Data erasure and sensed presence

This bulletin covers the week of 3–9 October 2026. Two articles published on 6 October examine a preregistered replication on data erasure and an exploration of sensed-presence experiences in a psychomanteum. Findings, methods and their limitations are presented separately.

Psi research

A replication on the effects of data erasure

Maier, Dechamps and Rabeyron [1] • JAEX • 6 October 2026 • Peer-reviewed empirical research

Micropsychokinesis is the hypothesis that mental activity influences random physical events. Here, the question concerns the retention of an objective record: does reported recall differ when that record is subsequently erased? The prediction is higher recall in the erasure group. This protocol requires a distinction between the memory of an event and the event itself.

Preregistered online replication: 3,016 participants, 20 quantum-selected positive or negative images, recall of the displayed positive-image count, followed by random erasure or retention of the objective records. Results [1]:

Measure	Erasure	Retention
Analysed sample	1,513	1,503
Mean recalled positive count	10.29	10.27
Standard deviation	4.06	5.18

Bayesian tests: BF₀₁ = 2.27 (t test on log-transformed values) and 1.10 (Mann–Whitney). Preregistration is reported; excluding 17 non-positive recalls for the logarithmic transformation was not preregistered. Data and code are reported as available on OSF [1].

Our assessment. A Bayes factor compares the probabilities of the data under two models. Values close to 1 provide little discrimination between them. The result therefore does not support the directional prediction; these tests also do not provide strong evidence of no effect. Sensitivity to assumptions about effect size needs examination. Preregistration makes the comparison easier to interpret without removing the difficulties of a memory measure. An account explaining after the fact why an effect would disappear must itself generate a testable prediction.

Full reading recommended for the protocol, deviations from the plan and Bayesian analyses.

The psychomanteum and sensed presence

Simmonds-Moore et al. [2] • JAEX • 6 October 2026 • Peer-reviewed exploratory study

A psychomanteum is a mirror-gazing setting with dim lighting, intended to facilitate unusual experiences. A sensed presence is an experience to be characterised; its intensity does not directly measure the existence of an external agent.

Thirty people participated, including 15 classified as synaesthetes or having synaesthetic tendencies. Mirror gazing lasted 45 minutes. The study was not preregistered. Random-generator output did not significantly differ from chance: t(29) = −1.29; p = 0.21; reported effect size = 0.22. A post hoc correlation, restricted to the synaesthesia group, linked the spatial quality of experience to generator output: ρ = −0.63; p = 0.03 [2].

Our assessment. Synaesthesia involves unusual associations between perceptual modalities or categories of experience. Exploring its relationship with sensed presence can help formulate hypotheses. However, subdividing a small sample increases estimation instability. An association selected among several analyses needs testing on new observations with a criterion specified in advance. The overall and subgroup results address different questions: the latter does not replace the former. A point estimate of effect size does not, by itself, indicate its precision.

Targeted reading recommended: methods, random-generator results and post hoc analyses.

Synthesis and reading priorities

These two publications call for specifying what is measured: memory of a displayed count or the characteristics of a sensed-presence experience. The preregistered replication does not support the tested directional prediction; the psychomanteum exploration proposes associations to be tested on new observations. In both cases, the scope of the conclusions depends on the chosen criterion and analytical uncertainty.

1. Maier et al. [1]: read the replication and its analytical decisions in full.

2. Simmonds-Moore et al. [2]: examine the methods and exploratory analyses before proposing a replication.

References

[1] Maier, M., Dechamps, M., & Rabeyron, T. (2026). Observer Effects on (s)Objective Reality Formation: A Failed Replication. Journal of Anomalous Experience and Cognition, 6(2), 187–208. DOI

[2] Simmonds-Moore, C., O’Gwin, C., Steder, M., & Mayfield, E. (2026). An Exploratory Study into the Correlates of Exceptional Experiences in the Psychomanteum. Journal of Anomalous Experience and Cognition, 6(2), 159–186. DOI

[1] Data and code reported by the authors : OSF.