Personalizing the Training of Attention: Predicting Effectiveness of Meditation using Traits and Abilities
Year: 2016
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Precision medicine involves tailoring interventions to the individual, but superior health outcomes are only possible if individuals follow the advice of healthcare professionals. Current meditation interventions have high drop-out rates despite the great benefits continued practice offers. Secular meditation interventions have heretofore used somatosensory objects as the anchor of attention, but other less-studied modalities may be preferred by certain individuals. Investigating the influence of individual differences on preference of meditation modality is the purpose of this research. In this study I use personality traits and sensory discriminability to predict preferences among three modalities of meditation anchor: breath, phrase, and image. Results indicate that sensory discriminability predicts preference, as do incoming bias and motivation. These results imply multiple anchor modalities should be made accessible and that new meditators should be involved in anchor-selection. This study begins a line of research into personalizing meditation instruction and will allow more precise individualized recommendations.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Thomas Anderson
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2611527580