Quantifying States of Consciousness via an Empirical-Phenomenological Approach

Abstract

Two hundred and forty-nine subjects, averaging thirty-five to a group, participated in two sessions consisting of two different four minute stimulus conditions. The subjects completed an inventory, the Phenomenology of Consciousness Questionnaire, immediately afterwards in reference to each of these conditions. The questionnaire assessed the phenomenological state associated with each condition in terms of nine different dimensions of consciousness. The results indicated that the phenomenological parameters that define a state of consciousness are stable under several different conditions. Baseline, identity, and altered states of consciousness that are associated with specific stimulus conditions can be defined and differentiated in terms of intensity variations within, and pattern effects among, the dimensions of conscious experience.