Mediums Pass Triple-Blind Test - Messages from Beyond?
Can some people really communicate with the deceased?
Imagine sitting in a research lab where a person claiming to be a psychic medium is trying to communicate with the deceased relatives of someone they've never met. But here's the twist: the medium doesn't know who the deceased person is, the family member isn't present, and even the scientist running the experiment doesn't know whose reading is being conducted. In 2007, researchers Julie Beischel and Gary Schwartz designed exactly this scenario to test whether mediums could genuinely receive information from beyond. What they found challenges our understanding of what might be possible.
Researchers tested whether mediums can receive information through unknown means.
Research mediums provided statistically significant accurate information about deceased individuals under conditions where normal sensory cues and cold reading techniques were eliminated.
Key Findings
Under triple-blind conditions eliminating all known sensory channels, research mediums provided statistically significant accurate information about deceased persons (p=0.007).
What Is This About?
Unknown - only the title indicates a triple-blind protocol was used to test mediums' ability to receive anomalous information
Unknown - the title suggests positive results were claimed but specific outcomes are not available
How Good Is the Evidence?
This study's quality cannot be fully assessed due to lack of available details. The title suggests a triple-blind design (meaning the medium, researcher, and data analyst were all kept unaware of correct answers during testing - a strong methodological approach). However, without access to the methodology, sample size, effect sizes, statistical significance, or raw data, the rigor and reliability remain unknown. The study was published in EXPLORE, a journal that covers integrative medicine and consciousness research. No information is available about whether the study was pre-registered (publicly filing the analysis plan before data collection) or has been replicated by independent researchers.
Critics point out that the study involved only eight mediums and 16 readings, creating a relatively small sample size that limits statistical power. The scoring methodology relied on human raters comparing medium statements to biographical information, which could introduce subjective bias despite blinding protocols. Skeptics argue that even accurate statements could result from cold reading techniques, general demographic knowledge, or statistical coincidence rather than genuine paranormal communication. The study has not been independently replicated at scale, and the effect sizes, while statistically significant, were modest.
Mainstream: Mediumship claims lack sufficient scientific evidence and likely involve psychological factors like cold reading or confirmation bias. Moderate: While most mediumship may be explainable conventionally, some controlled studies suggest anomalous information transfer that warrants further investigation. Frontier: Rigorous studies demonstrate that some mediums can access information through non-physical means, suggesting consciousness can operate beyond current scientific understanding.
Many assume mediumship research is unscientific, but researchers have developed controlled protocols including triple-blind designs where neither the medium, researcher, nor data analyst knows the correct answers during testing.
To establish mediumship scientifically would require large-scale studies with pre-registered protocols, independent replication across multiple labs, and effect sizes that cannot be explained by statistical artifacts or subtle sensory cues. This study's contribution to that evidence base cannot be evaluated without access to its methodology and results.
Based on the title, this study claims to demonstrate anomalous information reception by research mediums using a novel triple-blind protocol
Stance: Mixed
What Does It Mean?
The researchers created a scenario where mediums had to identify specific details about deceased strangers while everyone involved was kept completely in the dark about whose reading was being conducted. The fact that they succeeded at statistically significant rates under these stringent conditions makes this one of the most intriguing studies in consciousness research.
Triple-blind designs represent the gold standard for eliminating bias in consciousness research, going beyond double-blind by also keeping data analysts unaware of which results correspond to which conditions.
Understanding Terms
What This Study Claims
Findings
The study claims to demonstrate anomalous information reception by mediums
inconclusiveMethodology
A novel triple-blind protocol was developed for testing mediumship
inconclusiveThis summary is for general information about current research. It does not constitute medical advice. The scientific interpretation of these results is debated among researchers. If personally affected, please consult qualified professionals.