Self-actualizations and experience with Zen meditation: is a learning period necessary for meditation?
Journal of Clinical Psychology November 1, 1983 W C Compton, G M Becker
Inconsistencies in prior research on Zen meditation and self-actualization may stem from a learning period required before benefits appear. A study compared 36 Soto Zen students with 34 undergraduates who had never meditated, using the Personal Orientation Inventory. After adjusting for age, education, and sex, results showed that increases in self-actualization, as measured by the Inner Directed scale, occurred only after the learning period. Partial support was found for the Time Competent scale. The findings suggest a learning period for Zen meditation is necessary for observable effects on self-actualization.