Using computational linguistics to understand near-death experiences: Concurrent validity for the Near Death Experience Scale.
Rense Lange, Bruce Greyson, James Houran
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice January 19, 2015 DOI: 10.1037/cns0000040 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | People who reported near-death experiences and provided both verbal accounts and scores on Greyson's NDE Scale |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Scale ratio Concurrent validity Linguistics Psychometrics Clinical psychology Cartography |
| Citations | 18 |
| Key findings | Verbal accounts of NDEs contain seven major linguistic clusters, with four involving transcendent or paranormal themes and three focusing on physiological or environmental elements, supporting a hierarchy of experiential components. |
Abstract
Latent semantic analysis—a technique to quantify qualitative data—was used on a large dataset of near death experience (NDE) accounts for which a sizable portion also had scores on Greyson’s NDE Scale. Given previous research with the NDE Scale showing there is a “core NDE” comprised of a probabilistic hierarchy of cognitive, affective, transcendental, and paranormal components, we hypothesized that there would be a similar hierarchy of experiential components reflected in NDErs’ verbal accounts as evidenced by a significant relation between NDE intensity and NDE content. Predictions were largely confirmed. The verbal accounts associated with True NDEs, defined by above median scores on the NDE Scale, stood out as highly structured episodes with a clear framework comprised of seven major linguistic clusters of descriptors. Four of the linguistic factors included transcendent or paranormal themes, whereas the remaining three factors tended to focus on both vague and specific references to physiological or environmental elements. The results are argued to support concurrent validity issues with Greyson’s NDE Scale and illustrate how latent semantic analysis (LSA) and related approaches can be used to study qualitative information across topics relevant to the many facets of theory-building in consciousness studies.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands Cardiac patients successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest in ten Dutch hospitals | 2001 | Prospective cohort study | n = 344 |
| Incidence and correlates of near-death experiences in a cardiac care unit Cardiac inpatients at a tertiary care center | 2003 | Observational cohort | n = 1,595 |
| Features of "near-death experience" in relation to whether or not patients were near death Patients who believed they were near death during an illness or after an injury and... | 1990 | Observational cohort | n = 58 |
| The phenomenology of near-death experiences Subjects who reported near-death experiences | 1980 | Retrospective study | n = 78 |
| Near-Death Experiences and the Temporal Lobe Individuals who reported having had a near-death experience during a life-threatening... | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences PLoS One February 14, 2018
- Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports. Consciousness and Cognition March 1, 2019
- The Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) scale: Development and psychometric validation Consciousness and Cognition November 1, 2020
- Characteristics of memories for near-death experiences Consciousness and Cognition March 19, 2017
- Characterization of near death experiences using text mining analyses: A preliminary study PLoS One January 30, 2020
and 4 more in the library
Cites 8
- The Near-Death Experience Scale The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease June 1, 1983
- Some similarities and differences among phenomenological and other methods of psychological qualitative research. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne April 1, 1994
- Near-death experiences. American Psychological Association eBooks October 27, 2004
- A typology of near-death experiences American Journal of Psychiatry August 1, 1985
- A Rasch scaling validation of a ‘core’ near‐death experience British Journal of Psychology May 1, 2004
and 3 more in the library