Effects of Transcendental Meditation on Fine Motor Skill
L. R. T. Williams, B. L. Vickerman
Perceptual and Motor Skills October 1, 1976 DOI: 10.2466/pms.1976.43.2.607 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 46 |
| Population | College female volunteers, 23 experienced Transcendental Meditators and 23 non-meditators |
| Intervention | Transcendental Meditation |
| Dose | 20-min. period of meditation followed by a 5-min. "waking" phase |
| Duration | 3 practice sessions of 18, 30, and 18 trials, with a 4-min. rest before the final 18 trials |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Transcendental Meditation produced no measurable benefit on pursuit rotor performance, learning, reminiscence, or intra-individual variability compared with quiet sitting; the authors state the conclusion that meditation does not benefit acquisition of fine perceptual-motor skill appears strong, while noting inter-individual variability increased in the meditation group and calling for further investigation. |
Abstract
46 college female volunteers were given 66 10-sec. trials on the pursuit rotor task in 3 practice sessions (18, 30, and 18 trials/session). After the first 18 trials, the 23 subjects who were practiced Transcendental Meditators meditated for a 20-min. period followed by a 5-min. “waking” phase prior to the performance of a further 30 trials on the rotor. A 4-min. rest was taken before resuming practice for the final 18 trials. The other 23 subjects, who were not meditators, followed the same procedures except instead of meditating they sat quietly with closed eyes. In terms of performance, learning, reminiscence and intra-individual variability, the two groups were similar. These results were not in accordance with the expectations that these parameters would reflect the facilitative effects of Transcendental Meditation on alertness, awareness, consistency, and resistance to stress. After the meditation session, inter-individual variability was increased for the meditation group. While the conclusion that the practice of Transcendental Meditation does not benefit acquisition of fine perceptual-motor skill appears strong, further investigation would assist in obtaining a more complete understanding of such effects on perceptual-motor behavior.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin May 14, 2012
- Visual Sensitivity and Mindfulness Meditation Perceptual and Motor Skills June 1, 1984
- The influence of focused-attention meditation states on the cognitive control of sequence learning. Consciousness and Cognition October 2017
- Evaluation of meditation and relaxation on physiological response during the performance of fine motor and gross motor tasks. Perceptual and Motor Skills February 1, 1986
- Transcendental Meditation and Mirror-Tracing Skill Perceptual and Motor Skills April 1, 1978
Cites 4
- Transcendental Meditation and Psychological Health Perceptual and Motor Skills October 1, 1974
- Influence of Transcendental Meditation upon Autokinetic Perception Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1974
- Autonomic Stability and Transcendental Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 1973
- Transcendental Meditation and Fine Perceptual-Motor Skill Perceptual and Motor Skills August 1, 1976