Meditation and Behavior Therapy
Robert L. Woolfolk
July 12, 2017 DOI: 10.4324/9780203785843-79 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that behavior therapy is a set of metatheoretical assumptions grounded in social learning theory rather than a school, theory, or fixed set of techniques, and that meditation is a body of techniques with associated research and theories derived from Eastern "ways of liberation." Contends that cross-fertilization between behavior therapy research and meditation research is promising, given behavior therapy's commitment to scientific method and rigorous experiment. |
Abstract
The analysis of relationships between behavior therapy and meditation is best preceded by a clarification of the understanding of these two terms. Behavior therapy is neither a school or theory of psychotherapy nor a set of therapeutic techniques. It is a set of metatheoretical assumptions leading to an approach to the understanding and modification of behavior in social learning theory terms from which a variety of therapeutic models and specific techniques can be generated. Meditation, as we will use the term, refers to a body of techniques, and the research data and theories which explain them, derived from the practices of various Eastern "ways of liberation." The potential for cross-fertilization between behavior therapy research and meditation research is great. A respect for scientific method and a predilection for rigorous experiment have characterized behavior therapy since its inception.
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 |