Nature, Art, and Psychedelics Compared: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis on Self-Transcendent Experiences and Positive Psychological Outcomes
Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Self-transcendent experiences (STEs) are psychological states that are characterized by reduced self-salience, an increased sense of connectedness, and altered meaning-making. Studies consistently link STEs to psychological benefits such as subjective wellbeing, quality of life, resilience, or prosociality. However, a systematic synthesis regarding the strength and characteristics of this association remains lacking. Since an increasingly large body of literature shows that STEs are connected to three main outcome domains (hedonic well-being, eudaimonic well-being, and prosociality), we conducted a three-level multivariate meta-analysis to assess the relationship between STEs and positive psychological outcomes. A systematic search across PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus identified 90 eligible primary studies with 223 nested effect sizes (N = 58,501). The overall multivariate random-effects model revealed a significant positive medium-sized global effect on well-being, ṝ = 0.32, SE = 0.02, p < .001, 95% CI [0.27, 0.35]. Outcome domain was not a significant moderator, indicating rather uniform psychological benefits of STEs. However, substantial systematic heterogeneity prompted mixed-effects subgroup evaluations. Immersive, perceptually rich designs yielded a significantly stronger effect than psychedelic use and writing/recollection prompts. Furthermore, effect sizes were significantly larger when measurements were taken concurrently with the induction state and within younger, student-aged samples relative to older adult samples. These findings provide strong, cross-modal evidence that the deliberate cultivation of STEs is strongly linked to individual wellbeing, flourishing, and prosocial behavior.</p>
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