A wandering mind is a less caring mind: Daily experience sampling during compassion meditation training |
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| Authors: | Hooria Jazaieri Ihno A Lee Kelly McGonigal Thupten Jinpa James R Doty James J Gross |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychology, Institute of Personality and Social Research, University of California, Berkeley, 4152 Tolman Hall, Berkeley, CA, USA;2. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA;3. Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Palo Alto, CA, USA;4. School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA |
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| Abstract: | Mind wandering, or the tendency for attention to drift to task-irrelevant thoughts, has been associated with worse intra- and inter-personal functioning. Utilizing daily experience sampling with 51 adults during 9-weeks of a compassion meditation program, we examined effects on mind wandering (to neutral, pleasant, and unpleasant topics) and caring behaviors for oneself and others. Results indicated that compassion meditation decreased mind wandering to neutral topics and increased caring behaviors towards oneself. When collapsing across topics, mind wandering did not serve as an intermediary between the frequency of compassion meditation practice and caring behaviors, though mind wandering to pleasant and unpleasant topics was linked to both variables. A path analysis revealed that greater frequency of compassion meditation practice was related to reductions in mind wandering to unpleasant topics and increases in mind wandering to pleasant topics, both of which were related to increases in caring behaviors for oneself and others. |
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| Keywords: | mind wandering awareness attention meditation compassion caring behavior |
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