Do Psychedelics Change Beliefs?
Hugh McGovern, Pantelis Leptourgos, Brendan Hutchinson, Philip R. Corlett
September 15, 2021 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/3dc2h (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Flourishing Affect linguistics Cognition Consumption sociology Social science |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | Psychedelics may not induce de novo beliefs but rather change the impact of affect and others' suggestions on how beliefs are imputed, with baseline beliefs potentially coloring acute and long-term effects. |
Abstract
Renewed interest in psychedelics has reignited the debate about whether and how they change human beliefs. In both the clinical and social-cognitive domains, psychedelic consumption may be accompanied by profound, and sometimes lasting, belief changes. We review these changes and their possible underlying mechanisms. Rather than inducing de novo beliefs, we argue psychedelics may instead change the impact of affect and of others’ suggestions on how beliefs are imputed. Critically, we find that baseline beliefs (in the possible effects of psychedelics, for example) might color the acute effects of psychedelics as well as longer term changes. If we are to harness the apparent potential of psychedelics in the clinic and for human flourishing more generally, these possibilities must be addressed empirically.