Hettinger, J(ohn)
Hettinger, J(ohn)
Pioneer British psychical researcher with special interest in telepathy. Hettinger was active in the physical sciences and electrical engineering. He was one of the first individuals in Britain to receive a Ph.D. degree for a dissertation concerned with paranormal phenomena. He studied psychology at Kings College, London University (1933-38), exploring what he named the "ultra-perceptive faculty" of telepathy, employing a pictorial method.
He devoted much time to "object reading," in which a subject is given some object, concentrates on it, and describes impressions received that relate to it or to the owner. Object reading is more popularly known as psychometry. Hettinger conducted psychometric tests to discover the sealed message left by Sir Oliver Lodge before his death, and pieced together the purported message in 17 test sittings (described in his book Telepathy and Spiritualism ). His work received mixed reviews from his colleagues.
Sources:
Berger, Arthur S., and Joyce Berger. The Encyclopedia of Parapsychology and Psychical Research. New York: Paragon House, 1991.
Hettinger, John. Exploring the Ultra-Perceptive Faculty. London: Rider, 1941.
——. Telepathy and Spiritualism. London: Rider, 1952.
——. The Ultra-Perceptive Faculty. London: Rider, 1938.
Scott, Christopher. "Experimental Object-Reading: A Critical Review of the Work of Dr. J. Hettinger." Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 49 (1949).