Abstract/Results: | ABSTRACT:
Recent studies on hallucinatory experiences suggest that a range of hallucinatory experiences may occur outside the clinical practice, and do not lead to psychosis. In fact, the severity of mental disturbances seems to follow a continuum where one may regard psychosis in a human being as a distribution of symptoms, which constitute a terrein much more apt for psychological
than psychopathological study. Here, we formulate a hypothesis where on the continuum hallucinatory experiences may occur, in a non-clinical population. Probably, dissociative experiences and other related constructs, schizotypy, and dream experiences, constitute a common domain. The objective of the present study was to determine whether high scores on proneness to unusual perceptual experiences among healthy individuals are directly and positively correlated with high scores on intensity of imagery, schizotypical tendencies, absorption, dissociation, and fantasy proneness. The sample included university students (N= 655) of both sexes, 161 males and 494 females. (Average age = 25.57). The students completed six scales, five of which referred to perceptual experiences and one measure of personality risk indications, the Schizotypical Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). The results supported the idea that there is a correlation between having hallucinatory experiences and schizotypical personality in the general population. The results indicated that the Cognitiveperceptual factor was the best discriminator for the modality visual hallucination [F (1/149) = 17.83; p < .001, one-tailed], auditory [F (2/148) = 23.82; p <.001, one-tailed] and tactil [F (1/149) = 11.73; p = .001, one-tailed] between hallucinators and non-hallucinators. However, although the levels of schizotypy were high, they are not necessarily pathological; actually, these kind of experiences in their nature are completely different from those in pathological disturbances and they are not associated with any loss of contact with reality.
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