Spreading positive change: Societal benefits of meditation.
Veronika Engert, Olga Maria Klimecki, Philipp Kanske
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1038051 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention Emotion Perspective-taking Social behavior Stress |
| Key points | Proposes that meditation-induced changes may spread through social networks, potentially enabling collective responses to societal challenges. |
Abstract
Research over the past decades has revealed a variety of beneficial effects of meditation training. These beneficial effects span the levels of health and well-being, cognition, emotion, and social behavior. Around the same time, sociologists have shown that traits and outcomes on the individual level have the potential to spread in communities over three or more degrees. This means, for example, that changes can spread from one person to the next, and on to yet another person. Here, we propose that meditation-induced changes may likewise spread through the social networks of meditation practitioners. Such spreading may happen by positively influencing others through prosocial actions, improved cognitive functioning, and increased positive affect. Positive affective states and their underlying physiological correlates may also be shared in the literal sense. We argue that the spreading of positive meditation effects could provide the basis for collective responses to some of the urgent challenges we face in our current time and society and call for future meditation research to examine the phenomenon.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Brief mindfulness meditation increases risk-taking behavior. Scientific Reports January 30, 2026
- Integrating mindfulness into the academic curriculum: A qualitative study. Journal of American College Health June 5, 2025
- Contemplating Together Applied Mindfulness and Integrative Practices for Mental Well-Being May 6, 2026
- The mind’s abyss: Exploring the adverse effects of distinct forms of meditation Academia Mental Health and Well-Being April 14, 2025
- Neurofeedback and meditation technology in outpatient offender treatment: a feasibility and usability pilot study Frontiers in Psychology June 4, 2024
Cites 26
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression August 21, 2006
- The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin May 14, 2012
- Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Mindfulness and Compassion: An Examination of Mechanism and Scalability PLoS One February 17, 2015
- The Effect of Mindfulness-based Programs on Cognitive Function in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Neuropsychology Review August 4, 2021
and 21 more in the library