A veridical NDE scale

[Laird]

The veridical Near-Death Experience Scale: construction and a first validation with human and artificial raters
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol., 16 October 2025
Sec. Consciousness Research and Mindfulness
Volume 16 - 2025 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1661390

Abstract

Introduction:
In this study, we describe the construction of the veridical Near-Death Experience Scale (vNDE Scale), a structured instrument for evaluating the evidential strength of perceptions reported during near-death experiences (NDEs), and its first validation by human and artificial raters.

Methods:
The construction was implemented using a typical Delphi Method. The first draft of the scale was evaluated by 13 experts in NDE, who were asked to suggest revisions and comments within a month for the first round and 20 days for the second round.

Results:
A general consensus was achieved on the second round on eight criteria related to the timing of the investigation, the medical and physical conditions, the level of third-person verification, and the number, type, and quality of perceptions reported by the near-death experiencer, to be rated on a four-level Likert scale. The validation phase consisted of the application of the vNDE Scale to 17 cases of potentially veridical NDEs by 11 independent human raters and three artificial raters based on Large-Language Models. In 14 of the17 cases (82.3%), the overall agreement between human and artificial judges was over 75%, considering the two close levels of evidence strength, i.e., moderate plus strong, low plus very low, or vice-versa.

Discussion:
The vNDE Scale is a practical tool for evaluating the evidential strength of perceptions reported by near-death experiencers.

The paper was authored by:

Bruce Greyson, Jeffrey Long, Janice Miner Holden, Jean-Pierre Jourdan, Robert A. King, Suzanne Mays, Robert Mays, Titus Rivas, Natasha Tassell-Matamua, Pim van Lommel, Marjorie Woollacott, and Patrizio Tressoldi.

An interesting comparison with this scale: portalecm.com has a ranking of NDE cases that asks each one the same five questions. Was it told before anyone explained anything? Do we know when it happened? Do we know when the thing perceived happened? Does someone outside the family confirm it? Can we rule out that they heard it or were told? Most of that is in the vNDE scale too.

Where they agree: Sartori's Patient 10 and the AWARE patient come out near the top in both.

Where they differ: cases that rest on what a nurse or doctor remembers years later, with nothing written at the time. The panel rated the dentures case Strong. The site gives it 1.5 out of 5, and says a low score doesn't mean anyone lied, only that the record from the time is missing.

No case there reaches 5 out of 5. The top 10, with every answer and its sources:

https://portalecm.com/en/verified-cases/

Is asking for a record from the time too strict? What do you think?