Personality and reports of hallucination and imagery in a normal population.

Personality traits, particularly psychoticism, are linked to hallucinatory experiences in the general population. A predisposition to hallucinations is also associated with vivid imagery experienced during the transition between wakefulness and sleep (hypnagogic and hypnopompic states). The findings suggest that certain personality dimensions may influence the likelihood of reporting such unusual perceptual experiences in people without diagnosed psychiatric conditions.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The present report is of the relationships between personality measures, hallucinatory experiences, and hypnogogic/hypnopompic imagery in the normal population. 'Psychoticism' was significantly related to reports of hallucinatory experiences, and a measure of hallucinatory predisposition was significantly associated with strong hypnogogic/hypnopompic imagery.