Ghost-controlled pointers that send messages from the beyond, prospectors who locate water with sticks, spiritism sessions that leave their participants disturbed... for hundreds of years, the world of science has sought (and found) different explanations for these phenomena, and one of the most important is the so-called ideomotor effect. In simple terms, we ourselves are the ones who move an object when we believe it moves by itself, but we don't realize it.
From the Ouija to the Cup Game
The popularity of the ouija (or 'güija', if we follow the Spanish Royal Academy) over the decades has been remarkable. Books, films, television series, newspapers... in one way or another, the world's main media and entertainment outlets have mentioned this wooden board. A very well-known variant is the so-called cup game, and physical differences aside, the goal of both is the same: to contact the spirits. The question, then, is: how do they work? Many participants swear by their effectiveness and walk out of the sessions completely convinced that they have had a supernatural experience. Science, however, offers a firmer explanation than 'ghosts'.
What Is the Ideomotor Effect?
This is the ideomotor effect, a term originally used by English physicist William Benjamin Carpenter in the nineteenth century. The effect arises when a thought, a desire, a belief or a mental image triggers imperceptible muscular responses in the person producing them, because there is no conscious record of those responses. In other words, they are subconscious movements. When the participants in the cup game ask a question, everyone concentrates on the glass 'and' their fingers resting on it, but it is the subconscious that moves it. Dowsing (a true craze in Carpenter's era, used to locate water or oil), psychography and facilitated communication are also related to the ideomotor effect.
Test It Yourself with a Pendulum
A very simple way to put the ideomotor effect to the test is with the help of a pendulum. Consider that 'yes' means the pendulum moving clockwise, and 'no' in the opposite direction. Let the pendulum hang free, extend your arm, and ask yourself a question. You may believe you are not moving the pendulum, but most likely your subconscious micro muscle movements do it for you and try to answer the question.
Of course, the explanation of the ideomotor effect does not satisfy everyone — something we can check through the thousands of comments online that defend the ouija and the cup game. What do you think?
