Examining Psychedelic-Induced Changes in Social Functioning and Connectedness in a Naturalistic Online Sample Using the Five-Factor Model of Personality
In a naturalistic online sample, prospective assessments before and after psychedelic use showed reduced Neuroticism alongside increases in Agreeableness and perceived social connectedness, with reductions in Neuroticism covarying with Agreeableness increases consistent with shared emotion‑regulation processes. These changes—largely independent of demographics, setting and acute factors but modestly amplified by baseline trait levels—suggest psychedelics may help address interpersonal aspects of personality pathology and loneliness.
Authors
- Robin Carhart-Harris
- David Erritzoe
Published
Abstract
The present study examines prospective changes in personality traits relevant to social functioning as well as perceived social connectedness in relation to the naturalistic use of psychedelic compounds in an online volunteer sample. The study also examined the degree to which demographic characteristics, social setting, baseline personality, and acute subjective factors (e.g., emotional breakthrough experiences) influenced trajectories of personality and perceived social connectedness. Participants recruited online completed self-report measures of personality and social connectedness at three timepoints (baseline, 2weeks post-experience, 4weeks post-experience). Linear mixed models were used to examine changes in outcomes and the moderation of these outcomes by covariates. The most substantive changes were reductions in the personality domains Neuroticism, and increases in Agreeableness and social connectedness. Notably, reductions in Neuroticism and increases in Agreeableness covaried over time, which may be suggestive of common processes involving emotion regulation. Preliminary evidence was found for a specific effect on a component of Agreeableness involving a critical and quarrelsome interpersonal style. Although moderation by demographic characteristics, social setting, baseline personality, and acute factors generally found limited support, baseline standing on Neuroticism, perspective taking, and social connectedness showed tentative signs of amplifying adaptive effects on each trait, respectively. Our findings hold implications for the potential use of psychedelics for treating interpersonal elements of personality pathology as well as loneliness.
Research Summary of 'Examining Psychedelic-Induced Changes in Social Functioning and Connectedness in a Naturalistic Online Sample Using the Five-Factor Model of Personality'
Introduction
Earlier research on serotonergic psychedelics has largely emphasised individual clinical benefits such as improvements in mood and reductions in symptoms of depression and addiction, while a smaller but growing literature has examined social and collective outcomes including cooperation, trust, and feelings of connectedness. The Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality provides a useful framework for investigating how psychedelic use might influence social functioning at the individual level: Neuroticism (negative emotionality), Extraversion (positive affect and sociability), and Agreeableness (prosociality versus antagonism) are highlighted as particularly relevant to interpersonal and collective functioning. Prior prospective studies of psychedelic-induced personality change are limited in number and sample size and have produced mixed findings, with some reports of decreased Neuroticism and increased Extraversion, Agreeableness, or Openness but others reporting null effects; variability in samples, settings, measures, and acute experiences likely contributes to inconsistency in the literature. Doss and colleagues set out to examine whether naturalistic psychedelic use is associated with adaptive changes in personality traits related to social functioning and with perceived social connectedness, and to explore moderators of those changes. The study focused on Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Agreeableness (with Openness and Conscientiousness included for completeness) and incorporated additional measures related to Agreeableness (compassion, affective and cognitive empathy). The team also tested whether demographic factors, baseline personality, set and setting, and acute subjective experiences (e.g., mystical-type experience, emotional breakthrough) moderated trajectories of change assessed up to 4 weeks after a planned psychedelic episode. This approach used a prospective, naturalistic design to collect a larger, internet-recruited sample than many lab-based studies, allowing the investigators to examine change and potential moderators in a general population of intended psychedelic users rather than in a controlled clinical setting. The study therefore aimed to provide insight into longer-term, ecologically valid changes in social functioning-related traits and connectedness following psychedelic use outside laboratory or ceremonial contexts.
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Study Details
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- APA Citation
Weiss, B., Nygart, V., Pommerencke, L. M., Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Erritzoe, D. (2021). Examining Psychedelic-Induced Changes in Social Functioning and Connectedness in a Naturalistic Online Sample Using the Five-Factor Model of Personality. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.749788
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