In a large-scale ( N = 1487) general population online study, we investigated the relationship between past experience with classic psychedelic substances (e.g. LSD, psilocybin, mescaline), nature relatedness, and ecological behavior (e.g. saving water, recycling). Using structural equation modeling we found that experience with classic psychedelics uniquely predicted self-reported engagement in pro-environmental behaviors, and that this relationship was statistically explained by people’s degree of self-identification with nature. Our model controlled for experiences with other classes of psychoactive substances (cannabis, dissociatives, empathogens, popular legal drugs) as well as common personality traits that usually predict drug consumption and/or nature relatedness (openness to experience, conscientiousness, conservatism). Although correlational in nature, results suggest that lifetime experience with psychedelics in particular may indeed contribute to people’s pro-environmental behavior by changing their self-construal in terms of an incorporation of the natural world, regardless of core personality traits or general propensity to consume mind-altering substances. Thereby, the present research adds to the contemporary literature on the beneficial effects of psychedelic substance use on mental wellbeing, hinting at a novel area for future research investigating their potentially positive effects on a societal level. Limitations of the present research and future directions are discussed.
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TrulyStupidNewb on September 6th, 2017 at 00:45 UTC »
That's not what the article summary says.
The title of the reddit OP failed to mention the self-reported part.
tdhirrotwyarw4ary on September 6th, 2017 at 00:15 UTC »
The research being done with lsd and brain activity is fascinating.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/11/lsd-impact-brain-revealed-groundbreaking-images
The level of connection between parts of our brains that rarely interact has profound effects on how we perceive information. That perception doesn't even have to be necessarily about being part of the natural world. Being able to perceive the world differently than you 'always do' can lead to the desire to understand other perspectives.
anythingnoniding on September 5th, 2017 at 22:12 UTC »
Seeing this makes me think that funding for legal access to therapeutic psychedelic sessions could be a really effective way to make the world better -- not only are you healing people directly (e.g. the psilocybin for emotional distress research), but you're also getting people to care more about nature and the world.
Bill Gates, u there?