Highest Happiness: An Analysis of Artists' Peak Experience
Ellen H. Yeagle, Gayle Privette, Frances Y. Dunham
Psychological Reports October 1, 1989 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.1989.65.2.523 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 152 |
| Population | Exhibiting artists and university students in social sciences |
| Topics | Mystical experience |
| Key findings | No significant differences were found between artists' and non-artists' descriptions of peak experiences, supporting the universality of such experiences. |
Abstract
Descriptions of peak experiences collected from 29 exhibiting artists were compared with parallel data from a comparison group of 123 men and women enrolled in university courses in social sciences. Each person narratively described a personal incident of highest happiness, then rated a series of descriptions on Likert-type scales. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated no significant differences in the two groups' descriptions of peak experience, and subsequent t tests showed no significant differences on any item. Responses from both groups provide a constellation of experiential correlates of the peak experience consistent with major theoretical descriptions of subjective characteristics of the event. Demographic differences between the groups, triggers, and experiential characteristics of peak experiences were examined. Differences on demographic variables and triggers and the absence of significant differences in the descriptions of peak experience suggest one approach that would bolster Maslow's position of the universality of the peak experience.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neural correlates of a mystical experience in Carmelite nuns Carmelite nuns | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| EEG activity in Carmelite nuns during a mystical experience Carmelite nuns | 2008 | Observational cohort | n = 14 |
| Neural correlates of mystical experience Vietnam veterans with penetrating traumatic brain injury and matched healthy controls | 2015 | Observational cohort | n = 148 |
| The Peak Experience Variable in DPT-Assisted Psychotherapy with Cancer Patients Cancer patients | 1977 | Observational study | n = 128 |
| Psilocybin-Induced Mystical-Type Experiences are Related to Persisting Positive Effects: A Quantitative and Qualitative Report Healthy volunteers | 2022 | Observational cohort | n = 28 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 3
- Measurement of Experience: Construct and Content Validity of the Experience Questionnaire Perceptual and Motor Skills August 1, 1987
- Reliability and Readability of Questionnaire: Peak Performance and Peak Experience Psychological Reports April 1, 1986
- Effects and classification of peak experiences. Psychological Reports April 1, 1972