Date of Award

Spring 2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chairperson

Michael J. Gawrysiak, PhD

Committee Member

Paul S. Regier, PhD

Committee Member

Michael Roche, PhD

Abstract

Contemplative practices and psychedelic experiences have demonstrated significant benefits for psychological health and general human flourishing. Both practices share neuroscientific (i.e., cognitive flexibility), psychological (i.e., insight), and phenomenological (i.e., self-loss) overlap, but the combined effects remain underexplored. This study aimed to address this gap by examining the influence of drug-induced ego-dissolution and dispositional mindfulness on subjective well-being while testing the potential mediating role of compassion, meaning in life, and non-dual awareness (NDA; awareness without the typical subject-object dichotomy). The initial hypothesis posited that selfless experiences and mindfulness cultivate non-dual embodied cognition, leading to increased compassion and meaning and, in turn, individual well-being. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted to collect assessment data from a sample of 303 subjects, predominantly undergraduate psychology students. Assessments included well-validated measures of ego-dissolution, trait mindfulness, NDA, compassion, meaning in life, and subjective well-being. Path analysis assessed the initial model's fit, then a revised model was developed and mediation analysis with bootstrapping was conducted to investigate indirect effects. A revised model demonstrated satisfactory fit, indicating that 1) ego-dissolution predicts well-being through NDA and meaning, 2) mindfulness directly improves well-being, and 3) compassion and meaning partially mediate mindfulness’s effects on well-being. These results indicate that psychedelics and contemplative practices may lead to a lasting change in embodied cognition, enhancing NDA, meaning, and compassion. As such, transient selfless states might develop into permanent traits, potentially reflecting a new form of self-understanding that is reciprocally dependent on the environment rather than felt as a separate and isolated entity.

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