Past Psychedelic Use Predicts Divergent Thinking

TL;DR

This study found that individuals with past psychedelic use tend to have higher divergent thinking abilities, indicating potential benefits for creativity, but no significant differences were observed in insight or cognitive reflection measures.

Contribution

It provides large-scale evidence linking past psychedelic use to enhanced divergent thinking, a novel insight into psychedelics' impact on creativity.

Findings

Psychedelic users scored higher on divergent thinking.

No significant difference in insight or cognitive reflection.

Results suggest a specific association with divergent thinking.

Abstract

Psychedelics have shown potential in treating a range of mental health conditions, yet far less is known about their impact on creativity. This study examined three components of creativity-divergent thinking, cognitive reflection, and insight in a large sample (N = 5,905) from the Great British Intelligence Test. We compared performance between individuals with past psychedelic use and those without such use. Psychedelic users scored significantly higher on divergent thinking than both non-drug users and drug users who had not used psychedelics. However, they did not score higher on measures of cognitive reflection, number of insights, or insight accuracy. These findings suggest that naturalistic psychedelic use may be associated with enhanced divergent thinking, but not enhanced insight-related performance. Future research should aim to establish causality through prospective designs and controlled studies incorporating long-term follow-up, biological data, and personality structure assessment.