How Meditation Promotes Well‐Being: Applying a Dual‐System Theory
Social and Personality Psychology Compass February 1, 2025 Barbara J. Lehman, Camille A Fogel, Evan Wiederaenders 1 citation
Mindfulness meditation and Buddhist-informed contemplative practices improve health and well-being partly by helping practitioners adopt a less immersed perspective on present-moment reality. These practices build meta-awareness and psychological distance from mental activity, reducing negative emotions and craving while increasing mental flexibility. The dual-system model contrasts cool, analytic processes with emotional, hot system processes; contemplative practices facilitate adaptive coping by reducing hot and promoting cool system activation. Buddhist philosophies emphasizing present-moment awareness, the futility of self-focused striving, and the self-perpetuating nature of negative emotions explain how these practices shift activation from hot to cool systems over time.