Immersion in altered experience: An investigation of the relationship between absorption and psychopathology.
Cherise Rosen, Nev Jones, Kayla A Chase, Jennifer K Melbourne, Linda S Grossman, Rajiv Sharma
Consciousness and Cognition March 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.01.015 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Clinical participants with bipolar psychosis and schizophrenia spectrum disorders, plus non-clinical participants |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Aberrant salience Absorption Delusions Hallucinations Psychosis |
| Key findings | Participants with psychosis endorsed significantly higher absorption than non-clinical participants, and absorption was positively correlated with all types of hallucinations and multiple types of delusions. The authors propose that absorption is an under-researched component of psychosis that overlaps with, but is not identical to, aberrant salience and hyperreflexivity. |
Abstract
Understanding alterations in perceptual experiences as a component of the basic symptom structure of psychosis may improve early detection and the identification of subtle shifts that can precede symptom onset or exacerbation. We explored the phenomenological construct of absorption and psychotic experiences in both clinical (bipolar psychosis and schizophrenia spectrum) and non-clinical participants. Participants with psychosis endorsed significantly higher absorption compared to the non-clinical group. Absorption was positively correlated with all types of hallucinations and multiple types of delusions. The analysis yielded two distinct cluster groups that demarcated a distinction along the continuum of self-disturbance: on characterized by attenuated ego boundaries and the other stable ego boundaries. The study suggests that absorption is a potentially important but under-researched component of psychosis that overlaps with, but is not identical to the more heavily theorized constructs of aberrant salience and hyperreflexivity.
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 14
- Absorption and spiritual experience: A review of evidence and potential mechanisms. Consciousness and Cognition August 1, 2019
- Personality change in a trial of psilocybin therapy v. escitalopram treatment for depression. Psychological Medicine 2024
- Sensed Presence, Attenuated Psychosis, and Transliminality: At the Threshold of Consciousness. Psychopathology 2023
- Catalyst for change: Psilocybin’s antidepressant mechanisms—A systematic review Journal of Psychopharmacology January 20, 2025
- Patterns of Occurrence of Four States of Consciousness as a Function of Trait Absorption. Journal for person-oriented research 2019
and 9 more in the library
Cites 13
- Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 2003
- Enhanced repertoire of brain dynamical states during the psychedelic experience Human Brain Mapping July 3, 2014
- Self-disturbance and schizophrenia: structure, specificity, pathogenesis (Current issues, New directions). Schizophrenia Research 2014
- Self, Solipsism, and Schizophrenic Delusions Philosophy, psychiatry & psychology June 1, 2001
- The intrasubjectivity of self, voices and delusions: A phenomenological analysis. Psychosis 2016
and 8 more in the library