Increasing cognitive-emotional flexibility with meditation and hypnosis: The cognitive neuroscience of de-automatization
Kieran C. R. Fox, Yoona Kang, Michael Lifshitz, Kalina Christoff
arXiv Preprint Archive May 11, 2016 preprint
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Meditation Hypnosis |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Meditation-mindfulness-contemplation Neuroscience-q-bio.nc-brain-science Cognitive-flexibility-neuroplasticity-mental-adaptability Hypnotherapy-hypnosis-trance-states |
| Key points | Proposes three mechanisms by which meditation or hypnosis alter spontaneous thought: reduction of associative chaining, de-automatization and diversification of thought content, and re-automatization along desired paths. |
Abstract
Meditation and hypnosis both aim to facilitate cognitive-emotional flexibility, i.e., the "de-automatization" of thought and behavior. However, little research or theory has addressed how internal thought patterns might change after such interventions, even though alterations in the internal flow of consciousness may precede externally observable changes in behavior. This chapter outlines three mechanisms by which meditation or hypnosis might alter or reduce automatic associations and elaborations of spontaneous thought: by an overall reduction of the chaining of thoughts into an associative stream; by de-automatizing and diversifying the content of thought chains (i.e., increasing thought flexibility or variety); and, finally, by re-automatizing chains of thought along desired or valued paths (i.e., forming new, voluntarily chosen mental habits). The authors discuss behavioral and cognitive neuroscientific evidence demonstrating the influence of hypnosis and meditation on internal cognition and highlight the putative neurobiological basis, as well as potential benefits, of these forms of de-automatization.