Page "Improvisational theatre" Paragraph 26

In the field of the Psychology of Consciousness, explored the altered state of consciousness experienced by actors and improvisers in his scholarly paper Acting: an altered state of consciousness.

According to G. WIlliam Farthing in The Psychology of Consciousness comparative study, actors routinely enter into an altered state of consciousness ( ASC ).

Acting is seen as altering most of the 14 dimensions of changed subjective experience which characterize ASCs according to Farthing, namely: attention, perception, imagery and fantasy, inner speech, memory, higher-level thought processes, meaning or significance of experiences, time experience, emotional feeling and expression, level of arousal, self-control, suggestibility, body image, and sense of personal identity.