Elevated Incidence of a Sensed Presence and Sexual Arousal during Partial Sensory Deprivation and Sensitivity to Hypnosis: Implications for Hemisphericity and Gender Differences

Abstract

As predicted by the vectorial cerebral hemisphericity hypothesis, 24 normal young women reported significantly more experiences of a “presence” than did 24 normal young men within a setting that emphasized hypnosis and partial sensory deprivation. The incidence of these experiences was positively correlated with scores on Spiegel's Hypnosis Induction Profile, while the attribution of the chamber experiences to ego-alien sources was correlated with the magnitude of (Vingiano's) right hemisphericity for the women only. Both sexes exhibited a significant association between the experience of a presence and sexual arousal.