Out-of-Body Experience induced by hypnotic suggestion: phenomenology and perceptual characteristics
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 5 |
| Population | Participants experienced with hypnotic inductions |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key findings | Participants correctly identified 46.7% of images and independent judges 66.7%, exceeding the 25% chance rate, and all reported a disembodied selfhood with timeless, will-based perception. |
Abstract
The aim of this study is the investigation of the perceptual and cognitive characteristics of Out-of- Body Experiences (OBEs) induced by hypnotic induction.Five participants selected for their experience with hypnotic inductions were induced into an OBE and were requested to verbally describe six selected images, either one or two per session, that were located in two different rooms that were hundreds of kilometers from the place where they were under hypnosis.Furthermore, their real-time phenomenological experience was investigated with respect to the minimal phenomenal selfhood (MPS) and the similarities with the characteristics of spatial and temporal perception reported in near death experiences (NDEs).On average, the participants correctly identified 46.7% of the images, whereas two independent judges correctly identified 66.7% of them, compared to a probability of 25% expected due to chance.The phenomenology of their out-of-body perceptual and cognitive experiences revealed a general commonality among all participants. All participants reported a phenomenological experience of a disembodied personal selfhood able to perceive simply by an act of will without the physical limitation of eyesight, to move in the environment instantaneously and exist in a sort of three dimensional world with no awareness of time.The validity of these first person verbal reports was discussed to determine whether they were due to real OBEs or to the participants’ or the hypnotist’s previous knowledge about OBE.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The phenomenology of near-death experiences Subjects who reported near-death experiences | 1980 | Retrospective study | n = 78 |
| Visual Phenomenology of the LSD Flashback Persons with a history of LSD use | 1983 | Observational cohort | n = 123 |
| The neurophenomenology of neutral hypnosis. Individuals of high, medium, and low hypnotizability | 2013 | Observational cohort | n = 37 |
| The Phenomenology of Acute Organic Psychosis Patients with acute organic psychosis and acute schizophrenics | 1987 | Observational cohort | n = 148 |
| EEG oscillatory states as neuro-phenomenology of consciousness as revealed from patients in vegetative and minimally conscious states. Brain-damaged patients with disorders of consciousness and healthy-conscious subjects | 2012 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 1
Cites 8
- The Experimental Induction of Out-of-Body Experiences Science August 23, 2007
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
- The Out-of-Body Experience: Disturbed Self-Processing at the Temporo-Parietal Junction The Neuroscientist January 4, 2005
- Voluntary Out-of-Body Experience: An fMRI Study Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- AWARE-AWAreness during REsuscitation-a prospective study. Resuscitation October 7, 2014
and 3 more in the library