Synthesis:Psychology

Human psychology is rich and complex. The present page presents some of its aspects that seem of particular relevance for various purposes of the EmergeWiki.

Attachment style

Cherniak (2022) proposes to explore the relationship between attachment-styles and the phenomenology, mechanisms and outcomes of psychedelic experiences. According to Attachment Theorist Bowlby, Internal Working Models (IWMs) of Self and Others developed through relationship with early caregivers will determine and crystallize into attachment styles or orientations, including two essential dimensions: attachment anxiety (linked to image of self as lovable) and attachment-related avoidance (see summary in Cherniak, 2022).

I find this interesting but debatable and limited, although I'm not highly familiar with this theory, as it seems to me that (1) these two dimensions can vary quite a bit through an individual's life, and (2) depend on factors which are far more diverse than just the relationship with primary caregivers (for instance, bad personal circumstances (circumstantial factors of level 1 (e.g., a depressive episode or lack of emotional skill dure to lack of cultural know how about this), 2 or 3, as we will see below)) mixed with strong identification can lead to lots of shame about one's self and lead to attachment avoidance and anxiety… which may have nothing to do with how the person was treated by their parents.

Others have argued that 6 months to 2 years of age is also not taking into account the importance of peri-natal experiences in the development of attachment etc.

My personal experience is that attachment-style, on top of possibly changing radically over time, can also vary according to things such as bilinguality. I personally feel I have different attachment styles and emotional worlds in French - the language of my mother - and English - the language of my father.

There are also more deeply cultural differences, I believe, in attachment styles. It has been my experience that french people are more weary in relationships in general than, e.g., canadians… Which is my second nationality beyond french. So there are cultural determinants here as well, which corresponds to level 2 of the present model, and shows again the interdependence of all levels.

Similarly, ecological factors (level 3) can play a strong role. Someone who had great caregivers but finds themselves in a situation of chronic deprivation of any need, may become relationally extremely anxious/avoidant, etc. Is that an attachment style ?

Furthermore, what is more determinant in the process: the early experiences with caregivers shaping negative IWM of self and others and then determining fixed attachment styles ? Or, the IWM themselves ? Can someone who had good early experiences still develop negative IWM for other reasons ? Many practices involve working on representations of self and others as a way to happiness and well-being. For instance, Daniel P. Brown has written a book for "comprehensive treatment of attachment problems in adults" based on the perfect parent protocol and a re-shaping of self and other representations which seems very functional. This would suggest that the IWMs themselves are more important, to a certain degree.

Affiliation

Biographical memories

Common sense

Directive beliefs, i.e. various beliefs that directly influence attitudes and behaviors such as class-related beliefs, etc. Targeted by positive psychology, CBT, Schema therapy, Coherence therapy, various philosophical schools like stoicism, etc.

Difficulties

Ideation  

Insights  

Personal narratives/Psychological Ego

Skills

Sociability

Fluidity/flexibility of consciousness

A major outcome of meditation, with e.g. Francisco Varela describing buddhist meditation as "the fixed mind becoming unfixed", fluidity of consciousness is one of the main goals and mechanisms of psychotherapies according to Drs. Vion-Dury and Mougin (2016), according to whom “all therapies […] are therapeutic because they generate particular modalizations of consciousness, which could be said to open up a new way for consciousness to function […] it seems possible to subsume all psychotherapies under the general concept of therapies that regulate the modalizations of consciousness”. The Questionnaire for the Evaluation of the Fluidity of Consciousness (QEFC) involves 4 factors: Availability to self and environment, Letting go, Relative passivity in the face of the world, Acceptance of change. This might be correlated with some physiological markers of "cognitive health" such as default-mode network functional connectivity and a person's ability to fluidly switch between different modes of processing —highlighted by anti-correlated functional connectivity.

Imagination

There is a link between «vividness of mental imagery and transe ability», with fantasy proneness and creativity possibly representing predisposing factors for "altered-states of consciousness", but also between daydreaming, and particularly “maladaptive daydreaming”, childhood adversities, and dissociative disorders. This is very relevant in the case of meditation or psychedelic-induced depersonalization/derealization or dissociation, possession-like phenomena in various emergent traditions, etc. Note that maladaptive daydreaming is opposed to the QEFC characteristics of “availability to self and environment” and “letting go”, suggesting such individuals have low levels of “fluidity of consciousness” and instead live in a rigid mode seemingly linked with some dysfunction.

Personality, character, dispositions

One should be careful not to be excessively individualistic, rigid, categorical, and stereotypical, i.e., they do not take into account social, familial, developmental, emotional context and the possibility of change depending on these things, or various practices, etc. A person may be very sensitive/nervous in a certain context and not at all in others.

Emmons and Paloutzian (2003) note that "spiritually-transformative experiences" have little effect on core traits like the Big 5, but can profoundly transform other mid-level aspects of personality like "goals, attitudes, feelings, behaviors". Whether this is true of longer term cultivation is an open question. It may be that these traits can change more deeply with repeated cultivation. In any case, this observation echoes, on the psychological level, the idea that emergent practices are unlikely to alter deep aspects of physiology like composition of organs or bone structure.

Developmentally generative or disruptive dispositions

According to Bronfenbrenner and Morris (2007), certain "predispositions [to action]" are "shapers of development", while others disrupt potential for development. Note that whether a disposition is considered disruptive or generative in part depends on what is being developed (i.e., a given disposition may hinder the development of some skills seen as desirable, but may be helpful to develop other capacities also seen as desirable).

Furthermore, while the question of which skills and qualities are seen as desirable or not is culturally-relative to a significant degree, there may be core common themes. For example Buddhism describes lists of hindrances seen as obstacles to the cultivation of desirable mind states and spiritual development in general, which are ill will, greed, sloth, restlessness and worry, doubt. These largely intersect with the characters described below.

A few general predispositions considered as generative of development, because they lead one to engage in activities that lead to repeated and learning include (1) curiosity, (2) a tendency to initiate and engage in activity alone or with others, and (3) readiness to defer immediate gratification to pursue long term goals.

By contrast, generally disruptive predispositions include traits that lead to (1) difficulty controlling emotions and behaviors, like impulsiveness, explosiveness, distractibility, inability to defer gratification, and ready resort to aggression and violence (pole 1), and (2) a tendency to withdraw or avoid activity, like characters like apathy, inattentiveness, unresponsiveness, lack of interest in surroundings, feeling insecure (pole 2).

Although there is an innate component, these qualities can also be cultivated or managed through various approaches and practices.

Virtues and Strengths

Common virtues in the world's religions

Emmons and Palutzian (2003) underscore that the main R/S traditions (the Abrahamic traditions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and more) all value dispositions such as forgiveness, love, hope, humility, gratitude, self-control, and wisdom; the opposites of these virtues or strengths, vices or weaknesses, being grudginess, hate, despair, arrogance, ingratitude, lack of self-control, and foolishness. They can also be seen as values.

These dispositions are widely recognized as conducive to inner strength, resilience, physical and psychological well-being, prosociality, and are protective from depression and other challenging mental states. While in large part predispositions, these qualities can be voluntarily developed by a person, cultivated, and belonging to a group which collectively seeks to abide by such principles can be a huge help in this.

Love

Love is endlessly praised as the most fundamental source of goodness and ethical action. The essential ethical principle of the new-testament and thus of Christianity, the Great Commandment, is to love.

The most ancient gospel, that of Mark, 12, 29–31, where Jesus answers the question "What is the most important commandment?", actually starts with the Sh'ma, a foundational Hebrew prayer: ²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

The other Gospels as well as other new-testament sections reiterate this, with John, 15:12: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you" and again, 17: "This is my command: Love each other." Corinthians, 1:13: "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing [...]¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Song of songs, 8:6­–7:

"Place me like a seal over your heart,

   like a seal on your arm;

for love is as strong as death,

   its ardor unyielding as the grave.

It burns like blazing fire,

   like a mighty flame.

⁷ Many waters cannot quench love;

   rivers cannot sweep it away."

Buddhism also gives immense praise to the virtue of Love: "There is no greater virtue than practicing love everyday".

Dhammapada 1:5: " Hatred is never ceased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is an eternal law."

"In all the grounds for making worldly merit, none are worth a sixteenth part of the heart’s release by love. Surpassing them, the heart’s release by love shines and glows and radiates." Itivuttaka, 27.

Some of the acquired benefits are cited by Nāgārjuna, in the Mahaprajñaparamita shastra (as quoted by Thich Nhat Hahn, 2007): "Practicing the mind of immeasurable love puts an end to anger in the hearts of living beings. Practicing the mind of immeasurable compassion puts an end to sorrow and torment in the hearts of living beings. Practicing the mind of immeasurable joy puts an end to sadness and grief in the hearts of living beings. Practicing the spirit of immeasurable equanimity puts an end to hatred, division and attachment in the hearts of living beings."

These four — loving kindness, compassion, altruistic joy, and equanimity — are the four "immeasurables" and are often considered as indispensible aspects of "love" in Buddhism.

And in AN 11:16 we find that one who practices love sleeps easily, wakes easily, dreams no nightmares, is dear to human beings, dear to non-human beings, protected, gains concentration quickly, has a bright complexion, and... dies unconfused (among other more culturally specific benefits).

Practical ways to develop the immeasurables, Loving-kindness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity, can be found in many good modern sources such as Thich Nhat Hahn's excellent Teachings on love. Practical instructions in the discourse on love SN 1:8.

Virtue, inner strength and social wellbeing

It is interesting to note that these dispositions relate to directive and paradigmatic beliefs, can alter perceptions and emotions, and influence social behaviors, among other things. For instance, a high degree conviction in the perspective that life itself is a gift will likely affect the way we perceive our surroundings and those around us, develop an attitude and feelings of gratitude, and lead to prosocial behavior.

This is confirmed by recent findings, of a more pragmatic and instrumental nature — i.e. focusing on the "benefits" of love for mental health and social cohesion, and the positive influence of belonging to a religion/spirituality that invites cultivation of such virtues, a meta-analysis of clinical trials on the effects of "kindness-based meditation" (KBM) found that "KBM showed evidence of benefits for the health of individuals and communities through its effects on wellbeing and social interaction." Beyond the individual, this ties in to health and wellness at the sociocultural level.

Along similar empirical lines, a 2024 survey on 239,692 individuals across 65 countries found that regions of the world where people reported that they felt a lot of love for their fellow humans, also reported much higher levels of wellbeing. More specifically, (1) those who are spiritual love and care for the wellbeing of a wider circle of people, while those who are atheist are five times more likely to love no-one; (2) the increase in mental wellbeing gained through spirituality arises through the increase in one’s feelings of love and care for others, and spirituality without love and care for others does not have mental wellbeing benefits; (3) active religious practice is associated with a higher likelihood of spirituality and love for others, regardless of religious affiliation; (4) More religious regions of the world have greater love for others led by Latin America, South-East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Europe and Oceania have the least love for others with United Kingdom and Germany having the lowest among all countries from which data was collected.

These findings — a small sample of existing literature... — confirm the pragmatic value of such wisdom, yet gives a gloomy picture of the state of western societies in this regard. For instance the SapienLab report on "global mental wellbeing" for 2023 found that "as in previous years, several African and Latin American countries topped the country rankings, while wealthier countries of the Core Anglosphere such as the United Kingdom and Australia are towards the bottom. This pattern suggests that greater wealth and economic development do not necessarily lead to greater mental wellbeing."

Such considerations should have impact on individual life choices but also in policy decisions.

In positive psychology

Positive psychology writers have put forward 24 character strengths and virtues of: creativity curiosity judgment love of learning perspective courage bravery honesty perseverance zest kindness love social intelligence fairness leadership teamwork forgiveness humility prudence self regulation appreciation of beauty and excellence gratitude hope humor spirituality (Peterson and Seligman, 2004).

Beyond utilitarianism

We should not dilute the value of virtue in a purely utilitarian/instrumentalist (or spiritually materialist) view of these as sources of relative well-being. These strengths and virtues can be elevated to extraordinary levels, and lead to almost superhuman resilience in the face of adversity, as exemplified by historical and mythical or semi-mythical figures such as Etty Hillesum, Jesus, the Bodhisattvas, the Martyrs, etcetera.

Personality traits

Many theories of core personality traits existe. The Five factor model (FFM or Big five) is based on five pairs of personality traits:

• openness to experience (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious)
• conscientiousness (efficient/organized vs. extravagant/careless)
• extraversion (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved)
• agreeableness (friendly/compassionate vs. critical/rational)
• neuroticism (sensitive/nervous vs. resilient/confident)

A more detailed theory is Cattell's 16 personality factors, which can be tested using the 16PF personality questionnaire:

• Warmth (A)
• Reasoning (B)
• Emotional Stability (C)
• Dominance (E)
• Liveliness (F)
• Rule-Consciousness (G)
• Social Boldness (H)
• Sensitivity (I)
• Vigilance (L)
• Abstractedness (M)
• Privateness (N)
• Apprehension (O)
• Openness to Change (Q1)
• Self-Reliance (Q2)
• Perfectionism (Q3)
• Tension (Q4)

Jungian/Brigg-Meyers 16 types

Rush, M. (2019). An Evaluation of Jung’s Psychological Types and Their Relationship to Psychopathology. Psychotherapy Section Review, 63(Spring), 32–39.

Meta-cognition

The capacity to be aware of our internal emotional states, to recognize them, to name them, and to act on them, a skill set that involves metacognition and emotional intelligence, is important in the context of cultivating a healthy mind and well-being.

Absorption

Some research shows that the "Absorption" trait is connected with a tendency to have "dramatic" spiritual experiences, such as Lifshitz et al. (2019), or Corneille & Luke (2021). About the Tellenger absorption scale, see Jamieson (2005).

Hypnotizability/suggestability

This is related to the former (absorption) - the first scale measuring "absorption", the Telleger scale, was originally devised to measure "hypnotizability". Some like Dr Ian Wickramasekera (2020) suggest that "hypnotizability" and "mind-body talent" for dzogchen and other practices are connected.

Angelini, F. J., Kumar, V. K., & Chandler, L. (1999). The harvard group scale of hypnotic susceptibility and related instruments: Individual and group administrations. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 47(3), 236–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207149908410035

According to Taves (2020 ), LSD "robustly enhances suggestibility" affecting "those who score high on conscientiousness the most. This may have implications on appraisals of experience, hedonic tone, and subsequent impact.

Resilience

Schizotypy

Research has explored links between this personality trait and SE(Y), see e.g. Harris, et al., (2019). This particular article correlates positive schizotypal traits with SE(Y) proneness.

TLL (Temporal Lobe Lability)

This has been correlated with a tendency to have "spontaneous spiritual awakenings", e.g. in Corneille & Luke (2021)

Playfulness[5]  (Winnicott, Play and reality)

Playing is an important aspect of developing a healthy sense of self and of reality according to Winnicott. In fact according to Bailly (2001), "Winnicott considers that what makes a child capable of play amounts to questioning "what makes life worth living" (Winnicott, 1971)" Bailly, R. (2001). Le jeu dans l'œuvre de D.W. Winnicott. Enfances & Psy, 15, 41-45. https://doi.org/10.3917/ep.015.0041. One may wonder about the role of seriousness/rigidity VS playfulness/fluidity in reaction styles to EPEEs and how this could lead to DPDR/Psychosis/Disorders,

IQ

Latent Inhibition

Cognitive style

Divergent VS Convergent "Cognitive style" have been linked with proneness to Esthetic Experiences (Schaeffer, 2016)

Defense mechanisms    

Originally written about by Freud, the psychological defense mechanisms describe various ways of relating to challenging situations, described as mature, neurotic, or psychotic. The mature defense mechanisms include Affiliation, Anticipation, Humor, Self-acceptance, Self-observation, Sublimation, and Suppression. These can be viewed as effective coping strategies and skills which can be developed, leading to a mature and functional personality makeup.

Level of ego-development

Loevinger, Wilber, Cook-Greuter, O'Fallon, Angerer (see Roman Angerer's attempt to cross-reference some of the post-conventional levels)

Conventional

Post-conventional

My review of Cook-Greuter

Ego/Superego/Id

Personality disorders

Schizoid/Schizotypy/all risk factors for meditation-related psychosis (Charan et al. 2003)

Biography and personal history

Trauma

A potential risk-factor

Much recent research views trauma as a risk factor for challenging emergent phenomena and developing complications, as well as linked with psychosis, schizotypy, and dissociation. However, trauma is not necessarily predictive of distress or challenging EPEEs, e.g. Lindahl et al. (2019) found no correlation between higher trauma history and distress in experiences of “self-loss”.

How trauma is defined and its exact nature is the source of some debate. Some authors have minimized the importance of trauma and stressed the importance of present circumstances for people's life difficulties. Psychoanalytic writers have sometimes relativized the weight of trauma and adverse experiences, such as jungian psychologist James Hillman, who was very critical of the notion, while Freud wrote "there are no traumas, only traumatized people".

Regardless, those wishing to engage with Emergent Modalities like meditation or psychedelics, particularly more intense ones, should be informed of the fact that "trauma", however defined, having undergone very stressful events like adverse childhood experiences, currently being "traumatized", etc., can pose additional risks.

Working with trauma

There is a broad variety of approaches to work with trauma like the Ideal Parent Figure protocol, EMDR, ... Brown et al. (2019) report a clinical case of a woman diagnosed with DID and severe attachment disturbances who was severely and chronically abused by their father as a child, underscore that she received successful treatment using the Ideal Parent Figure protocol which uses imagination over a period of two years, without any trauma processing techniques being applied.

While some Emergent Modalities may be contraindicated for some individuals with trauma and PTSD symptoms, there is also some preliminary evidence that approaches like mindfulness-meditation or some psychedelics (like MDMA or DMT in some cases) may help treat trauma. More research is needed to understand when and for whom such approaches will be helpful or on the contrary lead to worse outcomes.

Family history and early development

                     Mother-infant relations

Attentive mothers and good infant-child relations mitigates negative factors (such as low socioeconomic status or low birth weight) (Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 2007). Brown et al. (2016) consider that attachment-styles in adulthood largely depend on positive or negative self-image, image of others, and positive relationship representations, which are likely heavily influenced by early attachment needs. They claim that relationships with early caregivers lead to the development of a sense of self that mirrors the relationship, the development of “internalized working models” (IWM) which are self-reinforcing and will influence future relationships. Various emergent practices work with self-image, image of the other, identification with ideal figures, to develop positive relationships/images of self/other and related sense of safety and emotional warmth, so this is likely an important area to consider.

                     Family structure

                     Level of parental monitoring, etc.

Riggs, S. A., Sahl, G., Greenwald, E., Atkison, H., Paulson, A., & Ross, C. A. (2007). Family Environment and Adult Attachment as Predictors of Psychopathology and Personality Dysfunction Among Inpatient Abuse Survivors. Violence and Victims, 22(5), 577–600. https://doi.org/10.1891/088667007782312159

Family history of psychosis risk-factor for meditation induced psychosis Charan, D., Sharma, P., Kachhawaha, G., Kaur, G., & Gupta, S. (2023). Meditation Practices and the Onset of Psychosis: A Case Series and Analysis of Possible Risk Factors. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 45(1), 80–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/02537176211059457

Socialization (PF2) and Relationships

Practice history (type, hours, etc.)

History with Emergent Experiences

Exposition to various spiritual frameworks and techniques

Resources

• The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)