Effects of psychedelic use on authoritarian attitudes revisited.
Otto Simonsson, Taylor Lyons, Joseph Marks, Hannes Kettner, Leor Roseman, Eline Haijen, Mendel Kaelen, Robin Carhart-Harris
Journal of Psychopharmacology May 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1177/02698811261443677 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Combination: naturalistic observational study, single-arm study, and randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Participants who planned to use psychedelics, healthy volunteers receiving psilocybin, and patients diagnosed with depression receiving psilocybin or escitalopram |
| Interventions | Psilocybin Escitalopram |
| Topics | LSD Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Authoritarian Political Psychedelics |
| Key findings | No significant changes in authoritarian attitudes were observed after psychedelic use across the three studies. |
Abstract
Previous research suggests that psychedelics may, under certain conditions, decrease authoritarian attitudes, but larger and more rigorously designed studies are needed to confirm these findings. We aimed to examine the effects of psychedelic use on authoritarian attitudes. Using data from three separate studies with different designs and populations, we investigated the relationship between psychedelic use and authoritarian attitudes. Study 1 was a naturalistic observational study with participants who planned to use psychedelics at their own initiative, Study 2 was a single-arm study with healthy volunteers who received psilocybin, and Study 3 was a randomized, controlled trial with patients diagnosed with depression who received psilocybin or escitalopram. Across the three studies, results showed no significant changes in authoritarian attitudes after psychedelic use. Contrary to previous research, the latest evidence is not compelling that psychedelic use influences authoritarian attitudes in a reliable direction. Future research should recruit larger and more diverse samples, collect additional context-related data, and also investigate political outcomes other than authoritarian attitudes.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on LSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety and Efficacy of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide-Assisted Psychotherapy for Anxiety Associated With Life-threatening Diseases Patients with anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases | 2014 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 12 |
| Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans Experienced hallucinogen users | 1994 | Double-blind, saline placebo-controlled, randomized study | n = 12 |
| Acute Effects of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Healthy Subjects Healthy subjects (8 women, 8 men) | 2014 | Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study | n = 16 |
| Changes in global and thalamic brain connectivity in LSD-induced altered states of consciousness are attributable to the 5-HT2A receptor Healthy human participants | 2018 | Double-blind, randomized, counterbalanced, cross-over study | n = 24 |
| LSD-induced entropic brain activity predicts subsequent personality change. Healthy adults | 2016 | Balanced-order, placebo-controlled study | n = 19 |
Citations in the library
Cites 19
- Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression New England Journal of Medicine April 14, 2021
- Psychedelics and the essential importance of context. Journal of Psychopharmacology February 15, 2018
- Predicting Responses to Psychedelics: A Prospective Study Frontiers in Pharmacology November 2, 2018
- Psychedelics reopen the social reward learning critical period Nature June 14, 2023
- Psychedelics, Personality and Political Perspectives. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs April 26, 2017
and 14 more in the library