SUGGESTIBILITY IS NOT CORRELATED WITH NORMAL PERCEPTUAL HALLUCINATIONS, BUT IS NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH PERCEPTUAL DISCRIMINATION

Abstract

Non-veridical perception in the form of reporting the perception of objects actually not presented has been observed also in neurotypical subjects. This phenomenon of ‘normal hallucinations’ substantially depends on expectations formed by learned contextual cues and associations as priors and is interpreted as a result of the mechanisms of predictive coding. We explored whether perceptual associations formed experimentally by inter-stimulus associations are related to the suggestibility trait of the perceivers. No significant correlation was found between Gudjonsson’s Suggestibility scale total scores and subjective clarity of the hallucinatory experiences. There was a small positive correlation between shift and the level of clarity of illusory experiences. Significant negative correlation was found between the level of suggestibility and correctness of perception of the actually present stimuli.