Self-Transcendent Positive Emotions as a Potential Mechanism Underpinning the Effects of Meaningful Psychedelic Experiences on Connectedness to Nature
Ecopsychology September 27, 2022 Katie Newton, Sam G. Moreton
A retrospective online survey of 236 people who had a meaningful psychedelic experience found that acute effects—mystical experiences, ego-dissolution, and self-transcendent positive emotions (STPE)—predicted lasting increases in both dispositional STPE and feelings of connection to nature. Different patterns emerged for cognitive versus emotional components of nature connectedness, with STPE more strongly predicting changes in cognitive connectedness. Exploratory mediation analyses suggested that acute STPE during the experience may lead to day-to-day increases in these emotions, which in turn may help explain why psychedelics can strengthen feelings of connection with the natural world.