Zener cards
Telepathy test tools
Zener cards are a deck of 25 cards used in parapsychology experiments to test for extrasensory perception.
Each card bears one of five symbols: circle, cross, wavy lines, square, or star.
A subject attempts to identify cards they cannot see, with results compared against chance (20% accuracy).
Named for psychologist Karl Zener, who designed them in the 1930s.
The researcher held up Zener cards while the subject guessed from behind a screen.
Curved closed shape
- crossPass from side to side
- wavesTraveling energy disturbances
- squareRhombus with right angles
- starLuminous astronomical object
deck · black and white · geometric · guess · match · pattern recognition
Perceiving others' thoughts directly
- psychic abilityExtrasensory perception capacity
- clairvoyanceExtrasensory perception ability
- precognitionParanormal future awareness
- remote viewingAlleged psychic distance perception
sixth sense · extrasensory · psychic phenomena · mental imagery
Paranormal mental faculty
- RhineMajor Central European waterway
- Duke UniversityPrivate Durham research institution
- psi23rd Greek letter
- extrasensory perceptionAwareness beyond the senses
hit rate · statistical significance · experimental design · blind study · subject · sender · receiver · parapsychological
Proving claims false
- pseudoscienceBogus methodology posing as factual
- confirmation biasPreferring belief-supporting information
- chanceLikelihood of occurrence
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
randomness · cold reading · placebo effect · anecdotal evidence · scientific skepticism · critical thinking · falsifiability
circle
Curved closed shape
star · deck · black and white · geometric · guess · match · pattern recognition
mind-reading
Perceiving others' thoughts directly
- psychic abilityExtrasensory perception capacity
- clairvoyanceExtrasensory perception ability
- precognitionParanormal future awareness
remote viewing · sixth sense · extrasensory · psychic phenomena · mental imagery
ESP
Paranormal mental faculty
- RhineMajor Central European waterway
- Duke UniversityPrivate Durham research institution
- psi23rd Greek letter
extrasensory perception · hit rate · statistical significance · experimental design · blind study · subject · sender · receiver · parapsychological · anomalous cognition
debunking
Proving claims false
- pseudoscienceBogus methodology posing as factual
- confirmation biasPreferring belief-supporting information
- chanceLikelihood of occurrence
probability · randomness · cold reading · placebo effect · anecdotal evidence · scientific skepticism · critical thinking · falsifiability
- Occult PracticesOuija board, seance, tarot, crystal ball, palm reading
- Psychic Powerstelepathy, mind reading, ESP, clairvoyance, psychic
- parapsychologyESP, ghosts, psi, mediums, telepathy
Zener cardseye exam
Assessment of sight
visual acuity test · hearing test · reaction time test · memory test · reflex test
Zener cardsstandardized tests
Identical exams given uniformly
MMPI · IQ tests · neuroimaging · EEG · fMRI
Zener cardsplaying cards
Numbered suited game pieces
poker deck · bridge deck · tarot cards · trading cards · flash cards