Do Psychedelics Change Beliefs?
OpenAlex – September 15, 2021
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Psychedelic consumption profoundly alters human beliefs, not by creating new ones, but by changing how existing beliefs are formed. These substances influence affect and others' suggestions, impacting belief imputation—a core aspect of social psychology and cognition. Baseline beliefs also shape the acute and lasting effects. Understanding these mechanisms, which involve neurotransmitter receptor influence on behavior and warrant biochemical analysis, is vital for harnessing psychedelics' potential for human flourishing, as highlighted in psychology and drug studies.
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.