Effects Of Loving-kindness Meditation Research Articles

Effects of loving-kindness meditation on prosocial behavior: empirical and meta-analytic evidence

PurposeBrief loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is introduced here as a valid social marketing intervention. LKM positively influences prosocial cognitions and affects. However, it remains unclear whether brief meditation interventions can influence prosocial behavior. This study aims to provide evidence of the effects of short LKM on prosocial behavior.Design/methodology/approachThis study reports the results of three experiments examining the effects of brief LKM on donations to unknown others. The results are then integrated with the results of seven other studies testing the effects of brief LKM on prosocial behavior using a meta-analysis (n = 683).FindingsLKM increased love more than the control group (focused breathing) in the three experiments; however, its effects on donations were mixed. The meta-analysis shows that LKM has a small-to-medium significant effect compared to active control groups (d = 0.303); moreover, age and type of prosocial measure used moderate the effects.Originality/valueResults suggest that LKM can nurture prosocial emotions such as love and lead young individuals to donate. However, these emotions may not be sufficient to lead adult meditators to share their resources with unknown others. This study presents the first meta-analysis of brief LKM and provides insights into the use of meditation in social marketing programs.

The Impacts of Background Music on the Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Positive Emotions.

Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) has been widely used in promoting mental health, with positive emotions as an important mechanism. The current study explored the impact of background music on the effects and difficulties of LKM practice. Two hundred participants were randomly divided into six groups, wherein LKM plus music with harmony only, LKM plus music with harmony and melody, and LKM without music were presented in a different order during the intermediate three days of a five-day LKM intervention. Participants reported three types of positive emotions (pro-social, low-arousal, and medium-arousal positive emotions) and the difficulties during meditation (lack of concentration and lack of pro-social attitudes) after each of three sessions. The results of MANOVA indicated that compared to the session without music, incorporating music could evoke more low-arousal positive emotions and pro-social positive emotions without altering the difficulties. However, the results did not reveal significant differences in the effects of music with harmony and music with harmony and melody on both emotions and difficulties. Additionally, practice effects may have influenced the generation of medium-arousal positive emotions and the difficulty of concentration, but the results were inconsistent across groups. Our findings suggest potential benefits for practitioners of LKM in incorporating music during the meditation process, and the directions for future research were further discussed.

The Effect of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Flight Attendants' Spirituality, Mindfulness and Subjective Well-Being.

Background: This study investigated: (1) the effects of the loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on mindfulness, subjective well-being (SWB), and spirituality and (2) the relationships between mindfulness, spirituality, and SWB. Methods: 98 flight attendants from Xiamen Airlines in China were recruited and randomly assigned to the LKM training group (n = 49) or the waiting control group (n = 49). The LKM training group underwent an 8-week LKM training intervention, and the control group did not undergo intervention. The three main variables (SWB, mindfulness, and spirituality) were measured both before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the LKM training intervention. Results: In the experimental group, SWB and spirituality increased significantly. In the control group, no significant differences were observed for the three variables between the pre-test and post-test. Conclusions: Our results indicated that LKM may help to improve SWB and spirituality. However, the mechanisms which underlie the effects of the LKM on mindfulness, spirituality, SWB, and other psychological constructs require further elucidation.

Powered by compassion: The effect of loving-kindness meditation on entrepreneurs' sustainable decision-making

As environmental degradation and climate change continue to threaten our livelihood, entrepreneurs have a crucial role to play in promoting environmental regeneration and infusing their ventures with sustainable decision-making. Building on advances in research on social and sustainable entrepreneurship, we propose that compassion is an important predictor of entrepreneurial decisions involving an ethical balancing act between concerns for environmental and economic sustainability. We further draw on emerging evidence in psychology, pointing to meditative practice as a powerful and accessible source of compassion. In two experimental studies, we test and find support for a mediation model predicting that, compared to an active control group, entrepreneurs engaging in a brief Loving-Kindness Meditation report an increase in compassion and, in turn, higher sustainable decision-making. On the basis of these findings, we offer contributions to research on the psychological drivers of sustainable entrepreneurship and to the literature about meditation and compassion in entrepreneurship.

Loving kindness meditation on self confidence among players

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of loving kindness meditation on self confidence among cricket players. To achieve the purpose of the study thirty men players were selected from Karaikudi, Tamilnadu, India during the year 2018. The subject’s age ranges from 18 to 25 years. The selected subjects were divided into two equal groups consists of 15 players each namely experimental group and control group. The experimental group underwent a loving kindness meditation programme for six weeks. The control group was not taking part in any training during the course of the study. Self-confidence was taken as criterion variable in this study. The selected subjects were tested on Self-confidence was measured through the self-confidence inventory. Pre-test was taken before the training period and post- test was measured immediately after the six week training period. Statistical technique ‘t’ ratio was used to analyse the means of the pre-test and post test data of experimental group and control group. The results revealed that there was a significant difference found on the criterion variable. The difference is found due to loving kindness meditation given to the experimental group on Self-confidence when compared to control group.

The effect of loving-kindness meditation on positive emotions: a meta-analytic review.

While it has been suggested that loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is an effective practice for promoting positive emotions, the empirical evidence in the literature remains unclear. Here, we provide a systematic review of 24 empirical studies (N = 1759) on LKM with self-reported positive emotions. The effect of LKM on positive emotions was estimated with meta-analysis, and the influence of variations across LKM interventions was further explored with subgroup analysis and meta-regression. The meta-analysis showed that (1) medium effect sizes for LKM interventions on daily positive emotions in both wait-list controlled RCTs and non-RCT studies; and (2) small to large effect sizes for the on-going practice of LKM on immediate positive emotions across different comparisons. Further analysis showed that (1) interventions focused on loving-kindness had medium effect size, but interventions focused on compassion showed small effect sizes; (2) the length of interventions and the time spent on meditation did not influence the effect sizes, but the studies without didactic components in interventions had small effect sizes. A few individual studies reported that the nature of positive emotions and individual differences also influenced the results. In sum, LKM practice and interventions are effective in enhancing positive emotions, but more studies are needed to identify the active components of the interventions, to compare different psychological operations, and to explore the applicability in clinical populations.

Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Self-Compassion, Mindfulness, Self-Esteem, Positive and Negative Affect, and Perceived Stress

Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Self-Compassion, Mindfulness, Self-Esteem, Positive and Negative Affect, and Perceived Stress

Compassionate Dictators? The Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Offers in a Dictator Game

How to encourage people in positions of absolute power to show compassion to others is a topic of high practical and theoretical significance. Building on recent research that examines the influence of loving-kindness meditation (LKM) in fostering positive emotions and positive relations with others, we examined whether engaging in LKM would increase allocations to counterparts in a dictator game. In this game, allocators, or dictators, can unilaterally allocate any part of a given resource to the receiver, without any fear of reprisal. We found that participants who engaged in a short (8 min) LKM meditation before the dictator game gave more of the resource (SGD10) to the other party than participants who engaged in a neutral visualization exercise. Further, we found that this experimental effect was fully mediated through positive feelings towards the other party.