The thing that makes dowsing and Ouija boards actually appear to work
This common type of involuntary movement is often claimed as the mechanism for some supernatural phenomena — does that mean people who engage in those are especially susceptible?
The so called ideomotor effect is an involuntary response where our bodies move‚ often subconsciously, in accordance with some expectations we have. It is said to be why dowsers’ sticks actually do seem to move on their own at the moment the dowser expects them to, and why the planchette on a ouija board so often manages to spell out whatever the players are anticipating.
This effect is a real physiological response, and it’s why — in the vast majority of cases — dowsers and ouija board players are being honest in the belief that their perceived “ability” is a real one, and are not consciously cheating or lying.
Facilitated communication is another example; this is where an FC “therapist” guides the hand of a nonverbal or unresponsive person, believing they’re giving that hand just the tiny little push it needs to make whatever little movement the patient is believed to want to make. In this way, FC therapists have written entire books that they claim — and usually, honest believe — the patient is writing.
There are many other such examples.
You’re probably reading this right now and saying to yourself “I would never be susceptible to that,” or that whoever these water witchers are must be extremely dumb.
O rly?
Too kool for the ideomotor effect to strike you, you say? Chances are that every single day you do at least a few of the following. These are all common examples of the ideomotor effect in everyday life:
