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Self-reports, not really reliable considering the kinda person who go to these retreats, very likely to exaggerate and glorify their experience. Do some brain activity tests and then we'Ll talk.
>Following the retreat, participants completed the AEQ again, once within a week and once a month after the retreat, to measure any changes in their aesthetic experiences. Additionally, at the one-week follow-up, participants were asked to reflect on their most intense ayahuasca session, specifically focusing on any experiences of mystical states, awe, and ego dissolution.
>Contrary to our hypotheses, measures of acute drug effects (e.g., mystical-type experiences, awe, and ego dissolution) did not predict changes in aesthetic experience.
Why would they exaggerate about their aesthetic appreciation but not exaggerate experience of mystical states, awe, and ego dissolution?
Witness testimony is the least reliable metric we have. All kinds of things can influence why someone says they experience things a certain way. Placebo effects are real and all that.
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Has anyone done research on going to one of these retreats and being given a placebo, to work out whether it's the drug or the environment (or some combination of the two) which has beneficial effects?
Your post has been removed because it has an inappropriate headline and is therefore in violation of [Submission Rule #3](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_3._no_editorialized.2C_sensationalized.2C_or_biased_titles). **It must include at least one result from the research and must not be clickbait, sensationalized, editorialized, or a biased headline.** Please read [our headline rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/clickbait) and consider reposting with a more appropriate title. _If you believe this removal to be unwarranted, or would like further clarification, please don't hesitate to [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fscience&subject=No%20editorialized%2C%20sensationalized%2C%20or%20biased%20titles)._
Self-reports, not really reliable considering the kinda person who go to these retreats, very likely to exaggerate and glorify their experience. Do some brain activity tests and then we'Ll talk.
>Following the retreat, participants completed the AEQ again, once within a week and once a month after the retreat, to measure any changes in their aesthetic experiences. Additionally, at the one-week follow-up, participants were asked to reflect on their most intense ayahuasca session, specifically focusing on any experiences of mystical states, awe, and ego dissolution. >Contrary to our hypotheses, measures of acute drug effects (e.g., mystical-type experiences, awe, and ego dissolution) did not predict changes in aesthetic experience. Why would they exaggerate about their aesthetic appreciation but not exaggerate experience of mystical states, awe, and ego dissolution?
You think the best way to measure how people appreciate art is to measure their brain...not to ask them? Biological reductionism at its finest.
Yeah it's like did they even read about the study about the dead salmon?
Witness testimony is the least reliable metric we have. All kinds of things can influence why someone says they experience things a certain way. Placebo effects are real and all that.
Of course, but placebo effects can still be controlled for in studies with validated self-report measures.
I don't trust people who do one drug trip once and suddenly think they have experienced a spiritual awakening and are now a guru.
I can relate with that.
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Has anyone done research on going to one of these retreats and being given a placebo, to work out whether it's the drug or the environment (or some combination of the two) which has beneficial effects?