Calm and Smart? A Selective Review on Effects of Meditation on Decision Making
Over the past two decades, there has been a growing interest in the use of meditation to improve cognitive performance, emotional balance, and well-being. As a consequence, research into the psychological effects and neural mechanisms of meditation has been accumulating. Whether and how meditation a...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2015-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01059/full |
| _version_ | 1818430611542507520 |
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| author | Sai eSun Ziqing eYao Jiaxin eWei Rongjun eYu |
| author_facet | Sai eSun Ziqing eYao Jiaxin eWei Rongjun eYu |
| author_sort | Sai eSun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Over the past two decades, there has been a growing interest in the use of meditation to improve cognitive performance, emotional balance, and well-being. As a consequence, research into the psychological effects and neural mechanisms of meditation has been accumulating. Whether and how meditation affects decision making is not yet clear. Here, we review evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies and summarize the effects of meditation on social and nonsocial economic decision making. Research suggests that meditation modulates brain activities associated with cognitive control, emotion regulation and empathy, and leads to improved nonsocial and social decision making. Accordingly, we propose an integrative model in which cognitive control, emotional regulation, and empathic concern mediate the effects of meditation on decision making. This model provides insights into the mechanisms by which meditation affects the decision making process. More evidence is needed to test our explanatory model and to explore the function of specific brain areas and their interactive effects on decision making during meditation training. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:36:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f1ac940b504e4a13b929c1e96a0197d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T15:36:10Z |
| publishDate | 2015-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f1ac940b504e4a13b929c1e96a0197d62022-12-21T22:55:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782015-07-01610.3389/fpsyg.2015.01059120409Calm and Smart? A Selective Review on Effects of Meditation on Decision MakingSai eSun0Ziqing eYao1Jiaxin eWei2Rongjun eYu3Department of Psychology and Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology and Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology and Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Psychology and Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, ChinaOver the past two decades, there has been a growing interest in the use of meditation to improve cognitive performance, emotional balance, and well-being. As a consequence, research into the psychological effects and neural mechanisms of meditation has been accumulating. Whether and how meditation affects decision making is not yet clear. Here, we review evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging studies and summarize the effects of meditation on social and nonsocial economic decision making. Research suggests that meditation modulates brain activities associated with cognitive control, emotion regulation and empathy, and leads to improved nonsocial and social decision making. Accordingly, we propose an integrative model in which cognitive control, emotional regulation, and empathic concern mediate the effects of meditation on decision making. This model provides insights into the mechanisms by which meditation affects the decision making process. More evidence is needed to test our explanatory model and to explore the function of specific brain areas and their interactive effects on decision making during meditation training.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01059/fullDecision MakingEmpathyMeditationNeuroimagingProsocial Behavior |
| spellingShingle | Sai eSun Ziqing eYao Jiaxin eWei Rongjun eYu Calm and Smart? A Selective Review on Effects of Meditation on Decision Making Frontiers in Psychology Decision Making Empathy Meditation Neuroimaging Prosocial Behavior |
| title | Calm and Smart? A Selective Review on Effects of Meditation on Decision Making |
| title_full | Calm and Smart? A Selective Review on Effects of Meditation on Decision Making |
| title_fullStr | Calm and Smart? A Selective Review on Effects of Meditation on Decision Making |
| title_full_unstemmed | Calm and Smart? A Selective Review on Effects of Meditation on Decision Making |
| title_short | Calm and Smart? A Selective Review on Effects of Meditation on Decision Making |
| title_sort | calm and smart a selective review on effects of meditation on decision making |
| topic | Decision Making Empathy Meditation Neuroimaging Prosocial Behavior |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01059/full |
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