Sensing ghosts and other dangerous beings

Uncertainty, sensory deprivation, and the feeling of presence

Bibliographic Data

ID16909526
AuthorsJana Nenadalová (0000-0002-4183-8198, Masaryk University, corresponding author), Dan Řezníček (0000-0002-5693-3788, Masaryk University)
Year2025
Volume15
Issue2
Pages128-143
Publication date2025-04-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion Brain & Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2153-5981 • E-ISSN: 2153-599X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/2153599x.2024.2305460
OpenAlexW4391971002
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited55

When alone in the darkness, humans often fear various "unseen others" like ghosts, monsters, burglars, or animals. In a laboratory study, we aimed to induce the feeling of presence (FoP) via uncertainty by setting participants into a sensory deprivation context and experimentally priming them with the information that another person may enter the room. Grounded in the predictive processing framework, we hypothesized that FoP would occur and increase with participants' uncertainty (due to insufficient exteroceptive data input) and with experimental manipulation of prior expectations connected to the presence of other agents. We sampled 126 participants and recorded their experiences during a 30-minute-long sensory deprivation period using questionnaires, physiological signals, and semi-structured interviews. We observed that while uncertainty was positively associated with FoP, experimental priming showed no clear associations, and the associations with psychological dispositions were mixed

Aesthetics · Art · Cognitive psychology · Feeling · Sensory deprivation · Sensory system · Action Observation and Synchronization · Communication · Embodied and Extended Cognition · Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs · Psychology · Social Psychology

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