Meaningful Psychedelic Experiences Predict Increased Moral Expansiveness.
Journal of psychoactive drugs – March 12, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
Meaningful psychedelic experiences can lead to a remarkable increase in moral expansiveness, enhancing our capacity for empathy and compassion. This study found that such experiences, marked by feelings of awe and ego dissolution, significantly shift how individuals perceive morality, fostering positive emotions and deeper connections with others.
Abstract
There has been growing interest in understanding the psychological effects of psychedelic experiences, including their potential to catalyze significant shifts in moral cognition. This retrospective study examines how meaningful psychedelic experiences are related to changes in moral expansiveness and investigates the role of acute subjective effects as predictors of these changes. We found that meaningful psychedelic experiences were associated with self-reported increases in moral expansiveness. Changes in moral expansiveness were positively correlated with reported mystical experiences, ego dissolution, as well as feeling moved and admiration during the experience. Additionally, heightened moral expansiveness was associated with longer term shifts in the propensity to experience the self-transcendent positive emotions of admiration and awe. Future research should further investigate the mechanisms underlying these changes and explore how different types of psychedelic experiences might influence moral decision-making and behavior over time.