Mental Boundaries, Staring Detection and Phenomenology: A Synthesised Ganzfeld and Remote Staring Study

<p><i>The sense of being stared at </i>may be interpreted as a psi phenomenon. However, previous research has neglected to investigate this experience using a psi-conducive environment such as the <i>Ganzfeld</i>. Furthermore, the personality traits that influence the sense of being stared at remain unclear and previous studies have not investigated the phenomenological correlates of this phenomenon. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to synthesise Ganzfeld and <I>remote staring</i> methodology in order to experimentally investigate the effect of the Ganzfeld on the sense of being stared at. Personality and phenomenological correlates of the sense of being stared at were also examined. Forty "receivers" were administered the <i>Short Boundary Questionnaire</i> to quantify a personality trait referred to as <i>mental boundaries</i>. Receivers were randomly assigned to either a Ganzfeld or non-Ganzfeld condition, and administered 20 randomized staring/nonstaring trials. Receivers' phenomenology was retrospectively assessed using the <i>Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory</i> (PCI). Only the hits (i.e., correct guesses) for the Ganzfeld/non-staring trials were significantly greater than MCE (i.e., mean chance expectation). There was not a significant main effect for the Ganzfeld/non-Ganzfeld factor with regards to hit rate, but there was a significant main effect for staring/non-staring. Furthermore, there was no significant interaction between these factors. The correlation between mental boundaries and staring hit rate approached significance. For the Ganzfeld group, both PCI-volitional control and PCI-rationality were significantly positively correlated with non-staring hit rate. For the non-Ganzfeld group, PCI-altered experience was significantly positively correlated with staring hit rate. Future research might use a complementary mixed-method to further investigate the phenomenology of a receiver's sense of being stared at during Ganzfeld and non-Ganzfeld stimulus conditions.</p>