PARASYCHOLOGY IN THE IBERO-AMERICAN WORLD

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Approved For Release 2003/09/10 : CIA-RDP96-00792R000700870001-5
176 The Journal of Parapsychology Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World
d under the presidency of the Count of Gimeno, member of
of parapsychology, some may see little value in monito 'ng publi- created
al Academy of Sciences and Medicine. The Society pub-
cations and research in these countries, perhaps becau hey doubt the called Revista de Estudios Metcips{quuos (Fernandez
that the material produced by such researchers wou be of suffi- fished a journal 1981b). The research orientation of the Society was to
rient quality to make an important contribution to e field (Alva- Briones, rado, 1989a). study spontaneous cases and psychics, such as the famous Joaquin
This s lack of attention to information abo Ibero-American Argamasilla (expert in dermo-optical perception) whose abilities
parapsychology prese is a serious problem f English-speaking Houdini attempted to expose (Houdini, 1924). was
lost
r parapsychologists, wh ften receive invitatio to attend parapsy- Most
Civil War during a period oyf isolation in which onlyea few
chological conferences i ome of these cou 'es where there are Spanish groups whose commitmen o academic par sychology is doubtful researchers kept the torch burning. Familiar names from this period
are Sanchez Herrero, the Marquiz of Santa Clara, J. Palmes, and M.
and whose only purpose in tending thei nvitations is to legitim-
ize local efforts, which are so imes a d ous mix of parapsychol- Otero y Acevedo, researchers whose independent efforts contrib-
chology uted to $ new generation of investigators such as Ramos Perera Mo-
ogy, spiritism, ufology, and so . A r knowledge of parapsy-
in these communities cou fa fate evaluation of the goals ling, Francisco Gavilan Fontanet, and Luis Fernandez Briones. This
of specific groups who identify t elves as parapsychologists. latter group, at the beginning of the 1970s, founded the first well-
David Hess (1990) has pointed out t following concerning Brazil- organized society to investigate psychic phenomena in Spain. It was
ian parapsychology: called the Sociedad Espanola de Parapsicolog1a (Fernandez Briones,
[Since] anything "international" `first rld" in Brazil means addi- 1981b). From its inception, this Society, under the direction of Ra-
tional status, the participation of A parap hologists at Brazilian con- mos Perera Molina, had as its main goal to promote the scientific
study of parapsychology. To achieve this goal, the Society combined
ferences that represent one gro could mea legitimating either Cath-
olic or Spiritist parapsycholo t the expen f the other group. (p. the efforts of experts in experimental design, illusionism, psychol-
ogy, ogy, medicine, and other fields of science and in 1976 established a
ente, 1983).
car center out its V Vice nte projects, the Society has been divided
Although it is true that s h groups exist, it is portant to men- research
tion that there are also ous groups and res chers who for into several research committees that specialize in different areas
many years have carried tit important work-wo that deserves embracing eld stud
recognition even thoug he language barrier has h ered its re- these committees are those concerned with the development of the-
bridge Among ies as well as experimental projects. ception in the intern opal parapsychological aren Efforts to
this lack of att on and to increase cooperation "th Ibero- oretical models to enhance ESP, Kirlian photography, experimental
American researcher ill not only help those in the Eng -speak- research, OBEs, and the medical aspects of psi. More recently, a
ing countries to bet understand cultural differences and ational new committee was established2 to investigate anomalous phenom-
American styles in world research t p mpctice,rove but the also quahelplity of the their work. researchers in th There ore, bero- I ena along the lines of the Society for Scientific Exploration.
Members of the Society have carried out original research pro-
have selected the flowing countries for a general survey of the re- jests in experimental parapsychology as well as research on sponta-
search that has en conducted in parts of Ibero-Ame: =ca:.=rge nexus cases. They have also critically evaluated miracle claims made
tina, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Spain. by the Catholic church in Spain, such as the liquefaction of the
blood of Saint Pantale6n (Jordan Pena, 1983).
Spain One of the most interesting investigations has been conducted by
av
There has never been a serious attempt organize members of the research committee headed by FGavilan
a the on history Fontanet of the In this study, the committee committee investigated Francisco rancidentical
of psychical research in Spain, and information is s scarce on early tozoolo religious ap?
attempts to study psychic phenomena seriously. It was not until the The goal of the committee is to investigate UFOs, cryp gy>
e s uicos paritions, and other phenomena scientifically.
1920s that the Sociedad Espanola dAJ0F8dao$e ase 2~0~3/09/10 : CIA-RDP96-00792R000700870001-5
 in the Ibero-American World 179
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twin girls presumed to have been born with psi abilities. The case
had received extensive coverage by the media in Spain. According
to the reports of the case, one of the twin girls had suffered a burn
on her hand while ironing. Her sister, separated from her at the
time the burning occurred (16 kms away), developed a similar burn
on the same hand. The Society sent a team of researchers to carry
out a careful investigation of the case. They conducted a series of
experiments to determine the possible existence of psi communica-
tion between the sisters. One of the experiments consisted of sepa-
rating the two girls into two different buildings and stimulating one
of them (the sender) with different sensorial inputs (like perfume)
while observing physiological reactions, such as pupillary and patel-
lar reflexes, in the other twin (the receiver). Psychological profiles
of the twins were also obtained from projective tests. The sessions
with the two girls were simultaneously filmed to document the stim-
uli as well as the perceptual pattern of the reactions. The results
showed simultaneous reactions of the twins' reaction time and visual
and olfactory responses.
In 1978 the members of the Society conducted another impor-
tant study, an international survey of the motivational factors of
parapsychological researchers. Headed by Gavilan Fontanet (1978),
the main objective of the study was to find out what motivates para-
psychologists to investigate psychic phenomena.
They surveyed 201 parapsychologists from 18 countries around
the world. Among the parapsychologists were J. B. Rhine, S. Krippner,
and C. Tart. Three hundred questionnaires, each having 23 questions,
were prepared in five different languages3 and were mailed to re-
searchers throughout the world. Among the interesting findings
were that 61% of the respondents were psychologists, psychiatrists,
and medical doctors, 45% considered themselves agnostics, 24% got
involved in parapsychology while looking for a philosophical answer
to the question of the nature of man, 31% got involved for scientific
(of these intelligence,- 10% believed believed
n rein-
reasons, type 51%
of survival after death transcendent
carnation), some -
in carnation), and 71% rejected astrology
Another research objective of the Society was the search for a
theoretical model to enhance psi abilities. For this purpose the So-
ciety created the Committee for the Development of ESP4 headed
by Luis Fernandez Briones. The Committee's purpose was to outline
'The languages were English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.
' A group that conducts experimental and theoretical research about ESP.
a methodological model for the practical development of ESP. Once
the model and the techniques were developed, the Society hoped it
would be possible to train subjects to obtain positive results over an
extended period of time (Fernandez Briones, 1976), thus confront-
ing the replicability problem that characterizes most psi research.
Although the Committee has not been successful as yet, the results
obtained so far are encouraging. Fernandez Briones summarized
the findings in his book entitled Desarrollo de la Percepcion Extrasen-
sorial [The Development of Extrasensory Perception] (1983). Among
the techniques used by the Committee to attain this goal are the
inducement of altered states of consciousness and the application of
learning theory principles to ESP performance, such as those pro-
posed btCharles Tart (1966). Although the results have only been
suggestive, Fernandez Briones was hopeful enough to emphasize
the need for more research to test the proposed models sufficiently.
Other research conducted by members of the Society includes
investigations of poltergeist cases (Jordan Pena, 1980)5; conceptual
papers related to the ability of some fish, such as the electric eel and
the sturgeon of the Nile, to obtain information about their sur-
roundings through electrical communication, which the authors
speculated might be a primitive language of telepathy (Bardasano
Rubio & Arano Bermejo, 1980a); examination of the migration of
carrier pigeons and other animals to develop a model for ESP (Bar-
dasano Rubio & Arano Bermejo, 1980b); and studies of the socio-
logical and anthropological aspects of psychic surgery (Jimenez Vi-
sedo, 1984). Moreover, other members of the Society have:
speculated on the pineal gland as a possible somatic organ for ESP
reception (Bardasano Rubio et al., 1981); examined neurophysiol-
ogy and its importance for parapsychological research (Jimenez Vi-
sedo, 1985); considered the psychophysiological correlates of hyp-
nosis and its implications for parapsychology (Gonzalez Ordi, 1985);
investigated perception of the laying-on of hands by a sensorially
isolated subject (Prat et al., 1988); proposed three-dimensional
models of RSPK studies, that is, the cases are studied within a para-
psychological, psychological, and psychosociological context (De Cas-
tro, Gonzalez Ordi, & Berrocal Muela, 1984); and offered theoreti-
cal models to explain firewaiking (Perera, 1989).
In the educational area, even though efforts have been made to
include parapsychology in the curriculum of universities in Spain,
'Jordan Pena published a book called Casas Encantadas, Poltergeists [Haunted
Houses, Poltergeists] (1982), in which he presented an overview of cases and theories
of hauntings. For a review of this book, see Alvarado (1985).
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 Approved For Release 2003/09/10 C
180 The Journal of Parapsychology
these have not been successful as yet. Since its inception, however,
members of the Society have been very active in organizing numer-
ous educational activities and seminars at different universities. The
seminar offered by the president of the Society, Ramos Perera Mo-
lina, at the Universidad Aut6noma de Madrid in 1975 drew distin-
guished and prominent figures such as Prince Juan Carlos of Spain
and his wife and the minister of education.
Since 1975, the Society has also published a biannual journal,
entitled Psi Comunicaci6n, which includes English abstracts. The
journal covers both the activities of the Society and a wide range of
topics in parapsychology, some of which have been mentioned. In
addition, their journal includes a section for national and interna-
tional news on parapsychological activities around the world. Mem-
bers of the Society have published several books summarizing its re-
search activities. I have already mentioned the books by Fernandez
Briones (1983). Other books include an anthology, entitled La Nueva
Parapsicologia: Introducci6n a la Parapsicologia Cient f ca [The New
Parapsychology: An Introduction to Scientific Parapsychology] ed-
ited by Fernandez Briones (1981a), a valuable introduction to the
field, and Mario Capel's La Supervivencia Despuls de la Muerte: Evi-
dencia Espontdnea y Experimental [Survival after Death: Spontaneous
and Experimental Evidence] (1981) reviewing some of the research
and phenomena related to the issue of survival after death.
Although parapsychology has been negligible in Spain until re-
cent times, it is important to point out that we are now witnessing a
boom in parapsychological activities in that country. Unfortunately,
even though the Society seems to be the best organized, and to have
the most resources in the Ibero-American world, its members have
not participated in the broader international parapsychological con-
ferences, such as that of the Parapsychological Association, possibly
because of the language barrier. In addition, it is unfortunate and
disheartening to find that such a large, productive, and well-orga-
nized society has no member in the PA.
At the 1990 Parapsychologica on convention, David
Hess, who has made several to study Brazilian parapsy-
chology, presented a p which h scribed Brazilian para-
psychology in the f ng terms:
Ilan Kardec; Spiritists
vides opportuniti
over, Spiritism
cults such as
igions brow
r, 1985).
Spiritis
we need to be familiar
icism. On the one hand,
e from France through the
ieve that spiritual progress is
carnations. They believe that
to communicate with deceased
strongly influenced in Brazil by
mbanda and Candomble derived
t to Brazil through the slave trade
liefs and Afro-Brazilian religions
ilian society (Hess, 1987), creating a
which Brazilian brands of parapsy-
e are many interesting combinations of
the Kardecist type of Sp
of deceased individuals
sess individuals and
On the other ha
veloped a system th
to fight and eventu
superstition and
1990). This syste
Ibero-America
Jesuit priest Ii
Parapsychol
1970.
The C
1989 un
for peoJre
gious
whi
tism and all sorts of Brazilian religious
cept possession, the influence of spirits
ll as the belief that divinities can pos-
healing (Parra Alvarez, 1981).
there
y destroy
the Catholic tradition that has de-
sychology as an ideology with which
the movements the church sees as
as been dev
nfluential and
ather Oscar Go
tablished Catholic dogmas (Hess,
ped mainly through the work of
spected "parapsychologists" in
alez Quevedo, a Spanish-born
g in Brazil. Padre
Silva cofounded
CLAP, of the Anc
ter, which was closed do
eta College of Sao Paulo in
in 1982 and reopened in
to offer clinical counseling
reduced circumstances, use
suffering from psychologi
periences and practices (e.g.,
problems related to reli-
gists, and there are few if any people in Brazil who research and publish V1ol OI ripe oiggesc parapsycnotogy noranes in faun amenca wetn approximately
f0
04 volumes.
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xperimentai and clinical laboratory an
at also accommodated
a museum of objects
ks on parapsychology,
monic possession). The
used to be housed in huge facilities
still has an impressive library of
ries of compulsory
To
with the
inated by
at the standards of the Parapsychological Association. Instead, what is
called "parapsychology" in Brazil is larg defined by rival groups of
Catholic and Spiritist (Kardecist) intellectua (Hess, 1990)
Parapsychology in the Ibero-American World
erstand parapsychology in Bra
ro-Brazilian cults and Ca
piritist tradition that c
we have th
teachings 'of
effected by a
mediumship p
individuals. Mo
the Afro-Brazilia
from the'African
(Bastide, 1971; Gie
This spectrum o
has crept in and mix
variety of belief syste
chology have evolved.
uevedo (as he is known) and