Question

3. Therapeutic touch (TT) is a technique widely used by nurses to alleviate suffering and promote healing in patients with a wide variety of ailments, including cancer. TT claims that nurses achieve healing and relief by sensing and manipulating a “human energy field” that is felt above the patient’s body. A recent scientific study of TT found that, under controlled laboratory conditions in which nurses had to sense the presence of the experimenter’s hand over one of their own without being able to see the person on the other side of a screen, nurses were unable to score significantly above chance (i.e., they had a 50% chance of being correct). The scientists concluded that nurses who practice TT are unable to detect a human energy field, that TT is bogus, and that further professional use of TT is unjustified.

a. Do you agree with the scientists’ conclusions?

b. Think of reasons why the experiment might not be a valid test of TT and explain your criticisms in detail.

c. Can you devise an experiment that you think would be better in proving or disproving that TT had beneficial effects on patients?