Introspection and schizophrenia: a comparative investigation of anomalous self experiences.
Louis Sass, Elizabeth Pienkos, Barnaby Nelson
Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2013.05.004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Comparative investigation Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Anomalous self-experience Depersonalization Hyperreflexivity Introspectionism Ipseity Psychiatric phenomenology Psychosis Schizophrenia |
| Citations | 42 |
| Key points | Anomalous self-experiences in schizophrenia share similarities with those in normal intense introspection, but confusion between self and world and severe erosion of first-person perspective are unique to schizophrenia. |
Abstract
This paper offers a comparative investigation of anomalous self-experiences common in schizophrenia (defined in Examination of Anomalous Self Experiences (EASE) instrument) and those of normal individuals in an intensely introspective orientation (early 20th-century "introspectionist" psychology). The latter represent a relatively pure manifestation of certain forms of exaggerated self-consciousness ("hyperreflexivity"), one facet of the disturbance of core- or minimal-self ("ipseity" disturbance) postulated as central in schizophrenia. Significant similarities with schizophrenia-like experience were found but important differences also emerged. Affinities included feelings of passivity, fading of self or world, and alienation from thoughts, feelings, or lived-body. Differences involved confusion between self and world and severe dislocation or erosion of first-person perspective, qualities unique to schizophrenia. The purpose is threefold: 1, place the putatively schizophrenic experiences of self-disorder in a broader, comparative context; 2, evaluate hypotheses concerning core processes in schizophrenia; 3, orient investigation of possible pathogenetic pathways as well as psychotherapeutic interventions.