Reports of mass psychogenic illness (MPI) date to the thirteenth century in Europe. The historical and contemporary literature on mass psychogenic illness are reviewed and a case illustration is provided which meets the current diagnostic criteria for MPI. Speculation is offered about the similarities between mass psychogenic illness phenomena and “active-alert” trance states. In particular, the presence of a spontaneous trance state and heightened receptivity to suggestion leading to MPI are discussed.
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Elkins et al. (1988) studied this question.
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