Sensory supernatural experiences in autism
This study examines attribution of supernatural agency in 17 Swedish, high functioning young adults on the autism spectrum, who describe sensing presence, feeling touch, and seeing visions without input of somatosensory stimuli. These participants report many more such incidents than the matched, no...
| Published in: | Religion, brain & behavior |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
2020
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| In: |
Religion, brain & behavior
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Swedes
/ Young adult
/ Autism
/ The Supernatural
/ Spiritual experience
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| IxTheo Classification: | AE Psychology of religion |
| Further subjects: | B
Supernatural experiences
B Autism B Sense-making B Popular Culture B somatosensory processing B Agency Detection B Enchantment |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This study examines attribution of supernatural agency in 17 Swedish, high functioning young adults on the autism spectrum, who describe sensing presence, feeling touch, and seeing visions without input of somatosensory stimuli. These participants report many more such incidents than the matched, non-autistic group participants, and current research suggests that unusual somatosensory experiences are prevalent in the autistic population. Attribution of invisible agency is understood as a sense-making coping strategy, and it is argued that esoteric content in fantasy literature, movies and computer games explain why these young adults prefer to attribute agency to ghosts, spirits and demons, rather than god(s). The study thereby extends and challenges the study of autism and religiosity by exploring the intersection between autistic embodiment and encultured cognition. |
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| ISSN: | 2153-5981 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion, brain & behavior
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/2153599X.2018.1548374 |