The Rasch Scaling of Mystical Experiences: Construct Validity and Correlates of the Mystical Experience Scale (MES)
Based on the data from 778 respondents, it was shown that mystical experiences as addressed by Thalbourne's (1991) Mystical Experiences Scale are Rasch scalable, and an unbiased set of 19 items was identified that yields intensity measures at an interval level of measurement. Construct validity...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
2007
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| In: |
The international journal for the psychology of religion
Year: 2007, Volume: 17, Issue: 2, Pages: 121-140 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Based on the data from 778 respondents, it was shown that mystical experiences as addressed by Thalbourne's (1991) Mystical Experiences Scale are Rasch scalable, and an unbiased set of 19 items was identified that yields intensity measures at an interval level of measurement. Construct validity was established by demonstrating that the Rasch dimension has unambiguous semantics that agrees with Thalbourne's (2002) definition of mystical experiences. Specifically, the lowest intensity levels refer to general experiences of happiness and experiences that are difficult to interpret, intermediate levels are characterized by experiences of love for humanity, and the highest levels refer to having special wisdom and powers of discernment. On average, older respondents (age 19 or older) reported more intense mystical experiences than did younger respondents (the effect size is 0.22 SD). However, no gender main effect or Age × Gender interaction was found. Competitive model tests indicated that mystical experience differs conceptually from variables like positive affect, negative affect, magical ideation, history of mania, and history of depression. Mystical experience correlated highest with magical ideation, and nonnegligibly with positive affect and mania, thus suggesting that mystical experiences revolve around a psyche that is attempting to heal itself by combining positive affect with a nonstandard interpretation of reality. |
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| ISSN: | 1532-7582 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The international journal for the psychology of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/10508610701244130 |