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The Core of Me Is That Which Observes : A Mixed-Methods Study of Trait-Level Sense of Self

Lindström, Lena LU ; Stålhammar, Sanna and Cardeña, Etzel LU orcid (2025) In Psychology of Consciousness: Theory Research, and Practice 12(1). p.1-18
Abstract

This study examines trait-level sense of self in 32 participants with varying meditation experience, with a special focus on the sense of self-boundaries and the sense of being a subject of experience, what is here referred to as perspectival ownership of experience. Results from qualitative and quantitative analyses of in-depth phenomenological interviews suggested a quadratic relation between self-boundaries and perspectival ownership of experience, so that participants with either a strong or weak sense of self-boundaries reported little or no sense of perspectival ownership of experience, while participants in the middle range mentioned a salient sense in their everyday life. This is in contrast to the expected linear relation... (More)

This study examines trait-level sense of self in 32 participants with varying meditation experience, with a special focus on the sense of self-boundaries and the sense of being a subject of experience, what is here referred to as perspectival ownership of experience. Results from qualitative and quantitative analyses of in-depth phenomenological interviews suggested a quadratic relation between self-boundaries and perspectival ownership of experience, so that participants with either a strong or weak sense of self-boundaries reported little or no sense of perspectival ownership of experience, while participants in the middle range mentioned a salient sense in their everyday life. This is in contrast to the expected linear relation between these two aspects of the sense of self. We additionally highlight issues with self-report measures of trait self-transcendence and recommend the use of an ungraded visual analogue scale as a quick and reliable measure of the sense of self-boundaries.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
mixed-methods, perspectival ownership of experience, phenomenological interview, self-boundaries, spatial self-location
in
Psychology of Consciousness: Theory Research, and Practice
volume
12
issue
1
pages
1 - 18
publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85183622271
ISSN
2326-5523
DOI
10.1037/cns0000377
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6605a45e-dfb8-4b6d-be6c-4142f01d6d73
date added to LUP
2024-02-15 13:27:42
date last changed
2025-10-14 13:30:40
@article{6605a45e-dfb8-4b6d-be6c-4142f01d6d73,
  abstract     = {{<p>This study examines trait-level sense of self in 32 participants with varying meditation experience, with a special focus on the sense of self-boundaries and the sense of being a subject of experience, what is here referred to as perspectival ownership of experience. Results from qualitative and quantitative analyses of in-depth phenomenological interviews suggested a quadratic relation between self-boundaries and perspectival ownership of experience, so that participants with either a strong or weak sense of self-boundaries reported little or no sense of perspectival ownership of experience, while participants in the middle range mentioned a salient sense in their everyday life. This is in contrast to the expected linear relation between these two aspects of the sense of self. We additionally highlight issues with self-report measures of trait self-transcendence and recommend the use of an ungraded visual analogue scale as a quick and reliable measure of the sense of self-boundaries.</p>}},
  author       = {{Lindström, Lena and Stålhammar, Sanna and Cardeña, Etzel}},
  issn         = {{2326-5523}},
  keywords     = {{mixed-methods; perspectival ownership of experience; phenomenological interview; self-boundaries; spatial self-location}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{1--18}},
  publisher    = {{American Psychological Association (APA)}},
  series       = {{Psychology of Consciousness: Theory Research, and Practice}},
  title        = {{The Core of Me Is That Which Observes : A Mixed-Methods Study of Trait-Level Sense of Self}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cns0000377}},
  doi          = {{10.1037/cns0000377}},
  volume       = {{12}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}