Talk:Ideomotor phenomenon/Archive 1

Unbalanced
The current article focuses on the implausible "paranormal or supernatural" attributions of ideomotor behaviour. While outside of mainstream, ideomotor signaling has been used in the health profession. --Comaze 06:10, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps it's been edited since the above posting, but to me the article explains a scientific phenomenon that might be used to explain certain paranormal phenomena. To me the article is quite balanced from a scientific standpoint (as it should be) --Samhaynn 12/28/06 2202

I think Comaze was referring to alternative medicine practitioners claiming to use ideomotor signaling to communicate with the "unconscious mind." I'm dubious of the method myself, but I can imagine those wanting to know more about these claims consulting wikipedia. I found a reference on the web and added a short paragraph on it in what I hope is an objective style. I also removed the Unbalanced tag, as I believe I addressed Comaze's concerns. Subversified 08:04, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

Practical Examples
"... tears are produced by the body unconsciously in reaction to the emotion of sadness ..." - is that strictly a motor effect ? I don't know much about tear secretion !

"... convincing volunteers to perform some action without consciously deciding to do so ..." - I would have thought this was hypnotic suggestion, not Ideomotor effect ? Stage hypnotists generally persuade you to run around acting like a chicken, not twitch an eyelid or tilt a hand. I would have thought it was different in kind, not just in degree. Many doubt its authenticity [citation needed]. It is also artificially induced, not naturally spontaneous.

I am intrigued by effects that may be commonplace examples of Ideomotor effect - where we only think about the effect we want to achieve, not what we do to achieve it:

1) Lead-and-follow co-operation in partner dancing - people just do it naturally, without knowing how they do it. Some work has been done by Sommer Gentry that suggests reaction times are much faster than possible for conscious reaction, yet I don't think it is a conditioned reflex response ?

2) Riding a bicycle - Countersteering - most people believe they "turn the handlebars clockwise to turn right", but a clockwise torque will cause a lean to the left and therefore a turn to the left (or a crash) !

3) Touch-typing ? Not my field of expertise, but I'm using a Spanish Keyboard with a British English driver to suit my finger-memory !

Maybe these are just conditioned responses ? These get really interesting if you ever have to try teach them to someone who doesn't "just get it" naturally !

--195.137.93.171 04:46, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Clever Hans effect
Please expand on both the experimental proof of the effect and the various places it appears. I am guessing that the clinical studies had some very interesting nuances. The ideomotor effect has debunked plenty of phenomena, each of which may be discussed. I have heard that Clever Hans, called "the smartest horse in the world," responded to the ideomotor effect of its owner. Teply 00:10, 12 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Perhaps you are thinking of the Clever Hans effect? Deleuze 17:30, 13 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the Clever Hans effect and the ideomotor effect are two very separate phenomena. Jeff Silvers 10:06, 15 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, thank you for pointing this out. Teply 03:06, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
 * "the horse was responding directly to involuntary cues in the body language of the human trainer" - " he discovered that he would produce these cues involuntarily regardless of whether he wished to exhibit or suppress them" - so how is that a different effect - it's just a horse reacting, not a pendulum reacting !


 * Psychophysiological Thought Reading describes a book - H.J. Burlingame's "How To Read People's Minds" - 'There is also a fascinating section on training your dog on how to read minds.'


 * Even a babe-in-arms will stop crying if you pick it up, but start again if you lean on a wall. Even if you try to stand very still, the baby is aware of your involuntary balancing movements.
 * --195.137.93.171 05:01, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Dianetics and Scientology E-Meter
I had written something to help people understand what I feel happens with the e-meter that's seen at tables set up in public as well as the so-called "spiritual tool" Scientology uses to undergo auditing and security checks, etc. This is in fact the ideomotor effect and response. It makes people think they can "see their thoughts." The references here if you read closely may help to explain further. I will be adding something on these pages, but wanted you to read what I've researched and found. I am not a doctor, but the research is helpful, imo. The link with the information:

http://www.lermanet.com/exit/hubbard-the-hypnotist9.htm

Imagine a Letter from L Ron Hubbard

....

In 1907, Sidis discovered that physical stimulus or noises or words made the needle on the galvanometer move. Then he discovered that the same needle on the instrument moved just by thinking that thought, of the same stimuli, noise or words:

"The experimenter then ascertained that actual irritation (stimulus) was not essential to these results, but the presentation of the proposed stimulus to the imagination also brought about similar deviations in the galvanometer. He stated, furthermore, that the recollection of some fear, fright or joy, in general any kind of strong emotion, produced the same result. He also noted that the emotion of expectant attention or anticipation had a marked effect upon the galvanometer." (1)

After several years and scientific investigation using these instruments, Sidis and colleagues like Wundt, (who I also say bad things about) concluded:

"He describes the methods of working with the subconscious, especially as developed in his Psychology of Suggestion. The association method and graphic methods (sphygmograph, plethysmograph, pneumograph, galvanometer) are of no value clinically...Introspection and observation, the study of dream states, the use of hypnotic and hypnoidal states and their methods of employment are given special attention. The role of suggestibility is stressed." (2)

---also, the e-meter Hubbard coined as a spiritual tool, was originally patented by Volney Mathison who also wrote previous books on the use pendulum. http://www.lermanet.com/exit/hubbard-the-hypnotist4.htm

Maureen D (talk) 23:40, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

as told by scientology practitioners...
 * The ideomotor response being reliant on "suggestion" is helped along with a small amount of electricity. This enhances the suggestibility, makes people feel good about seeing thoughts...

http://www.lermanet.com/endorphin-emeter.htm#endorphin based on fMRI results.... http://www.lermanet.com/e-metershort.htm

George Estabroooks wrote about electricity and suggestibility...

http://www.lermanet.com/emeter/hypnotism-today-1947/index.htm Most recently a method of giving electric shock termed "electronarcosis" has been developed at the California Institute of Technology. With a current of much less intensity, the shock is applied for seven or eight minutes, producing a sleep-like state.... Basically, direct hypnotic suggestion of cure is much like faith healing. The patient is benefited principally because lie accepts the suggestion of cure. Unlike faith healing, suggestion is applied scientifically according to its laws and is aimed directly at the difficulty, its force increased because of the increased suggestibility of the patient under hypnosis.

Maureen D (talk) 21:53, 8 February 2008 (UTC)]

Source for this article
Mirror at http://www.goallab.nl/publications/documents/Aarts,%20Custers,%20Marien%20(2008)%20-%20preparing%20and%20motivating%20behavior%20outside%20awareness.pdf MartinPoulter (talk) 17:22, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Merger Proposal
Is Ideo motor response a duplicate page ? I've tried to propose a merger ... redirect ? Or should the 'paranormal' stuff be there, separate from the scientific stuff ? (... and who knows which is which ?) --195.137.93.171 04:05, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Just noticed above suggestion that 'Response' is better than 'Effect', so maybe the merger should go the other way ! Presumably Lindsay658's implicit point is that Placebos have no effect by definition, so 'Placebo Effect' is an Oxymoron! However this may be a False Analogy: this Ideomotor thing is caused by the subject's subconscious, is it not ? Or perhaps I misunderstood the reasoning - "because it is the subject that has the response" meant nothing to me ! --195.137.93.171 11:06, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

The topics are linked, which is helpful. If "response" is to an outside force (finger movements) or inside (tears), what is "effect"? It does seem redundant, unless other English speakers have a different slant on the word, in which case it would be worth keeping two definitions. Otherwise one entry for "response" seems best. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.166.226.83 (talk) 20:14, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

I think Phenomenon will include both terms.Hesham4488 (talk) 01:52, 12 September 2012 (UTC)