Cannabis use does not increase actual creativity but biases evaluations of creativity.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized controlled trials (two experimental studies).
PubMed 35901408 · doi:10.1037/apl0000599
What was done
Researchers conducted two experiments to evaluate how cannabis affects actual creativity and the evaluation of creativity. Participants were randomly assigned to either a cannabis use condition or a cannabis abstinence condition. The authors evaluated whether cannabis-induced joviality mediated actual creative performance or subjective assessments of creativity for one's own and others' ideas.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, or test statistics. It reports that cannabis use facilitated joviality, which led to significantly more favorable evaluations of one's own and others' creative ideas, but cannabis use did not facilitate actual creative performance.
Why it matters
This study differentiates actual creative output from perceived creativity, indicating that cannabis-induced boosts in perceived creativity are driven by an appraisal bias rather than true functional enhancement.
Limits
The abstract does not provide sample sizes, participant demographics, cannabis dosages, administration methods, or the specific creative tasks used. Blinding procedures and potential placebo controls are not detailed.
Cited by
- supports Studies objectively evaluating creativity show that individuals using cannabis perceive themselves as more creative, but objective ratings show no increase in creativity.