Classical psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin have recently re-entered mainstream discussions surrounding mental health.
Small clinical trials have shown promising results for their therapeutic potential in treating conditions like depression, anxiety and addiction.
However, beyond their clinical utility, many questions remain regarding the impact of these substances on psychological aspects like personality and belief systems.
Key Facts:
- Psychedelic use was positively associated with increased belief in alternative facts and the notion that facts are politically influenced.
- No link was found between psychedelic use and reliance on intuition over empirical evidence.
- Psychedelic users scored higher on a measure of conspiracy mentality compared to non-users.
- Alcohol use exhibited an inverse relationship with belief in alternative facts.
- The psychedelic experience may foster unconventional thinking but not necessarily irrational conspiracy ideation.
Source: Sci Rep. 2023
The Psychedelic Experience: A State of Expanded Consciousness
Psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin and DMT produce profound changes in consciousness, perception, and cognition.
Their effects include enhanced sensory perception, distorted sense of time, visions and hallucinations, emotional amplification, feelings of oceanic boundlessness, and ego dissolution.
These non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by psychedelics are often described as mind-expanding and spiritually meaningful.
Users frequently report gaining novel insights about themselves and the nature of reality.
The potency of these substances to alter consciousness so profoundly has led them to be utilized traditionally in spiritual and religious contexts by indigenous cultures across the world.
Their ability to occasion mystical-type experiences was also harnessed in the 1950s-60s, when psychedelics were used extensively in psychotherapy prior to their prohibition.
From Insight to Attitude Change: Do Psychedelics Influence Worldviews?
The substantial and often ineffable transformations occasioned by psychedelics have prompted examination into whether these substances can lead to lasting changes beyond just the drug experience itself.
Specifically, some research has focused on psychedelics’ impact on personality traits like openness to experience, nature relatedness, as well as shifts in political and environmental attitudes.
While early studies suggested psychedelics may modulate personality and worldviews, more recent work with larger sample sizes found no link between psychedelic use and changes in political perspectives.
This indicates the need for further research to clarify if psychedelics do in fact influence people’s core belief systems and treatment of knowledge.
Understanding this is important, as beliefs shape how we perceive and act in the world.
Examining the Link Between Psychedelics and Epistemic Beliefs
A new study investigated the association between psychedelic use and belief in unconventional ideas like conspiracy theories, as well as tendencies in how people evaluate information more broadly.
The research utilized data from 392 participants, of whom 233 reported psychedelic use at least once in their lifetime.
Several questionnaires were administered assessing drug use patterns, personality traits, and beliefs.
Three primary facets of epistemic beliefs were measured:
- Faith in intuition over facts
- Need for evidence to confirm assertions
- Perception of facts as politically influenced
Additionally, a scale for conspiracy mentality gauged the propensity to believe in alternative explanations rejected by mainstream consensus.
Key Findings: Psychedelics Linked to Nonconformity But Not Conspiracism
The analysis revealed a positive association between recent psychedelic use and belief in alternative facts, as well as the view of facts being politically determined.
Psychedelic users scored higher on the conspiracy mentality scale compared to non-users.
This was driven by greater endorsement of the notions that important information is withheld from the public and that secret organizations strongly sway political decisions.
However, there was no link found between psychedelic use and favoring intuitive feelings over empirical evidence when confirming facts.
These findings suggest psychedelic use may be related to questioning dominant information sources rather than adopting fanciful conspiracy explanations with no factual basis.
Psychedelics Were Also Associated With Personality Traits Like Openness
Exploring relationships between drug use and personality, psychedelics were positively linked to the trait openness to experience.
Openness is related to cognitive flexibility and willingness to entertain novel and unconventional ideas.
This meshes well with the observed association between psychedelics and nonconformist thinking styles while not necessarily translating into irrational conspiracism.
Other key personality findings:
- Alcohol use correlated positively with extraversion, aligning with its social disinhibiting effects.
- Alcohol use correlated negatively with belief in alternative facts, potentially reflecting its associations with pro-social behavior.
- Stimulant use correlated negatively with conscientiousness.
Parsing Out Correlation From Causation
An inherent limitation of this type of research is that it can only identify correlations – the causal relationships underlying the observed associations remain ambiguous.
For instance, the analysis cannot discern whether:
(A) Psychedelic use predisposes people to develop unconventional beliefs OR (B) Individuals already inclined to hold unorthodox perspectives are more drawn to psychedelics.
Disentangling causation from correlation will require experimental research exploring whether psychedelic administration directly results in changes in epistemic beliefs and evaluation of information.
Sociocultural Contexts Shape Beliefs and Drug Use
It’s also important to emphasize that cultural and sociopolitical environments significantly influence drug use patterns, personality development, and belief systems.
While this study was conducted primarily in Sweden, the associations discovered may not generalize across diverse global populations with different cultural norms.
For example, the rising prevalence of psychedelic use and mistrust of mainstream media observed in this sample may both be manifestations of the same underlying generational shift occurring in this cultural context.
Conspiracy Ideation – Pathological or Sign of Healthy Skepticism?
Another key point is that many participants in this study were psychiatrically healthy.
Belief in some so-called “conspiracy theories” may constitute healthy questioning of institutional power structures rather than delusional ideation.
However, others contend clear categorical distinctions can be delineated between rational skepticism and pathological conspiracism.
This nuance merits further exploration, given the complex interplay between cultural forces, cognitive biases, and clinical symptoms that can shape conspiracy beliefs.
Implications for Drug Policy and Harm Reduction
Understanding how different substances impact mindsets provides insights that inform evidence-based drug policy.
However, these findings should not be interpreted to support restrictive policies surrounding psychedelics.
In fact, further stigmatization of psychedelic users could exacerbate conditions fostering harmful conspiracy ideation.
A compassionate, public health-centered approach should be taken to reduce potential risks and harms associated with drug use.
The future of psychedelic research is incredibly promising.
As these substances become integrated into psychiatry and neuroscience, we must closely examine their psychological effects beyond just therapeutic outcomes.
Elucidating how they shape personality, information processing and worldviews will allow us to maximize their benefits while mitigating any potential detriments.
References
- Study: Alternative beliefs in psychedelic drug users
- Authors: Alexander V Lebedev et al. (2023)
