Absorption and hallucinatory experience

In this paper, we investigate whether the personality trait of Absorption is a predisposing factor for hallucinatory experience. Our participants completed a number of questionnaires, assessing absorption, hallucinatory experiences, subjective experiences along the sleep-wakefulness continuum, paranormal experiences and belief, and dissociation. Our findings are indicative of a common, pseudo-hallucinatory experiential base, suggesting that absorption can indeed serve as the predisposing factor for hallucinatory experience. In our discussion, we look at the implications of this finding for applied cognitive psychology, focusing on the study of false memories and reality monitoring, and on the study of probability judgement and paranormal belief.