Recent research is Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology This suggests that even short periods of mindfulness meditation can have a significant impact on our learning and decision-making abilities. Participants who practiced mindfulness meditation not only increased their ability to learn from unexpected positive outcomes, but also showed increased openness to new experiences and a preference for exploring new options rather than relying on familiar ones. I did.
We found that mindfulness meditation, rooted in ancient traditions and now an essential practice in a variety of modern psychotherapies, can have far-reaching effects on cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and stress reduction. There is growing evidence to suggest that. Beyond these perceived benefits, researchers behind a new study show that brief mindfulness interventions directly impact how individuals learn from feedback in decision-making scenarios where outcomes are not guaranteed. We tried to understand if it can be done and how.
“Our interest in this topic was sparked by our recognition of the remarkable and powerful impact that mindfulness meditation has on human cognition and its ability to modify deeply ingrained social biases,” said study author Aberdeen. Marius Golubikis, university lecturer and director of the Aberdeen Computational Institute, explained.Social cognition laboratory
“The discovery that even a short 5-minute meditation session can have significant benefits highlights the practicality and accessibility of these meditation practices for people with busy lives. Mindfulness Exploring the simplicity and efficiency of meditation opens a fascinating avenue for enhancing learning and self-development, and highlights the important role of mindfulness meditation in our cognitive toolkit.”
The researchers assembled a sample of 60 participants with little or no experience with meditation. The educational background of the participants ranged from high school education to Ph.D. These participants were randomly assigned to one of his two groups: a mindfulness meditation group or a control group.
For participants in the mindfulness group, the intervention consisted of a 5-minute guided meditation focused on mindful breathing. This exercise aimed to cultivate attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way, guiding participants to observe their own breathing and gently bring their attention to any distractions. The control group, on the other hand, engaged in a 5-minute task involving Chinese puzzles (tangrams), chosen as a neutral activity that is unlikely to affect cognitive or emotional states, similar to mindfulness meditation. .
Following these activities, all participants undertook the main experimental task, a probabilistic choice task. This task is designed to simulate decision-making under uncertainty and requires participants to choose between pairs of symbols based on probabilistic feedback about their correctness.
Symbols derived from the Japanese hiragana alphabet were presented in pairs (AB, CD, EF), and each pair had a defined probability that selecting one symbol would result in positive feedback. For example, choosing symbol A instead of symbol B will give you a correct response 80% of the time. This structure allows the researchers to create a learning environment that reflects real-life decision-making, where outcomes are often uncertain, and where participants must identify and adapt to these probabilities over time. is completed.
To analyze the data, the researchers employed advanced computational modeling techniques, specifically the reinforcement learning drift-diffusion model (RL-DDM). This model integrates decision-making processes with reinforcement learning theory, which explains how behavior is shaped by feedback, and captures both choice probabilities and response times.
Golubikis and colleagues found that participants who participated in a mindfulness meditation session had an improved ability to learn from positive feedback in uncertain decision-making scenarios compared to participants in a control group. This increased learning rate after positive feedback may help mindfulness meditation to more effectively process and utilize information that exceeds an individual’s expectations, thereby making decisions in situations characterized by uncertainty. It suggests optimizing the process.
Computational modeling analyzes provided insight into the cognitive mechanisms underlying these effects. Mindfulness meditation appears to influence several important cognitive processes involved in learning and decision-making. Specifically, the meditation group had a faster rate of learning from positive prediction errors, meaning they were able to adjust their expectations and behaviors faster based on unexpected positive outcomes.
“Perhaps the most remarkable finding was the profound impact that brief periods of mindfulness had on the learning process, especially its ability to increase sensitivity to positive surprise,” Golubikis told SciPost. “This subtle change suggests that even short-term mindfulness meditation can have a profound impact on our cognitive responses to unexpected positive outcomes,” says Dr. It highlights the potential of NES to enhance the way we perceive and learn from our experiences.”
Additionally, the mindfulness group showed increased vigilance toward responses, as evidenced by higher decision thresholds in the RL-DDM analysis. This finding suggests that mindfulness meditation may lead individuals to seek more evidence before making decisions, reflecting a more deliberate and less impulsive approach when choosing between uncertain options. It suggests that there is.
Additionally, the researchers found that mindfulness meditation was more effective at exploring rather than exploiting, as indicated by changes in drift rate scaling (a measure of how strongly participants preferred the option with the highest expected value). found that it influences the tendency to This shift toward exploration suggests that mindfulness promotes a more balanced approach to decision-making, gathering new information and developing new outcomes alongside the safety of sticking with known and rewarding options. It suggests that the value of the experience is valued.
“Based on the basic premise that learning occurs primarily by making mistakes and receiving feedback, our study reveals how a brief mindfulness intervention can improve this learning mechanism. ,” Golubikis explained. “In particular, it enhances how we handle and benefit from feedback that exceeds expectations.”
“Consider a situation in which someone expected a modest improvement in a skill after practice, but instead experienced a large leap forward.” Mindfulness also cultivates a disposition toward open-minded inquiry, allowing individuals to We encourage them to venture beyond the known, to consider competing perspectives, and to demonstrate a willingness to be open to new possibilities and alternative perspectives.”
The findings support the cognitive benefits of mindfulness meditation. However, this study has some caveats, including focusing only on one form of mindfulness practice and its immediate effects. The sustainability of these cognitive improvements and their evolution with continued mindfulness practice remain open to further exploration.
“An important limitation of our study is the uncertainty regarding the duration of the effects of mindfulness on learning,” Golubikis said. “These effects can last for 15 minutes or even hours. The exact timing remains unknown. Additionally, how these effects change with long-term mindfulness practice. is unclear, raising questions about the sustainability of long-term effects and the potential for growth.”
Researchers are interested in expanding this research to understand how mindfulness intersects with various cognitive functions and serves as a tool for mental health interventions. The potential to leverage new technologies and computational methods to deepen our understanding of mindfulness and cognition also presents exciting frontiers for future research.
“Going forward, our research will investigate the effects of mindfulness across cognitive function and, of course, its usefulness in mental health interventions,” Golubikis told PsyPost. “A comprehensive approach to psychological health coupled with improved cognitive function would be beneficial.”
“I would like to highlight the potential of new techniques and methodologies in this field of research,” he added. “Along with AI computing and digital transformation, these technologies have the potential to provide valuable insights, open new perspectives, and deepen our understanding that are not possible using traditional research approaches alone. Yes, it can greatly enrich our analysis and give us a deeper understanding of cognition.”
The study, “Brief mindfulness-based meditation improves learning speed after positive prediction errors,” was authored by Marius Golubickis, Lucy BG Tan, Parnian Jalalian, Johanna K Falbén, and Neil C Macrae.
