Cognitive and Emotional Differences between Short- and Long-Term Vipassana Meditators
Barbara L. Easterlin, Etzel Cardeña
Imagination, Cognition and Personality September 1, 1998 DOI: 10.2190/21gx-r4td-xmd4-6p2w (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 43 |
| Population | Buddhist mindfulness meditators (19 beginning, 24 advanced) |
| Duration | 5-day intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Advanced meditators reported greater self-awareness, positive mood, and acceptance than beginners, and stress had a more deleterious effect on acceptance for beginners. |
Abstract
This study compared perceived stress and cognitive and emotional differences between two groups of Buddhist mindfulness meditators. Nineteen beginning and twenty-four advanced meditators carried electronic pagers for five days and responded to daily random signals by completing an Experience Sampling form (ESF) containing items related to the dependent variables. As compared with beginners, advanced practitioners reported greater self-awareness, positive mood, and acceptance. Greater stress lowered mood and self-acceptance in both groups, but the deleterious effect of stress on acceptance was more marked for the beginners. These findings validate in a naturalistic setting some of the effects described in traditional Buddhist texts on mindfulness.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 18
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- Psychobiology of Altered States of Consciousness. Psychological Bulletin 2005
- Mindfulness training increases momentary positive emotions and reward experience in adults vulnerable to depression: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology July 18, 2011
- An analysis of recent meditation research and suggestions for future directions. The Humanistic Psychologist 2003
- Meditation and psychosis. A trigger or a cure? Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy September 27, 2015
and 13 more in the library
Cites 3
- Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders American Journal of Psychiatry July 1, 1992
- Meditation as an intervention in stress reactivity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1976
- Visual Sensitivity and Mindfulness Meditation Perceptual and Motor Skills June 1, 1984