So far the evidence for
a psychological explanation for the NDE is
looking pretty thin on
the ground. The theories or ideas are there
but nothing has been
shown to be solid
enough to be rigorously tested to provide
hard evidence. A key
factor in all psychological theories is having
a workable model that
can be tested, so what
would a model for the
NDE have to account
for and how could it be
put to the test? If we
assume that the NDE
does have some sort
of psychological function then a working
model would be able
to explain it.
A psychological model
would have to account
for three things in relation to the NDE; the
consistency of reports
and the universality of
those who report them,
the psychological reason behind it and the
physiological processes in the brain that
occur during the process. At the moment
it is extremely difficult
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to construct any kind
of model in relation to
the NDE as the psychological theories are
just not robust enough
to form the basis of
a model. looking back