Shamanism and the psychosis continuum.
Robert M Ross, Ryan Mckay
Behavioral and Brain Sciences January 2018 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x17002151 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that Singh's cultural evolutionary theory of shamanism, while impressive, does not explain why some people become shamans and others do not, and proposes that individual differences along a "psychosis continuum" may play an important causal role in shamanic selection. |
Abstract
Singh's cultural evolutionary theory of shamanism is impressive, but it does not explain why some people become shamans while others do not. We propose that individual differences in where people lie on a "psychosis continuum" could play an important causal role.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Pivotal mental states Journal of Psychopharmacology April 1, 2021
- Shamanism: psychopathology and psychotherapy Religion, Brain & Behavior November 24, 2023
- The Shamanistic Theory of Schizophrenia: The Evidence for Schizophrenia as a Vestigial Phenotypic Behavior Originating in Paleolithic Shamanism Journal of Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences January 26, 2022
- The trajectory of psychedelic, spiritual, and psychotic experiences: implications for cognitive scientific perspectives on religion Religion, Brain & Behavior July 11, 2024
- These aren’t the beliefs you’re looking for: on the limits of affect-neutral accounts of psychedelic therapy Synthese January 26, 2026
Cites 3
- Varieties of Voice-Hearing: Psychics and the Psychosis Continuum. Schizophrenia Bulletin January 2017
- Diversity Within the Psychotic Continuum. Schizophrenia Bulletin November 21, 2016
- shamanism and schizophrenia: a state‐specific approach to the “schizophrenia metaphor” of shamanic states American Ethnologist August 1, 1983