Synthesis:Hallucinogen Rating Scale
As its name suggests the Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS) was designed to assess the effects of hallucinogenic drugs. It comprises 72 items divided into 6 factors.[1] Alternatively, a recent updated study proposed "an 8-factor solution comprising 88 of the original 105 HRS items", namely "1) vision, 2) meaningfulness, 3) dysphoria, 4) euphoria, 5) somaesthesia, 6) auditory and minor senses, 7) liking, and 8) volition", showing "good to excellent model fit and internal consistency."[2]
Instructions include:
When filling out the HRS, subjects were asked to recall their experiences from the immediately preceding session. Almost all questions were scored 0 to 4: 0,"not at all"; 1, "slightly"; 2, "moderately"; 3, "quite a bit"; and 4, "extremely"[3]
Dimensions, sub-dimensions, and items
Somaesthesia
- A rush
- Change in salivation
- Body feels different
- Change in sense of body weight
- Feel as if moving falling flying through space
- Change in body temperature Electric /tingling feeling
- Pressure or weight in chest or abdomen
- Shaky feelings inside
- Feel body shake or tremble
- Physically restless
- Sexual feelings
- Feel removed detached separated from body
Affect
- Anxious
- Frightened
- Feel like laughing
- Excited
- Awe
- Amazement
- Safe
- Feel presence of a numinous force, higher power, God.
- Euphoria
- Change in feelings of closeness to people in room.
- Change in "amount" of emotions.
- Emotions seem different than usual
- Feel of oneness with universe
- Feel isolated from people and things
- Feel reborn
- Like the experience
- How soon would you like to repeat the experience
- Desire for the experience regularly
Perception
- Flushed
- Change in skin sensitivity
- A sound or sounds accompanying the experience
- Sounds in room sound different
- Change in distinctiveness of sounds
- Change in visual distinctiveness of objects in room
- Visual effects
- Room looks different
- Change in brightness of objects in room
- Room overlaid with visual patterns
- Eyes open visual field vibrating or jiggling
- Visual images
- Kaleidoscopic nature of visual images
- Difference in brightness of visions compared to usual daylight vision
- Dimensionality of images
- Movement within images
- White light
Cognition (covers "thought content and processes"[3])
- Sense of speed
- Contradictory feelings at the same time
- Sence of chaos
- Change in strength of sense of self
- New thoughts or insights
- Change in rate of thinking
- Change in quality of thinking
- Difference in feeling of reality of experiences compared to everyday experience
- Dreamlike nature of the experiences
- Insights into personal or occupational concerns
- Change in rate of time passing
- Change in sense of sanity
Volition (defined as the "wilful ability to interact with one's mental and physical self and the environment"[3])
- Urge to close eyes
- Change in effort of breathing
- Able to follow the sequence of events
- Able to “let go”
- Able to focus attention
- In control
- Able to move around if asked to
- Able to remind yourself of being in a clinical room, being administered a drug,
- the temporary nature of the experience.
Intensity (defined as "a global measure of robustness of response"[3])
- Amount of time between when the drug was administered and feeling an effect
- Waxing and waning of the experience
- Intensity
- High
References
- ↑ Riba, J., Rodrı́guez-Fornells, A., Strassman, R. J., & Barbanoj, M. J. (2001). Psychometric assessment of the Hallucinogen Rating Scale. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 62(3), 215. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0376-8716(00)00175-7
- ↑ Calder, A. E., Qualls, C., Hasler, G., Elmiger, D., & Strassman, R. (2025). The Hallucinogen Rating Scale: Updated Factor Structure in a Large, Multistudy Sample. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, 5(2), 100436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100436
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Strassman, R. J. (1994). Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans: II. Subjective Effects and Preliminary Results of a New Rating Scale. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51(2), 98. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1994.03950020022002