BEH-83: Ultra‑High‑Rigor Protocol for Group Intention Influence on Cognitive Tests
Year: 2026
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Protocol BEH-83 implements the unified metrological framework of Protocol 9.0 to test the claimed phenomenon of group intention influence on cognitive test performance – the alleged ability of a group of people, acting in a synchronised, focused manner with a shared intention, to improve (or modulate) their individual and collective cognitive performance (e.g., attention, working memory, divergent thinking) compared to groups with no such intention or with sham intention. The primary observable is the change in the composite cognitive performance score (e.g., average z‑score of standardised cognitive tests) from pre‑test to post‑test, for the intention group compared to control groups. The experimental design includes standardised cognitive test batteries (n‑back, creativity, reaction time), randomised group assignment to intention, sham, or control conditions, pre‑test and post‑test assessments, continuous physiological monitoring (EEG, SCR, HRV) to assess synchrony and engagement, triple blinding (participant, experimenter, and analyst are blind to condition), trap conditions (participants are told to "intend" but the instruction is a fake, with no actual intention required), sham conditions (participants are told to "intend" but are actually instructed to relax), catch conditions (a known motivator, e.g., a prize announcement, to validate that the test battery is sensitive to motivational effects), positive controls (known cognitive enhancers, e.g., caffeine, to calibrate the system), comprehensive environmental monitoring (temperature, humidity, sound, electromagnetic fields), and automated data logging. The protocol mandates a pilot phase to validate the test battery, the group synchronisation protocol, and the blinding procedure. The primary analysis uses a Linear Mixed Model (LMM) comparing the pre‑post change in cognitive scores between conditions, with α = 0.025 (two‑tailed) and power ≥ 0.90 for a moderate effect (Cohen's d ≥ 0.15). The sample size is N = 30 groups (with 4–6 participants each, total ~150 participants) (baseline, with adaptive increase to N = 50 groups if pilot shows high variability). Statistical analyses are preregistered, include Bayesian inference (BF₁₀), permutation tests, and multiverse robustness checks (≥70% of 12 forks). The aim is to detect a reproducible group intention effect on cognitive performance or to establish an upper bound on the effect size with unprecedented rigor.
Author: Streltsov, Vadim
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7203553596