How Meditation Promotes Well‐Being: Applying a Dual‐System Theory
Barbara J. Lehman, Camille A Fogel, Evan Wiederaenders
Social and Personality Psychology Compass February 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1111/spc3.70037 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Dual grammatical number Well-being Psychotherapist Theology |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that contemplative practices reduce hot system activation and promote cool system activation over time, drawing on Buddhist philosophies and the dual-system model. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT Mindfulness meditation and Buddhist‐informed contemplative approaches promote health and well‐being in part by helping meditators view present‐moment reality from a less immersed perspective. Contemplative practices build meta‐awareness and help practitioners psychologically distance from mental activity, thereby reducing negative emotions and craving while promoting mental flexibility. Metcalfe and Mischel's dual‐system model contrasts cool analytic processes with more emotional hot system processes. Contemplative practices facilitate adaptive coping in part by reducing hot and promoting cool system activation. Buddhist philosophies emphasizing the importance of present‐moment awareness, the futility of striving for self‐focused goals (worldly concerns), and the self‐perpetuating nature of negative emotions are used to explain how contemplative practices deter hot system activation and promote cool system activation over time.
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 2
Cites 36
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
and 31 more in the library