Outline and critically evaluate research into out-of-body experiences (10 marks)

An out-of-body experience, first defined by George Tyrell, is when a person appears to see his or her own body from above or outside themselves. This phenomenon has proven popular with psychologists who are trying to verify or falsify them however research is inconclusive.

Miss Z was an American student who claimed to have out-of-body experiences during her sleep. Charles Tart arranged for Miss Z to spend four nights in a sleeping laboratory, during which time he would test to see whether her out-of-body experiences really occurred. In order to test it, Tart hid a random five-digit number in the sleeping lab each night and asked Miss Z to find and remember the number during her out-of-body experience. She managed to get the number correct every night – the probability of this being due to luck is 1/100,000 therefore Tart concluded that she must have had out-of-body experiences each night in order to get the number correct.

Sceptics have since questioned the reliability and validity of the findings of Tart’s research. Miss Z moved away straight after the experiment, meaning it could not be replicated. The results therefore cannot be verified and compared to other results therefore they lack reliability. Tart (1969) did attempt a similar study using Robert Monroe who also claimed to have out-of-body experiences but the experiment was unsuccessful and the findings were never published.

Also noted by sceptics were the methodological issues during the Miss Z experiment. Despite Tart’s claim that Miss Z had limited movement in the sleep laboratory due to being attached to several machines, sceptics claim it could have been possible for her to gain the information using normal sensory channels. The target object was in the same room as Miss Z and no observer was in the room overnight therefore it has been stated that fraudulent behaviour was possible. For example, Tart placed the number on the shelf whilst Miss Z was already in the room so it could have been possible she saw it then, or even shown it by Tart in an attempt to get the result he was looking for. Had Tart used a double-blind technique, by allowing a third-party experimenter to choose and place the number, the experiment would have been more reliable and have eliminated the chance of experimenter fraud. Another theory is that the number was reflected in the glass clock face on the wall, however Tart responded to this criticism, claiming that this would only be possible had Miss Z, unknowingly to him, brought a torch with her into the sleeping lab.

In the write up of his study, Tart claimed that the majority of criticism he received was actually from believers of the paranormal, rather than sceptics. They suggested that rather than an out-of-body experience, Miss Z was actually able to telepathically receive the number from Tart as he was writing and placing it. This has never been confirmed, as Miss Z was not able to be contacted after the experiment ended.