ORCID

0009-0000-4471-3078

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Elizabeth C. Pinel

Abstract

Existential isolation, the feeling of being alone in one’s phenomenological experience, is theorized to be a reality of the human condition and is associated with multiple negative health outcomes. Research shows that meditation can decrease feelings of existential isolation, presumably because meditation dissolves the perceived boundary between the self and all that is, facilitating existential connection. There is no currently validated method of empirically testing the felt connection between the self and all that is–a concept referred to in Vedic traditions as So Hum (translated as I am That). Here, I detail the development and validation of the So Hum – I Am That Scale, designed to measure this affective state of unity. In Study 1, 50 potential items derived from Vedic philosophy were refined using exploratory factor analysis into a unidimensional, internally consistent measure. The resulting measure demonstrated strong convergent and discriminant validity, correlating positively with meditation experience as well as environmentalist beliefs, supporting the scale’s utility in capturing the mechanism through which affective states of interconnection may buffer against existential isolation. Study 2 employed confirmatory factor analysis to validate a refined 7-item scale, which demonstrated excellent internal consistency and model fit. Participant scores on the So Hum – I Am That Scale following a theoretically-relevant manipulation further supported construct validity. After writing about an immersive experience in nature, participants reported significantly higher So Hum scores in comparison to baseline. This was not the case in the comparison conditions. Together, the results of two studies position the So Hum – I Am That Scale as a well-validated measure of an ancient construct. The construct has theoretical and practical relevance for (among other phenomena) future work in meditation, existential psychology, and psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Language

en

Number of Pages

66 p.

Available for download on Sunday, June 20, 2027

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