Varieties of Voice-Hearing: Psychics and the Psychosis Continuum.
Albert R. Powers, Megan S Kelley, Philip R. Corlett
Schizophrenia Bulletin January 2017 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbw133 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Clairaudient psychics who receive daily auditory messages, patients diagnosed with a psychotic disorder who hear voices, patients diagnosed with a psychotic disorder who do not hear voices, and matched control subjects without voices or a diagnosis |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Continuum Control Distress Hallucinations Schizotypy |
| Key findings | The hallucinatory experiences of psychic voice-hearers were very similar to those of patients diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, and forensic assessment concluded the psychics were not malingering. However, the psychics could control the onset and offset of their voices, were less distressed, and more often had a positive reception when first disclosing their voices, whereas patients reported more negative experiences, more negative first reactions, and greater social disruption. |
Abstract
Hearing voices that are not present is a prominent symptom of serious mental illness. However, these experiences may be common in the non-help-seeking population, leading some to propose the existence of a continuum of psychosis from health to disease. Thus far, research on this continuum has focused on what is impaired in help-seeking groups. Here we focus on protective factors in non-help-seeking voice-hearers. We introduce a new study population: clairaudient psychics who receive daily auditory messages. We conducted phenomenological interviews with these subjects, as well as with patients diagnosed with a psychotic disorder who hear voices, people with a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder who do not hear voices, and matched control subjects (without voices or a diagnosis). We found the hallucinatory experiences of psychic voice-hearers to be very similar to those of patients who were diagnosed. We employed techniques from forensic psychiatry to conclude that the psychics were not malingering. Critically, we found that this sample of non-help-seeking voice hearers were able to control the onset and offset of their voices, that they were less distressed by their voice-hearing experiences and that, the first time they admitted to voice-hearing, the reception by others was much more likely to be positive. Patients had much more negative voice-hearing experiences, were more likely to receive a negative reaction when sharing their voices with others for the first time, and this was subsequently more disruptive to their social relationships. We predict that this sub-population of healthy voice-hearers may have much to teach us about the neurobiology, cognitive psychology and ultimately the treatment of voices that are distressing.
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| Evoking the ineffable: The phenomenology of extreme sports. Extreme sports participants across three continents, including BASE jumping, big wave... | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 15 |
| Phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N-dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) experience. Naturalistic inhaled N,N-DMT experiences posted to the r/DMT Reddit community | 2022 | Qualitative analysis | n = 3,778 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 26
- Beyond Trauma: A Multiple Pathways Approach to Auditory Hallucinations in Clinical and Nonclinical Populations Schizophrenia Bulletin August 8, 2018
- Voice-Hearing and Personification: Characterizing Social Qualities of Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Early Psychosis Schizophrenia Bulletin June 19, 2020
- Hearing spirits? Religiosity in individuals at risk for psychosis-Results from the Brazilian SSAPP cohort. Schizophrenia Research February 1, 2019
- Modelling phenomenological differences in aetiologically distinct visual hallucinations using deep neural networks Frontiers in Human Neuroscience January 3, 2024
- Expert Opinion on Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy for People with Psychotic Symptoms Research Square January 25, 2022
and 21 more in the library
Cites 9
- Five year follow-up of non-psychotic adults with frequent auditory verbal hallucinations: are they still healthy? Psychological Medicine July 2016
- Visual hallucinations in the psychosis spectrum and comparative information from neurodegenerative disorders and eye disease. Schizophrenia Bulletin July 1, 2014
- Culture and hallucinations: overview and future directions. Schizophrenia Bulletin July 1, 2014
- Auditory verbal hallucinations in persons with and without a need for care. Schizophrenia Bulletin July 2014
- A new phenomenological survey of auditory hallucinations: evidence for subtypes and implications for theory and practice. Schizophrenia Bulletin January 2014
and 4 more in the library