Psychedelics, Personality and Political Perspectives.
Matthew M. Nour, Lisa Evans, Robin Carhart-Harris
J Psychoactive Drugs April 26, 2017 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2017.1312643 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 893 |
| Population | Anonymous internet survey respondents reporting naturalistic psychedelic use |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Hallucinogens Entheogens Mind-altering drugs Personality change Openness Personal growth Psychological transformation Political views Political alignment Liberalism Social attitudes Research study Academic study Scientific inquiry |
| Citations | 230 |
| Key findings | Lifetime psychedelic use positively predicted liberal political views, openness, and nature relatedness, and negatively predicted authoritarian political views, after accounting for confounders. |
Abstract
The psychedelic experience (including psychedelic-induced ego dissolution) can effect lasting change in a person's attitudes and beliefs. Here, we aimed to investigate the association between naturalistic psychedelic use and personality, political perspectives, and nature relatedness using an anonymous internet survey. Participants (N = 893) provided information about their naturalistic psychedelic, cocaine, and alcohol use, and answered questions relating to personality traits of openness and conscientiousness (Ten-Item Personality Inventory), nature relatedness (Nature-Relatedness Scale), and political attitudes (one-item liberalism-conservatism measure and five-item libertarian-authoritarian measure). Participants also rated the degree of ego dissolution experienced during their "most intense" recalled psychedelic experience (Ego-Dissolution Inventory). Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that lifetime psychedelic use (but not lifetime cocaine use or weekly alcohol consumption) positively predicted liberal political views, openness and nature relatedness, and negatively predicted authoritarian political views, after accounting for potential confounding variables. Ego dissolution experienced during a participant's "most intense" psychedelic experience positively predicted liberal political views, openness and nature relatedness, and negatively predicted authoritarian political views. Further work is needed to investigate the nature of the relationship between the peak psychedelic experience and openness to new experiences, egalitarian political views, and concern for the environment.