Ellen J. Langer

2 papers in the library · 297 citations · publishing 1989-2021

Papers

Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: An experimental study with the elderly.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology January 1, 1989 Charles N. Alexander, Ellen J. Langer, Ronnie I. Newman et al. 297 citations

Practicing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program may improve cognitive function, mental health, and blood pressure in elderly adults, while also increasing survival rates. In a study of 73 residents of homes for the elderly (average age 81), those randomly assigned to TM showed the greatest improvement in learning, cognitive flexibility, mental health, systolic blood pressure, and ratings of behavior and aging, compared to mindfulness training, relaxation, or no treatment. The mindfulness group improved most on perceived control and word fluency. After three years, survival was 100% for the TM group and 87.5% for mindfulness, versus lower rates in the other groups.

DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.57.6.950

Cognitive biases and mindfulness

Humanities & Social Sciences Communications February 7, 2021 Philip Z. Maymin, Ellen J. Langer

A brief mindfulness induction—asking people to notice three new things and compare images—reduced susceptibility to 19 out of 22 cognitive biases, including the endowment effect, overconfidence, mental accounting, anchoring, and loss aversion. Participants who received the induction also scored higher on 11 of 14 items measuring traits of novelty-seeking, novelty producing, and engagement. The induction was unrelated to the later bias questions and required no meditation, training, or statistical education. The authors argue that simply increasing momentary mindfulness can improve decision-making.

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-021-00712-1 Full text