This early report (1963) analyzes questionnaire responses of participants about their experiences under the influence of psilocybin in a supportive environment and found that group size and atmosphere (setting) were important determinants of the quality of the experience.
Abstract
Excerpt: “A study has been described in which psilocybin was given to 175 [participants] from various backgrounds in a naturalistic environment. 98 initial experiences were assessed by means of a questionnaire, both in terms of major dimensions of the experience and in terms of the contribution of background and situational factors. A comparison of first and second experiences was made for a subsample of 35 [participants]. The results were discussed with reference to extracts from subjective accounts written by [participants]. The role of various set and setting variables was described and a tentative psychological mechanism proposed to account for the effects of these variables.”
Authors: Timothy Leary, George H. Litwin & Ralph Metzner
Authors
Authors associated with this publication with profiles on Blossom
Timothy LearyTimothy Leary was a clinical psychologist at Harvard, his advocacy for psychedelics (mainly LSD) got him both famous and fired. He is most well-known for the phrase "turn on, tune in, drop out."
Ralph Metzner
Ralph Metzner was one of the ringleaders of the 1960s research (and counter-culture) into psychedelics. He was a psychotherapist, researcher, and writer. He was friends with Timothy Leary and Ram Dass (Richard Alpert).