Absorption Experiences and their Relationship

to Dreams, Imaginary Companions,

and Parapsychological Experiences

Nancy L. Zingrone, Carlos S. Alvarado & Natasha Agee

University of Virginia IRB#2009-0260-00Funded by the Bial Foundation

Absorption: “a full commitment of available perceptual, motoric, imaginative and ideational resources to a unified representation of the attentional object” (Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974, p. 274).

Imaginary companions: “an invisible character, named and referred to in conversation with other persons or played with directly for a period of time, at least several months, having an air of reality for the child but no apparent objective basis” (Svendsen, 1934, p. 988).

Definitions:

Absorption has been related to:

◦ Hypnotic susceptibility◦ Fantasy proneness◦ Dissociation◦ Openness to experience◦ Mystical experiences◦ Eidetic imagery◦ Synesthesia◦ Self-reported parapsychological

experiences (e.g., OBEs, aura vision, apparition experiences, etc.)

In past research …

Experiencing Imaginary Companions has been related to:

◦ Absorption in general◦ Attentional focusing (a facet of absorption)◦ Hypnotizability◦ Creativity◦ Imagery and daydreaming◦ Dissociation◦ Hallucinations

In past research …

Self-reported parapsychological experiences have been related to:

◦ Absorption◦ Dissociation◦ Fantasy-proneness◦ Dream recall◦ Depersonalization◦ Imaginary companions

In past research …

Tellegen’s Absorption Scale (TAS)◦ True / False & Frequency of Experience

Diener’s Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)

Items constructed by us on:◦ Features of the Imaginary Companion (IC)

experiences◦ Demographics, medical questions◦ Parapsychological and other experiences

Scales

While watching a movie, a TV show, or a play, I may become so involved that I may forget about myself and my surroundings and experience the story as if it were real and as if I were taking part in it.

If I wish I can imagine that my body is so heavy that I could not move it if I wanted to.

Sample TAS item …

TrueFalse

If true, how often?Very RarelyRarely OccasionallyFrequentlyVery Frequently

TAS Score & TAS Frequency Response Scale…

In most ways my life is close to my ideal.

The conditions of my life are excellent.  I am satisfied with life.  So far I have gotten the important things I

want in life.

If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

SWLS Items …

Strongly DisagreeDisagreeSlightly DisagreeNeither Agree or DisagreeSlightly AgreeAgreeStrongly Agree

SWLS Response Scale …

Age Gender Ethnicity Marital Status Birth Order Handedness Religiousness Head Injury Headache

Demographics and other variables …

Dream Recall Disturbing Dreams Lucid Dreams Waking ESP Dream ESP Out of Body Experiences Experience of Apparitions Aura Vision

Dream Variables & Parapsychological Experiences …

Mystical Experiences Déjà vu Synesthesia-Like

Experiences of Colors with Numbers and/or Letters

Synesthesia-Like Experiences of Colors with Music and/or Sounds

Other experiences …

Have you ever had a special sort of dream in which you knew during the dream that you were dreaming and felt that you possessed all your waking faculties?

Have you ever had, while awake, a strong feeling, impression, or “vision” that a previously unexpected event had happened, was happening, or was going to happen, and learned later that you were right?

Sample Experience items …

NeverRarelyOccasionallyFrequentlyMost of the time

Experience items response scale …

Study 1:◦ Random Survey of Richmond, Virginia

3000 Questionnaires Sent via post to randomly chosen residents of Richmond (1.6% of the overall population)

262 respondents (9% return rate)

Study 2:◦ Web-based administration to English-

speaking individuals Marketed via the “Study of Human

Experiences” website, chat lists, web-portals 622 respondents

Two studies

that TAS scores would be higher for individuals who claimed to have adult memories of childhood imaginary companions in both the random postal and the web-based samples

that TAS frequency ratings would be higher for individuals who claimed to have adult memories of childhood imaginary companions in both the random postal and the web-based samples

Specific Hypotheses 1:

that TAS scores and TAS frequency ratings would correlate positively and significantly with frequency ratings of seemingly psychic, dream-related, mystical, déjà vu, and synesthesia-like experiences

That IC experients would obtain significantly higher percentages of “yes” responses to the other experience questions than those individuals who had not experienced imaginary companions in childhood

Specific Hypotheses 2:

higher mean scores on the TAS and the TAS frequency rating for web than postal

higher percentage of IC experients for web than postal

higher percentages of “yes” responses on seemingly psychic, dream-related, mystical, déjà vu, and synesthesia-like experiences for web than postal

Specific Hypotheses 3:

Relationship of demographic variables to:◦ Presence/absence of IC experience◦ Presence/absence of Dream experiences◦ Presence/absence of Parapsychological

Experiences

Pattern of characteristics / features of the IC experience

Relationship of SWLS scores to TAS scores, and presence / absence / frequency of all experiences

Exploratory analyses:

52% married 80% white 57% female 52 years old (Range = 19-89) 37% First Born 83% Right-handed 87% had never suffered a head injury 42% rarely had headaches 42% moderately religious

Study 1: Typical Respondent

“white poodle”

“humanoid animal”

“I knew he was imaginary but I would just talk to him.”

“Her name was Molly and she was very real to me.”

“She tried to talk to me but I was afraid.”

“Joe was a guardian angel and an evil tormentor.”

“She was crazy, lived in a hut, looked like a Disney version of Jesus’ mother Mary, but her name was Alice.”

Study 1: 37 (14%) reported IC Experiences:

Average age when they first experienced it: 6 years old (range = 3-16)

36% had only one companion

74% said the IC was a person

48% said the IC was male

28% only experienced the IC as a presence

50% encountered the IC once a week

74% no longer experienced the IC, and stopped at an average age of 11 (range = 4-41)

26% never stopped experiencing the IC

Study 1 IC Experience …

78% felt the IC experience was positive

26% said another family member had his or her own IC experiences

27% said another family member could see the respondent’s IC too

Study 1 IC experience …

41% married 93% white 52% male 38% First Born 84% Right-handed 85% never experienced a head injury 44% rarely suffered headaches 38% described themselves as not at

all religious

Study 2: Typical Respondent

“I would mainly see it here or there around the house. It rarely spoke to me unless I spoke to it.”

“I saw the Angel at the foot of my bed many times watching over me in his mind. He was not visible and yet he was.”

“It didn’t really take much interest in me. It was just kind of there and I could see it and others couldn’t.”

“I had interaction with many different beings. One or two were friendly but one terrified me so badly I had night terrors from ages 2 to 5. During and after this I worked very hard on blocking out all the outside energies.”

“He lived in my grandmother’s house where I lived …

and he liked to follow me even sometimes outside the house.”

Study 2: 156 (27%) reported IC Experiences:

Average age when they first experienced it: 5 years old (range = 1-18)

55% had only one companion

83% said the IC was a person

56% said the IC was male

36% only experienced the IC as a presence

39% encountered the IC several times a week

77% no longer experienced the IC, and stopped at an average age of 10 (range = 2-43)

23% never stopped experiencing the IC

Study 2 IC Experience …

74% felt the IC experience was positive

25% said another family member had his or her own IC experiences

11% said another family member could see the respondent’s IC too

Study 2 IC Experience …

Random Postal Survey Respondents

Analysis NIC Yes Mean

IC No Mean

MWz p

TAS Score by IC Yes - IC NoPossible Score Range = 0-34 258 21.83 15.96

4.24 <.0001

TAS Frequency Rating Means by IC Yes - IC NoPossible Score Range = 0-170 258 52.33 33.68

4.03 <.0001

Web-based Survey Respondents

Analysis NIC YesMean

IC NoMean

MWz p

TAS Score by IC Yes - IC NoPossible Score Range = 0-34 579 25.89 21.19

6.64 <.0001

TAS Frequency Rating Means by IC Yes - IC NoPossible Score Range – 0-170 579 93.54 70.35

6.99 <.0001

Hypothesis 1

Hypothesis 2a: The higher the TAS Score, the higher the

frequency of TAS experiences, the higher the frequency of:

◦ Dream Recall, Disturbing Dreams, Lucid Dreams

◦ Waking ESP, Dream ESP, Apparition Experiences, OBEs, Aura Vision

◦ Mystical Experiences◦ Déjà vu Experiences◦ Color-Numbers/Letters Synesthesia-Like

Experiences◦ Color-Sounds/Music Synesthesia-Like

Experiences

Postal Web

IC Yes IC No IC Yes IC NoExperiences % % % %Dream Recall 97.2 95.5 99.3 98.5

Disturbing Dreams 100 97.3 97.3 98.3Lucid Dreams 91.4 74.2 92.5 86.3

ESP Dreams 85.3 64.5 85.6 74.1Waking ESP 75 54.1 87.9 69.2Auras 30.6 12.2 60.1 32.7Apparitions 69.4 35.6 89.3 71.6OBEs 50 34.7 78.9 58.7

Mystical Experience 72.2 50.2 89.9 79.9

Déjà Vu 94.3 83.8 95.9 94.6

Synesthesia-Colors with Sounds/Music 47.2 23.9 64.4 34.9Synesthesia-Colors with Numbers/Letters 36.1 12.2 43.5 22

Hypothesis 2b:

Mean t pAll Participants TAS Score MeansRandom Postal Respondents 16.66Web-based Respondents 22.08 9.232<.00001

IC Experients OnlyRandom Postal Respondents 21.833Web-based Respondents 25.888 3.333 0.001

Non-IC Experients OnlyRandom Postal Respondents 15.964Web-based Respondents 21.176 8.173<.00001

All Participants TAS Frequency MeansRandom Postal Respondents 35.890Web-based Respondents 74.890 17.010<.00001

IC Experients OnlyRandom Postal Respondents 52.333Web-based Respondents 92.545 7.247<.00001

Non-IC Experients OnlyRandom Postal Respondents 33.676Web-based Respondents 70.279 15.317<.00001

Hypothesis 3a:

Postal: 263 respondents

◦36 IC Experiencers (14%)

Web: 622 Respondents

◦156 IC Experiences (27%)

Hypothesis 3b:

Postal WebVariable Yes % Yes %Dream Recall 99% 99%Disturbing Dreams 98% 98%Lucid Dreams 77% 89%

ESP Dreams 68% 77%Waking ESP 57% 74%Auras 16% 40%Apparitions 41% 76%OBEs 37% 64%

Mystical Experience 53% 82%Déjà Vu 85% 95%

Synesthesia-Colors with Sounds 27% 43%

Synesthesia-Colors with Numbers 16% 28%

Hypothesis 3c:

Variables

Positive Correlations

Random Postal Sample

SWLS scores with Aura Vision Frequency

SWLS with Synesthesia-like Experiences of Colors with

Letters/Numbers

TAS Score with all dream-related, seemingly psychic, mystical,

déjà vu, and synesthesia-like experiences

TAS Frequency Rating with all dream-related, seemingly

psychic, mystical, déjà vu, and synesthesia-like experiences

 

Overall results 1 …

Overall results 2 …Variables

Positive Correlations

Web-based Sample

SWLS scores with Aura Vision Frequency

SWLS scores with Mystical Experience

SWLS scores with Synesthesia-like Experiences of Colors with

Letters/Numbers

TAS score with Religiousness

TAS Frequency Rating with Religiousness

TAS score with Headache Frequency

TAS Frequency Rating with Headache Frequency

TAS Score with all dream-related, seemingly psychic, mystical, déjà

vu, and synesthesia-like experiences

TAS Frequency Rating with all dream-related, seemingly psychic,

mystical, déjà vu, and synesthesia-like experiences 

Overall results 3 …Variables

Mann-Whitneys

Random Sample

Significantly higher TAS scores by IC “Yes” respondents vs IC “No”

respondents

Significantly higher TAS frequency ratings by IC “Yes” respondents vs

IC “No” respondents

Significantly higher Apparitions frequency ratings by IC “Yes”

respondents vs IC “No” respondents

 

Web-based Sample

Significantly higher TAS scores by IC “Yes” respondents vs IC “No”

respondents

Significantly higher TAS frequency ratings by IC “Yes” respondents vs

IC “No” respondents

Significantly higher experience ratings by IC “Yes” respondents vs IC

“No” respondents on Dream Recall, ESP Dreams, Waking ESP, Aura

vision, Apparitions, OBEs, Mystical, Déjà vu, Synesthesia-like

experiences with colors with letters/numbers

Variables

Comparison

Significantly higher TAS scores for the Web-Based IC “No”

Respondents than the Random Sample IC “No” Respondents

Significantly higher TAS Frequency Ratings for all categories

of respondents on the Web-based versus the Random Sample

Overall results 4 …

IC Experiences are related to dream, parapsychological and other exceptional experiences

Absorption is related to IC Experiences

Imaginary Companions are not only an experience of childhood

Further work needs to be done.

Conclusions …