Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915

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    The veridical Near-Death Experience Scale: construction and a first validation with human and artificial raters
    (Frontiers Media S A, 2025-10-16) Greyson B; Long J; Holden JM; Jourdan J-P; King RA; Mays S; Mays R; Rivas T; Tassell-Matamua N; van Lommel P; Woollacott M; Tressoldi P; Panda R
    Introduction: In this study, we describe the construction of the veridical Near-Death Experience Scale (vNDE Scale), a structured instrument for evaluating the evidential strength of perceptions reported during near-death experiences (NDEs), and its first validation by human and artificial raters. Methods: The construction was implemented using a typical Delphi Method. The first draft of the scale was evaluated by 13 experts in NDE, who were asked to suggest revisions and comments within a month for the first round and 20 days for the second round. Results: A general consensus was achieved on the second round on eight criteria related to the timing of the investigation, the medical and physical conditions, the level of third-person verification, and the number, type, and quality of perceptions reported by the near-death experiencer, to be rated on a four-level Likert scale. The validation phase consisted of the application of the vNDE Scale to 17 cases of potentially veridical NDEs by 11 independent human raters and three artificial raters based on Large-Language Models. In 14 of the17 cases (82.3%), the overall agreement between human and artificial judges was over 75%, considering the two close levels of evidence strength, i.e., moderate plus strong, low plus very low, or vice-versa. Discussion: The vNDE Scale is a practical tool for evaluating the evidential strength of perceptions reported by near-death experiencers.
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    Trauma or Transcendence? The Relationship Between Near-Death Experiences and Dreaming
    (American Psychological Association, 2024-08-01) Lindsay N; Tassell-Matamua N; O'Sullivan L; Gibson R
    Near-death experiences (NDEs) are exceptional states of consciousness reported by many individuals who come close to death. Unusual dream phenomena such as more intense and vivid dreams, higher dream recall, and increased lucid dreaming have been purported to occur after NDEs, however, a comprehensive assessment of the dream experiences and attitudes of NDE survivors remains unexplored. Moreover, it remains unknown whether anomalous dream experiences stem from the actual NDE or the traumatic experience of coming close to death. In this study, 138 NDE survivors, 45 participants who experienced a life-threatening event but without NDE, and 129 participants who had never come close to death completed a quantitative questionnaire assessing trauma symptoms and a range of dream-related variables. The NDE group reported significantly more lucid dreams, creative and problem-solving dreams, precognitive dreams, and out-of-body experiences during sleep than both other groups of participants. Furthermore, these experiences appeared to be primarily related to the NDE rather than trauma symptomology. Findings continue to suggest a relationship between nonordinary states and expanded awareness more broadly—whether experienced during sleep or wakefulness—offering further insights into the phenomenon of consciousness in general.