"Proceedings of the Parapsychological Association," No. 8, 1971, PP 74-76

Symposium: Recent Research with Lalsingh Harribance
A summary of Additional Research with Lalsingh Harribance

Jacqueline Damgaard, Psychical Research Foundation


At present most studies done with L.H. have been reported, but some have not. I will briefly describe all previously unreported formal studies done at the P.R.F. over the past two years. Three additional EEG experiments were done, two with two-choice targets and one with standard ESP symbols. None produced the range of scoring we felt necessary for a good EEG-ESP comparison. The first two series had 500 trials each; both gave significantly positive results (P<10-4 and P<.05) but were not up to L.H.’s usual performance. The first one involved a comparison of prearranged versus shuffled target orders, still using the male-female cards. L.H. was unaware of the difference throughout. Psi was equally apparent on both. The second involved two of L.H.’s favorite ESP card symbols as targets. The third was an attempted replication of the EEG study reported by Wheeler earlier in this symposium. It produced chance ESP results and no examination of EEG-ESP relationships was done.

Two precognition studies have been done. One used weather and stock market information to obtain the entry point in a random number table from which the target order was taken. Chance results were obtained. In a second study license plate numbers determined the target order. The target deck was set in front of L.H. He then wrote his calls on a standard record sheet. A short time afterward, not exceeding five minutes, J.K. went outside and obtained the last two license plate digits of the first car that passed by. These digits determined the cut of the deck for the final target order. During a 50-run preliminary series, L.H. scored at a marginally positive rate (P<.05). A confirmation using license plate numbers obtained five minutes after completion of the calls was at chance.

A PK study attempted to see whether or not L.H. could speed up or slow down the swimming rate of goldfish placed in an adjacent room. Results were once again at chance. A paper presented earlier by Watkins and Watkins ("Possible PK Influence on the Resuscitation of Anesthetized Mice") reported that L.H., among others, was apparently successful in attempting to revive anesthetized mice on which he concentrated faster than those on which he did not. An additional study was done recently in which L.H. attempted to influence the activity of native trypsin and partially irradiated trypsin in a manner similar to that reported by Sister Justa Smith in the 1968 Proceedings. Results were at chance.

Three free verbal response studies have been done similar to that reported in the 1970 Proceedings by Roll et al. One was discarded because L.H. was accidentally exposed to information about some of the target persons. Another has not been fully analyzed, but appears to be at chance. A third is being set up for analysis at present and we have no knowledge of the results.

Of special interest in working with someone like L.H. are two questions: what enables him to do so well, and what is wrong on those occasions in which he does not do well. We have no answers for either, but suspect that mood and motivational factors affect both. The EEG studies suggest that a relaxed, yet aware internal state is conducive to L.H.’s psi. We are at present analyzing pre- and post-session questionnaires collected from L.H. during some of the series already mentioned, in hopes of discovering some aspect of his daily state or response to his environment which may help or hinder his psi. We must take into account one other aspect of L.H.’s ability: although he was originally known for his ability to "read" people, he has proven adaptive to a wide range of experimental procedures, including some in which his initial confidence has been low.