Extrasensory & Intersensory Perception
📘 14.5 Extrasensory & Intersensory Perception
This topic deals with non-traditional and expanded understandings of perception, exploring phenomena that go beyond or across the five classical senses. Though often debated, these areas are crucial to understanding both mainstream and fringe psychological research.
🔮 A. Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
ESP refers to perception that occurs without the involvement of the known sensory organs. It includes experiences or abilities that seem to transcend ordinary sensory input.
✅ 1. Types of ESP:
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Telepathy | Mind-to-mind communication without sensory input | A mother “sensing” her child is in danger |
| Clairvoyance | Gaining information about unseen events or objects | “Seeing” a hidden object or card |
| Precognition | Predicting future events without cues | Dreaming of a plane crash that occurs later |
| Psychokinesis | Manipulating objects using the mind alone (also called telekinesis) | Bending a spoon without touching it |
✅ 2. Research and Controversy:
- J.B. Rhine’s experiments at Duke University popularized ESP using Zener cards.
- Meta-analyses suggest small but statistically significant effects; critics point to methodological flaws and replication issues.
🧠 Practical Example:
Some law enforcement agencies have, controversially, consulted “psychics” for locating missing persons based on claims of ESP.
❌ Limitations:
- Lack of replicability
- Highly subjective
- Difficult to verify scientifically
- Often criticized as pseudoscience
👂 B. Intersensory Perception
Intersensory perception refers to the integration of information across different sensory modalities, especially in early childhood development.
✅ 1. Definition:
It is the ability to coordinate or relate sensory experiences from different modalities — like associating the look of an object with its sound or feel.
✅ 2. Examples:
| Sense 1 | Sense 2 | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Hearing | A baby recognizing a toy by its shape and jingle |
| Touch | Vision | Identifying a soft ball seen earlier by touching it |
| Taste | Smell | Detecting flavor through aroma and taste combination |
✅ 3. Importance in Development:
- Infants show intersensory abilities within the first months of life.
- Crucial for language development, object recognition, and social interaction.
✅ 4. Practical Applications:
- Sensory integration therapy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Designing better multimedia educational tools that combine sound, visuals, and touch
🔬 Simulation Studies
Though often grouped separately, simulation studies mimic real-life scenarios using virtual setups to study perception, decision-making, or behavior in controlled environments.
- Used in aviation psychology, military training, and clinical therapy
- Helps examine perceptual accuracy and decision errors in complex tasks
✍️ UPSC Answer Writing Tips:
- Define both ESP and Intersensory Perception clearly.
- Mention types and examples of ESP — with Rhine’s work.
- For Intersensory Perception, include developmental and applied angles (e.g., autism therapy).
- Briefly highlight simulation studies as a related methodological tool.
- Address controversies and scientific criticisms for ESP.
