title: Individuals with pronounced schizotypal traits are particularly successful in tickling themselves.
abstract: We assessed self-tickling sensations in a group of participants high in schizotypal traits (n=27) and group of participants low in schizotypal traits (n=27). The groups were formed by screening a pool of 397 students for extreme scores in the French version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. As observed in a previous study involving psychiatric people with auditory hallucinations and/or passivity experiences our results showed that self-applied tactile stimulations are felt to be more ticklish by healthy individuals high in schizotypal traits. In contrast, there were no significant intergroup differences in the mean tickle rating in the externally-produced tickling condition. Furthermore, more successful self-tickling was associated with more frequent self-reports of unusual perceptual experiences (such as supernatural experiences) and passivity experiences in particular (such as a feeling of being under the control of an outside force or power).
authors.affiliation: Univ. Lille, EA 4072 - PSITEC - Psychologie: Interactions, Temps, Émotions, Cognition, F-59000 Lille, France.
authors.forename: Anne-Laure
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lemaitre
authors.affiliation: Univ. Lille, EA 4072 - PSITEC - Psychologie: Interactions, Temps, Émotions, Cognition, F-59000 Lille, France.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luyat
authors.affiliation: Univ. Lille, EA 4072 - PSITEC - Psychologie: Interactions, Temps, Émotions, Cognition, F-59000 Lille, France. Electronic address: gilles.lafargue@univ-lille3.fr.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lafargue
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Agency; Delusions; Efference copy; Passivity experiences; Predictive sensorimotor process; Schizophrenia; Schizotypy; Ticklishness