Abstract
Several approaches have been used to understand out-of-body experiences (OBE); however, there is no consensus about its etiology, definition and constitutive characteristics. This study aimed to compare the definition of OBE with experiences similar to OBE but not classified as such by its experiencers. Thirteen respondents reported their experiences in a semistructured interview, which was analyzed using content analysis. Three of them described experiences that fit into three different categories of OBEs. Failure to recognize the experience as OBE was related to causal attributions and paranormal and religious beliefs. These data suggest the need for a separation of the definition of experience from its causal attribution as well as a multi-etiologic and phenomenological approach in the study of OBE.
Keywords:
out-of-body experience; anomalistic psychology; anomalous experiences; phenomenology; Merleau-Ponty