Detailed Analyses of Ganzfeld Phenomena as Perceptual Events in Stimulus-Reductive Situations

Abstract

Experiment 1 reexamined in detail conscious experiences in Ganzfeld situations with homogeneous light (red, green, or blue). Subjects were instructed to report everything, including phenomena attributed to the external world (colour, brightness, space) and those of the self (somatosensory experience, body movement, and emotion). The reports were richer in the red-light condition. Naïve subjects reported a larger variety of events than sophisticated subjects. In Experiment 2 pupillary responses were recorded while the subjects were exposed to a Ganzfeld at two different levels of illumination. Pupillary size for high illumination decreased with time and then recovered to the initial level, while for low illumination it remained constant. Subjective brightness correlated with pupillary size. Experiment 3 revealed a temporal pattern of spatial events. The findings obtained are discussed in relation to the ontogenetic process of visual space perception and emotion.