Brief mindfulness-based meditation enhances the speed of learning following positive prediction errors
Marius Golubickis, Lucy B G Tan, Parnian Jalalian, Johanna K. Falbén, Neil Macrae
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology January 17, 2024 DOI: 10.1177/17470218241228859 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | brief mindfulness-based meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindfulness meditation Cognitive psychology Artificial intelligence Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | Brief mindfulness-based meditation accelerated learning from positive prediction errors, increased exploration over exploitation, and heightened response caution compared to a control condition. |
Abstract
Recent research has demonstrated that mindfulness-based meditation facilitates basic aspects of cognition, including memory and attention. Further developing this line of inquiry, here we considered the possibility that similar effects may extend to another core psychological process-instrumental learning. To explore this matter, in combination with a probabilistic selection task, computational modelling (i.e., reinforcement drift diffusion model analysis) was adopted to establish whether and how brief mindfulness-based meditation influences learning under conditions of uncertainty (i.e., choices based on the perceived likelihood of positive and negative outcomes). Three effects were observed. Compared with performance in the control condition (i.e., no meditation), mindfulness-based meditation (1) accelerated the rate of learning following positive prediction errors; (2) elicited a preference for the exploration (vs. exploitation) of choice selections; and (3) increased response caution. Collectively, these findings elucidate the pathways through which brief meditative experiences impact learning and decision-making, with implications for interventions designed to debias aspects of social-cognitive functioning using mindfulness-based meditation.