A qualitative study of motivations for meditation in anthroposophic practitioners
PLoS One September 13, 2018 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203184 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Anthroposophic meditators |
| Intervention | meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Superordinate goals Thematic analysis Qualitative research Applied psychology Social science |
| Citations | 11 |
| Key findings | Motivations for Anthroposophic meditation fall into external, internal, and service forms, with a developmental trajectory from self-related to other-related motivations. |
Abstract
Research on meditation is advancing, but few studies about the motivations of meditators exist. Additionally, many forms and traditions of meditation have yet to be investigated. This study addresses both of these issues by presenting an overview of different forms of motivations found in contemporary Anthroposophic meditation practice. 30 Anthroposophic meditators were interviewed about their meditation experiences. The interviews were examined using thematic analysis. 14 data-driven themes were extracted and organized within a framework consisting of three superordinate theory-driven forms of motivation: External, internal and service. A developmental trajectory running from external and internal to service motivations is indicated. This approach improves upon a scheme developed by Shapiro by including additional types of motivations and being able to differentiate between forms of motivations that are fundamentally different: Self-related (heteronomous and autonomous) motivations and other-related motivations.