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O surgimento da psicologia científica, por volta da segunda metade do século XIX, esteve fortemente ligado ao estudo de experiências alegadamente paranormais, sobretudo experiências mediúnicas. O estudo da mediunidade e da crença numa... more
O surgimento da psicologia científica, por volta da segunda metade do século XIX, esteve fortemente ligado ao estudo de experiências alegadamente paranormais, sobretudo experiências mediúnicas. O estudo da mediunidade e da crença numa vida após a morte teria contribuído de modo relevante para o desenvolvimento de certos conceitos e teorias psicológicas, como os conceitos de dissociação, estados alterados de consciência, complexos psíquicos, personalidades secundárias, enfrentamento do luto etc. Dentre os pesquisadores pioneiros da mediunidade estavam alguns dos grandes nomes da psiquiatria e da psicologia, como Carl Gustav Jung. A investigação das experiências mediúnicas parece ter contribuído significativamente na elaboração de parte da estrutura teórica e de pensamento de Jung. Suas pesquisas sobre a mediunidade, por sua vez, constituem uma importante contribuição para a elucidação psicológica do tema. O presente artigo revisa brevemente algumas das ideias de Jung acerca das exper...
The present study explored the phenomenological characteristics of anomalous experiences (AEs) reported during Umbanda rituals, a mediumistic Brazilian religion, with the aim of comparing AEs reported during rituals involving the use of... more
The present study explored the phenomenological characteristics of anomalous experiences (AEs) reported during Umbanda rituals, a mediumistic Brazilian religion, with the aim of comparing AEs reported during rituals involving the use of Ayahuasca (an entheogen frequently used in some Umbanda contexts) and rituals without the use of this substance. In order to do so, we compared individuals with different levels of involvement with the mediumistic practices. The study was based on an auto-ethnographic approach. This methodological perspective allowed us to confront subjective data with the available knowledge in the scientific literature about AEs, dissociative phenomena and altered states of consciousness and was of fundamental importance for a more sensitive understanding of the nuances and characteristics of these experiences. The results attest to a significant similarity between the experiences reported with and without the use of Ayahuasca in mediumistic contexts. In both group...
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Nous presentons les resultats d’une enquete portant sur le pourcentage d’experiences de mort imminente dans un echantillon bresilien et leur relation avec les caracteristiques sociodemographiques, la psychopathologie et les experiences... more
Nous presentons les resultats d’une enquete portant sur le pourcentage d’experiences de mort imminente dans un echantillon bresilien et leur relation avec les caracteristiques sociodemographiques, la psychopathologie et les experiences mystiques. 350 participants (80,3 % de femmes d’âge moyen = 37,43 ans, ecart-type = 12,80, minimum = 18 ans, maximum = 81 ans) ont repondu a un sondage en ligne sur les consequences psychologiques d’evenements menacant le pronostic vital, notamment l’echelle de NDE de Greyson et l’echelle de mysticisme de Hood (ou Echelle M). Les sondes ont ete divises en trois groupes : 1) ceux qui n’ont pas signale d’evenement significatif mettant leur vie en danger ; 2) ceux qui ont signale une situation mettant leur vie en danger, mais qui n’ont pas obtenu un score superieur ou egal a 7 sur l’echelle de NDE ; et 3) ceux qui ont declare un evenement menacant le pronostic vital et ont obtenu 7 ou plus sur l’echelle de NDE. 14 % de l’echantillon remplissait les criteres pour une EMI. Ces derniers ont obtenu des scores significativement plus eleves pour le facteur de mysticisme introverti de l’echelle M. par rapport aux autres groupes, mais aucune difference n’a ete constatee pour les autres facteurs et le score total. Cependant, aucune correlation significative entre les scores NDE et M-Scale n’a pu etre etablie. Les personnes ayant relate une EMI etaient significativement plus âges que les sujets des autres groupes, mais egalement plus religieux ou spirituels, avec une preponderance de membres de groupes esoteriques et New age. Aucune difference n’a ete trouvee pour les autres variables demographiques et la psychopathologie. Les resultats mettent en evidence certaines caracteristiques possibles des Bresiliens ayant vecu une EMI. Nous esperons que la presente enquete contribuera a la litterature interculturelle sur certaines experiences mystiques et aux frontieres de la mort.
Research Interests: Psychology and Humanities
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O presente artigo aborda um pouco da historia e das principais contribuicoes do psicologo suico Theodore Flournoy (1854-1920), notadamente, seus trabalhos acerca da dissociacao, da crenca religiosa, da fantasia e da criatividade. Flournoy... more
O presente artigo aborda um pouco da historia e das principais contribuicoes do psicologo suico Theodore Flournoy (1854-1920), notadamente, seus trabalhos acerca da dissociacao, da crenca religiosa, da fantasia e da criatividade. Flournoy tem sido um autor negligenciado na historia da psicologia e e pouco conhecido no Brasil. Flournoy dedicou-se ao estudo de temas considerados controvertidos, como a mediunidade e outras experiencias alegadamente paranormais. Sua abordagem, no entanto, foi estritamente psicologica e suas contribuicoes sobre a funcao dos sonhos e da imaginacao constituiram uma teoria alternativa a de Freud, no inicio do seculo XX, que enfatizava os aspectos mais criativos e construtivos do inconsciente, tendo antecedido hipoteses desenvolvidas mais tarde por Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). O artigo aborda alguns dos possiveis fatores historicos envolvidos na omissao ao trabalho de Flournoy, bem com seu papel nas controversias em torno da consideracao dos fenomenos parap...
Research Interests: Philosophy and Humanities
International research have been sustaining a correlation between dissociative experiences and religious beliefs or alleged paranormal experiences. In additi...
Research Interests: Psychology and Humanities
Research Interests: Sociology, Psychology, Cultural Psychology, Study of Religions, Cultural Psychiatry, and 12 moreSpirit Possession (Anthropology), Medicine, Religious Studies, Dissociation, Possession, Cross Cultural Psychology, Dissociation and trauma, Dissociative disorders, Mediumship, Trance, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Possession (Linguistics)
The global increase in non-religious individuals begs for a better understanding of what non-religious beliefs and worldviews actually entail. Rather than assuming an absence of belief or imposing a predetermined set of beliefs, this... more
The global increase in non-religious individuals begs for a better understanding of what non-religious beliefs and worldviews actually entail. Rather than assuming an absence of belief or imposing a predetermined set of beliefs, this research uses an open-ended approach to investigate which secular beliefs and worldviews non-religious non-theistic individuals in 10 countries around the world might endorse. Approximately one thousand participants were recruited (N = 996; approximately one hundred participants per country) and completed the online survey. A data-driven coding scheme of the open-ended question about the participants’ beliefs and worldviews was created and includes 51 categories in 11 supercategories (agency & control, collaboration & peace, equality & kindness, morality, natural laws & the here and now, non-religiosity, reflection & acceptance, science & critical thinking, spirituality, truth, and other). The 10 most frequently mentioned categories were science, humani...
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Research Interests: Depression, Mindfulness, Spirituality, Medicine, Anxiety, and 11 moreMeditation, Adverse Events, Transcendental Meditation, Systematic review, Psychotherapist, ANXIETY, Mental Health and Psychiatry Nursing, Meditation Practices, Adverse effect, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and Medical and Health Sciences
“Parapsychology and religion” is perhaps the most controversial research area in the psychology of religion. Initially, psychology and parapsychology were not distinct disciplines but later dissociated as a result of the boundary-work... more
“Parapsychology and religion” is perhaps the most controversial research area in the psychology of religion. Initially, psychology and parapsychology were not distinct disciplines but later dissociated as a result of the boundary-work carried out to establish the former as a natural science. In recent decades, the psychology of religion has witnessed a growing literature bearing on ontological issues including parapsychological topics such as distant healing and near-death experiences. In this work, it is argued that despite the methodological and theoretical controversies that still surround the field of parapsychology, the findings of research on alleged anomalous processes merit serious scientific examination. More specifically, this work explores how parapsychological findings may inform research on religious/spiritual experiences. It begins with a brief review of the history of psychical research / parapsychology, pointing out its connections with the development of modern psychology and the circumstances that have set these research fields apart. After discussing some fundamental terminological and conceptual issues in parapsychology and psychology, the psychological literature on the paranormal is critically reviewed, arguing that it became less a scientific endeavor and more an ideological program devised to denigrate paranormal believers and experiencers. It is then shown how an informed, open-minded dialogue between parapsychology and psychology of religion might help us move beyond the present ideological disputes in favor of a unified perspective. A shift from belief to experience is defended and both the strengths and limitations of the latter are discussed, showing how parapsychology responds to such limitations through systematic observation and experimentation. The complex relations between parapsychology and religion over time are also reviewed, surveying the variety of perspectives embraced by parapsychologists in this regard and their implications for an understanding of religious experience and spirituality.
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O transtorno dissociativo de identidade ou TDI (historicamente conhecido como “transtorno de múltiplas personalidades”) compreende uma classificação psicopatológica controversa em relação à sua validade transcultural. Ao longo da... more
O transtorno dissociativo de identidade ou TDI (historicamente conhecido como “transtorno de múltiplas personalidades”) compreende uma classificação psicopatológica controversa em relação à sua validade transcultural. Ao longo da história, aquilo que chamamos de TDI adquiriu facetas muito diferentes conforme a época analisada, indo desde a possessão demoníaca até o diagnóstico de histeria e múltiplas personalidades no século XIX. No Brasil, poucos casos de TDI foram reportados na literatura científica. Contudo, tem-se observado, ainda que informalmente, um significativo aumento no interesse pelo tema e no número de relatos veiculados pela imprensa brasileira nos últimos anos. O presente artigo tem como propósito apresentar, para o público brasileiro, as controvérsias teóricas em torno do diagnóstico de TDI, bem como suas implicações clínicas e forenses. O texto avalia a metodologia dos estudos nessa área, a validade transcultural do TDI e os modelos teóricos existentes. O artigo con...
Research Interests: Psychology and Philosophy
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A key function of religious rituals is their ability to connect or bond individuals. Recent advances on the neurobiological underpinnings of bonding, highlighting how opioids are activated in the brain by social activities, can now be... more
A key function of religious rituals is their ability to connect or bond individuals. Recent advances on the neurobiological underpinnings of bonding, highlighting how opioids are activated in the brain by social activities, can now be applied to the study of rituals. Here we present the results of a large-scale field study conducted across the UK and Brazil where we examined the psychobiological functions of rituals, following the brain-opioid theory of social attachment (BOTSA). Testing was conducted across 24 sessions at Christian and Afro-Brazilian religious rituals (N=358), with measures taken before and after each ritual. Regression analysis and multilevel linear modelling showed that taking part in religious rituals increased both pain threshold (a proxy for opioid activation) and positive affect, and that these enhanced the sense of bonding to one’s religious group. The results suggest that one of the key functions of religious ritual is to increase community bonding.
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Research has begun to unveil the cognitive and personality correlates of anomalous experiences (AEs). Unfortunately, cultural differences have received markedly less attention. Questions exist regarding whether the Western description of... more
Research has begun to unveil the cognitive and personality correlates of anomalous experiences (AEs). Unfortunately, cultural differences have received markedly less attention. Questions exist regarding whether the Western description of AEs, as possibly nonordinary or exceptional, is valid across cultures. Scant research on AEs has been conducted in non-English-speaking countries, and few systematic crosscultural comparisons have been carried out. Our goal is to critically review the scientific literature on AEs in light of cross-cultural research. We outline theoretical issues arising from cultural and cross-cultural investigations of AEs and discuss methodological challenges and shortcomings, followed by specific suggestions to address them. To do so, we review extant findings on psychosocial and cultural aspects of AEs and existing gaps in knowledge about the cultural underpinnings of AEs. We begin by highlighting the cultural and group differences in the report of AEs and the difficulties in isolating the experience from interpretations of the experience. We (a) evaluate the cultural source and the experiential source hypotheses related to AEs based on multiple evidentiary sources ranging from prevalence studies to experimental investigations of these experiences across cultures, (b) outline the implications of cross-cultural research with respect to mental health issues, and (c) conclude with a research summary and proposals for future investigations.
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We tested the cross-cultural validity of the transliminality construct by administering a Portuguese version of the Revised Transliminality Scale (RTS) to an online snowball (convenience) sample (n = 341) starting with university students... more
We tested the cross-cultural validity of the transliminality construct by administering a Portuguese version of the Revised Transliminality Scale (RTS) to an online snowball (convenience) sample (n = 341) starting with university students at the Institute of Psychology of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Rasch scaling revealed acceptable model fit, and we found medium correlations of the translated items’ “difficulty” parameters with those obtained in earlier research. This form of the RTS is mainly stable in this cross-cultural context as the Rasch person measures produced by the Brazilian version (i.e., its “scores”) correlated nearly perfectly with the estimates as derived from earlier research. Some item shifts (differential item functioning) related to age and sex were obtained, although they did not appreciably affect the estimates of respondents’ trait levels. This research supports the robustness of the transliminality construct, while serving as a guide to study the concept and its correlates across other languages and cultures.
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Among the many attempts to explain mediumship psychologically at the turn of the century were the efforts of Swiss psychologist Théodore Flournoy (1854-1920). In his well-known book Des Indes à la Planète Mars (1900), translated as From... more
Among the many attempts to explain mediumship psychologically at the turn of the century were the efforts of Swiss psychologist Théodore Flournoy (1854-1920). In his well-known book Des Indes à la Planète Mars (1900), translated as From India to the Planet Mars (1900), Flournoy analysed the mediumistic productions of medium Hélène Smith (1861-1929), consisting of accounts of previous lives in France and in India, and material about planet Mars. Flournoy explained the phenomena as a function of cryptomnesia, suggestive influences, and subconscious creativity, analyses that influenced both psychology and psychical research. The purpose of this Classic Text is to reprint the conclusion of Flournoy's study, whose ideas were developed in the context of psychological attention to mediumship and secondary personalities.
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Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar, de modo conciso, uma visão geral da produçãoem Psicologia da Religião oriunda de estudos da Psicologia Anomalística. Essa produção está aumentando uma vez que estudos acadêmicos estão sendo... more
Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar, de modo conciso, uma visão geral da produçãoem Psicologia da Religião oriunda de estudos da Psicologia Anomalística. Essa produção está aumentando uma vez que estudos acadêmicos estão sendo estimulados especialmente devido à criação/consolidação de alguns centros de pesquisa nos últimos anos. É feita uma breve introdução à Psicologia Anomalística em contraste com a Parapsicologia, remontando suas origens à Pesquisa Psíquica, antecessora da Parapsicologia. Posicionamentos “paranormófilos” e “paranormofóbicos” – posições extremas sobre a existência/inexistência de processos psicológicos heterodoxos – são contrastados revelando um conflito entre perspectivas epistemológicas nas quais os papéis de religiosidade e da irreligiosidade parecem ser fundamentais. A relação entre experiências anômalas e religiosas é discutida com base em recentes estudos brasileiros na área da Psicologia Anomalística sobre experiências anômalas de tipo extrassensorial ...
Research Interests: Philosophy and Humanities
A major issue in the study of dissociation concerns the cross-cultural validity of definitions and measurements used to identify and classify dissociative disorders. There is also extensive debate on the etiological factors underlying... more
A major issue in the study of dissociation concerns the cross-cultural validity of definitions and measurements used to identify and classify dissociative disorders. There is also extensive debate on the etiological factors underlying dissociative experiences. Cross-cultural research is essential to elucidate these issues, particularly regarding evidence obtained from countries in which the study of dissociation is still in its infancy. The aim of this article was to discuss Brazilian research on the topic of dissociation, highlighting its contributions for the understanding of dissociative experiences in nonclinical populations and for the validity and relevance of dissociative disorders in the contexts of psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy. We also consider the ways in which dissociative experiences are assimilated by Brazilian culture and religious expressions, and the implications of Brazilian studies for the sociocultural investigation of dissociation. We conclude by add...
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Brazil, Spirit Possession (Anthropology), Medicine, and 13 moreSociocultural Evolution, Dissociation, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Humans, Cross cultural studies, Dissociation and trauma, Dissociative disorders, Religion and psychology, Mediumship, Psychological Trauma, Clinical Sciences, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Depersonalization
Research Interests: Humanities and Art
Contributions of psychology for the understanding of the relation professor x pupil in superior education This study addresses the teacher-student relationship in higher education and the influences of the transfer and countertransference... more
Contributions of psychology for the understanding of the relation professor x pupil in superior education This study addresses the teacher-student relationship in higher education and the influences of the transfer and countertransference in the transmission and acquisition of knowledge. It was chosen higher education as a country of research by the experience that we have experienced with this type of education. This is a search country descriptive taked with 81 students and 42 teachers of the Centro Superior de Ensino in Dracena - CESD in courses of Accounting Science, Law and Tourism, maked through interviews with questionnaires applied to students and teachers. We understand the link relational and its significance to the construction of knowledge. We use as reference the theoretical of concepts Freud psychoanalytical, highlighting the transfer and countertransference that proposes understand how the relationships happen. Through the data we can understand the "place" that the teacher occupies in the student unconscious, that authorizes or not to teach. We note that, by means of the publication, the student adult feeds with the teacher the same motivations and desires of newcomer in their school activities, the teacher who passed easily in that context becomes more attractive to the student achievement and success in his commencement of teach. Characteristics of good teacher, the subjects preferential the students are more linked to the personality of the teacher than the technical knowledge valued by academic title. Also, as teachers, we perceive the ignorance of these who occupy the representativeness in the imagination of the student in the process, which hinders the possession of the authority, therefore, with this, the teacher fails to recognize the transference feelings and, consequently, direct the wishes of student to learn. The case effectively, in this context, arise more by trial and error. With support in the discussion and analysis of the aspects found, we deduce that the theoretical foundation met the needs of the study, facilitating moving toward achieving the objectives. Key words: teacher-student relationship, higher education, teacher formation, transfer, countertransference.
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One of the main characteristics of the automatic writing and automatic drawing observed at Brazilian spiritist centros is the attribution of authorship to external sources, usually of an allegedly spiritual kind. For many spiritist... more
One of the main characteristics of the automatic writing and automatic drawing observed at Brazilian spiritist centros is the attribution of authorship to external sources, usually of an allegedly spiritual kind. For many spiritist mediums, as for the ones the author has studied for two years, the final result of their productions is conceived as a (sometimes confused) mixture of personal and spiritual elements. Nonetheless, their graphic and pictorial material seems to be very interesting in psychological terms. In this paper, I propose a psychosocial model relating dissociation, paranormal beliefs and self-esteem that would better account for the qualitative data gathered at two spiritist institutions from 2009 to 2011. Participants were 11 mediums (9 women and 2 men, M = 47 years old, range = 29–65). It seems that some dissociative practices at the centros functioned, in many ways, as psychological elaboration of diffuse or impulsive emotions experienced in early childhood, in co...
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Maraldi, E. O., Zangari, W., Machado, F. R. & Krippner, S. (2014). Anomalous mental and physical phenomena of Brazilian mediums: a review of the Scientific literature.
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In this paper we review the main contributions of Swiss psychologist Théodore Flournoy (1854–1920) to psychical research. Flournoy always advocated the scientific study of psychic phenomena as an important area that should not be ignored.... more
In this paper we review the main contributions of Swiss psychologist Théodore Flournoy (1854–1920) to psychical research. Flournoy always advocated the scientific study of psychic phenomena as an important area that should not be ignored. After a short discussion of Flournoy’s attitudes to psychic phenomena we focus on his main work, his study of Hélène Smith (1861–1929) published in Des Indes à la Planète Mars (1900), in which he summarized communications about previous lives in France and India, as well as those coming from the planet Mars, which Flournoy attributed to subconscious abilities involving imagination and cryptomnesia. In addition, we review his other investigations of mental mediums, observations of physical mediums, and writings about telepathy and precognition. We argue that Flournoy’s work with mental mediums made him a significant contributor to the study of the capabilities of the subconscious mind, work that was important to the theoretical concerns of both dynamic psychology and psychical research.
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Resumen pt: O valor terapeutico das praticas dissociativas de cunho religioso nao representa informacao nova na literatura; muitos sao os autores que reconhecem o p...
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A pesquisa científica contemporânea sobre as crenças e experiências religiosas tem, cada vez mais, enfatizado a importância de reconhecê-las como fenômenos naturais submetidos aos mesmos mecanismos evolutivos, cognitivos e neuronais que... more
A pesquisa científica contemporânea sobre as crenças e experiências religiosas tem, cada vez mais, enfatizado a importância de reconhecê-las como fenômenos naturais submetidos aos mesmos mecanismos evolutivos, cognitivos e neuronais que caracterizam outras formas do comportamento humano. De uma perspectiva evolucionista, tais crenças e experiências só se tornaram possíveis graças ao desenvolvimento e à ação concatenada de várias estruturas no cérebro, em função das exigências próprias do processo de adaptação biológica. A Ciência Cognitiva da Religião tem também indicado como a experiência religiosa pode ser explicada a partir de processos perceptivos, linguísticos e cognitivos básicos. Tais abordagens parecem cada vez mais convergir para uma compreensão das origens naturais da religião, ainda que por vezes divirjam nos detalhes e recortes utilizados. O presente artigo tem como objetivo apresentar uma revisão dessas contribuições, discutindo sua fundamentação empírica e suas limitaç...