Title | Domain-specific enhancement of metacognitive ability following meditation training. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2014 |
Authors | Baird B, Mrazek MD, Phillips DT, Schooler JW |
Journal | J Exp Psychol Gen |
Volume | 143 |
Issue | 5 |
Pagination | 1972-9 |
Date Published | 2014 Oct |
ISSN | 1939-2222 |
Keywords | Awareness, Cognition, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Judgment, Male, meditation, Memory, Neuropsychological Tests, Young Adult |
Abstract | Contemplative mental practices aim to enable individuals to develop greater awareness of their own cognitive and affective states through repeated examination of first-person experience. Recent cross-sectional studies of long-term meditation practitioners suggest that the subjective reports of such individuals are better calibrated with objective indices; however, the impact of mental training on metacognitive ability has not yet been examined in a randomized controlled investigation. The present study evaluated the impact of a 2-week meditation-training program on introspective accuracy in the domains of perception and memory. Compared with an active control group that elicited no change, we found that a 2-week meditation program significantly enhanced introspective accuracy, quantified by metacognitive judgments of cognition on a trial-by-trial basis, in a memory but not a perception domain. Together, these data suggest that, in at least some domains, the human capacity to introspect is plastic and can be enhanced through training. |
DOI | 10.1037/a0036882 |
Alternate Journal | J Exp Psychol Gen |
PubMed ID | 24820248 |
Domain-specific enhancement of metacognitive ability following meditation training.
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