The Metaphysics Matrix Questionnaire: the development of an accessible measure of belief change for the general population

Abstract

Abstract Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that people may undergo substantial shifts in their Metaphysical beliefs (MPBs) following non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by experiences such as meditation, breathwork, near-death, and psychedelics. Despite this, existing measures for assessing MPBs are limited in scope and interpretability, prompting the current study’s objective: to develop a comprehensive and user-friendly questionnaire capable of capturing a diverse range of belief constellations, whilst remaining theoretically informed. Towards this aim, the curation of belief statements for the Metaphysics Matrix Questionnaire (MMQ) used both theory-driven and data-driven methods. 68 Existing items were selected from the literature and combined with 43 newly created items aimed at covering under-addressed metaphysical positions. A factor analysis revealed an eight-factor solution, grouping beliefs into the following broad stroke categories: 1) Religiosity/Spirituality; 2) Physicalism; 3) Transcendency; 4) Panpsychism/Cosmopsychism; 5) Determinism/Fatalism/Low-autonomy; 6) Pseudo-Emergentism; 7) High-autonomy/Moral; 8) Randomness. Following item reduction, 73 items across these factors serve as the basis for the proposed Questionnaire. The MMQ’s potential applications offer valuable insights into beliefs and their impact on mental health outcomes. We provide a discussion on the merits of theory-driven vs data-driven approaches, limitations of the current study, and provide suggestions for future research toward validating the MMQ going forward.