Domain-specific enhancement of metacognitive ability following meditation training

J Exp Psychol Gen. 2014 Oct;143(5):1972-1979. doi: 10.1037/a0036882. Epub 2014 May 12.

Abstract

Contemplative mental practices aim to enable individuals to develop greater awareness of their own cognitive and affective states through repeated examination of first-person experience. Recent cross-sectional studies of long-term meditation practitioners suggest that the subjective reports of such individuals are better calibrated with objective indices; however, the impact of mental training on metacognitive ability has not yet been examined in a randomized controlled investigation. The present study evaluated the impact of a 2-week meditation-training program on introspective accuracy in the domains of perception and memory. Compared with an active control group that elicited no change, we found that a 2-week meditation program significantly enhanced introspective accuracy, quantified by metacognitive judgments of cognition on a trial-by-trial basis, in a memory but not a perception domain. Together, these data suggest that, in at least some domains, the human capacity to introspect is plastic and can be enhanced through training.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Awareness
  • Cognition*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Judgment*
  • Male
  • Meditation / psychology*
  • Memory*
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Young Adult