Anomalistic Psychology (Part 6)

Created by: Natalie
Created on: 09-06-14 22:09

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Anomalistic Psychology (6)
- Out of Body Experiences (OBE)
  - Paranormal explanation
    - Suggests something beyond our current understanding is happening
    - Only possible way to explain how you can physically leave your body is by separating mind and body
    - Alvarado's review did not find evidence that the parasomatic body had physically moved out of the physical body
    - Exceptional cases could be explained by suspect methodology - participant might have seen object prior to test
  - Biological explanation
    - Blackmore (1982)
      - Suggests we normally view the world as if we were behind our eyes
      - When sensory input breaks down, brain tries to reconstruct what we're seeing using memory and imagination
      - Memory images are often birds eye views so the constructed image usually appears to be viewing oneself from above
    - Ehrsson
      - Provided support for link between sensory disturbance and OBE's
    - Suggests OBE's are linked to sensory disturbance
  - Naturally-occurring OBE's
    - Green (1968)
      - Studied 400 personal accounts of OBE's and classed them as parasomatic (20%) or asomatic (no sense of another body)
      - 25% of cases were associated with psychological stress; 12% occurred during sleep
    - Difficult to study natural OBE's as they are unpredictable
  - Artificially induced OBE's
    - Alvardo (1982)
      - Reviewed lab studies of induced OBEs
      - P's asked to identify target objects out of sight of their physical body
      - Miss Z read a 5-digit number from another room
    - Most research is in labs
  - Biological Studies
    - Blanke et al. (2002)
      - Induced OBE's accidentally by electrically stimulating the TPJ in an epileptic woman
      - Led them to study neurologically normal subjects as well
      - Stimulation of TPJ using transcranial magnetic stimulation cause OBE's where as stimulation of other areas didn't
  - Individual differences
    - OBE's reported more often by individuals who believe in the paranormal
    - People who have OBE's are more FP
- Near Death Experience (NDE)
  - Psychological explanation
    - Some people hold paranormal beliefs - lead them to interpret events in terms of paranormal explanations
    - Fact NDE's aren't experienced by all near-death patients means that there is likely to be a psychological component
  - Biological explanation
    - Endorphins are released at times of pain and stress
      - Lead to feelings of euphoria and detachment
    - Hypoxia might cause REM intrusions which create a mixed sleep/awake state which could disrupt integration of sensory information
  - Naturally occurring NDE's
    - Ring (1980)
      - Interviewed 100 people who had NDE's
      - Found 60% of survivors reported sense of peace; 33% reported OBE's; 25% entered a tunnel; few experienced life review
    - Nelson et al. (2006)
      - Studied 55 people with NDE's and 55 controls
      - Found NDE group were more likely to experience REM intrusions
      - Indicates having an NDE may be linked to dream micro sleep episodes while awake
  - Artificially induced NDE's
    - Jansen (1993)
      - Experimented with ketamine, giving it to patients to observe the effects
      - Found it produces classic symptoms of NDE's
      - Says real reductionism comes from those who attempt to 'draw a mystical cover over the NDE, belittling the substantial evidence in favour of a scientific explanation'.
  - Spiritual explanation
    - Van Lommel et al. (2001)
      - Followed 344 cardiac survivors over 8 years
      - Found those who experienced NDE regarded it as a life-changing, spiritual experience
      - Those who didn't continued to fear death
  - Cultural differences
    - Augustine (2008)
      - Presented a review of NDEs in different cultures - Indian NDEs involve encounters with Hindu figures
      - Differences and similarities suggest both psychological and physiological factors are involved
  - Interviewer bias

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Anomalistic Psychology (Part 6)

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