Varieties of Anomalous Experience: Examining the Scientific Evidence

In this revised and updated edition of a classic text, contributors present a wide range of research on anomalous experiences, from commonly documented sensations like synesthesia, lucid dreaming, out-of-body experiences and auditory and visual hallucinations, to rarer and more seemingly inexplicable experiences such as anomalous healing, past-lives, near-death experiences, mystical experiences, and even alien abductions.

The book makes a compelling case for the inclusion of these marginalized and under-recognized experiences as not merely incidental, but essential to our understanding of human psychology.

Etzel Cardeña, PhD, holds the endowned Thorsen Professorship in Psychology at Lund University, Sweden, where he directs the Center for Research on Consciousness and Anomalous Psychology.

He has published more than 250 books, articles, and chapters on anomalous experiences, hypnosis, dissociation, and acute reactions to trauma, and in 2011 he coeditied the two-volume Altering Consciousness: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. He was elected president of three different professional organizations and Fellow of APA and the Association for Psychological Science, among others.

His empirical, theoretical, clinical, and pedagogical contributions have received multiple awards from the University of Texas and various professional organization. He has also worked in México, the United States, and Sweden as a theater director, actor, and playwright.

Steven Jay Lynn, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Psychology and the director of the Psychological Clinic at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He is a licensed psychologist and a diplomate in both clinical and forensic psychology.

Dr. Lynn is a fellow of many professional organizations, and he has received major awards from APA as well as the Chancellor’s Award of the State University of NewYork for Scholarship and Creative Activities.

Dr. Lynn is a past president of APA Division 30 (Psychological Hypnosis), the founding editor of Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, and serves on 11 editorial boards, including the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. He has written or edited 20 books and published more than 290 book chapters and articles.

His research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and has been featured in many media venues, including the New York Times and popular magazines, as well as television programs including ABC’s 20/20, the CBS Morning Show, Eye to Eye, the Discovery Channel, and an award-winning film documentary, Capturing the Friedmans.

Stanley Krippner, PhD, is a professor of psychology at Saybrook University. He was the 2002 recipient of APA’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Development of International Psychology. He is a fellow of four APA divisions and past president of two. He has received the Ashley Montagu Peace Award and lifetime achievement awards from the International Association for the Study of Dreams and the Parapsychological Association.