Hearing Voices in Different Cultures: A Social Kindling Hypothesis

Topics in Cognitive Science
T M LuhrmannA Osei

Abstract

This study compares 20 subjects, in each of three different settings, with serious psychotic disorder (they meet inclusion criteria for schizophrenia) who hear voices, and compares their voice-hearing experience. We find that while there is much that is similar, there are notable differences in the kinds of voices that people seem to experience. In a California sample, people were more likely to describe their voices as intrusive unreal thoughts; in the South Indian sample, they were more likely to describe them as providing useful guidance; and in our West African sample, they were more likely to describe them as morally good and causally powerful. What we think we may be observing is that people who fall ill with serious psychotic disorder pay selective attention to a constant stream of many different auditory and quasi-auditory events because of different "cultural invitations"-variations in ways of thinking about minds, persons, spirits and so forth. Such a process is consistent with processes described in the cognitive psychology and psychiatric anthropology literature, but not yet described or understood with respect to cultural variations in auditory hallucinations. We call this process "social kindling."

References

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Citations

Mar 5, 2016·Frontiers in Psychology·Andrea Bender, Sieghard Beller
Sep 10, 2015·Topics in Cognitive Science·Andrea BenderNancy J Nersessian
May 6, 2016·Frontiers in Psychology·Andrea Bender, Sieghard Beller
Nov 7, 2016·The International Journal of Social Psychiatry·Ruvanee P Vilhauer
Jul 1, 2020·Frontiers in Psychiatry·Connie Marguerite MusolinoPeter Gilchrist
Oct 4, 2019·Indian Journal of Psychiatry·Nishtha ChawlaAjay Garg
Nov 13, 2018·Frontiers in Psychology·Nienke MoernautJasper Feyaerts
Oct 18, 2019·Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science·Andrea Bender, Sieghard Beller
Jun 14, 2019·Addictive Behaviors Reports·Jeffrey G SnodgrassRachel Tate
Jan 9, 2020·Social Science & Medicine·Maddalena Canna, Rebecca Seligman

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