Title |
Brief Mindfulness Meditation Improves Mental State Attribution and Empathizing
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, October 2014
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0110510 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Lucy B. G. Tan, Barbara C. Y. Lo, C. Neil Macrae |
Abstract |
The ability to infer and understand the mental states of others (i.e., Theory of Mind) is a cornerstone of human interaction. While considerable efforts have focused on explicating when, why and for whom this fundamental psychological ability can go awry, considerably less is known about factors that may enhance theory of mind. Accordingly, the current study explored the possibility that mindfulness-based meditation may improve people's mindreading skills. Following a 5-minute mindfulness induction, participants with no prior meditation experience completed tests that assessed mindreading and empathic understanding. The results revealed that brief mindfulness meditation enhanced both mental state attribution and empathic concern, compared to participants in the control group. These findings suggest that mindfulness may be a powerful technique for facilitating core aspects of social-cognitive functioning. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 6 | 60% |
Canada | 2 | 20% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 10% |
Unknown | 1 | 10% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 6 | 60% |
Scientists | 2 | 20% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 10% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 10% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 2 | <1% |
France | 1 | <1% |
Brazil | 1 | <1% |
Spain | 1 | <1% |
Canada | 1 | <1% |
Japan | 1 | <1% |
Luxembourg | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 244 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 53 | 21% |
Student > Master | 36 | 14% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 27 | 11% |
Researcher | 24 | 10% |
Student > Bachelor | 23 | 9% |
Other | 51 | 20% |
Unknown | 38 | 15% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 119 | 47% |
Social Sciences | 19 | 8% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 13 | 5% |
Neuroscience | 12 | 5% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 7 | 3% |
Other | 31 | 12% |
Unknown | 51 | 20% |