Experiment #4
Number of Items:
Observed Condition Congruent: 251
Observed Condition Incongruent:272
Unobserved Condition Congruent: 257
Unobserved Condition Incongruent: 260
Cat Observed Condition Congruent:259
Cat Observed Condition Incongruent:260
Human Observed Condition
Average response time with congruent primes: 404.58
Average response time with incongruent primes: 452.58
Average response time difference: 48.00
t score: 5.6557
p value: .00000001325 (1.325 x 10-8)
Unobserved Condition
Average response time with congruent primes: 409.51
Average response time with incongruent primes: 433.07
Average response time difference: 23.55
t score: 3.0786
p value: .001097
Cat Observed Condition
Average response time with congruent primes: 414.78
Average response time with incongruent primes: 425.82
Average response time difference: 11.03
t score: 1.4104
p value: .07967
Human Unobserved*
(Unobserved Condition + Cat Observed Condition)
Average response time with congruent primes: 412.16
Average response time with incongruent primes: 429.44
Average response time difference: 17.28
t score: 2.2329
p value: .012999
t-Score Comparison
Human Observed Condition t-score: 5.6557
Human Unobserved Condition t score: 2.4057
Absolute t-score difference: 3.4228
P value: .000335
*Human unobserved condition is a composite of unobserved condition and the cat observed condition.
The results obtained were consistent with previous research (Lucido, 2023, 2024). Within the human observed condition, items preceded by congruent primes were responded to 48 ms faster than items preceded by incongruent primes. However, within the conditions that were denied previous human observation, items preceded by congruent primes were responded to only 17 ms faster than items preceded by incongruent primes. The resulting average response time difference of 31 ms is nearly identical to the response time differences of 28 and 30 ms obtained in the original study and the first replication. Although both conditions met the .05 cut off for statistical significance, the t value obtained in the human observed condition was more than twice as large as the value obtained in the human unobserved condition. The absolute difference in the t values between the two conditions was 3.42. The probability of obtaining this t value difference of 3.42 by chance is .00033. The results of experiment #4 continue to support the consciousness causes collapse interpretation of quantum mechanics.
The results obtained in the cat condition we nearly exactly the same as in Experiment #3. While it was hypothesized that the observation by the cat would collapse the wave function and result in similar performance to that of human observed primes, this was not the case. The primes previously observed by the cat did not perform better than those left totally unobserved. Within the cat observed condition response times to congruent and incongruent primes were statistically equivalent (t = 1.410, p =.08).
Observed Condition Congruent: 251
Observed Condition Incongruent:272
Unobserved Condition Congruent: 257
Unobserved Condition Incongruent: 260
Cat Observed Condition Congruent:259
Cat Observed Condition Incongruent:260
Human Observed Condition
Average response time with congruent primes: 404.58
Average response time with incongruent primes: 452.58
Average response time difference: 48.00
t score: 5.6557
p value: .00000001325 (1.325 x 10-8)
Unobserved Condition
Average response time with congruent primes: 409.51
Average response time with incongruent primes: 433.07
Average response time difference: 23.55
t score: 3.0786
p value: .001097
Cat Observed Condition
Average response time with congruent primes: 414.78
Average response time with incongruent primes: 425.82
Average response time difference: 11.03
t score: 1.4104
p value: .07967
Human Unobserved*
(Unobserved Condition + Cat Observed Condition)
Average response time with congruent primes: 412.16
Average response time with incongruent primes: 429.44
Average response time difference: 17.28
t score: 2.2329
p value: .012999
t-Score Comparison
Human Observed Condition t-score: 5.6557
Human Unobserved Condition t score: 2.4057
Absolute t-score difference: 3.4228
P value: .000335
*Human unobserved condition is a composite of unobserved condition and the cat observed condition.
The results obtained were consistent with previous research (Lucido, 2023, 2024). Within the human observed condition, items preceded by congruent primes were responded to 48 ms faster than items preceded by incongruent primes. However, within the conditions that were denied previous human observation, items preceded by congruent primes were responded to only 17 ms faster than items preceded by incongruent primes. The resulting average response time difference of 31 ms is nearly identical to the response time differences of 28 and 30 ms obtained in the original study and the first replication. Although both conditions met the .05 cut off for statistical significance, the t value obtained in the human observed condition was more than twice as large as the value obtained in the human unobserved condition. The absolute difference in the t values between the two conditions was 3.42. The probability of obtaining this t value difference of 3.42 by chance is .00033. The results of experiment #4 continue to support the consciousness causes collapse interpretation of quantum mechanics.
The results obtained in the cat condition we nearly exactly the same as in Experiment #3. While it was hypothesized that the observation by the cat would collapse the wave function and result in similar performance to that of human observed primes, this was not the case. The primes previously observed by the cat did not perform better than those left totally unobserved. Within the cat observed condition response times to congruent and incongruent primes were statistically equivalent (t = 1.410, p =.08).