Mindfulness
Do different types of meditation train different mental skills?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Different meditation practices target and improve distinct mental capacities—such as attention, compassion, or perspective-taking—rather than producing a single, uniform effect.
Key findings
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.
Methodology
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.
Limitations
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.
How this study connects
Role on claims
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Theory of Mind and related social cognition capacities can be trained and enhanced through specific practices such as mindfulness meditation and targeted cognitive perspective-taking training.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
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