Illusory Temporal Binding in Meditators.
Peter Lush, Jim Parkinson, Zoltan Dienes
Mindfulness 2016 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-016-0583-z (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study comparing experienced meditators and non-meditators Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced Buddhist mindfulness meditators and non-meditators |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Causal binding Intentional binding Intentions Sense of agency Time perception |
| Key findings | Experienced Buddhist mindfulness meditators displayed a greater illusory shift of an outcome's timing toward a voluntary action than non-meditators. The authors argue this reflects improved metacognition about motor intentions, suggesting that greater awareness of intentions can produce less accurate timing perception and a stronger implicit sense of agency. |
Abstract
We investigate conditions in which more accurate metacognition may lead to greater susceptibility to illusion and thus conditions under which mindfulness meditation may lead to less accurate perceptions. Specifically, greater awareness of intentions may lead to an illusory compression of time between a voluntary action and its outcome ("intentional binding"). Here, we report that experienced Buddhist mindfulness meditators rather than non-meditators display a greater illusory shift of the timing of an outcome toward an intentional action. Mindfulness meditation involves awareness of causal connections between different mental states, including intentions. We argue that this supports improvements in metacognition targeted at motor intentions. Changes in metacognitive ability may result in an earlier and less veridical experience of the timing of action outcomes either through increased access to sensorimotor pre-representations of an action outcome or by affording greater precision to action timing judgements. Furthermore, as intentional binding is an implicit measure of the sense of agency; these results also provide evidence that mindfulness meditators experience a stronger sense of agency.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cites 4
- Mindfulness: diverse perspectives on its meaning, origins, and multiple applications at the intersection of science and dharma Contemporary Buddhism May 1, 2011
- Ketamine administration in healthy volunteers reproduces aberrant agency experiences associated with schizophrenia. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry February 6, 2011
- Metacognition of intentions in mindfulness and hypnosis. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2016
- The Phenomenological Mind December 22, 2007