Briefly discuss the cross-cultural routes to altered states of consciousness.

What will be an ideal response?


Students' answers may vary.

The answer should contain the following information:

Some scholars suggest that the quest to alter consciousness represents a basic human desire. Whether or not people accept such an extreme view, variations in states of consciousness clearly share some basic characteristics across a variety of cultures. One of them is an alteration in thinking, which may become shallow, illogical, or otherwise different from normal. In addition, people's sense of time can become disturbed, and their perceptions of the physical world and of themselves may change. They may lose self-control, doing things that they would never otherwise do. Finally, they may feel a sense of ineffability-the inability to understand an experience rationally or describe it in words.

Psychology

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Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)

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