The effects of loving-kindness and compassion meditation on altruistic behavior and its cognitive neural mechanisms
Advances in Psychological Science April 22, 2020 DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1042.2020.00978 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLoving-kindness and compassion meditation, specifically Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) and Compassion Meditation (CM), can promote altruistic behaviors. These practices appear to work by enhancing empathetic responses to others' distress, improving emotion regulation, and increasing prosocial motivation. Future research should use more ecologically valid measures of altruism, investigate the dynamic neural processes involved, and apply these practices to clinical populations.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Loving-Kindness Meditation Compassion Meditation |
| Keywords | Psychology |
| Key finding | LKM and CM can promote altruistic behaviors by enhancing empathy, emotion regulation, and prosocial motivation. |
Abstract
: Loving-kindness and compassion meditation is a type of meditation practice that aims to cultivate the unconditional kindness and compassion for oneself and others. Specifically, interventions related to such meditation practice mainly include Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) and Compassion Meditation (CM). A large number of studies have demonstrated that LKM and CM can promote practitioners’ altruistic behaviors. By reviewing its mechanisms, LKM and CM seem to influence practitioners’ altruistic behaviors by enhancing their empathetic responses to others’ distress, promoting emotion regulation, and improving prosocial motivation. Future research would benefit from selecting more ecologically valid measurements of altruistic behaviors, further exploring the dynamic neural processes of how LKM and CM influence on altruistic behaviors, and applying the practice of LKM and CM to clinical populations.