From simple mechanics to complex dynamics: A dynamical systems science of mindfulness and meditation.

Mindfulness meditation research has largely used reductionist methods that isolate individual components and mechanisms, which is ill-suited for studying how change emerges from continuous, nonlinear, and recursive interactions across multiple timescales. Dynamical systems theory and methods offer a powerful alternative framework. The authors propose an organizational framework structured around complex interaction dynamics, nonlinear causality, and multiscale temporal dynamics. They examine how leading psychological and neuroscientific theories align with dynamical systems theory, unlike most empirical research. Future directions include developing formal dynamical systems theory and computational models, collecting high-dimensional multiscale data, and using analytic tools that model complex dynamical change.

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Abstract

Mindfulness meditation is a robust and rapidly growing area of inquiry in the psychological sciences. However, core questions remain about how mindfulness develops, how it exerts its effects, and what conditions amplify or attenuate these effects. We argue that empirical research on mindfulness has predominantly relied on reductionist decomposition-a foundational scientific approach that isolates and analyzes discrete components and mechanisms of a system, its mechanics. While valuable, this approach is poorly suited to capturing how change and development emerge from continuous, nonlinear, and recursive interactions unfolding across multiple timescales-its dynamics. To address this gap, we propose that dynamical systems (DS) theory and methods provide a powerful framework for advancing the science of mindfulness and meditation. We introduce a DS organizational framework for mindfulness and meditation science structured around three multifaceted dimensions: complex interaction dynamics, nonlinear causality, and multiscale temporal dynamics. We illustrate how this framework can inform theory building, empirical research, and intervention science in mindfulness and meditation. In turn, we examine how leading psychological and neuroscientific theories of mindfulness and meditation align with DS theory, in contrast to much of the empirical research, which remains rooted in reductionist component-based approaches. Finally, we outline actionable future directions, including the development of formal DS theory and computational models, study designs that collect high-dimensional multiscale data, as well as data analytic tools capable of modeling complex dynamical change. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).