But given the varied effects of cannabis and THC that we talked about earlier through all that complex signaling stuff , you can imagine that there will also be other studies and in fact , there are where divergent and conversion thinking and creativity is not assisted by cannabis and might even be reduced by ingesting cannabis . However , if one considers that divergent thinking is absolutely crucial to the creativity process and the range of things that one will explore will be enhanced by openness and by reduced levels of anxiety . So a willingness to explore different options , some of which might seem completely crazy and cannabis increases the personality types and the re reduces the anxiety that create that sense of openness .
Well , this is interesting , we have to ask ourselves how that was accomplished and it turns out that one of the major ways in which it was accomplished is that cannabis users , even if they are not under the influence of cannabis are far more open to novel ideas . And they have a more explorative and sort of reduced anxiety or I should say lower anxiety mode of thinking when they explore novel ideas , which is essential for divergent thinking . So they observe both enhanced divergent and convergent creative type thinking in cannabis users and the source of that they conclude is , and here I'll just quote cannabis users , higher levels of openness to experience are responsible for their enhanced self reported creativity and convergent thinking test performance .
What I mean is this paper finds that people who are more open to experience are more likely to use cannabis and people who use cannabis are going to be more open to new experiences . And that combination of features , openness to experience and what that openness to new experiences brings enhances the convergent and divergent thinking that is characteristic of the creative process . So in short , cannabis increases creativity , but through changes in personality that tap into the creative process rather than directly impacting the neural circuits that for instance , turn on creativity .
So it's not necessarily that cannabis is increasing the capacity of the brain areas that are associated with creativity , but rather are cannabis appears to be increasing in openness and probably doing that in part through lowering anxiety in particular people . And that openness is leading to inclusion of more ideas during the divergent thinking process , right ? They're willing to consider throwing up more things on the wall to see if they stick so to speak .
First of all , they did yes , see evidence for enhanced creativity . And when I say enhanced creativity , I mean within the context of this divergent thinking thing that I talked about a moment ago and when I say enhanced , I mean , significantly greater than in non users . So people that don't use cannabis .
