An analogue study of the initial carryover effects of meditation, hypnosis, and relaxation using native college students.
F Colby
Biofeedback and self-regulation June 1991 DOI: 10.1007/bf01000190 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Analogue study with two experiments Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Concentrative meditators, relaxation group participants, and controls |
| Interventions | Hypnosis Meditation Relaxation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Concentrative meditators reported fewer nonsensorial events than controls in both experiments, but in the second experiment covariate analysis and pretest/posttest comparisons indicated that controls increased their nonsensorial reports rather than meditators decreasing theirs; the relaxation group increased somatic awareness reports. The authors suggest meditation and hypnosis may disinhibit awareness processes otherwise inhibited by normal daily routines. |
Abstract
An analogue study involving two experiments was conducted to test the initial carryover effects of hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation upon self-reports of awareness. In the first experiment, concentrative meditators reported fewer nonsensorial events than controls. In the second experiment, concentrative meditators again reported fewer nonsensorial events, but covariate analysis and pretest/posttest comparisons revealed that it was the controls who had changed, increasing their nonsensorial reports. In addition, the relaxation group increased its reports of somatic awareness. Results were discussed in terms of the effects of performance demands and the possibility that meditation and hypnosis might be able to disinhibit awareness processes otherwise inhibited by normal daily routines.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |