The Associations of Naturalistic Classic Psychedelic Use, Mystical Experience, and Creative Problem Solving

Oct 11, 2016Journal of psychoactive drugs

Links Between Natural Classic Psychedelic Use, Mystical Experiences, and Creative Problem Solving

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Abstract

Participants reporting classic psychedelic use concurrent with mystical experience (n = 11) exhibited significantly faster times on a creative problem-solving task.

Classic psychedelic use is associated with faster completion times on a functional fixedness task, indicating greater creative problem-solving ability.
Participants who experienced classic psychedelics alongside mystical experiences reported significantly greater mystical experiences.
Lifetime mystical experience did not show a significant relationship with task completion times, suggesting it does not mediate the effect of psychedelics on creativity.
Classic psychedelics may enhance creativity independently of their impact on mystical experiences.

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Developing methods for improving creativity is of broad interest. Classic psychedelics may enhance creativity; however, the underlying mechanisms of action are unknown. This study was designed to assess whether a relationship exists between naturalistic classic psychedelic use and heightened creative problem-solving ability and if so, whether this is mediated by lifetime mystical experience. Participants (N = 68) completed a survey battery assessing lifetime mystical experience and circumstances surrounding the most memorable experience. They were then administered a functional fixedness task in which faster completion times indicate greater creative problem-solving ability. Participants reporting classic psychedelic use concurrent with mystical experience (n = 11) exhibited significantly faster times on the functional fixedness task (Cohen's d = -.87; large effect) and significantly greater lifetime mystical experience (Cohen's d = .93; large effect) than participants not reporting classic psychedelic use concurrent with mystical experience. However, lifetime mystical experience was unrelated to completion times on the functional fixedness task (standardized β = -.06), and was therefore not a significant mediator. Classic psychedelic use may increase creativity independent of its effects on mystical experience. Maximizing the likelihood of mystical experience may need not be a goal of psychedelic interventions designed to boost creativity.

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The Associations of Naturalistic Classic Psychedelic Use, Mystical Experience, and Creative Problem Solving

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