Drug Researchers Who Admit To Using Psychedelics Are Seen As Having Less Integrity

By Matthew Warren In the past few years, psychologists and neuroscientists have conducted a large number of studies into the effects of psychedelic drugs. Some have sought to better understand the effects of the drugs in the brain, while others are investigating the potential for substances like psilocybin and LSD to treat depression and other mental health conditions. This work obviously require tactful communication on the part of researchers: after all, they don’t want to alienate a public who may be at best ambivalent about the use of currently illegal drugs in research or mental health settings. Now a recent paper in Public Understanding of Science highlights one thing researchers shouldn’t do: admit to using psychedelic substances themselves. The team finds that researchers who make such a disclosure may be seen by the public as having less integrity. In the first study, Matthias Forstmann at the University of Zurich and Christina Sagioglou at the University of Innsbruck asked 185 participants to read a vignette about a (fictitious) scientist who studies the use of psychedelics to treat mental health disorders, and who has found some promising results regarding the use of psilocybin. Half read that the professor has “extensive personal experience” with the drugs himself, while the others read that he has no such experience. All participants then assessed the professor’s scientific integrity, by rating how well he was described by six adjective...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Drugs Source Type: blogs