Quantum mechanics (QM) proposes that a quantum system measurement does not register a pre-existing reality but rather establishes reality from the superposition of potential states. Measurement reduces the quantum state according to a probability function, the Born rule, realizing one of the potential states. Consequently, a classical reality is observed. The strict randomness of the measurement outcome is well-documented (and theoretically predicted) and implies a strict indeterminacy in the physical world’s fundamental constituents. Wolfgang Pauli, with Carl Gustav Jung, extended the QM framework to measurement outcomes that are meaningfully related to human observers, providing a psychophysical theory of quantum state reductions. The Pauli-Jung model (PJM) proposes the existence of observer influences on quantum measurement outcomes rooted in the observer’s unconscious mind. The correlations between quantum state reductions and (un)conscious states of observers derived from the PJM and its mathematical reformulation within the model of pragmatic information (MPI) were empirically tested. In all studies, a subliminal priming paradigm was used to induce a biased likelihood for specific quantum measurement outcomes (i.e., a higher probability of positive picture presentations; Studies 1 and 2) or more pronounced oscillations of the evidence than expected by chance for such an effect (Studies 3 and 4). The replicability of these effects was also tested. Although Study 1 found strong initial evidence for such effects, later replications (Studies 2 to 4) showed no deviations from the Born rule. The results thus align with standard QM, arguing against the incompleteness of standard QM in psychophysical settings like those established in the studies. However, although no positive evidence exists for the PJM and the MPI, the data do not entirely falsify the model’s validity.
Quantum mechanics (QM) proposes that a quantum system measurement does not register a pre-existing reality but rather establishes reality from the superposition of potential states. Measurement reduces the quantum state according to a probability function, the Born rule, realizing one of the potential states. Consequently, a classical reality is observed. The strict randomness of the measurement outcome is well-documented (and theoretically predicted) and implies a strict indeterminacy in the physical world’s fundamental constituents. Wolfgang Pauli, with Carl Gustav Jung, extended the QM framework to measurement outcomes that are meaningfully related to human observers, providing a psychophysical theory of quantum state reductions. The Pauli-Jung model (PJM) proposes the existence of observer influences on quantum measurement outcomes rooted in the observer’s unconscious mind. The correlations between quantum state reductions and (un)conscious states of observers derived from the PJM and its mathematical reformulation within the model of pragmatic information (MPI) were empirically tested. In all studies, a subliminal priming paradigm was used to induce a biased likelihood for specific quantum measurement outcomes (i.e., a higher probability of positive picture presentations; Studies 1 and 2) or more pronounced oscillations of the evidence than expected by chance for such an effect (Studies 3 and 4). The replicability of these effects was also tested. Although Study 1 found strong initial evidence for such effects, later replications (Studies 2 to 4) showed no deviations from the Born rule. The results thus align with standard QM, arguing against the incompleteness of standard QM in psychophysical settings like those established in the studies. However, although no positive evidence exists for the PJM and the MPI, the data do not entirely falsify the model’s validity.
A vivid discussion revolves around the role of the human mind in the quantum measurement process. While some authors argue that conscious observation is a necessary element to achieve the transition from quantum to classical states during measurement (Wigner, 1963), some go even further and propose a more active influence of the human mind on the probabilities of quantum measurement outcomes (e.g. Atmanspacher, Römer, & Walach, 2002; Penrose & Hameroff, 2011). This proposition was tested in micro-psychokinesis (micro-Pk) research were intentional observer effects on quantum random number generators (RNGs) were investigated. In the studies presented here we extended this line of research and tested the impact unconscious goals on micro-Pk. Our focus was cigarette addiction as an unconscious drive and hypothesized that regular cigarette smokers would influence the outcome of a quantum RNG that determined whether the participant was going to see a smoking-related or a neutral picture. Study 1 revealed strong evidence for micro-Pk (BF = 66.06) supporting the H1. As expected, no deviation from chance was found with non-smokers. In Study 2, a pre-registered highly powered replication attempt, failed to reproduce this result and showed strong evidence for H0 (BF = 11.07). When the data from both studies are combined a remarkable change in effect across time (resembling a combination of appearance followed by decline) can be seen only in the smoker’s subsample. Appearance-and-decline effects were absent in the non-smokers sample and in a simulation. Based on von Lucadou’s Model of Pragmatic Information we suggest that (micro-)Pk effects follow a systematic pattern comparable to a dampened harmonic oscillation. This concept may shed new light on past and future Pk research.
Objective. In the research presented here, quantum measurement is conceptualized as pragmatic information transfer when an intentional observer perceives motive-relevant quantum-based outcomes. Owing to the nature of pragmatic information as described in Lucadou’s Model of Pragmatic Information, this information transfer causes an observer-dependent intentional co-formation of reality and can only be scientifically documented under reduced objectivity conditions. The effects thus reflect a “sobjective” reality that occupies the space between subjectivity and objectivity. The present study was designed to find evidence for the existence of this sobjective reality. Method. A pre-registered micro-psychokinesis task involving a quantum random number generator assessed the impact of intentional observation on quantum-based stochastic outcomes under experimental variations of the applied measures’ objectivity. Results. As predicted, an intentionally congruent bias in quantum-based outcomes was observed using subjective memory data from the observations when additional objective computer-stored data were not inspected and finally erased (i.e., objectivity was reduced). Quantum randomness was confirmed in a maximum objective data collection context for both stored and memory data. Conclusion. The results indicate that pragmatic information was transferred during trial observation when scientific objectivity was reduced. The evidence for intentionally based reality formation or quantum-based random reality emergence was thus shown to be a function of the measurements’ objectivity levels. The data suggest the existence of a sobjective reality and that a physicalist/materialist or an intentional creation worldview depends on the presence of an intentional agent and the definition of the measurement process.
This work presents a formal extension of quantum measurement theory through the introduction of a contextual variable, denoted Δ, associated with observer-dependent basis selection. In standard quantum mechanics, the Born rule assigns probabilities to measurement outcomes under the assumption of observer-neutral measurement. This paper relaxes that assumption by modeling observer-dependent structure explicitly. The contextual variable Δ is formalized using a Focus Operator Ĉ, a positive trace-one operator defined on an auxiliary observer-state Hilbert space. This leads to a normalized, consciousness-weighted extension of the Born rule that reduces exactly to standard quantum mechanics in the observer-neutral limit. The framework does not assume that consciousness has been empirically shown to influence quantum measurement. Instead, it treats consciousness as a candidate realization of observer-dependent contextual structure and evaluates the proposal through experimentally testable predictions. The paper addresses the basis selection problem in quantum mechanics, reinterprets Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen correlations within a contextual framework, and demonstrates compatibility with Bell’s theorem and the no-signaling constraint. Four experimental protocols are proposed, including Bell-type tests, interference visibility modulation, quantum random number generator deviation analysis, and neural–quantum correlation studies, each designed to provide clear falsification criteria. The work is structured in two parts. Part I develops the formal model, including the definition of Δ, the Focus Operator Ĉ, the modified Born rule, and its recovery to standard quantum mechanics. Part II presents an interpretive framework that motivates the formalism but remains logically independent from it. This paper is intended as a speculative but formal research program. Its central aim is to determine whether observer-dependent contextual variables contribute measurable variance to quantum measurement outcomes. If experimental predictions are not observed, the framework should be rejected or revised. If they are observed, the role of the observer in quantum theory may require reconsideration.
Background: Quantum mechanics describes the behavior of matter and light at the atomic and subatomic levels.In quantum mechanics, a key principle is that quantum objects can exhibit both wave-like and particle-like behavior.This is called "wave-particle duality" (Squires, 1999).Moreover, quantum mechanics presents us with a mixture of possibilities, where the particles exist in a state of superposition until an observation occurs.When we measure, the wave function collapses into a single outcome.To address this, it's imperative to understand what exactly constitutes an observation in quantum mechanics and its role in wave function collapse.Objectives: This study explores the concept of measurement from both a physical and philosophical perspective, examining different interpretations of consciousness and how observation influences the outcomes of quantum experiments.More specifically, it focuses on how mental states, such as expectation or previous knowledge could impact wave function collapse.Complementing the existing body of research, this review expands to explore several critical questions surrounding the nature of observation in quantum mechanics. Methods:The study conducted a literature review to establish the theoretical background and relevance.Forty-five participants (ages 13+) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Expectation/Attention, Neutral Observation, or Automated Control.Each group observed 100 random binary outcomes generated using Random.org,with the Expectation group instructed to mentally focus on increasing the number of 1s.The experiment was conducted using PsychoPy, with all outcomes and timing automatically logged.A statistical analysis using ANOVA and post-hoc tests revealed significant group differences, particularly between the Neutral group and the others.Results: Expected Group (primed with prior knowledge) yielded the highest median (63), suggesting expectation may amplify observed values.The Neutral Group (baseline awareness) recorded the lowest results (median=57).The Control Group (standard observation) occupied an intermediate range.Neutral < Control < Expected in median values.The expected group shows 2× the IQR of Control/Neutral, indicating higher variability.No outliers detected in any group using the 1.5×IQR rule.These patterns tentatively support the proposed link between conscious states (e.g., expectation/knowledge) and quantum phenomena.To validate the differences across the control, expected, and neutral groups, a one-way ANOVA test was taken, which revealed a statistically significant difference in the counts of ones between the groups (p = 0.000014).Post-hoc analysis using Tukey's HSD indicated that the neutral group significantly differed from both the control and expected groups, while the control and expected groups did not significantly differ from each other.Additionally, the effect size (η² = 0.64), indicates a large and meaningful difference between the groups.Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that conscious mental states, particularly expectation, may measurably influence quantum measurement outcomes.The observed positional trends and increased variability in the Expected group suggest that the observer's mindset is not merely a passive condition but may actively modulate the measurement process.While the findings align with and expand upon previous research linking consciousness to quantum phenomena, they also introduce new considerations regarding variability and individual cognitive influence.Nonetheless, this work offers a meaningful step toward understanding the complex relationship between consciousness and the physical world and underscores the need for continued interdisciplinary research to further explore this potential connection.
We propose an interpretation of quantum mechanics in which the wavefunction represents unresolved potential relative to an observer, measurement is deterministic resonance stabilisation, and Born-rule probability quantifies the observer’s incomplete access to the full entropic and phase-geometric state of the observer–system interaction. An observer is defined operationally as any bounded system capable of converting external entropy into internal coherence. On this view,superposition is not a set of co-existing realities but an unresolved field of possible coherence resolutions; collapse is not a stochastic discontinuity but a deterministic phase-lock between observer and system; and the classical world is the high-coherence limit in which environmental observation is dense enough to continuously stabilise macroscopic facts.The interpretation preserves the full predictive machinery of quantum mechanics while providing a unified account of the measurement problem, the Born rule, decoherence, entanglement, delayed choice, Wigner’s friend, and the quantum-to-classical transition. We formalise the framework through a resonance-selection rule, an observer equation of collapse, and a prime-modal state-space structure, and identify five classes of empirically accessible predictions.
Applications of quantum mechanics have led to many successful predictions and explanations of puzzling phenomena, and we now apply quantum mechanics to gain, process, and communicate information in novel ways. We can understand quantum mechanics by understanding how we have applied it. We should not seek agreement on the nature of the world it represents, because this theory does not itself represent the physical world (though its applications do help us to represent it better). When applied to a quantum state, quantum mechanics yields probabilities for physical events: both state and probability are objective—not because they represent elements of physical reality, but because each exerts normative authority over the beliefs of anyone who accepts quantum mechanics and applies it relative to a physical situation they may (but need not) occupy. These events may be described by statements (about values of magnitudes) that are meaningful in an appropriate environmental context, and quantum mechanics can help one to say when that is. Measurement creates an appropriate context, so here the Born rule indirectly yields probabilities of measurement outcomes. The quantum state of a system does not “collapse” on measurement: a new state must be assigned relative to a physical situation in which information about the outcome is accessible. Understood this way, there is no measurement problem, and violation of Bell inequalities does not demonstrate “spooky” non-local action. Quantum field theories have no physical ontology of their own: a quantum field is a mathematical object in a model whose application helps to improve and extend our descriptions of the world in other terms. We cannot realise the scenario of Wigner’s friend and its recent extensions: but the data that provide overwhelming evidence for quantum mechanics are objective in the same sense as the relative measurement outcomes described in those scenarios.