Do different types of meditation train different mental skills?
Different meditation practices target and improve distinct mental capacities—such as attention, compassion, or perspective-taking—rather than producing a single, uniform effect.
Source
Differential benefits of mental training types for attention, compassion, and theory of mind
Study at a glance
- Design
- Other — ReSource Project training cohorts: Presence, Affect, and Perspective modules targeting attention, compassion, and ToM
- N
- N=332 · Healthy adults 20–55 (197 women) across two recruitment waves
- Population
- Healthy adults in a multi-module mental-training program
- Outcome
- Module-specific change in attention, compassion, and theory-of-mind measures beyond retest
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Do different types of meditation train different mental skills?
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
332 healthy participants were recruited for the study
Within two recruitment waves, a total of N = 332 healthy participants (197 female; mean age = 40.74, SD = 9.24; age range = 20–55) were selected for and agreed to participate in the study (see for a detailed description of the multi-step recruitment and screening procedure and characteristics of the final sample for each cohort).
The ReSource Project implemented three consecutive mental training modules
To this end, we designed a large-scale longitudinal mental training study, the ReSource Project (), implementing three consecutive three-month mental training modules (Presence, Affect, Perspective) consisting of distinct types of contemplative practices and targeting attentional-, socio-cognitive, or socio-affective skills ().
What they did
The researchers investigated the cognitive and social outcomes of the ReSource Project, where healthy adult participants completed distinct three-month mental training modules. Participants were placed into cohorts that practiced 'Presence' (focused attention), 'Affect' (loving-kindness and partner dyads), and 'Perspective' (metacognition and role-taking) in various sequences, alongside a control cohort. Researchers evaluated changes in attention using a cued flanker task, and tested compassion and Theory of Mind (ToM) using the validated EmpaToM video task.
What they found
The Presence module significantly increased attentional accuracy but did not enhance compassion or Theory of Mind. The Affect module produced the strongest increases in compassion, which were driven by a generalized feeling of warmth even during neutral social scenes, but did not increase empathy or attention speed. Finally, the Perspective module was the only training type to show a positive impact on Theory of Mind accuracy, specifically outperforming the Affect module as an active control, though this effect was small and did not reach statistical significance compared to the passive retest group.
The limits
What it doesn't show
First, the Perspective module did not show a statistically significant improvement in Theory of Mind compared to the passive retest control group, indicating that the cognitive perspective-taking effects were relatively weak. Second, because most cohorts completed modules in a fixed sequence starting with the Presence module, the study cannot completely rule out order or synergy effects, such as whether attention training is a necessary prerequisite to successfully develop compassion. Third, the sample was restricted to healthy adults, meaning the results cannot be generalized to children, older adults, or clinical groups with social or attentional deficits. Lastly, up to a quarter of the behavioral data was missing or discarded across the assessment points, which could introduce subtle sample selection biases.
Key terms
- Theory of Mind (ToM)
- The cognitive ability to attribute mental states—such as beliefs, intents, desires, and knowledge—to oneself and others to understand and predict behavior.
- Compassion
- A benevolent and warm emotional response characterized by feelings of care, concern, and kindness toward another person.
- Empathy
- The passive emotional capacity to directly share and resonate with another person's affective state, particularly their distress or suffering.
- Executive Control of Attention
- The cognitive process of monitoring, coordinating, and resolving conflicts among competing thoughts, feelings, or environmental stimuli.
- Dyadic Practice
- An interactive, partner-based contemplative exercise designed to build social listening skills and perspective-taking through face-to-face structured communication.
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Quiz yourself
What are the three consecutive three-month training modules implemented in the ReSource Project?
Common questions
Does general mindfulness meditation make people more compassionate?
No, the study found that attention-based mindfulness practices (the Presence module) did not increase compassion. Compassion only increased after explicitly training loving-kindness and interpersonal connection (the Affect module).
Why did the researchers separate compassion from empathy?
Empathy involves suffering with someone and can lead to emotional distress, whereas compassion involves feeling warmth and care for them, which protects against burnout and promotes positive actions.
Did training perspective-taking improve general intelligence or reasoning skills?
No, the Perspective module specifically improved Theory of Mind tasks but had no effect on a control task measuring general factual reasoning, indicating a highly specific social-cognitive improvement.
Why were some meditation exercises done in pairs?
Partner-based 'dyads' allowed participants to practice social skills like deep listening and perspective-taking in real-time, helping translate meditative states into actual social intelligence.
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