Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
open access
This study investigated whether suggestion and placebo effects can induce mystical experiences using the God Helmet, a placebo brain stimulation device. Seventy-nine participants wore the placebo...Show moreThis study investigated whether suggestion and placebo effects can induce mystical experiences using the God Helmet, a placebo brain stimulation device. Seventy-nine participants wore the placebo God Helmet for 45 minutes in sensory deprivation and were interviewed about their experience. A qualitative analysis showed that, although participants reported unusual experiences, these were distinct from their previous mystical experiences. Additionally, a permutation analysis revealed that participants rated the intensity of the God Helmet experience lower on average than their previous mystical experiences, suggesting that the God Helmet experiences are less intense. Nevertheless, the experiences induced by the God Helmet were reported as stronger than normal daydreaming and shared similarities with hypnagogic (falling asleep) states. In addition, a regression showed that individuals with more previous mystical experiences had more unusual experiences with the God Helmet and a higher Mysticism scale score, highlighting the importance of considering individual differences for understanding sensitivity to mystical-type experiences. Furthermore, as the God Helmet shows potential for inducing hypnagogic states within a 45-minute session, it has potential applications in sleep research and provides new avenues for investigating altered states of consciousness. However, as the God Helmet does not induce authentic mystical experiences with long-term positive effects, it is not an effective tool for investigating mystical experiences or applying them for therapeutic purposes.Show less
Despite the increase of secularism, implicit religious and spiritual (jointly termed “supernatural”) reasoning persists even in individuals who identify as nonbelievers; however, previous studies...Show moreDespite the increase of secularism, implicit religious and spiritual (jointly termed “supernatural”) reasoning persists even in individuals who identify as nonbelievers; however, previous studies have used behavioral implicit measures to examine differences between implicit and explicit belief. The aim of this research was to investigate these differences in atheist and spiritual-but-not-religious (SBNR) individuals using event-related potentials, and explore the N400-effect as an implicit marker of (un)belief. We conducted two studies: Study 1A (N = 101) examined supernatural attitudes and study 1B (N = 109) examined supernatural beliefs. Participants were presented with positive/negative (1A) and belief/disbelief (1B) religious, spiritual, and control statements, and were asked to provide their explicit evaluation (i.e., agree/disagree) of the statements while ERPs were being recorded. The results showed inconclusive evidence of the utility of the N400 as an implicit measure of belief. Specifically, we did not find significant differences between atheists and SBNR individuals in the N400- amplitude between positive and negative (1A), or belief and disbelief (1B) religious, spiritual, and control statements. In light of the lack of statistically significant results, exploratory analyses were performed, and implications and limitations of our study, as well as suggestions for future research, were discussed.Show less
Various people attribute supernatural qualities to the effects of psychedelics. This pre registered study investigated whether thinking style has an influence on the type of attribution people make...Show moreVarious people attribute supernatural qualities to the effects of psychedelics. This pre registered study investigated whether thinking style has an influence on the type of attribution people make to their psychedelic experience. 163 psychedelic users completed an online questionnaire including items assessing the degree of intuitive and analytical thinking, as well as the individual attribution. It was found that an intuitive thinking style significantly predicted supernatural attributions to the effects of psychedelics. The analytical thinking style was not found to be a significant predictor. A subsequent exploratory analysis showed that supernatural belief worked as a mediator in the relationship between intuitive thinking and the supernatural attribution. Overall, important knowledge about the relationship between personality and the interpretation of the psychedelic experience was gained. This knowledge could be used to improve and tailor psychedelic-assisted therapy.Show less
Psychedelics are powerful psychoactive substances that alter perception and mood and affect numerous cognitive processes. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the use of...Show morePsychedelics are powerful psychoactive substances that alter perception and mood and affect numerous cognitive processes. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the use of psychedelics and long-term supernatural beliefs. Additionally, we investigate the option that long-term ontological confusions and anthropomorphism mediate this relationship. A survey was conducted among 245 participants who all had an interest in psychedelics. The survey used previously existing scales to assess scores on ontological confusions, anthropomorphism and supernatural beliefs. The results showed there was a correlation between psychedelics use and the tendency to anthropomorphize. Also, ontological confusions and anthropomorphism are positively correlated with supernatural beliefs. However, no correlation between psychedelic use and ontological confusions was found nor was there a significant correlation between psychedelic use and supernatural beliefs. Additionally, the data did not support a mediation model of the variables. Exploratory analyses suggested that the type of psychedelic compound and the frequency with which a compound had been consumed did not have a significant correlation with anthropomorphism. Future research is required to provide more accurate findings.Show less
The current study experimentally investigated the effects of personal religiosity level on an individual’s attribution of psychedelic experience to be religious. And whether the frequency of using...Show moreThe current study experimentally investigated the effects of personal religiosity level on an individual’s attribution of psychedelic experience to be religious. And whether the frequency of using psychedelics could contribute to religious attribution of psychedelic experience under the moderation effect of an individual’s level of belief in God. The number of 516 people responded to a survey assessing their religiosity, indicated by the level of faith in God and other religion-introduced concepts such as angels and demons, their frequency of using psychedelics, and the degree to which they considered their psychedelic experience to be religious-related. SPSS (Version 26) was used to run regression analysis to measure the scores. The results indicated that people with a high religiosity level were more likely to experience psychedelics in a religious-related way. However, there was no effect found of frequency of psychedelic usage on religious-related psychedelic experience with or without belief in God as a moderator. Despite the central hypothesis being significant, there remained partly insignificant results and other limitations of this study. As a result, more research should be conducted to understand better the relationship between religiosity and psychedelics drug and their possible implication in the clinical and non-clinical psychology field.Show less
Background: Humans seem to be increasingly disconnected from nature and from themselves, which appears to be essentially linked to mental illnesses and lower levels of well-being. However, current...Show moreBackground: Humans seem to be increasingly disconnected from nature and from themselves, which appears to be essentially linked to mental illnesses and lower levels of well-being. However, current literature reveals promising results for psychedelic interventions. Previous research findings suggest that nature relatedness and feelings of connectedness increase via psychedelic experiences, and that natural trip settings might amplify these relationships even more. Methods: Using linear regression analysis, moderation and mediation analysis we investigated the association between trip setting and nature relatedness and connectedness among psychedelic drug users (N=190) in a cross-sectional online survey. For exploratory purposes we investigated the effect of predominant living environments. Results: More naturalistic settings were positively associated with increases in nature relatedness and connectedness. Naturalistic living environments did not predict nature relatedness. Connectedness mediated the relationship between trip setting and nature relatedness. Conclusion: The present study provides evidence for a correlational effect of naturalistic environment during psychedelic use on increases in nature relatedness and connectedness, which appears of great relevance for the field of mental health and treatments using psychedelics.Show less
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,...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
