An Evolutionary Model of Meditation Research
July 12, 2017 DOI: 10.4324/9780203785843-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that although phenomenological change is the central purpose of meditation, Western research has prioritized easily measured behavioral parameters, and proposes that meditation responses be categorized as psychological, physiological, and chemical, with meditation types divided into concentrative, receptive, and combined. |
Abstract
Meditation of one type or another can be found in a wide variety of cultures and traced back for at least two and a half thousand years. The wide spread of popularity of transcendental meditation has been helpful since it comprises a simple, rapid, highly standardized training procedure which readily lends itself to experimental investigation. The responses to meditation are most readily subdivided into psychological, physiological, and chemical. Phenomenological changes are of special interest since they represent the very raison d&s;etre for meditation. The study of the temporal characteristics of meditation involves several dimensions. One ancient division has been between three categories of meditation: concentrative, receptive, and combined. In accordance with Western research paradigms, most work has focused on the more easily and objectively measured behavioral parameters even though the aim of meditation is primarily phenomenological. Evolutionary model represents a specific application of a more general stimulus response model of the evolution of research.
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 |