Enhanced response inhibition during intensive meditation training predicts improvements in self-reported adaptive socioemotional functioning.
Baljinder K Sahdra, Katherine A Maclean, Emilio Ferrer, Phillip R Shaver, Erika L Rosenberg, Tonya L Jacobs, Anthony P Zanesco, Brandon G King, Stephen R Aichele, David A Bridwell, George R Mangun, Shiri Lavy, B Alan Wallace, Clifford D Saron
Emotion April 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1037/a0022764 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal controlled study with wait-list control Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Participants undergoing intensive meditation retreats |
| Intervention | Intensive meditation training |
| Duration | 3-month intervention, 5-month follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Self-regulation Emotional well-being |
| Citations | 203 |
| Key findings | Improvement in response inhibition during meditation training predicted longitudinal increases in adaptive socioemotional functioning. |
Abstract
We examined the impact of training-induced improvements in self-regulation, operationalized in terms of response inhibition, on longitudinal changes in self-reported adaptive socioemotional functioning. Data were collected from participants undergoing 3 months of intensive meditation training in an isolated retreat setting (Retreat 1) and a wait-list control group that later underwent identical training (Retreat 2). A 32-min response inhibition task (RIT) was designed to assess sustained self-regulatory control. Adaptive functioning (AF) was operationalized as a single latent factor underlying self-report measures of anxious and avoidant attachment, mindfulness, ego resilience, empathy, the five major personality traits (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience), difficulties in emotion regulation, depression, anxiety, and psychological well-being. Participants in Retreat 1 improved in RIT performance and AF over time whereas the controls did not. The control participants later also improved on both dimensions during their own retreat (Retreat 2). These improved levels of RIT performance and AF were sustained in follow-up assessments conducted approximately 5 months after the training. Longitudinal dynamic models with combined data from both retreats showed that improvement in RIT performance during training influenced the change in AF over time, which is consistent with a key claim in the Buddhist literature that enhanced capacity for self-regulation is an important precursor of changes in emotional well-being.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 72
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Mystical experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin lead to increases in the personality domain of openness Journal of Psychopharmacology September 28, 2011
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience 2013
- Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
and 67 more in the library
Cites 12
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation versus relaxation training: Effects on distress, positive states of mind, rumination, and distraction Annals of Behavioral Medicine February 1, 2007
- An Exploratory Study of a Meditation-based Intervention for Binge Eating Disorder Journal of Health Psychology May 1, 1999
- Intensive meditation training improves perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. Psychological Science June 1, 2010
and 7 more in the library