TY - JOUR
T1 - Belief changes associated with psychedelic use
AU - Nayak, Sandeep M.
AU - Singh, Manvir
AU - Yaden, David B.
AU - Griffiths, Roland R.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Support for this study and for SMN, DBY, and RRG was provided by the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research which is funded by philanthropic support from the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Tim Ferriss, Matt Mullenweg, Blake Mycoskie, and Craig Nerenberg as well as a grant from the Y.C. Ho/Helen and Michael Chiang Foundation. MS acknowledges IAST funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR) under grant ANR-17-EURE-0010 (Investissements d’Avenir program). The funders had no role in the design, conduct, or interpretation of this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2023/1
Y1 - 2023/1
N2 - Background: Psychedelic use is anecdotally associated with belief changes, although few studies have tested these claims. Aim: Characterize a broad range of psychedelic occasioned belief changes. Survey: A survey was conducted in 2374 respondents who endorsed having had a belief changing psychedelic experience. Participants rated their agreement with belief statements Before and After the psychedelic experience as well as at the time of survey administration. Results: Factor analysis of 45 belief statements revealed five factors: “Dualism,” “Paranormal/Spirituality,” “Non-mammal consciousness,” “Mammal consciousness,” and “Superstition.” Medium to large effect sizes from Before to After the experience were observed for increases in beliefs in “Dualism” (β = 0.72), “Paranormal/Spirituality” (β = 0.90), “Non-mammal consciousness” (β = 0.72), and “Mammal consciousness” (β = 0.74). In contrast, negligible changes were observed for “Superstition” (β = −0.18).). At the individual item level, increases in non-physicalist beliefs included belief in reincarnation, communication with the dead, existence of consciousness after death, telepathy, and consciousness of inanimate natural objects (e.g., rocks). The percentage of participants who identified as a “Believer (e.g., in Ultimate Reality, Higher Power, and/or God, etc.)” increased from 29% Before to 59% After.” At both the factor and individual item level, higher ratings of mystical experience were associated with greater changes in beliefs. Belief changes assessed after the experience (an average 8.4 years) remained largely unchanged at the time of survey. Conclusions: A single psychedelic experience increased a range of non-physicalist beliefs as well as beliefs about consciousness, meaning, and purpose. Further, the magnitude of belief change is associated with qualitative features of the experience.
AB - Background: Psychedelic use is anecdotally associated with belief changes, although few studies have tested these claims. Aim: Characterize a broad range of psychedelic occasioned belief changes. Survey: A survey was conducted in 2374 respondents who endorsed having had a belief changing psychedelic experience. Participants rated their agreement with belief statements Before and After the psychedelic experience as well as at the time of survey administration. Results: Factor analysis of 45 belief statements revealed five factors: “Dualism,” “Paranormal/Spirituality,” “Non-mammal consciousness,” “Mammal consciousness,” and “Superstition.” Medium to large effect sizes from Before to After the experience were observed for increases in beliefs in “Dualism” (β = 0.72), “Paranormal/Spirituality” (β = 0.90), “Non-mammal consciousness” (β = 0.72), and “Mammal consciousness” (β = 0.74). In contrast, negligible changes were observed for “Superstition” (β = −0.18).). At the individual item level, increases in non-physicalist beliefs included belief in reincarnation, communication with the dead, existence of consciousness after death, telepathy, and consciousness of inanimate natural objects (e.g., rocks). The percentage of participants who identified as a “Believer (e.g., in Ultimate Reality, Higher Power, and/or God, etc.)” increased from 29% Before to 59% After.” At both the factor and individual item level, higher ratings of mystical experience were associated with greater changes in beliefs. Belief changes assessed after the experience (an average 8.4 years) remained largely unchanged at the time of survey. Conclusions: A single psychedelic experience increased a range of non-physicalist beliefs as well as beliefs about consciousness, meaning, and purpose. Further, the magnitude of belief change is associated with qualitative features of the experience.
KW - 5-HT2A receptor agonist
KW - Psychedelics
KW - beliefs
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U2 - 10.1177/02698811221131989
DO - 10.1177/02698811221131989
M3 - Article
C2 - 36317643
AN - SCOPUS:85141387578
SN - 0269-8811
VL - 37
SP - 80
EP - 92
JO - Journal of Psychopharmacology
JF - Journal of Psychopharmacology
IS - 1
ER -