The role of alcohol in expectancy-driven mystical experiences: a pre-registered field study using placebo brain stimulation
We explored the effects of alcohol on expectancy-driven mystical and quasi-mystical experiences by manipulating participants’ expectations. By using the so-called God Helmet suggestion, participants were led to believe that a placebo brain stimulation could elicit mystical experiences. In this pre-r...
| Published in: | Religion, brain & behavior |
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| Authors: | ; ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
2019
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| In: |
Religion, brain & behavior
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Alcohol consumption
/ Brain
/ Stimulation
/ Suggestion
/ Spiritual experience
/ The Supernatural
/ Expectation
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| RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism AE Psychology of religion AG Religious life; material religion |
| Further subjects: | B
mystical experiences
B Expectancy B Suggestibility B God Helmet B Alcohol B executive function |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | We explored the effects of alcohol on expectancy-driven mystical and quasi-mystical experiences by manipulating participants’ expectations. By using the so-called God Helmet suggestion, participants were led to believe that a placebo brain stimulation could elicit mystical experiences. In this pre-registered field study, we set out to test whether alcohol could increase participants’ susceptibility to the God Helmet suggestion in a large sample (N = 193) at a Dutch festival. Participants reported a wide range of extraordinary experiences associated with mysticism, including out-of-body experiences, involuntary movements, and the felt presence of invisible beings. Regression analyses revealed that self-identified spiritualism predicted extraordinary experiences, but neither objective nor subjective measures of alcohol intoxication increased participants’ susceptibility to the God Helmet. Methodological limitations that may explain the lack of an effect for alcohol are discussed, while we explore the usefulness of the God Helmet in the study of extraordinary experiences. |
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| ISSN: | 2153-5981 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion, brain & behavior
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/2153599X.2017.1403952 |