Mysticism and the M(Mysticism) -Scale Factors
Scholars disagree on how to define mysticism, which makes
it difficult to have a meaningful discussion. There is a growing consensus that
an experience of unity is a common experience.
There is a tendency among
philosophers to discuss mysticism as an experience of a reality that is not
known by the usual sources of evidence such as our senses or even
introspection. For a more detailed definition with an explanation of terms see
the Stanford Encyclopedia entry for mysticism. Following is
their somewhat tighter definition of mysticism.
A (purportedly) super sense-perceptual or sub sense-perceptual unitive experience granting acquaintance of realities or states of affairs that are of a kind not accessible by way of sense-perception, somatosensory modalities, or standard introspection.
Many contemporary behavioral scientists trace the history
of scientific inquiry into mysticism to the exploratory 1917 work, The Varieties of Religious Experience,
by American Psychologist and Philosopher, William James. By thinking of
mysticism as a religious experience, scientists separate the phenomena from
religious beliefs and religious behavior (i.e., practices or rituals).
British philosopher Walter
Terence Stace’s study of mysticism (Mysticism and Philosophy) influenced the
work of psychological scientist, Ralph W. Hood Jr.,
who developed a three factor Mysticism Scale (M-Scale) to measure mysticism. When generating items for the scale, Hood relied on the theory and descriptions presented by Stace.
The M-Scale
The M-Scale factors provide a look at one conceptualization of mysticism that can be measured.
The M-Scale factors provide a look at one conceptualization of mysticism that can be measured.
1. Introvertive. An experience of unity and the lack of a
sense of self. This experience is at least low on interpretations based on a
specific religious context. Thus, a common reported experience of encountering
a bright light may be interpreted as God by Jews and Jesus by Christians.
2. Extrovertive. An experience of oneself uniting with all
the objects in the universe.
3. Interpretive. An elaboration of mystical experiences.
The 8 M-Scale
Groupings
Several studies have examined the psychometric properties
of the M-scale. The scale included 32-items. The items are presented in eight
groups of 4-items. Following are examples for each of the eight groups.
Inner Subjectivity:
“I never had an experience in which I felt as if all things were alive.”
Unity in Diversity:
“I have had an experience in which I realized the oneness of myself with all
things.”
Unity / Ego
quality (unity as loss of a sense of self): “I have had an experience in
which everything seemed to disappear from my mind until I was conscious only of
a void.”
Timelessness /
Spacelessness: “I have had an experience which was both timeless and spaceless”
Ineffability “I
have had an experience that is impossible to communicate.”
Positive Affect:
“I have experienced profound joy.”
Religious Holiness:
“I have had an experience which left me with a feeling of awe.”
Noetic quality
(insight, nonrational sense of truth): “I have had an experience in which a new
view of reality was revealed to me.”
Mysticism Scale Research
Hood (1975) presented early research on a 3-factor model
based on a set of 32-items. The content reflects the ideas of Stace mentioned
above. (This article contains the list of the 32 items).
In a 2001 publication, Hood and others evaluated the M-scale
in two studies with 1,379 Christians (mostly) in study one and with 188
Americans (mostly Christian) and 185 Muslims (Iranian Shi’i) in study two. The
pattern of results suggested similarities for Christians and Muslims. Overall,
the authors concluded that the results offered support for a common core of
mystical unity. The Christians in Study two were from a variety of groups. Most
were Baptist (38.8%) followed by 11.2 % each for Catholic and Methodist. An
unknown group were noted as “other” (25.5 %).
Here’s how the eight groupings were linked to the three
factors (See Figure 1, page 695).
Introvertive =
Unity + Timelessness / Spacelessness + ineffability
Extrovertive =
Unity in diversity + inner subjectivity
Interpretative
= Noetic + Holiness religion + Positive affect
Additional Notes
There are other scales measuring mysticism.
Although I did not report other studies in this post, mysticism has been studied among adherents of the world's major religions as well as mystical experiences not associated with any religion.
Additional Notes
There are other scales measuring mysticism.
Although I did not report other studies in this post, mysticism has been studied among adherents of the world's major religions as well as mystical experiences not associated with any religion.
References
Hood, R. W. (1975). Construction and preliminary
validation of a measure of reported mystical experience. Journal for The Scientific Study of Religion, 14(1), 29-41.
Hood, R. J., Ghorbani, N., Watson, P. J., Ghramaleki, A.
F., Bing, M. N., Davison, H. K., & ... Williamson, W. P. (2001). Dimensions
of the Mysticism Scale: Confirming the three-factor structure in the United
States and Iran. Journal for The
Scientific Study of Religion, 40(4),
691-705. doi:10.1111/0021-8294.00085
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I write about Psychology and Religion or Spirituality. Here's my recent book.
A House Divided
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