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Archetypal-imaging and mirror-gazing.

Giovanni B Caputo1

  • 1DIPSUM, University of Urbino, via Saffi 15, 61029 Urbino, Italy.

Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|November 8, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Gazing into mirrors can reveal unconscious archetypal contents, causing strange-face illusions in healthy individuals and heightened experiences in schizophrenics. This phenomenon offers a new method for "imaging of the unconscious".

Keywords:
Pompeiarchetypeconiunctio oppositorumdissociationempathyhallucinationmagicnigredosynchronicity

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • Mirrors are linked to self-recognition and consciousness.
  • Carl G. Jung explored mirrors' connection to the unconscious.
  • The link between conscious mirror behavior and unconscious meaning is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between conscious mirror gazing and unconscious content.
  • To explore the phenomenon of "strange-face illusions" induced by mirror gazing.
  • To assess the potential of strange-face illusions for "imaging of the unconscious".

Main Methods:

  • Healthy and psychiatric participants gazed at their own faces in mirrors under low illumination.
  • Participants described the visual and perceptual experiences during mirror gazing.
  • Qualitative analysis of reported illusions and self-identification with perceived images.

Main Results:

  • Healthy observers reported distortions, monstrous beings, and archetypal faces.
  • Schizophrenic patients exhibited increased strange-face illusions and identified with them.
  • Depression patients reported minimal changes or perceived immobile, statue-like faces.

Conclusions:

  • Strange-face illusions may represent psychodynamic projections of unconscious archetypal contents.
  • Mirror gazing can serve as an experimental technique for "imaging of the unconscious".
  • Further research is warranted to explore this phenomenon's therapeutic and diagnostic potential.