A Single Belief-Changing Psychedelic Experience Is Associated With Increased Attribution of Consciousness to Living and Non-living Entities

Abstract

IntroductionAlthough the topic of consciousness is both mysterious and controversial, psychedelic drugs are popularly believed to provide unique insights into the nature of consciousness despite a lack of empirical evidence.MethodsThis study addresses the question of whether psychedelics change the attribution of consciousness to a range of living and non-living entities. A survey was conducted in 1,606 respondents who endorsed a belief changing psychedelic experience.ResultsParticipants rated their attributions of consciousness to a range of living and non-living entities before and after their psychedelic experience. Superstitious beliefs and belief in freewill were also assessed. From before the experience to after, there were large increases in attribution of consciousness to various entities including non-human primates (63–83%), quadrupeds (59–79%), insects (33–57%), fungi (21–56%), plants (26–61%), inanimate natural objects (8–26%), and inanimate manmade objects (3–15%). Higher ratings of mystical experience were associated with greater increases in the attribution of consciousness. Moreover, the increased attributions of consciousness did not decrease in those who completed the survey years after the psychedelic experience. In contrast to attributions of consciousness, beliefs in freewill and superstitions did not change. Notably, all findings were similar when restricted to individuals reporting on their first psychedelic experience.DiscussionThis study demonstrates that, among people who reported belief-changing psychedelic experiences, attribution of consciousness to various entities increases. Future prospective psychedelic drug administration studies that control for expectancies are needed.

Adverse events in clinical treatments with serotonergic psychedelics and MDMA: A mixed-methods systematic review

“…In the absence thereof, young people, and those high in the personality traits of neuroticism emotional lability, and/or low in absorption, openness to experience, and acceptance, as well as those in a apprehensive, preoccupied or confused mental state may be more prone to challenging experiences, which can worsen their pre-existing problems ( Aday et al, 2021 ; Barrett et al, 2017 ; Studerus et al, 2012 ). Finally, recent articles have described how psychedelics may alter metaphysical or ontological beliefs ( Nayak and Griffiths, 2022 ; Timmermann et al, 2021 ). Such experiences may be highly meaningful but can also induce an “ontological shock,” particularly when conflicting with prior held religious, personal, or spiritual beliefs ( Breeksema and Van Elk, 2021 ).…”

Belief changes associated with psychedelic use

“…Most of the survey questions focused on belief changes associated with a single psychedelic experience. Results from an analysis of the belief statements about the attribution of consciousness to other entities from the initial 1,606 participants who provided completed data have been reported elsewhere (Nayak and Griffiths, 2022)…”

Self-transcendent experiences as promoters of ecological wellbeing? Exploration of the evidence and hypotheses to be tested

“…Psychedelic-induced STEs have also been linked to increases in care for the environment and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors, thus demonstrating their potential to support ecological wellbeing. Numerous studies have documented that the use of psychedelics has been linked to increases in nature relatedness ( Nour et al, 2017 ; Lyons and Carhart-Harris, 2018 ; Kettner et al, 2019 ; Nayak and Griffiths, 2022 ). As with awe experiences, these increases in feelings of connectedness to the natural world have been shown to account for why psychedelic-induced experiences have also been linked to increases in engagement in pro-environmental behaviors such as recycling and trying to conserve water ( Forstmann and Sagioglou, 2017 ; Whitburn et al, 2020 ).…”