Cannabis Amotivational Syndrome and Personality Trait Absorption: A Review and Reconceptualization
Peter L. Nelson
Imagination, Cognition and Personality September 1, 1994 DOI: 10.2190/uey1-lk8p-h5d0-1gt8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key points | Argues that cannabis "amotivation syndrome" may be a mislabeling of an exaggerated absorptive cognitive style in the context of depression, rather than a distinct syndrome. |
Abstract
This article argues that the so-called cannabis “amotivation syndrome,” widely reported in the literature, may not be a single nosological entity, but represent, instead, a change in cognitive style emerging as a result of cannabis's ability to facilitate a unique attentional state favoured by those who have a higher than average level of a personality factor referred to as “trait absorption.” Exaggeration of the absorptive style of cognition through cannabis use, when taken in the context of either a pre-existing or a reactive depression, may be what has been mistakenly categorized as “amotivational syndrome.”
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on cannabis, most cited first.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Delta-8, Delta-10, HHC, THC-O, THCP, and THCV: What Should We Call These Products? | 2023 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Model Psychoses Induced by LSD-25 in Normals | 1956 | Historical analysis | |
| Is there a specific ‘cannabis psychosis’? | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Peak-experience and the entheogenic use of cannabis in world religions | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Out of Harm's Way?: Illicit Drug Use, Medicalization and the Law | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Absorption and openness to experience: An everyday tale of traits, states, and consciousness change with music Music and Consciousness 2 April 11, 2019
- Personality Trait Absorption: An Exploratory Study of Opportunity and Capacity in Relation to Cannabis Use Imagination, Cognition and Personality September 1, 1995