systematic catalog of the experimental literature.²

Sherwood’s experimental investigations of dream ESP employed multiple methodological approaches. In 2002, he and colleagues conducted an exploratory investigation of dream GESP (general extrasensory perception) using consensus judging procedures and dynamic targets.⁹ The same year, they investigated dream precognition using consensus judging and static targets.¹⁰ These studies refined the judging procedures used to assess correspondence between dream reports and target material, addressing a methodological challenge in dream ESP research.

In 2000, Sherwood and colleagues conducted a dream clairvoyance study using dynamic video-clips as targets, investigating consensus voting judging procedures.¹¹ This work extended the paradigm beyond static images to moving visual material, testing whether the dynamic nature of targets affected the correspondence with dream content. The same year, they published an investigation of dream GESP using dynamic targets and consensus voting.¹²

A 1998 study by Sherwood and colleagues examined dream GESP studies using dynamic video-clips, further developing the experimental protocols for assessing anomalous correspondence in dream reports.¹³

The meta-analytic synthesis of dream ESP research has provided quantitative support for the phenomenon. A 2017 meta-analysis by Storm, Sherwood, Roe, Tressoldi, and colleagues examined the correspondence between dream content and target material under laboratory conditions, aggregating data across multiple studies.¹ This meta-analysis represents the most comprehensive quantitative assessment of dream ESP to date. A subsequent response to critiques of this meta-analysis reaffirmed the findings and addressed methodological concerns raised in the literature.¹⁴

Roe and Sherwood have also published reviews synthesizing evidence for extrasensory perception in dream content, comparing findings from the Maimonides program with post-Maimonides studies.¹⁵¹⁶ These reviews document the evolution of dream ESP research and the methodological refinements that have occurred over decades of investigation.

Sender and experimenter effects in dream ESP

Sherwood has investigated the interpersonal dimensions of dream ESP research, examining the roles of the sender and experimenter. In 2007, Roe, Sherwood, Farrell, and colleagues assessed the roles of the sender and experimenter in dream ESP research, exploring how the characteristics and involvement of these participants influence outcomes.¹⁷

This work extends to ganzfeld-based psi research as well. In 2005, Sherwood and colleagues explored the role of the experimenter and the experimental climate in a ganzfeld telepathy task, examining how interpersonal psi (the influence of social and relational factors on psi performance) manifests in controlled laboratory settings.¹⁸ A 2004 study by Roe, Sherwood, and Holt further explored the role of the sender in ganzfeld GESP tasks, investigating how sender characteristics and engagement influence psi outcomes.¹⁹

Personality and cognitive factors in precognition

Sherwood has conducted extensive research on the relationship between personality variables and psi performance, particularly in precognition tasks. In 2000, he and colleagues explored the relationship between dream ESP and personality, examining whether individual differences in personality traits predict performance in dream-based psi tasks.²⁰

A series of studies has investigated precognition using implicit PMIR (Presentiment-Mediated Implicit Response) tasks, examining the relationship between personality factors and psi performance. In 2012, Hitchman, Roe, and Sherwood reexamined nonintentional precognition with openness to experience, creativity, psi beliefs, and luck beliefs as predictor variables.³ This study identified personality and belief factors that correlate with precognitive performance.

Subsequent investigations refined understanding of these relationships. In 2011, Hitchman, Roe, and Sherwood examined the relationship between lability (emotional reactivity and flexibility) and performance at intentional and non-intentional versions of a precognition task.²¹ A 2010 replication study further explored the relationships between PMIR performance, psi beliefs, paranormal beliefs, openness to experience, and creativity.²²

In 2014, Hitchman, Sherwood, and Roe investigated the relationship between latent inhibition (a cognitive process related to selective attention) and performance at a non-intentional precognition task, extending the investigation of cognitive variables that may modulate psi.²³

Luke, Delanoy, and Sherwood examined perceived luckiness and beliefs about luck in relation to precognition, exploring the hypothesis that psi may manifest as subjective luck experiences.²⁴

In 2016, Hitchman, Pfeuffer, Roe, and Sherwood investigated the effects of experimenter-participant interaction qualities in a goal-oriented nonintentional precognition task, demonstrating that the quality of interpersonal engagement between experimenter and participant influences precognitive performance.⁴

Ganzfeld-assisted dream ESP

Sherwood and colleagues have investigated the combination of ganzfeld methodology (sensory homogenization designed to facilitate psi) with dream-based protocols. In 2000, Sherwood, Dalton, Steinkamp, and Watt conducted a study of ganzfeld-assisted dream ESP, examining whether the ganzfeld state enhances anomalous information transfer in dreams.²⁵

Hypnagogic and hypnopompic experiences

Sherwood has conducted systematic investigations of the hypnagogic and hypnopompic states (the transitional periods between waking and sleep) and their relationship to anomalous experiences. In 2000, he published a comparison of the features of psychomanteum experiences (induced through mirror-gazing in darkness) and hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences, examining phenomenological similarities and differences.²⁶

In 2001, Sherwood conducted a web-based survey of the content, sensory modalities, and interpretation of hypnagogic and hypnopompic experiences, gathering data from a large sample of respondents about the characteristics of these threshold states.²⁷ This survey was subsequently updated and published in the Journal of Parapsychology in 2007.²⁸

In 2002, Sherwood published research on the relationship between the hypnagogic/hypnopompic states and reports of anomalous experiences, documenting associations between these threshold states and the occurrence of psi-related phenomena.⁵

Apparition research and black dog phenomena

Sherwood has contributed to the parapsychological investigation of apparitions, with particular focus on black dog reports. In 2000, he published research on black dog apparitions, examining the phenomenological characteristics of these experiences.²⁹ In 2005, he developed a psychological approach to apparitions of black dogs, integrating psychological theory with phenomenological analysis.³⁰

In 2010, Sherwood published a comprehensive treatment of apparitions of black dogs, synthesizing historical accounts and contemporary reports.⁶ In 2008, he and Cousins investigated the black dog of Whitby and Kettleness, conducting fieldwork on a specific apparition case.³¹

Fieldwork and case investigations

In 2008, Sherwood published reflections on fieldwork investigations of hauntings, documenting his approach to investigating spontaneous anomalous phenomena in naturalistic settings.³²

Influence and reception

Sherwood’s systematic reviews of dream ESP research have become foundational references in the field, establishing the empirical landscape of dream-based psi research and documenting methodological developments. His work has shaped how contemporary researchers approach dream ESP investigations, particularly in the refinement of judging procedures and the integration of personality variables into experimental design.

His investigations of personality and cognitive factors in psi performance have contributed to a broader movement within parapsychology toward understanding individual differences in psi ability. By demonstrating correlations between traits such as openness to experience, creativity, and lability with psi performance, Sherwood has provided empirical support for the hypothesis that personality factors modulate psi expression. This work has influenced subsequent research on the psychological correlates of psi.

Sherwood’s research on interpersonal psi (the influence of experimenter-participant interaction on psi outcomes) has contributed to growing recognition within parapsychology that social and relational factors shape experimental results. This work has implications for experimental design and interpretation, suggesting that the quality of interpersonal engagement between experimenter and participant is a variable that must be considered in psi research.

His investigations of hypnagogic and hypnopompic states have contributed to understanding the relationship between altered states of consciousness and anomalous experiences, positioning these threshold states as potentially important contexts for psi phenomena. The web-based survey approach he employed has provided a large-scale empirical foundation for understanding the phenomenology of these states.

Sherwood’s work on apparitions and black dog phenomena has contributed to the parapsychological investigation of spontaneous cases, demonstrating the possibility of systematic phenomenological analysis of historical and contemporary apparition reports. His fieldwork approach has modeled how parapsychologists can investigate spontaneous phenomena while maintaining scientific rigor.

Overall, Sherwood has established himself as a methodologically sophisticated researcher whose work bridges experimental parapsychology and the investigation of spontaneous anomalous phenomena. His contributions to dream ESP research, personality-psi correlations, and the role of interpersonal factors in psi performance have shaped contemporary parapsychology’s understanding of the conditions and individual differences that characterize psi expression.