Understanding Contemplative Practices from the Perspective of Dual-Process Theories
April 28, 2017 DOI: 10.4324/9781315627700-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key points | Argues that Buddhist contemplative practices can be understood through dual-process theories: involuntary initial responses such as grasping, aversion, the illusion of self, negative emotions, and mind-wandering underlie dissatisfaction, while short-term optional regulatory responses manage these in the moment and long-term regulatory responses produce lasting changes in behaviour, emotion, and thought. |
Abstract
The dysfunctional roles of mind-wandering have been noted widely both in contemplative traditions and in Western science. This chapter attempts to apply dual-process theories to contemplative practices that have existed for thousands of years in Buddhism. According to Buddhism, several important types of Involuntary Initial Response (IR) underlie dissatisfaction and unhappiness: grasping and aversion, the illusion of self, negative emotions, and mind-wandering. The construct of destructive emotion plays a central role in Buddhism, being contrasted with constructive emotion. Destructive emotion is the natural consequence of self-interest, grasping, and aversion; it plays salient and central roles in the dissatisfaction and unhappiness that constitutes samsara; and it can lead to destructive intentions and actions. Consistent with dual-process theories, Buddhism implements short-term Optional Regulatory Responses (RRs) that manage problematic IRs in the moment, together with long-term RRs that produce significant long-term change in behaviour, emotion, and thought.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Dynamic functional connectivity of the default mode network tracks daydreaming Neuroimage June 25, 2014
- Reconstructing and deconstructing the self: Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice Trends in Cognitive Sciences July 28, 2015
and 3 more in the library