Exploring the relationship between microdosing, personality and emotional insight: A prospective study

This prospective survey study (n=24) explored the relationship between microdosing, personality change, and emotional awareness. Conscientiousness increased, while neuroticism decreased across these time points and correlated negatively with duration of prior microdosing experience. Extraversion correlated positively with both duration of prior microdosing experience and lifetime number of microdoses.

Abstract

“Background and aims Having entered the recent public and research zeitgeist, microdosing involves consuming sub-perceptual doses of psychedelic drugs, allegedly to enhance performance, creativity, and wellbeing. The results of research to date have been mixed. Whereas most studies have reported positive impacts of microdosing, some microdosers have also reported adverse effects. In addition, research to date has revealed inconsistent patterns of change in personality traits. This prospective study explored the relationship between microdosing, personality change, and emotional awareness.

Methods Measures of personality and alexithymia were collected at two time points. 76 microdosers participated at baseline. Invitations to a follow-up survey were sent out after 31 days, and 24 participants were retained.

Results Conscientiousness increased, while neuroticism decreased across these time points (n = 24). At baseline (N = 76), neuroticism was associated with alexithymia. In addition, neuroticism correlated negatively with duration of prior microdosing experience, and extraversion correlated positively with both duration of prior microdosing experience and lifetime number of microdoses.

Conclusion These results suggest that microdosing might have an impact on otherwise stable personality traits.”

Authors: Hannah M. Dressler, Stephen J. Bright & Vince Polito

Summary

The results of this study suggest that microdosing may have an impact on otherwise stable personality traits. Conscientiousness increased, while neuroticism decreased, and extraversion correlated positively with duration of prior microdosing experience and lifetime number of microdoses.

INTRODUCTION

Recent growing public awareness about the phenomenon of “microdosing” has been sparked by stories in Vogue, Forbes, The New York Times and the Australian Financial Review. Microdoses are considered subperceptual doses, usually ranging from 1/20 to 1/ 10 of a recreational, psychoactive dose.

LSD and psilocybin are the most common psychedelics microdosed, and the optimal dose varies among users. Most microdosers adjust their initial dose through trial and error, and restrict their use to phases lasting from a few weeks to a few months.

Although microdosing has been found to have subtle acute effects, proponents claim that regular microdosing can lead to a range of long-term benefits, including improved mood, wellbeing, sociability, creativity and performance.

Psychedelic microdosing has been growing in popularity, and recent research has shown that LSD increases optimism in healthy subjects, decreases depressive and anxious symptoms in patients with life-threatening cancer diagnoses, and promotes abstinence in patients with alcohol and tobacco addiction.

LSD has been observed to have effects on mood, perception and cognition. Low doses of LSD increase positive mood, friendliness, arousal, and decrease attentional lapses, but also increase anxiety and confusion.

Microdosing and personality

Polito and Stevenson (2019) investigated the long-term effects of microdosing psychedelics by tracking the experiences of micro-dosers over a six-week period. They found that microdosing led to improved mental health, improved attentional capacities, and a small but significant increase of the personality trait neuroticism.

Polito and Stevenson (2019) observed an increase in the personality trait neuroticism among microdosers, which contradicts the finding that people who microdose tend to have improved mental health. However, Bright et al. (2021) found that microdosers had higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to a yoga control group.

Our study aimed to further understand the relationship between microdosing, changes in personality over time and emotional awareness. Personality traits such as extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness were assessed.

Although not a classic personality trait, alexithymia is an indicator of emotional insight and may shape the experience of microdosers.

Participants

Participants had to be 18 or older, fluent in English and have past and current experience with microdosing to participate.

Ninety participants submitted complete responses at T1, and 32 participants responded to an invitation to complete the follow-up survey at T2. Of these participants, 28 submitted complete responses at T1 and T2.

Participants were aged between 18 and 68 years, were 61.3% male, 14.4% female, and 1.3% self-classified as “Other”. They were from North America, Europe, Australia or New Zealand, Asia, South Africa, and Central America.

Procedure

Potential participants were directed to a study webpage, created an anonymous e-mail address, and completed a substance use disorder screening tool, a personality questionnaire, and a 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale.

The M5-50 Personality Questionnaire and TAS-20 were re-administered 31 days after survey completion to participants who did not respond to the follow-up survey at T2.

Materials

The Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was modified to include 7 items and assess hazardous use, harmful use, and dependence. Participants were excluded if they had used a drug within the last three months and exceeded a total score of 27.

The M5-50 Personality Questionnaire is a measure of the personality domains extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience. It consists of 50 items and uses a five-point Likert-type scale.

The 20-item toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20) is a 20-item measure of alexithymia. It has demonstrated good internal consistency and a good test-retest reliability.

RESULTS

Participants consumed between 3 and 30 microdoses during the study period, with the majority of participants microdosing psilocybin or LSD. The primary motives were Personal Growth and Self Medication, with a smaller number of participants microdosing primarily to Increase Productivity, Curiosity or to Increase Creativity.

The relationship between emotional insightfulness and the personality trait neuroticism was explored using Pearson’s correlation and linear regression. Alexithymia was not a significant predictor of the change in neuroticism over the course of the study.

DISCUSSION

We observed significant increases in conscientiousness and decreases in neuroticism after one month of microdosing. Alexithymia did not predict neuroticism changes between T1 and T2.

Microdosing and personality

Contrary to previous findings, we observed a significant decrease in neuroticism. This finding is more consistent with other contemporary microdosing research and many anecdotal reports highlighting the positive effects of microdosing on mental health, mood and wellbeing.

The majority of participants in Polito and Stevenson’s study had microdosed 10 times or less, while all participants in the current study reported at least some prior microdosing experience. This may explain why the current study showed a negative correlation between prior microdosing experience and neuroticism.

Conscientiousness significantly increased in our sample, suggesting that participants perceived themselves as more organized, responsible and determined after microdosing. Extraversion, agreeableness, and openness did not change from T1 to T2, suggesting that people already high in openness are more likely to try microdosing.

Alexithymia

Alexithymia and neuroticism were positively correlated at T1, demonstrating that emotional insightfulness may be associated with lower neuroticism among microdosers.

Limitations and future directions

The study design was limited by practical and legal restrictions, and was not dose or placebo controlled.

Participants were recruited worldwide and through a wide range of psychedelic organizations and forums. The survey was carried out in English, and there was no exclusion criterion, but most participants reported past experience with recreational drug use, making it difficult to be certain that effects found are entirely due to microdosing.

CONCLUSION

Microdosing may impact personality traits, such as conscientiousness and neuroticism. Additionally, prior microdosing experience correlated negatively with neuroticism and positively with extraversion, although this was not predictive of future personality change.