Ideomotor effect
Encyclopedia
The ideomotor effect is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconscious
ly. As in reflexive responses to pain, the body sometimes reacts reflexively to ideas alone without the person consciously deciding to take action. For instance, tears
are produced by the body unconsciously in reaction to powerful emotions. Automatic writing
, dowsing
, facilitated communication
, and Ouija board
s have also been attributed to the effect of this phenomenon. Mystics have often attributed this motion to paranormal
or supernatural
force. Many subjects are unconvinced that their actions are originating solely from within themselves.
in 1852, whence the alternative term Carpenter effect. In the paper, Carpenter explained his theory that muscular movement can be independent of conscious desires or emotions.
Scientific tests by the English scientist Michael Faraday
, the French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul
, and the American psychologists William James
and Ray Hyman
have demonstrated that many phenomena attributed to spiritual or paranormal forces, or to mysterious "energies," are actually due to ideomotor action. Furthermore, these tests demonstrate that "honest, intelligent people can unconsciously engage in muscular activity that is consistent with their expectations". They also show that suggestions that can guide behavior can be given by subtle clues (Hyman 1977).
Some alternative medicine practitioners claim they can use the ideomotor effect to communicate with a patient's unconsciousness using a system of physical signals (such as finger movements) for the unconscious mind to indicate "yes", "no" or "I'm not ready to know that consciously".
A simple experiment to demonstrate the Ideomotor effect is to allow a hand-held pendulum to hover over a sheet of paper. The paper has keywords such as YES, NO and MAYBE printed on it. Small movements in the hand, in response to questions, can cause the pendulum to move towards key words on the paper. This technique has been used for experiments in ESP, lie detection and ouija boards. The validity of these experiments has not been proven. This type of experiment was used by Kreskin
and has also been used by illusionists such as Derren Brown
to test the hypnotic suggestibility of audience volunteers that are called onto the stage.
Unconscious mind
The unconscious mind is a term coined by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge...
ly. As in reflexive responses to pain, the body sometimes reacts reflexively to ideas alone without the person consciously deciding to take action. For instance, tears
Tears
Tears are secretions that clean and lubricate the eyes. Lacrimation or lachrymation is the production or shedding of tears....
are produced by the body unconsciously in reaction to powerful emotions. Automatic writing
Automatic writing
Automatic writing or psychography is writing which the writer states to be produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.-History:...
, dowsing
Dowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites, and many other objects and materials, as well as so-called currents of earth radiation , without the use of scientific apparatus...
, facilitated communication
Facilitated communication
Facilitated communication is a process by which a facilitator supports the hand or arm of a communicatively impaired individual while using a keyboard or other devices with the aim of helping the individual to develop pointing skills and to communicate...
, and Ouija board
Ouija
The Ouija board also known as a spirit/fire key board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" and "goodbye", and other symbols and words are sometimes also added to help personalize the board...
s have also been attributed to the effect of this phenomenon. Mystics have often attributed this motion to paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
or supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
force. Many subjects are unconvinced that their actions are originating solely from within themselves.
History
The term was first used in a scientific paper discussing the means through which the Ouija board produced its results, by William Benjamin CarpenterWilliam Benjamin Carpenter
William Benjamin Carpenter MD CB FRS was an English physician, invertebrate zoologist and physiologist. He was instrumental in the early stages of the unified University of London.-Life:...
in 1852, whence the alternative term Carpenter effect. In the paper, Carpenter explained his theory that muscular movement can be independent of conscious desires or emotions.
Scientific tests by the English scientist Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
, the French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul
Michel Eugène Chevreul
Michel Eugène Chevreul was a French chemist whose work with fatty acids led to early applications in the fields of art and science. He is credited with the discovery of margaric acid and designing an early form of soap made from animal fats and salt...
, and the American psychologists William James
William James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
and Ray Hyman
Ray Hyman
Ray Hyman is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and a noted critic of parapsychology.-Career:...
have demonstrated that many phenomena attributed to spiritual or paranormal forces, or to mysterious "energies," are actually due to ideomotor action. Furthermore, these tests demonstrate that "honest, intelligent people can unconsciously engage in muscular activity that is consistent with their expectations". They also show that suggestions that can guide behavior can be given by subtle clues (Hyman 1977).
Some alternative medicine practitioners claim they can use the ideomotor effect to communicate with a patient's unconsciousness using a system of physical signals (such as finger movements) for the unconscious mind to indicate "yes", "no" or "I'm not ready to know that consciously".
A simple experiment to demonstrate the Ideomotor effect is to allow a hand-held pendulum to hover over a sheet of paper. The paper has keywords such as YES, NO and MAYBE printed on it. Small movements in the hand, in response to questions, can cause the pendulum to move towards key words on the paper. This technique has been used for experiments in ESP, lie detection and ouija boards. The validity of these experiments has not been proven. This type of experiment was used by Kreskin
Kreskin
The Amazing Kreskin , born George Joseph Kresge, is a mentalist who became popular on North American television in the 1970s...
and has also been used by illusionists such as Derren Brown
Derren Brown
Derren Victor Brown is a British illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions and British television series such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat...
to test the hypnotic suggestibility of audience volunteers that are called onto the stage.
See also
- Applied kinesiologyApplied kinesiologyApplied kinesiology is an alternative medicine method used for diagnosis and determination of therapy. According to practitioners using Applied Kinesiology techniques, it provides feedback on the functional status of the body. AK is a practice within the realm of alternative medicine and is...
- Automatic behaviorAutomatic behaviorAutomatic behavior, from the Greek automatos or self-acting, is the spontaneous production of often purposeless verbal or motor behavior without conscious self-control or self-censorship...
- HypnosisHypnosisHypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
- Ideo motor responseIdeo motor responseThe ideo-motor response , often abbreviated to IMR, is a concept in hypnosis and psychological research. It is derived from the terms 'ideo' and 'motor'...
- Dowsing#Suggested explanations
- Rom HoubenRom HoubenRom Houben is a 48-year-old Belgian man presumed comatose and in a vegetative state for 23 years after a near-fatal automobile accident, but according to several of his caregivers, was conscious and paralyzed during the entirety of his hospital stay...
- Ouija boardOuija BoardOuija Board is a Thoroughbred mare racehorse owned by Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby and trained by Ed Dunlop. In a career spanning four seasons, she won 10 of her 22 races, 7 of them Group 1s, including the Epsom Oaks in 2004 and the Hong Kong Vase in 2005...
External links
- Anderson, J.W., "Defensive Maneuvers In Two Incidents Involving The Chevreul Pendulum: A Clinical Note", International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Vol.XXV, No.1, (1977), pp. 4–6.
- CarpenterWilliam Benjamin CarpenterWilliam Benjamin Carpenter MD CB FRS was an English physician, invertebrate zoologist and physiologist. He was instrumental in the early stages of the unified University of London.-Life:...
, W.B., "On the Influence of Suggestion in Modifying and directing Muscular Movement, independently of Volition", Royal Institution of Great Britain, (Proceedings), 1852, (12 March 1852), pp. 147–153. - CarrollRobert Todd CarrollRobert Todd Carroll , Ph.D., is an American writer and academic. Carroll has written several books and skeptical essays but achieved notability by publishing the Skeptic's Dictionary online in 1994.-Early life and education:...
, R.T., "Ideomotor effect". The Skeptic's Dictionary. 2003. ISBN 0-471-27242-6 - Cheek, D.B., "Some Applications of Hypnosis and Ideomotor Questioning Methods for Analysis and Therapy in Medicine", American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol.5, No.2, (October 1962), pp. 92–104.
- Cheuvrel. Michel E.Michel Eugène ChevreulMichel Eugène Chevreul was a French chemist whose work with fatty acids led to early applications in the fields of art and science. He is credited with the discovery of margaric acid and designing an early form of soap made from animal fats and salt...
, De la Baguette Divinatoire et du Pendule Dit Explorateur (On the Divining Rod and the So-called Exploratory Pendulum), Maillet-Bachelier, Paris, 1854. - Easton, R.D. & Shor, R.E., "An Experimental Analysis of the Chevreul Pendulum Illusion", The Journal of General Psychology, Vol.95, (July 1976), pp. 111–125.
- Easton, R.D. & Shor, R.E., "Augmented and Delayed Feedback in the Chevreul Pendulum Illusion", The Journal of General Psychology, Vol.97, (October 1977), pp. 167–177.
- Easton, R.D. & Shor, R.E., "Information Processing Analysis of the Chevreul Pendulum Illusion", Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, Vol.1, No.3, (August 1975), pp. 231–236.
- EricksonMilton H. EricksonMilton Hyland Erickson, was an American psychiatrist specializing in medical hypnosis and family therapy...
, M.H., "Historical Note on the Hand Levitation and Other Ideomotor Techniques", The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol.3, January 1961, pp. 196–199. - FaradayMichael FaradayMichael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
, M., "Experimental Investigation of Table-Moving", Athenaeum, No.1340, (July 1853), pp. 801–803. - Faraday, M., "Table-Turning", The Times, No.21468, (30 June 1853), p. 8.
- Le Baron, G.I., "Ideomotor Signalling in Brief Psychotherapy", American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol.5, No.2, (October 1962), pp. 81–91.
- Montgomery, G. & Kirsch, I., "The Effects of Subject Arm Position and Initial Experience on Chevreul Pendulum Responses", The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol.38, No. 3 (January 1996), pp. 185–190.
- RandiJames RandiJames Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
, J., "Ideomotor effect". An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural. 1995. ISBN 0-312-15119-5 - Reed, H.B., "Ideo-Motor Action", The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, Vol.11, No.18, (27 August 1914), pp. 477–491.
- Spitz, H.H. & Marcuard, Y., "Chevreul's Report on the Mysterious Oscillations of the Hand-Held Pendulum: A French Chemist's 1833 Open Letter to Ampère", The Skeptical Inquirer, (July/August 2001) Vol.25, No.4, pp. 35–39.
- Stock, A. & Stock, C., "A Short History of Ideo-Motor Action", Psychological Research, Vol.68, Nos.2-3, (April 2004), pp. 176–188.
- Sudduth, W.X., "Suggestion as an Ideo-Dynamic Force", pp. 255–262 in Anon, Bulletin of the Medico-Legal Congress: Held at the Federal Building in the City of New York, September 4, 5th, and 6th, 1895, Medico-Legal Journal for Medico-Legal Society, (New York), 1895.