A further study of psychopraxia using the I Ching

Abstract

This present study on the Chinese book of divination, the I Ching, is the fourth in a series of six studies using a particular standardized testing approach. Given that there are 64 readings in the book (corresponding to so-called 'hexagrams'), the participant is asked to select 16 hexagram descriptor-pairs that match the statement "Lately, or right now, I feel ..." The participant then throws three coins six times to produce an outcome hexagram which, if it matches one of the 16 pre-selections, is deemed a 'hit'. Previous I Ching studies (Storm, 2001b; Storm and Thalbourne, 1998-1999; 2001a,b) report significant hexagram hit-rates, but the samples were comprised mainly of university students and no previous tests had focussed on the general public. In this replication study (N = 200), to explore the generality of the findings, and for comparative purposes, 100 members of the general public and 100 students were tested. Both authors tested half of each sub-sample to see if there was an experimenter effect. To determine predictor variables, the 16PF (Russell and Karol, 1994), the Revised Transliminality Scale, two sheep-goat questions, two 'states-of-mind' questions, a pro attitude questionnaire, and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale were administered. The two sheep-goat questions correlated significantly with number of changing lines. Pro Attitude correlated significantly with second-hexagram hitting. Hexagram hit-rates were not significant. No experimenter effects were found. Some significant psychological correlates of transliminality were replicated. The cumulative record across four I Ching studies shows hexagram hitting to be a marginally significant effect.