Conceptual and clinical implications of a “Haunted People Syndrome”.

Subjective and objective anomalies associated with ghostly episodes form a unidimensional Rasch scale, and these interconnected signs or symptoms arguably describe a syndrome model. This model predicts that the phenomenology of these anomalous episodes can be markedly skewed by an experient's psychological set, which is impacted by psychosocial variables affecting attentional, perceptual, and interpretational processes. The overview discusses how Belief in the Paranormal, Religious Ideology, Ideological Practice, Social Desirability, Latency, and Environmental Setting ostensibly influence the contents or interpretations of accounts. Future research should help validate the proposed syndrome model and explore which nuances reflect idiosyncrasies of experients' psychological set versus the core phenomenon.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Evidence suggests that subjective and objective anomalies associated with ghostlyepisodes form a unidimensional Rasch scale and that these interconnected“signs orsymptoms”arguably describe a syndrome model. This view predicts that symptomperception—that is, the phenomenology of these anomalous episodes—can be markedlyskewed by an experient’s psychological set. This is impacted, in turn, by psychosocialvariables that affect attentional, perceptual, and interpretational processes. Therefore, wepresent an overview that discusses how (a) Belief in the Paranormal, (b) ReligiousIdeology, (c) Ideological Practice, (d) Social Desirability, (e) Latency, and (f) Environ-mental Setting ostensibly influence the contents or interpretations of accounts. Theseexperiential details are similarly expected to reveal insights into the psychodynamicsbeing expressed or contextualized via these narratives. Future research in this area shouldhelp to validate and clarify the proposed syndrome model, as well as explore whichnuances in the phenomenology of ghostly episodes reflect idiosyncrasies of experients’psychological set versus the nature of the core phenomenon itself.