PMID- 35536567
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20220908
LR  - 20220922
IS  - 1745-6924 (Electronic)
IS  - 1745-6916 (Linking)
VI  - 17
IP  - 5
DP  - 2022 Sep
TI  - Toward a New Science of Psychedelic Social Psychology: The Effects of MDMA 
      (Ecstasy) on Social Connection.
PG  - 1234-1257
LID - 10.1177/17456916211055369 [doi]
AB  - Psychedelic science has generated hundreds of compelling published studies yet 
      with relatively little impact on mainstream psychology. I propose that social 
      psychologists have much to gain by incorporating psychoactive substances into 
      their research programs. Here I use (+/-)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) 
      as an example because of its documented ability in experiments and clinical 
      trials to promote bonding, love, and warmth. Social connection is a fundamental 
      human need, yet researchers still possess few tools to effectively and durably 
      boost it. MDMA allows investigators to isolate the psychological mechanisms-as 
      well as brain pathways-underlying felt social connection and thus reveal what 
      should be targeted in future (nondrug) studies. Accordingly, I introduce a 
      conceptual model that presents the proximal psychological mechanisms stimulated 
      by MDMA (lowered fear, increased sociability, more chemistry), as well as its 
      potential long-term impacts (improved relationships, reduced loneliness, stronger 
      therapeutic alliances). Finally, I discuss further questions (e.g., whether using 
      MDMA for enhancing connection can backfire) and promising research areas for 
      building a new science of psychedelic social psychology. In sum, 
      psychopharmacological methods can be a useful approach to illuminate commonly 
      studied social-psychological processes, such as connectedness, prejudice, or 
      self, as well as inform interventions to directly improve people's lives.
FAU - Lyubomirsky, Sonja
AU  - Lyubomirsky S
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-0727-5595
AD  - Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20220510
PL  - United States
TA  - Perspect Psychol Sci
JT  - Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for 
      Psychological Science
JID - 101274347
RN  - 0 (Hallucinogens)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Affect
MH  - Emotions
MH  - *Hallucinogens/pharmacology/therapeutic use
MH  - Humans
MH  - *N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/pharmacology/therapeutic use
MH  - Psychology, Social
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - MDMA
OT  - interpersonal relations
OT  - positive psychology
OT  - psychedelics
OT  - relationship science
OT  - social connection
EDAT- 2022/05/11 06:00
MHDA- 2022/09/09 06:00
CRDT- 2022/05/10 11:33
PHST- 2022/05/11 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/09/09 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2022/05/10 11:33 [entrez]
AID - 10.1177/17456916211055369 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Perspect Psychol Sci. 2022 Sep;17(5):1234-1257. doi: 10.1177/17456916211055369. 
      Epub 2022 May 10.