When?
Tuesday, August 18 at 7:30PM
Where?
Who?
Dr Christine Mohr
What's the talk about?
Madness and creativity are often considered together. This claim seems supported by personal reports and insight into the mental health of famous artists. Studies will be presented that link language processing in the two hemispheres to associative word processing, paranormal belief and creativity. The audience is invited to consider the idea that these links could explain the wide prevalence of paranormal beliefs in the general population.
Christine Mohr did her PhD on the “neuropsychology of magical belief” at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and has continued working in this field ever since. In 2004, she joined the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol as a lecturer where she teaches Neuropsychiatry. With respect to paranormal belief, she mainly investigates and publishes on the neuropsychological correlates of these beliefs, and aims to understand why some individuals with such “bizarre” beliefs are considered by most as absolutely healthy (but spiritual), while in others it is considered pathological (psychotic). This is particularly relevant, because the dimensional, or rather quasi-dimensional view of psychosis would indicate that the healthy expression might have evolutionary advantages.