SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Summary
An experiment was designed to afforded an objective and definitive test of the claims for dianetic therapy. Provision was made for obtaining adequate information without anticipating the direction of the effects of dianetic therapy. Dianetic proponents specifically claim effectiveness in only three areas: intellectual functioning, mathematical ability, and personality conflicts. These areas were measured by tests selected because they were standardized instruments shown to be valid and reliable. For mathematical ability and intellectual function, multiple tests were used in an effort to provide a representative score. Three groups of subjects totaling thirty-six persons were selected. The three groups were exposed to different amounts of dianetic therapy during an interval of sixty days, the first having no hours, the second eighteen hours and the third thirty-six hours. Eighteen hours of dianetic therapy are claimed to afford a significant change in the subjects. The design utilized the controls of educational status and age with the influence of sex partialled out. The tests were administered to all subjects both before and after the therapeutic interval. For the second testing session, alternate forms were used. Difference scores were calculated for each subject in each of the areas measured and these were subjected to statistical analysis. The method of multiple factor analysis of variance was used.
Conclusions
For the population of disturbed persons who applied
for dianetic therapy, and who were between the ages of twenty-two and forty-seven
years, and who had at least some high school education, regardless of the
sex of these persons, it was concluded that:
1. Dianetic therapy does not systematically, favorably
or adversely influence the ability to perform on tests of intellectual
functioning.
2. Dianetic therapy does not systematically, favorably
or adversely influence the ability to perform on tests of mathematical
ability.
3. Dianetic therapy does not systematically, favorably
or adversely influence the degree of personality conflicts.