Various psychological constructs describe trait-level differences in egocentricity. Wayment and Bauer (2017) use “quiet ego” (contrasted with “noisy ego”) to describe traits associated with compassionate self-identity and the ability to transcend egoistic concerns and adaptively balance the needs of others and self. Dambrun and Ricard (2011) draw a similar trait-level distinction between selflessness and self-centeredness. Maslow (1971, 241–255) associates self-transcendence with non-egocentric “being-cognition” and its corollary “being-motivation,” and contrasted these with “deficiency-cognition” and “deficiency-motivation,” involving orienting oneself to the world through unfulfilled egocentric needs. Fromm (1976) contrasts two fundamental evaluative orientations or existential modes: the non-egocentric “being mode” and the egocentric, goal-oriented, and alienated “having mode.”

Many theories converge on the notion that expanding one’s perspective to universal concerns is essential for achieving mature development of human cognition and morals (Loevinger and Blasi, 1976; Kegan, 1982; Gibbs, 2003), or explicitly link self-transcendence to these higher developmental stages (Maslow, 1971; Kohlberg and Ryncarz, 1990; Levenson et al., 2001). Similarly, the expansion of self–other boundaries is theoretically central to many notions of developmental self-transcendence (St. Arnaud, 2019). Researchers have linked wisdom with the ability to transcend one’s narrow perspectives and self-interests and with the development of a non-egocentric perspective on life (Le and Levenson, 2005; Ardelt, 2008; Vervaeke and Ferraro, 2013; Aldwin et al., 2019).

Multiple authors explicitly connect trait differences in egocentricity to self-transcendent values. Wayment and Bauer (2017, 83) identified strong empirical correlations between quiet ego and (a) prosocial concerns, (b) compassionate goals, and (c) self-transcendent values of Schwartz’s classification. Researchers have also developed measurements for Fromm’s existential modes and observed a conceptual similarity between these and the value orientations of Schwartz’s value theory (Cohen et al., 2005).

Furthermore, there are theoretical frameworks linking developmental self-transcendence to both STEs and value change. Maslow suggested that peak-experiences can lead to temporary states of “being-cognition,” in which the world is perceived through a set of values and qualities he called “being-values” or “intrinsic values of Being” (B-values), such as the Platonic triad of goodness, beauty, and truth (Maslow, 1970, 64–65, 96; Maslow, 1971, 186, 286–328). For Maslow, B-values were biologically rooted, transculturally shared, and “cosmocentric”—not based on social or egoic concerns. A shift in perception to these B-values forms another kind of gestalt to organize the perceived world, “a change in attitude, valuing reality in a different way, seeing things from a new perspective, from a different centering point” (Maslow, 1970, 78). B-values describe reality and imply a normative aspect, giving direction on what should be pursued; their introjection into one’s value structure results in non-egocentric “metamotivation” (Maslow, 1971, 286–328).

Similarly, in later formulations of moral development theory, Kohlberg and Ryncarz (1990) speculated about a (metaphorical) seventh “cosmic” stage of moral development, beyond the sixth stage of universalizable ethical thinking (Gibbs, 2003, 70–72). They saw that the existential crisis from confronting the “finitude of our individual self” could cause a gestalt shift in self-understanding, leading one to identify “with the cosmic or infinite perspective and value life from its standpoint” (Kohlberg and Ryncarz, 1990, 192–196). Kohlberg and Ryncarz (1990, 200–201) speculated that this shift occurs through a radical transcendence or decentering of the egocentric viewpoint, with significant normative implications such as finding harmony with and love of the cosmic order, and understanding that power and pleasure are not intrinsic ends of human life (Gibbs, 2003, 70–72). Converging with Maslow, Kohlberg, and Ryncarz (1990, 192, 206) saw that mystical experiences or “experience of nonegoistic or nondual variety” might be required for this kind of gestalt shift in moral understanding and valuations.

Evidence from non-psychedelic research supports the association of STEs with self-transcendent values. Awe has been observed to cause increases in prosocial behavior and generosity (Piff et al., 2015). Near-death experiences, which often involve ego-dissolution, have been observed to result in less materialistic values and increased connection to nature (Greyson, 1983; Gandy, 2017; Barberia et al, 2018; Martial et al., 2021; Sweeney et al., 2022). Nature immersion has been observed to lead to not only pro-environmental behavior but also generosity, prosocial values, and more intrinsic values in general (Weinstein et al., 2009; Zhang et al., 2014; Lumber et al., 2017; Kettner et al., 2019). Isham et al. (2022) argue that STEs can promote ecological wellbeing, a notion intrinsically associated with considering non-egocentric matters such as other beings and nature, and review evidence for STEs possessing a general tendency to enhance pro-environmental and self-transcendent values.

In Belser et al.’s (2017) study, all 13 cancer patients who suffered from anxiety described “revised life priorities” as a major effect of psilocybin therapy:

These participants described shifts in their life priorities away from instrumental pursuits toward more fundamental objects of valuation, similar to the observation of reduced valuation of economic success by Lerner and Lyvers (2006). Swift et al. (2017, 24) observe that these same participants were pulled away from habitual patterns and overwhelm caused by cancer and “given an expanded perspective on what was felt to be most important and meaningful in life, which endured beyond the session,” allowing patients to reconnect to life, their authentic selves, and the wider world beyond their sickness. As argued in Section 3.3, suffering tends to narrow the evaluative perspective—a sense of disconnection is associated with mental health issues (Carhart-Harris et al., 2018a)—but psychedelic experiences can reverse this trend, as illustrated by the case of a terminal cancer patient:

These changes might plausibly be explained by a widening of the evaluative context to the full context of one’s life and beyond as a result of reduced egocentric salience. As egocentric pursuits and worries likely become relatively less important, there is space for attunement with pre-existing core values from which one was disconnected—which often are self-transcendent values.

Beauty is perhaps the most commonly grasped intrinsic value in psychedelic experiences. Examples abound of profound esthetic psychedelic experiences (Huxley, 1954, 4–6; Masters and Houston, 1966, 156–165; Shanon, 2002, 176). Such experiences sometimes lead to a sustained appreciation for art and the beauty of nature (Vaughan, 1983; Shanon, 2002, 176; Studerus et al., 2011; Noorani et al., 2018). Exploring the phenomenology of ayahuasca experiences, Shanon (2002, 176) claims that these experiences heighten the esthetic perception to the extent that “the ayahuasca experience is cardinally aesthetic.” This fits with the above framework, as unselfing frees up attention and salience, allowing deeper attunement to the present sensory environment.

Psychedelic unselfing can foster allocentric perspectival widening, opening our concern and care to interpersonal relations and social contexts in which we are embedded and leading to a better grasp of relational values and the intrinsic value of other persons. Experiences of relational embeddedness, social connectedness, identity fusion, and other relational processes are common in psychedelic experiences (Belser et al., 2017; Kettner et al., 2021; Newson et al., 2021; Roseman et al., 2021; Weiss et al., 2021). Moreover, experimental studies have observed increased prosociality and altruism (Griffiths et al., 2008, 2011, 2018; Noorani et al., 2018; Schmid and Liechti, 2018). These prosocial changes are likely associated with feelings of empathy and sentiments of love and compassion, all common self-transcendent emotions in psychedelic experiences (Shanon, 2002, 157, 164, 339; Pokorny et al., 2017; Watts et al., 2017, 535; Blatchford et al., 2020; Mulukom et al., 2020; Letheby, 2021, 202). These changes fit the category of “benevolence” in Schwartz’s self-transcendent values, defined as devotion to ingroup members’ welfare (although many of these changes overlap with more universal concerns).

Psychedelic experiences can foster nature relatedness, appreciation of nature and non-human animals, and environment-friendly values (Studerus et al., 2011; Forstmann and Sagioglou, 2017; Nour et al., 2017; Watts et al., 2017; Kettner et al., 2019; Gandy et al., 2020; Pöllänen et al., 2022). These changes fit Schwartz et al. (2012) “universalism–nature” value category, defined as the preservation of the natural environment.

Schwartz et al. (2012) value category “universalism–concern”—encompassing commitment to equality, justice, and protection for all people—is probably enhanced by the increased prosocial attitudes explored above. Moreover, psychedelic experiences often involve reflection on and imagination about moral and ethical issues and values. Watts et al. (2017, 534–535) report cases of moral deliberation in psilocybin experiences: one-third of 12 participants had insights into the ongoing refugee crisis, and some pondered climate change, and reported becoming concerned about global issues afterward. These processes of ethical reflection and imagination suggest reduced egocentric biases and a shift to more self-transcendent evaluative modes. As epitomized by one patient, “I got a wider perspective […] It helped me appreciate that the world is a big place, that there’s a lot more going on than just the minor things […] in my head” (Watts et al., 2017, 534). Masters and Houston (1966, 255) cite an early study in which one-third of the 194 participants reported increased interest in ethics 10 months after an LSD session. Shanon (2002) observes that ayahuasca intoxication tends to affect values and is often experienced as a lesson in morals:

Similarly, morally relevant themes can feature in psychedelic visions (Shanon, 2002, 173–175).

In Schwartz et al. (2012), humility is a universal self-transcendent value related to recognizing one’s insignificance in the larger scheme of things. Notably, quiet ego and hypo-egoism are associated with the character trait of humility and putting the self in perspective (Leary and Guadagno, 2011; Wayment and Bauer, 2017), and Murdoch (1997, 99, 104) used humility as a prime example of non-egocentric virtue. Humility as both value and trait is integrally connected with reduced egocentricity and widened perspectives.

Shanon explicitly mentions humility as an important lesson of psychedelic experiences (2002, 159, 174). Many other features of psychedelic experiences—including awe (and associated “small self”), acceptance, gratitude, sense of connectedness and interconnectedness, spirituality, and relational embeddedness—are conceptually associated with humility (Shanon, 2002, 205; Hendricks et al., 2015; Belser et al., 2017, 16–17; Watts et al., 2017; Carhart-Harris et al., 2018b; Letheby, 2021, 197–204).

Letheby (2021, 197–204) argues that psychedelic experiences foster spirituality by enhancing the ability to recognize one’s place in the larger scheme of things, through developing broader perspectives and expanding attention beyond self-related concerns. Empirically, psychedelics are associated with an increased appreciation of spirituality (Lerner and Lyvers, 2006; Griffiths et al., 2018). A sense of sacredness and encounters with the sacred are common features of psychedelic experiences (Shanon, 2002, 156, 262; Griffiths et al., 2019; James et al., 2020). Furthermore, visionary and mystical experiences sometimes bring insights into values. These states are associated with noesis, a sense of gaining knowledge not mediated by reflective thought or sense perception. For example, Shanon (2002) reports an encounter with Supreme Good and a subsequent noetic insight into the unity of values, highly reminiscent of Platonic philosophy: “A major impression these visions had on me is the (Platonic) conclusion that ultimately, the ethical and the aesthetical as well as the true are the same” (p. 174). The similarity to Maslow’s B-values should also be noted. Mystical experiences, God encounter experiences, and similar psychedelic states can plausibly acquaintance one with deep intrinsic values of existence such as transcendent values postulated by many religious traditions (Pelser and Roberts, 2015; Griffiths et al., 2019), signaling a shift to self-transcendent modes of valuation.

Psychedelic experiences are a significant source of STEs (Yaden et al., 2017; Letheby, 2017, 2021; St. Arnaud, 2019; Isham et al., 2022). Psychedelics often induce various changes in the sense of self, ranging from experiences of connection to union experienced in mystical experiences (Millière, 2017; Millière et al., 2018; Letheby, 2021, 46–53; Nour and Carhart-Harris, 2017). The sensed boundary between self and the world might weaken, and one can experience empathy, affinity, blending, identification, and even unification with what is ordinarily other (Shanon, 2002, 205; Belser et al., 2017, 16–17; Yaden et al., 2017). Also commonly experienced are perceived interconnectedness; an increased sense of connectedness to oneself, nature, and the world; and states of communitas and social connectedness (Belser et al., 2017; Watts et al., 2017; Carhart-Harris et al., 2018a; Kettner et al., 2019; Blatchford et al., 2020; Forstmann et al., 2020; Kettner et al., 2021). Similarly, psychedelic experiences can bring enhanced meaningfulness of ordinarily uninteresting aspects of the world and enhanced present-centered attention, suggesting the release of salience from constraints of egocentricity (Huxley, 1954; Shanon, 2002, 61; Letheby, 2017; Letheby and Gerrans, 2017; Hartogsohn, 2018). Sense of awe, wonder, and the so-called overview effect are commonly reported expanded perspectives in psychedelic experiences (Shanon, 2002, 61–62; Yaden et al., 2016; Flanagan and Graham, 2017; Letheby, 2017, 637; Hendricks, 2018, 302–307).

Various STEs are associated with psychedelic value changes in all but two of the studies outlined in Table 2. In seven of the 15 studies, STEs were either statistically mediated or were statistically associated with observed changes in values. A connection is also suggested in the phenomenological reports of four studies and the discussions of findings in two studies. This evidence indicates that the self-transcendent perspectives and expanded self–other boundaries associated with STEs are likely to mediate long-term changes in values and life priorities. Congruently, STEs also mediate many other long-term benefits of psychedelics. In a meta-analysis of 15 therapeutic studies, Kałużna et al. (2022) found that experiences of unity and connectedness in psychedelic experiences strongly predicted long-lasting therapeutic outcomes. While ego-dissolution was a weaker predictor of therapeutic gains, many studies described it as a tool for gaining a wider perspective, reinforcing the hypothesis that perspectival widening results from reduced egocentric salience.

Mystical experiences have been observed to mediate changes toward increased prosociality and spirituality (Griffiths et al., 2008, 2018; Orlowski et al., 2022). Similarly, the literature suggests a connection between ego-dissolution and change toward more environment and animal-friendly values (Pöllänen et al., 2022). Forstmann and Sagioglou (2017, 1) suggest that people might become more environmentally friendly “by changing their self-construal in terms of an incorporation of the natural world.” In the longitudinal study aptly titled “From Egoism to Ecoism,” Kettner et al. (2019) found that ego-dissolutions mediated increases in nature-relatedness, suggesting a causal connection. If construed and experienced as less separate from nature, the self becomes embedded in the wider context of the natural world, and the intrinsic value of nature might be perceived as higher than under egocentric modes.

One prominent reason why mystical experiences and ego-dissolution might lead to changed values is that they bring an acute awareness of the transient nature of self, as this center of valuation temporarily ceases to exist. In an embodied and felt way, radical deconstruction of self might give recognition of the nothingness of ourselves—“the existential shock that attends the vivid apprehension of one’s own mortality” (Letheby, 2021, 187; see also Baillie, 2013, 187; Baillie, 2020). In mystical experiences and ego-dissolution, the sense of self and boundaries between oneself and the world can dissolve altogether, temporarily collapsing the ordinary frames of reference for egocentric pursuits (Swanson, 2016; Millière, 2017; James et al., 2020; Laukkonen and Slagter, 2021). Although everyone intellectually understands their mortality and embeddedness in a vast cosmos, psychedelic experiences can animate these facts by presenting them in a visceral, emotionally deep fashion (Grob, 2007, 213; Letheby, 2021, 184–191). Psychedelics can foster facing one’s mortality and radically resituating oneself as part of a wider whole with long-lasting effects (Gandy, 2017; Malone et al., 2018, 4; Schmid and Liechti, 2018; St. Arnaud, 2019; Sweeney et al., 2022).

Literature on awe suggests similar although lesser gestalt shifts in our perspective on self. Awe can situate the self as part of our wider world, causing a perspective of reduced self-importance termed “small self” in reaction to the vast stimuli transcending one’s current frames of reference, thus broadening our attention and perspective beyond egocentric and instrumental concerns (Vervaeke and Ferraro, 2013; Piff et al., 2015; Hendricks, 2018; Perlin and Li, 2020). Awe and the related perception of “small self” are likely to mediate many value changes, as these experiences allow for tuning into wider contexts of evaluation. Mulukom et al. (2020) observed that psychedelic-induced awe and sense of connection toward nature and humanity (but not the universe) led to increased affective empathy and reduced narcissistic tendencies. Moreover, St. Arnaud and Sharpe (2022) found that awe-proneness mediated positive adult development associated with psychedelics. Significantly, awe is also an important psychological mediator of psychedelics’ therapeutic effects (Hendricks et al., 2015).

As another possible mechanism of value change, psychedelic experiences might enhance the felt importance and motivating force (i.e., salience) of our values. Through enhanced meaning and meaningfulness and increased suggestibility, psychointegration effects, and visceral representation of knowledge, psychedelics can make our abstract convictions and conceptions experientially alive (Shanon, 2002, 242–255; Carhart-Harris et al., 2015; Hartogsohn, 2018; Letheby, 2021; Timmermann et al., 2022, 184–191). Transposing Letheby’s (2021), 188–190) notion of gaining a deeper knowledge of old facts, psychedelic experiences can acquaint us with our values in a deeper, more vivid, and embodied manner than is usually possible, enabling deeper and more meaningful experience of these convictions. Therefore, psychedelic experiences might better align our motivation and experiential salience with our values, perhaps leading to more committed action according to these values, as values gain more “incentive or motivational salience” (Ratcliffe and Broome, 2022, 51). Theoretically, activation of the 5HT2a serotonin system—the primary neurobiological mechanism activated by psychedelics—has been linked to active coping and enhanced capacity for change (Carhart-Harris and Nutt, 2017; Brouwer and Carhart-Harris, 2021), and might mediate the increased motivational salience of values and increases in value-laden striving.

This supposed increase of “volume” in value–salience connections might significantly contribute to (re)connecting to self-transcendent values and play role in other kinds of value changes as well, as it is conceptually independent of self-transcendence (see Section 4.4). Increases in the motivational salience of values are morally significant, as values should mandate us to experience certain things as strongly salient and solicit a response (cf. Siegel, 2014; Cavedon-Taylor, 2022, 15). It is morally problematic if a person’s values do not inform an embodied, experiential sense of salience and meaningfulness, nor motivate action (although not all values can be “active” at every moment; see Oyserman, 2015).

As discussed in Section 3.7, developmental self-transcendence is associated with self-transcendent values. Psychedelic use is associated with increased trait-level self-transcendence and correlated neural changes (Bouso et al., 2012, 2015; Révész et al., 2021). St. Arnaud (2019) explores the idea that the psychedelic mystical experiences might help to treat existential anxiety by fostering traits of self-transcendence. Expanded self–other boundaries are theoretically central to many notions of developmental self-transcendence, supporting the hypothesis that psychedelic changes in sense of self could lead to similar long-term changes (St. Arnaud, 2019). Significantly, St. Arnaud and Sharpe (2022) found an association between psychedelic use and positive adult development (a construct similar to developmental self-transcendence). Psychedelics further enhance many tendencies associated with the trait of self-transcendence, such as a sense of connection, gratitude, death transcendence, and meaning in life (Belser et al., 2017, 16–17; Watts et al., 2017; Griffiths et al., 2018; Schmid and Liechti, 2018).

Both short-and long-lasting increases in mindfulness capacities support the idea that psychedelic experiences can induce changes in attentional capacities (Bouso et al., 2012; Soler et al., 2016; Radakovic et al., 2022). Smigielski et al. (2019a,b) conducted a double-blind intervention combining psychedelics and mindfulness training; they found that neurobiological changes in areas associated with self-relevant processing [such as the default mode network (DMN) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)] and ego-dissolution during psychedelic experiences mediated increases in mindfulness capacities for up to 4 months after the intervention. Sampedro et al. (2017) found that similar structural changes in the brain correlated with enhanced mindfulness capacities 2 months after ayahuasca intake. As mindfulness capacities involve decentered and present-moment-oriented modes of attention, these empirical findings strongly support the hypothesis that psychedelics can lead to long-lasting unselfing (i.e., reduced egocentric attention and salience). The development of mindfulness capacities is also empirically associated with both value-oriented life (Franquesa et al., 2017) and self-transcendence (Vago and David, 2012).

Psychological flexibility processes are one avenue to account for (re)connection to values and possibly other value changes. Psychedelics have been observed to increase psychological flexibility, a central construct of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which involves a) connection and commitment to values and value-driven action, and b) a decentered sense of self (Davis et al., 2020). Studies exploring psychedelics’ impact on psychological flexibility processes suggest that psychedelics might help to shift flexibility-fostering modes of selfhood (i.e., perspective-taking self or self-as-context in ACT terminology; Hayes et al., 2019; Watts and Luoma, 2020; Whitfield, 2021). Converging with the framework presented here, ACT posits that these flexible modes of selfhood imply reduced identification with our self-conceptions and personhood (self-as-content) and foster living according to one’s values.

Some value changes might be explained by changes in personality factors, such as openness to experience. Multiple studies observe that the trait of openness to experience is increased by psychedelics (MacLean et al., 2011; Carhart-Harris et al., 2016; Nour et al., 2017; Erritzoe et al., 2018, 2019). Aspects of openness to experience might be related to changes in values. For instance, appreciation of art and nature is plausibly connected to “openness to aesthetics” (partly explained by reduced latent inhibition—the tendency to filter habituated sensory content from perception; St. Arnaud, 2021, 99). Openness to experience is also related to absorption, a tendency to pay total attention (McCrae, 2004), consonant with the unselfed mode of attention. Erritzoe et al. (2019) found that psychedelics have an especially strong effect on “openness to actions” and “openness to values,” the latter encompassing tolerance toward other people’s lifestyles and willingness to redefine one’s own values. These findings support both the notion of a general tendency for value change and specific change toward the universalist value of tolerance (i.e., acceptance and understanding of those different from oneself; Schwartz et al., 2012).

Theoretically, many of the changes associated with unselfing can be explained by psychedelics’ ability to deconstruct the self-model—our ordinary phenomenal experience of being a separate self and the underlying neural and cognitive processes (Letheby, 2021). It is theorized that psychedelics weaken the power of models built by prior experience and that the self is a high-level prior central to our overall modeling of the world (Swanson, 2016, 2018; Letheby and Gerrans, 2017; Carhart-Harris and Friston, 2019). Huxley (1954) framed the ego as a “reducing valve” that filters our perception of the world into a utilitarian form useful for instrumental pursuits and proposed that psychedelics might temporarily relax this valve. His ideas have since been corroborated by neuroscientific research. In predictive processing terminology, self-related priors constrict evaluative processes and values; therefore, temporary radical destabilization and subsequent relaxation of (overweighted) self-related priors might do much of the work associated with self-transcendent value changes. Proposed outcomes of destabilizing high-level priors include increased context sensitivity and a more fluid ability to tune into various perspectives (Carhart-Harris et al., 2018b; Carhart-Harris and Friston, 2019).

From a neurodynamic viewpoint, reduction in egocentric attributions of salience and evaluations likely occurs through altered brain areas and networks associated with selfhood, such as the default mode network, posterior cingulate cortex, and salience network; changes in these correlates acutely and in the long-term with psychedelic STEs (Bouso et al., 2015; Letheby and Gerrans, 2017; Millière et al., 2018; Smigielski et al., 2019a). Similar neural changes are observed in meditation practices (Vago and David, 2012; Brewer et al., 2013; Letheby, 2022).

It is clear from various anecdotal accounts that there are mechanisms of psychedelic value change other than self-transcendence, and that self-transcendent values are not the only possible outcome. Psychedelics have been used by cults such as the Manson Family and Aum Shinrikyo, by neo-Nazis and the right-wing intelligentsia, and among bellicose Amazonian and Mesoamerican societies, with no apparent challenge to respective values or causing further enculturation towards these worldviews and values (Rios, 1996; Piper, 2015; Pace and Devenot, 2021, 6). ⁵ These counter-examples disprove the claim that psychedelics inevitably lead to the unidirectional change of values.

To account for this “pluripotency” of psychedelic transformations, many explanations cite contextual factors—the immediate context of and the cultural matrix surrounding the use of psychedelics (Dupuis, 2021; Pace and Devenot, 2021). Psychedelics increase suggestibility and psychedelic experiences are highly sensitive to influences from contextual factors (Carhart-Harris et al., 2015; Hartogsohn, 2017, 2018, 2020; Carhart-Harris et al., 2018b; Eisner, 1997). Dupuis and Veissiere (2022) and Dupuis (2021) suggest that psychedelics might act as “super-placebos” and as “tools for cultural transmission” of beliefs and values, utilizing temporary cognitive openings created during experiences (see also Katz, 1978; Pace and Devenot, 2021, 6; Dupuis, 2022a). Thus, psychedelics could make one to adapt or emphasize various values, beliefs and political orientations provided by the social and cultural context of psychedelic use.

No existing research has conclusively determined the relative strength of directionality toward self-transcendent values and the amplification of specific cultural values (Langlitz et al., 2021). In general, to what extent does the observed directionality in psychedelic belief (Griffiths et al., 2019; Timmermann et al., 2021; Nayak and Griffiths, 2022) and value change (see Table 2) stem from social and cultural factors, personal background and intrinsic features of psychedelic experiences is an open question requiring further exploration.

Still, it is doubtful that a purely contextual or cultural account can explain all the observed patterns in the change of values. First, changes contravening (sub)cultural values are also possible (Wallace, 1956; Roseman and Karkabi, 2021). Second, if psychedelics reliably deconstruct the self-model, deconstruction of egocentric valuation modes and values and movement toward self-transcendent values is plausibly one higher-order constant across value changes occurring in different social and cultural settings.

Importantly, even if changes toward self-transcendent values are a higher-order constant of value change, they are still plausibly mediated by one’s worldview and epistemology and negotiated with one’s other values. Culturally mediated conceptions, beliefs, and models of the world affect how we flesh out what abstract values and good mean and what values imply for action (Murdoch, 1992, 323–325). For example, seen through the biasing lens of a particular ideology and worldview, even activities such as pursuing societal collapse or sacrificing humans to prevent apocalypse might be conceived as non-egocentric (on Aztecs and mushrooms, see Rios, 1996; on accelerationism, see Pace and Devenot, 2021); similarly, nature relatedness could be channeled to ecofascism, and allocentric widening to loyalty to a xenophobic ingroup (Pace and Devenot, 2021).

The argument presented here has clarified ways to understand cases where psychedelic STEs translate to long-term changes in values. As discussed in Section 3.9, the translation of momentary experiences into lasting values is far from automatic, many contextual factors likely mediate the relation between momentary experiences and long-term changes, and might hinder or amplify the change toward self-transcendent values.

Notably, St. Arnaud and Sharpe (2022) found that prior intentions and integration or post-experience reflection mediated whether psychedelic experiences led to positive adult development. Lasting value change is highly likely to be mediated by similar factors, as well as by the individual’s prior developmental stage (St. Arnaud, 2019). Relatedly, the importance of a “rich context” for moral neuroenhancement is stressed by Earp et al. (2017) and Earp (2018). Value changes might be most likely where psychedelic use is embedded in rich cultural contexts with a mature understanding of the good life and self-transcendence, and with ecologies of practice that can support a positive long-term change of values.

To maximize the wise and beneficial use of psychedelics, the contextual factors supporting self-transcendent value changes should be more closely explored. For example, the synergistic effects of psychedelic and meditative practices should be further investigated (Griffiths et al., 2018; Smigielski et al., 2019a,b; Heuschkel and Kuypers, 2020; Payne et al., 2021; Simonsson and Goldberg, 2022).

The proposed framework provides prima facie philosophical justification for psychedelic value changes toward self-transcendent values. According to this framework, self-transcendent value changes occur through personal-level processes that are epistemically and normatively justified, and respect individual autonomy, as enhanced access to self-transcendent perspectives and values gives reasons for value changes (cf. Earp et al., 2017; Lavazza, 2017; Langlitz et al., 2021). However, the matter of psychedelic pluripotency warrants some concern. If value changes sometimes stem from being exposed to values and value-laden cultural beliefs and worldviews from the sociocultural setting of psychedelic use, the ethical issues whether psychedelic value changes respect autonomy and are desirable become more complex. It is possible that some contexts of use could lead to coercive or semi-coercive value changes that do not respect individual autonomy (cf. Earp et al., 2017; Lavazza, 2017; Dupuis, 2021, 2022a,b; Dupuis and Veissiere, 2022). Thus, how social and cultural influences affect psychedelic value changes should be further explored.

The risks associated with the possibility of suggestive influences involved in the change of values highlight the need for epistemic responsibility, enhanced informed consent, and further inquiry into the wider epistemic and moral context for psychedelic use, as Smith and Sisti (2021), Langlitz et al. (2021), and Letheby (2021) have already advocated. Moreover, Timmermann et al. (2022) proposed psychedelic apprenticeship, entailing practices of intersubjective guidance, validation, and inquiry into the sometimes-controversial knowledge gained during psychedelic. This is also highly relevant for value changes. Psychedelics should be optimally embedded in wise cultural, epistemic, and therapeutic contexts giving room for moral reflection and inquiry into possible value changes.

Given the challenges of climate change and other existential questions facing humanity, the potential of psychedelics to enhance self-transcendence and self-transcendent values should be further explored from a societal viewpoint. For example, increased nature-relatedness is among the strongest predictors of environment-friendly behavior (Kettner et al., 2019). The possibility of self-transcendent value changes is a prominent reason why psychedelics might be useful as a pharmacological means to enhance humans’ moral state (Earp et al., 2017; Earp, 2018). The proposed framework could unify and enrich many proposals in the psychedelic moral enhancement literature (Tennison, 2012; Ahlskog, 2017; Earp, 2018, 18–19; Ballesteros, 2019; Germann, 2019; Lange and Marie, 2021; Kirkham and Letheby, 2022).

To build a comprehensive theory of psychedelic value change, future work must identify the various types of value changes and mechanisms and explore their interactions. For example, increased suggestibility (Carhart-Harris et al., 2015), the influence of sociocultural factors (Hartogsohn, 2020; Dupuis, 2021; Dupuis, 2022b), alterations in meaning processing, and fluidity of cognition (Shanon, 2002, 143, 243, 340; Hartogsohn, 2018; Vervaeke et al., 2018) might all play a role irrespective of unselfing. Similarly, reduced discrepancy between one’s values and salience, increased positive affect and vitality, personality factors such as openness and optimism, and changes in emotional processing and motivation might also play a part (Winkelman, 2001, 2017; MacLean et al., 2011; Carhart-Harris et al., 2016; Vollenweider and Smallridge, 2022). There are likely other mechanisms to be discovered.

This article focused on the possible psychological mechanisms of value change associated with unselfing. An in-depth exploration of how the psychological or experiential levels of value change fit with other levels of explanation (e.g., neuroscientific) is a worthwhile future research task. The possible mechanisms on psychological, socio-cultural, and neurobiological levels, and the relations between various levels of explanation, should be explored (cf. van Elk and Yaden, 2022). Integrating an existing neuroscientific understanding of values (e.g., Moll et al., 2015) with theoretical and neuroscientific models of psychedelics, such as the models based on the predictive processing paradigm (Letheby and Gerrans, 2017; Carhart-Harris and Friston, 2019), could yield many insights.

Another important theoretical question is whether psychedelic value changes fit value dimensions or polarities other than those explored here (i.e., self-enhancement versus self-transcendence). For example, psychedelic value changes in political attitudes and openness to values might map to the dimension “openness to change” versus “conservation” in Schwartz et al.’s (2012) value theory (Nour et al., 2017; Lyons and Carhart-Harris, 2018; Erritzoe et al., 2019).

Another important research avenue is to operationalize and empirically test the hypotheses presented in this article. It is especially important to explore the connections among various psychological constructs associated with unselfing and value change. Direct psychometric measurement of various constructs related to unselfing (such as quiet ego and ego development) and measurements of value changes (for instance, using Schwartz’s scales and ACT value subscales) would provide further evidence for the questions posed herein.

Similarly, there are many pressing philosophical questions concerning value change. Future research should investigate the justification of psychedelic value changes, their relevance for moral enhancement literature, and the normative and metaethical questions raised (such as which conceptions of values and of the good life are congruent with the proposed framework).

This article is based on a broad-stroke review of multiple bodies of literature, suggesting hypotheses on the psychological mechanisms of psychedelic value change. To test these ideas against solid evidence, a more rigorous empirical inquiry into psychedelic value changes is required. As this article is based on a selective reading of philosophy and broad bodies of empirical and theoretical literature, efforts to explore alternative theoretical and philosophical hypotheses to explain the findings of various studies should be conducted. It should also be noted that most prior studies into psychedelic value changes are either correlational or relatively small scale and that there are many open empirical questions concerning the change of values patterns (for example, regarding the relative influence of cultural context; see Langlitz et al., 2021). Moreover, many studies suffer from self-selection bias and draw individual participants from relatively narrow socio-economic backgrounds, who share a cultural worldview and hold a certain set of values.