9 papers in the library · 1,167 citations · publishing 1974-2026
Oxford University Press eBooks June 22, 2026 Ralph W. Hood, Malynda Clark
Abstract This chapter examines the debate surrounding the common core thesis of mystical experience by situating contemporary empirical psychology within the longer intellectual history of psychology, philosophy, and theology. It traces how William James and Walter Stace defend the distinction between experience and interpretation, establishing a foundation for a cross-cultural,...
Review of General Psychology May 1, 2017 David Bryce Yaden, Jonathan Haidt, Ralph W. Hood et al. 682 citations
Various forms of self-loss have been described as aspects of mental illness (e.g., depersonalization disorder), but might self-loss also be related to mental health? In this integrative review and proposed organizational framework, we focus on self-transcendent experiences (STEs)—transient mental states marked by decreased self-salience and increased feelings of connectedness. We first identify...
Journal of Humanistic Psychology October 24, 2016 David B. Yaden, Khoa D. Le Nguyen, Margaret L. Kern et al. 125 citations
Experiences of profound existential or spiritual significance can be triggered reliably through psychopharmacological means using psychedelic substances. However, little is known about the benefits of religious, spiritual, or mystical experiences (RSMEs) prompted by psychedelic substances, as compared with those that occur through other means. In this study, 739 self-selected participants...
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality July 27, 2015 David B. Yaden, Johannes C. Eichstaedt, H. Andrew Schwartz et al. 68 citations
Mystical experiences are often described as “ineffable,” or beyond language. However, people readily speak about their mystical experiences if asked about them. How do people describe what is supposedly indescribable? In this study, we used quantitative linguistic analyses to interpret the writings of 777 participants (45.5% female, 51.0% male) who recounted their most significant spiritual or...
Religion and Spirituality Across Cultures 2014 Ralph W. Hood 1 citation
Positive psychology and the psychology of religion share an interest in understanding positive emotions and their contribution to human flourishing. The focus of this chapter is upon ecstatic and mystical states framed within Fisher’s model of ergotropic and trophotropic arousal allowing for a neurophysiological correlate of two states of consciousness widely recognized in the psychology of...
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion December 1, 2011 Zhuo Chen, Qi Wen, Ralph W. Hood et al. 54 citations
This study explores the phenomenological structure of mystical experience among 139 Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns. Semi-structured interviews, thematic coding, and statistical analyses demonstrated that Stace's common facets of mysticism as measured by Hood's Mysticism Scale (M Scale) successfully described Buddhist experience as modified by Buddhist doctrines. Confirmatory...
Psychological Reports December 1, 1976 Ralph W. Hood
The relationship between reported mystical experience and present and anticipated patterns of church participation was investigated in an initial sample of 324 persons. A scale to measure reported mystical experience that allowed for a distinction between the report of mystical experience (Factor I) and its religious interpretation (Factor II) was utilized. Each factor differentially related to...
Review of Religious Research 1976 Ralph W. Hood, Erika Bourguignon 174 citations
(print) x, 389 p. : ill. ; 22 cm
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion March 1, 1974 Ralph W. Hood 63 citations
A measure of intense religious experience was related to measures of psychological strength in two studies. In the first study a significant negative correlation was found between intense religious experience and Barron's (1953) measure of ego-strength. However, this correlation was reduced to insignificance when the religion subscale was removed from Barron's total EgoStrength Scale. In the...