Varieties of Anomalous Experience

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For much of the twentieth century, unusual perceptions, radical alterations of consciousness, and extraordinary subjective experiences were largely overlooked in mainstream psychology. Recently, however, there has been a growing interest in the scientific study of these anomalous experiences, significantly influenced by the first edition of this book published in 2000. This revised edition invites experts to provide comprehensive reviews and analyses of a wide range of experiences, from commonly documented sensations like synesthesia and lucid dreaming to rarer phenomena such as anomalous healing, past-life memories, near-death experiences, mystical encounters, and alien abductions. Acknowledging the challenges of studying subjective experiences, the authors present new research in neuroscience and offer thorough scientific coverage of each experience, addressing prevalence, etiology, phenomenology, aftereffects, related psychopathology, theoretical explanations, and clinical issues. A new integrative summary chapter enhances this edition. The book argues compellingly for the inclusion of these marginalized experiences as essential to understanding human psychology, rather than viewing them as mere curiosities.