Personality Facets Systematically Relate to Nonordinary Experiences

Experiences that are unusual, transcendental or nonordinary have fascinated philosophers and the general public alike since antiquity. However, these experiences are often interpreted in very different ways, ranging from spiritual gifts to psychopathological syndromes. We use a new inventory that focuses on the phenomenological features of a wide range of experiences and link them to personality traits within the Big Five tradition. Using an online panel sample designed to approximate the general population ( N = 424), we observed weak to moderate associations with personality facets and weaker associations with personality domains. Given the nature and varying frequencies of these experiences, the reported associations demonstrate the real-world relevance of personality traits for understanding which individuals may report unusual or nonordinary experiences. Individuals who are more sociable and outgoing, interested in arts and culture, and lower in responsibility report more experiences. We identify three clusters that vary in their association with personality facets. At the same time, our results show some surprising findings, which suggest clinical research that frames some of these experiences as pathological may miss some important nuances about human experiences.