Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
July 1, 2013
Will M Gervais
116 citations
People commonly conceive of gods as intentional agents with humanlike mental lives. This regularity arises because the human capacity to perceive minds, a basic cognitive ability, both enables and constrains belief in gods. Mind perception influences individual differences in religious beliefs, implicit representations of supernatural agents, and nonreligious experience. Reminders of gods and cues of social surveillance, such as audiences or video cameras, produce similar effects on prosocial behavior, socially desirable responding, and self-awareness. Converging evidence indicates that mind perception is both a cause and a consequence of many religious beliefs.
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
July 1, 2022
Tam Hunt, Marissa Ericson, Jonathan W. Schooler
52 citations
As tools for measuring consciousness emerge, there is no settled theory of what they measure. This article categorizes tests that infer the presence and complexity of phenomenal or subjective experience, proposing a taxonomy of measurable correlates of consciousness (MCC) with three subcategories: neural, behavioral, and creative correlates. It also suggests ways different theories of consciousness might be empirically distinguished and reflects on how broader philosophical views, such as materialism and panpsychism, could be informed by scientific evidence.
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
January 1, 2025
Andrew W. Corcoran, Kelsey Perrykkad, Daniel Feuerriegel et al.
19 citations
Predictive processing theories, especially active inference, have been proposed as a way to reconcile embodied and traditional cognitive science. This analysis argues that most active-inference accounts rely on weak or trivial conceptions of embodiment, while stronger claims do not follow from the framework itself. A more compelling version of embodied active inference is motivated by taking a diachronic view of how rhythmic physiological activity shapes neural development before birth. The visceral afferent training hypothesis proposes that early-emerging physiological processes, particularly from the cardiovascular system, are essential for configuring cognitive architecture. Three candidate mechanisms are suggested: activity-dependent neuronal development, periodic signal modeling, and oscillatory network coordination.
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
May 1, 2026
Oliver Singleton, Aikaterini Fotopoulou
The sense of presence (feeling of 'being there' in a virtual environment) and the sense of reality (ability to distinguish real from unreal) are not separate phenomena but conceptually, mechanistically, and phenomenologically continuous. Cognitive science and VR studies use the terms inconsistently and interchangeably. Presence, like reality, likely arises from integrative mechanisms, supported by converging psychophysical findings in multisensory integration, self-embodiment, and agency. Preliminary neuroimaging suggests a shared frontolimbic substrate for generating 'realness.' This reconceptualization validates VR as a tool for studying the sense of reality and its clinical disorders, and the authors advocate for directly comparing these phenomena in future research.
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
July 1, 2023
Júlia Gyimesi
Family constellation therapy, developed by Bert Hellinger, has become a widely used psychotherapeutic method, yet psychological research has not examined its popularity or detailed content. This article interprets family constellation therapy within the framework of Western esotericism, identifying parallels between esoteric thought and Hellinger's system. The analysis explores how family constellation therapy is embedded in esotericism, thereby broadening the understanding of esoteric spirituality and contributing to contemporary research on Western esoteric thought.
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
November 1, 2022
M Salti, D Bergerbest
Qualia, the individual subjective experience, remains neglected in consciousness research because the objective scientific perspective misses its subjective nature. In 1974, Thomas Nagel suggested studying qualia requires an 'objective phenomenology method' to describe subjective character independently. This paper introduces an 'idiosyncrasy principle' framework, where subjectivity depends on the idiosyncratic composition of physical properties into qualia, conceptualizing an idiosyncratic transfer function between the world and its representation. The main challenge is obtaining an objective measure of another's perspective. Numerosity, uniquely, allows reporting subjective experience objectively. Based on this, the authors propose a neurocognitive research plan to delineate such transfer functions, enabling one person to adopt another's perspective and link qualia to its mechanism.
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
January 1, 2022
William van Gordon, Supakyada Sapthiang, Edo Shonin
Contemplative psychology is defined as the psychological study of contemplative processes and practices including meditation, mindfulness, yoga, introspection, reflection, metacognition, self-regulation, self-awareness, and self-consciousness. The discipline shares borders with other psychological and nonpsychological fields but is distinguished by its underlying assumptions, areas of empirical focus, conceptual nuances, and challenges. The field has been somewhat disparate in investigating its core techniques and principles, creating a need for greater intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary awareness. This article adopts a whole-discipline perspective to explicate contemplative psychology's history, breadth, key assumptions, challenges, and future directions.
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
January 1, 2021
Tracy Brandmeyer, Arnaud Delorme
Mind wandering during meditation is common, but it also offers a chance to study the wandering mind with awareness and equanimity. This theoretical article presents a neurocognitive framework explaining how contemplative practices affect spontaneous thought. The model emphasizes meta-awareness, which increases moment-to-moment awareness of thought processes; changes in brain structures supporting top-down cognitive control and bottom-up sensory processing; and alterations in neural substrates of perception and perceptual decoupling. Together, these mechanisms suggest meditation can transform the experience and neural basis of spontaneous thought.
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
January 1, 2018
Nicholas T. van Dam, Marieke K. van Vugt, David R. Vago et al.
The authors reply to a commentary by Davidson and Dahl, agreeing with many suggestions but emphasizing that their original concerns remain especially relevant to mindfulness and meditation research. They highlight the vulnerability of this relatively young field compared to more mature scientific disciplines, discuss special characteristics of research participants, and stress the serious consequences of adverse experiences that a significant subset of individuals suffer during mindfulness and other contemplative practices. They also scrutinize common applications of mindfulness and meditation to illness and introduce caveats regarding mobile technologies for guiding contemplative practices.