Anthropomorphism and Conspiracy  Beliefs – Understanding the  Consequences of Psychedelic Drug Use

The present study looked at whether psychedelic drug users could be more inclined to believe in conspiracy theories, and what role anthropomorphism plays in this potential relationship. For this, we created an online survey and presented respondents with an open-ended question relating to their general worldview and combined different items from conspiracy belief scales that we expected to relate to psychedelic drug users. The results relating to the anthropomorphism questionnaire showed that psychedelic drug use is related to increased anthropomorphism. However, even though this study also showed that anthropomorphism predicts believing in conspiracy theories, psychedelic drug users proved not to be more likely to believe in conspiracy theories than people who have never taken psychedelic drugs before. Responses to our open-ended question showed that many psychedelic drug users tend to be increasingly open-minded and re-evaluate their attitudes or beliefs after their psychedelic...Show moreThe present study looked at whether psychedelic drug users could be more inclined to believe in conspiracy theories, and what role anthropomorphism plays in this potential relationship. For this, we created an online survey and presented respondents with an open-ended question relating to their general worldview and combined different items from conspiracy belief scales that we expected to relate to psychedelic drug users. The results relating to the anthropomorphism questionnaire showed that psychedelic drug use is related to increased anthropomorphism. However, even though this study also showed that anthropomorphism predicts believing in conspiracy theories, psychedelic drug users proved not to be more likely to believe in conspiracy theories than people who have never taken psychedelic drugs before. Responses to our open-ended question showed that many psychedelic drug users tend to be increasingly open-minded and re-evaluate their attitudes or beliefs after their psychedelic experience, but showed no indication of conspiratorial thinking. In contrast to this finding, we also found that an increased frequency of psychedelic drug use did predict conspiratorial thinking. This study gives a very detailed insight into the experiences during and after the use of psychedelic drugs, thereby extending on previous studies investigating psychedelic drug use and its effects.Show less

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Anthropomorphism and Conspiracy Beliefs – Understanding the Consequences of Psychedelic Drug Use