Promoting Altruism Through Meditation

12 Pages·2012·0.29 MB·English

Mindfulness
DOI10.1007/s12671-012-0115-4
ORIGINAL PAPER
Promoting Altruism Through Meditation: An 8-Week
Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
Erik Wallmark&Kousha Safarzadeh&
Daiva Daukantaitė&Rachel E. Maddux
#SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2012
Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the and decreased loneliness (Crocker and Carnevello 2008), and
effects of a Buddhist meditation intervention on empathy, toanincreasedtendencytogiveduringa“prisoner’sdilemma”
perceived stress, mindfulness, self-compassion, and of par- whentheotheralreadyhasdefected(BatsonandAhmad2001).
ticular interest, the dispositional tendency to feel empathic Because altruism has been shown to be associated with
concern rather than personal distress when perceiving an- promising interpersonal benefits (for review, see Batson
other as in need, termed altruistic orientation. Participants 2011), we argue that psychological interventions targeting
wererandomlyassignedtoaninterventiongroup(n020)or such an ability are a worthy scientific goal. In this pilot
awaitinglistcontrolgroup(n022).Resultsindicatedatrend study, we explore whether an intervention based on the
towardsincreasesinaltruisticorientationintheintervention Buddhist meditations of loving-kindness, compassion, em-
group—an increase that significantly correlated with medi- pathicjoy,andequanimity(i.e.,thefourimmeasurables),as
tation time, decreases in perceived stress, and increases in wellasthepracticeofTonglen,candevelopthedisposition-
self-compassion and mindfulness. Additionally, compared altendency torespond altruistically.
tothecontrols,significantincreasesinmindfulnessandself- One of the well-established antecedents to altruistic mo-
compassion and a significant decrease in perceived stress tivation is empathic concern (EC) (Batson and Shaw 1991;
were obtainedfor theintervention group. Piliavin and Charng 1990; Schroeder et al. 1988). It is
defined as “an other-oriented emotion elicited by and con-
Keywords Empathy.Altruism .Stress .Mindfulness . gruent with the perceived welfare of someone in need”
Self-compassion .Meditation (Batson 2011, p. 11) or “feelings of warmth, compassion,
andsympathythatanobserverhasforanunfortunateother”
(Davis 1983, p. 167)—definitions that closely overlap with
the terms compassion (Goetz et al. 2010) and sympathy
Introduction (Eiseberg and Eggum 2011). When a valued other is per-
ceived to be in need, EC is elicited, bringing forth a moti-
Awiderangeofexperimentshaveshownthatthecapacityfor vational force aimed at reducing the perceived discrepancy
compassionandaltruismexistsinhumans(Batson2011),andit between the actual state and the valued state of the other.
hasalsobeenobservedinnonhumanprimates(deWaal2008). This motivation to bring another to the valued appetitive
Altruism is defined as “a motivational state with the ultimate state istermed“altruistic motivation” (Batson2011).
goalofincreasinganother’swelfare”(BatsonandShaw1991) EC isnottobeconflated with the broader term empathy
andislinkedtoseveralbeneficialinterpersonaloutcomes,such (Decety 2011). Whereas EC is an other-oriented response
asdecreasedaggression(Harmon-Jonesetal.2004;Millerand whichentailsfeelingfortheother(Batson2011),empathyis
Eisenberg 1988), improved attitudes towards stigmatized mostcommonlydefinedasanautomaticresponsestemming
groups (Batson et al. 1997), and enhanced social closeness from the perception of an other’s emotional state (Preston
: : : anddeWaal2002),whichissimilartowhattheotherperson
E.Wallmark K.Safarzadeh D.Daukantaitė(*) R.E.Maddux
isfeeling(Eisenbergand Eggum 2011).
DepartmentofPsychology,LundUniversity,
Prior research shows that empathic arousal occurs when
P.O.Box213,22100Lund,Sweden
e-mail:[email protected] anotherisperceivedtobeinanaversiveemotionalsituation
Mindfulness
(Bandura and Rosenthal 1966; Berger 1962). The arousal, interventions are mainly understood to target attention and
however, is not in itself a sufficient basis for engaging in emotional awareness and seem to be a valid approach for
altruistic motivated behavior, but it may evolve into EC, promoting empathy (Shapiro and Izett 2008). However, we
personaldistress(PD),orboth(EisenbergandEggum2011; arguethatthefourimmeasurableswhichbuildsonmindful-
Piliavin and Charng 1990). Emotion regulation is under- ness, but also involving an active affective/motivational
stoodtobecrucialforregulatingandadaptingtheempathic engagement with an imagined other, is a more powerful
response(Decety2011)andpreventingoverarousal(associ- and suitable method for developing EC and altruistic
ated with PD) (Eisenberg and Fabes 1992). Whereas EC is motivation.
related to feelings of compassion, tenderness, and warmth The four immeasurables, also called the brahma viharas
feltfortheother,PDisrelatedtofeelingsofbeingalarmed, (Buddhagosa 1975), which consist of (1) loving-kindness
disturbed, and upset (Batson etal. 1987;Davis 1983). (pali: metta), (2) compassion (karuna), (3) empathetic joy
It has also been shown that EC and PD exhibit distinct (mudita),and(4)equanimity(upekkha),aredrawnfromthe
motivationalconsequences:ECpromotesaltruisticrespond- Buddhist tradition. The first three (loving-kindness, com-
ing, whereas PD promotes self-focused efforts and allevia- passion, and empathetic joy) are altruistic motivations ap-
tion of one’s own distress rather than that of the other plicable to contextual valence (baseline, aversive, and
(Batson et al. 1987; Batson and Shaw 1991; Eisenberg et appetitive) in which another is perceived to be, and the
al.1989;Piliavin andCharng1990;Schroeder etal.1988). fourth (equanimity) is concerned with valuing the other in
AlthoughECandPDaretwodistinct emotional stateswith hisorherownright.Equanimityisaimedatreducingbiases
different motives, they have been shown to correlate mod- thathinderaltruism,anditinvolvesthewishthatwemaylet
erately(r00.52),asmeasuredbytheInterpersonalReactiv- go of liking, disliking, and indifference towards others so
ity Index (IRI; Davis 1983). Individuals experiencing high that our altruistic motivation may become unbiased and
generallevelsofemotional reactivitymay beprone toboth truly immeasurable (Patrul Rinpoche 1994).
high levels of PD and EC (Davis 1994). It is plausible, The approach here is adopted from Chödron (2009) and
however, that a high dispositional level of EC paired with McLeod (2001) and consists of (1) stabilizing attention by
alowlevelofPDconstitutesaspecificaltruisticdisposition noticingtheinflowandoutflowofthebreathforaperiodof
incontrasttobeinggenerallyemotionallyreactive.Measur- time,followedby(2)imaginingavaluedotherinavalenced
ing the difference between the two (EC minus PD) is a condition (baseline, aversive, or appetitive) in front of
complementary approach which can tap the dispositional oneself,(3)directingthecorrespondingaltruisticmotivation
tendencytoactaltruisticallyasopposedto(1)merelybeing (e.g.,compassionwhentheotherisperceivedinanaversive
emotionally aroused or (2) engaging in self-focused efforts state)totheother,(4)practicinginacontinuousmoment-to-
aimed at alleviating PD. This measured discrepancy (EC moment awareness of sensations/emotions correlated with
minus PD) is further referred toas “altruisticorientation.” directing such motivation, and (5) gradually expanding the
Another important factor related to altruistic motivation practicebymovingonwardsfromthehighlyvaluedotherto
isperspectivetaking(PT),definedastheabilitytoadoptthe a less and less valued other, maintaining the heartfelt altru-
perspective of the other (Davis 1983). PT is thought to be istic motivation. A more detailed description regarding the
associated with mental flexibility and cognitive top-down intervention can be found in Safarzadeh and Wallmark
regulationofthedefaultegocentricperspective(Decetyand (2011).
Jackson 2004). Adopting the perspective of another has Mindfulness training promotes flexible emotion regula-
been widely and successfully used to induce EC in labora- tion (Chambers et al. 2009), such as an enhanced ability to
tory settings from the classical experiment by Stotland regulate the empathic response and the default self-
(1969) and onwards and is understood to be an important perspective (Decety and Jackson 2004). This potentially
way for coming to value other’s thoughts and emotions increases the tendency to experience EC rather than PD
(Batson 2011). PT has indeed been pinpointed as an effec- (Eisenberg and Eggum 2011) as well as adopt the perspec-
tivestrategyforreducingstereotypingandprejudice(Batson tive of the other (Decety 2011). Greater flexibility may
and Ahmad 2009) that seems to facilitate greater social consequently make way for valuing the other’s welfare in
connectedness and prevents perceived differences between his or her own right, rather than based on personal prefer-
theselfandtheout-group(GalinskyandMoskowitz2000). encesofwhattheothermaybringtotheself(Batson2011).
Theuseofmentalimageryforputtingoneselfintheplace Even though studies investigating the effects of the four
ofanotherhasrecentlybeenhighlightedasaneffectiveway immeasurablesarefew,interestinthefieldisrapidlygrowing
tocultivatealtruism(DecetyandLamm2011).Byintegrat- (Hofmannetal.2011).InarecentexperimentbyHutcherson
ing motivation, attention, cognitive, and emotional aspects etal.(2008),participants were instructed to first imagine
(WallaceandShapiro2006),meditationmayofferamethod two loved ones standing beside one’s self, directing love
by which such imagery can be utilized. Mindfulness-based to them by repeating words that bear the motivation of
Mindfulness
loving-kindness. After 4 min, they were instructed to Asecondarypurposeistofurtherexaminetheeffectsofthe
redirect and maintain loving-kindness towards a photo- intervention on mindfulness, self-compassion, and per-
graph of a neutral stranger. Results showed that just a ceived stress, factors thought to affect levels of empathic
total of 7 min of loving-kindness meditation done by accuracy and concern for others’ well-being (Shapiro and
the meditation-naïve participants significantly altered the Izett 2008).
social evaluative judgments for the neutral stranger on Basedonpreviousstudies,weexpectedthattheinterven-
both implicit and explicit measures. This was further- tiongroup(1)wouldincreasetheirdispositionaltendencyto
more generalized to other neutral strangers (not included feel EC rather than PD as compared to controls, indicating
in the meditation), but only on explicit levels. The an increased altruistic orientation from engaging in the
procedure, in which one begins where the aspirations program, and (2) would exhibit an increased tendency to
arise more naturally, followed by a gradual expansion, adopttheperspectiveofothersascomparedtothecontrols,
breaking down the barriers of learned preferences, is in demonstrating an increased valuing of the other’s
line with how the practice is traditionally used (Wallace perspective.
2010). Inlinewithpriorresearchindicatingdifferencesbetween
Alteringofemotionalexperiencesthroughtraininginthe meditators and non-meditators in emotion regulation ten-
four immeasurables has been specifically investigated by dencies, such as decreased stress levels (Davidson et al.
Fredrickson et al. (2008). In this study, participants under- 2003), self-compassion (Neff 2003), and mindfulness
went an 8-week loving-kindness meditation program in- (Chambers et al. 2009; Ortner et al. 2007), we expected
volving a daily assessment of time spent meditating as (3) significant changes on these measures among those
wellasmeasuresofpositiveandnegativeemotions.Results who completed the 8-week program as compared to those
showedanincreaseindailyexperienceofpositiveemotions in the control condition and that (4) the amount of time
aftercompletingthestudy—changesthatinturnwererelat- participants spent practicing meditation during the 8 weeks
ed to increases in mindful attention, self-acceptance, posi- would correlate with increases in EC and PT, mindfulness
tiverelationswithothers,andagoodphysicalhealth.These andself-compassion,aswellasdecreasesinperceivedstress
changes were linked to increased satisfaction with life and and PD.
reduced depressive symptoms.
In addition to the four immeasurables discussed above,
the practice of Tonglen or “sending and taking” (Kyabgon Method
2007), traditionally included in the larger framework of
Lojong “the seven-point mind training” (Chödron 1994), is Participants
considered a main practice aimed for the development of
altruism (Dalai Lama and Cutler 1998). In Tonglen, one Data for 42 participants were analyzed: 22 in the control
simultaneously combines the four immeasurables with group and 20 in the intervention group. The mean age of
mindfulness of breathing in one single method (McLeod participants was 33.8 (intervention group: M032, SD011,
2001).Byreducingourhabitualtendenciestorespondwith range022–57; control group: M035, SD015, range022–
aversiontoother’sdistress andclingtoourownhappiness, 69). In both groups, 86 % of the participants were women
Tonglen is regarded as promoting a radical shift in how we andthemajorityoftheparticipantswerewell-educated(i.e.,
relatetoexperience,promotingaltruismandinsight(Chödron bachelor/master’s degree). No significant differences were
1994;Kyabgon2007;McLeod2001). found between groups on demographicvariables.
To date there are no studies known to the authors inves- Participants wererecruited fromnonprofitorganizations,
tigatingtheeffectsofTonglen.Paceetal.(2009),however, a nearby sports center, and in the vicinity of Lund Univer-
examinedtheeffectsofcompassionmeditationdrawnfrom sityinSweden.Thestudywasmarketedas“anopportunity
the practice of Lojong, but only in the context of altered to learn meditation, get greater balance and harmony in
stressresponsesandnotrelatedempathyoraltruism.The6- everyday life” and referred to as “an introduction course in
week program they adopted showed no reductions in stress meditation” without mentioning keywords such as “empa-
response (as measured by plasma cortisol or interleukin-6 thy” or“altruism.” Individualswho registeredfor thestudy
concentration) between meditation and control groups, but (n0105) were subsequently screened for inclusion (see
significant correlations were obtained between meditation Fig. 1 flow diagram). This involved questions about drug
practicetime and reduced stress levels. and alcohol habits and whether applicants could participate
The primary purpose of this randomized controlled pilot duringtheintendedperiod,spendingapproximately30min
studyistoinvestigate theeffectsofthisinterventiononthe meditatingper day.
dispositional tendency to feel EC rather than PD when Selected items from the Clinical Outcomes in Routine
perceiving another as in need, named altruistic orientation. Evaluation(Evansetal.2002)scale(0–3scale)wereusedto
Mindfulness
Fig.1 Flowchartof
participantsthrougheachstage
ofthestudy
gauge mental distress and/or somatic illness and pain. medieval meditation hall at the Swedish Church in Lund,
Applicants were disqualified for a rating of 3 (almost all Sweden.Duetopracticalfactors,suchasalackofphysical
the time) on items assessing generalized anxiety, panic space,themeditators(n020)weredividedintotwosmaller
anxiety,depression,and/orsomaticillness/pain.Forsuicidal groups (n010 and 10) and two meditation sessions were
thoughts, self-injury, and positive psychotic symptoms, conducted insuccessive order during the evenings.
applicants were disqualified for a rating of 2 (sometimes) Due to an overrepresentation of female applicants, par-
or above. Illicit drug use in the last 6 months was also ticipantswerestratifiedbygenderandrandomlyassignedto
exclusionary. Applicants were furthermore excluded ifthey eithertheinterventionorcontrolgroupusingtheweb-based
hadanypriormeditationexperienceormorethan2yearsof toolResearchRandomizer(UrbaniakandPlous2011).Par-
continuouspracticeof yoga, Tai Chi,or Qigong. ticipants in the control condition were placed on a waiting
list, receiving thesame program after the study.
Design and Procedure The length of each weekly session was 75 min and
included (a) 30 min of lecture focused on the week’s topic,
We conducted a randomized controlled experiment. The (b)10minofmindfulmovements,(c)20minofmeditation
interventionwasconductedoneeveningaweekfor8weeks, on the week’s immeasurable, and (d) 15 min for question
and it consisted of nine group sessions in a picturesque and answer. Each session began (with the exception of
Mindfulness
sessions 1and9)with 5minof“mindfulnessofbreathing” havesignificantpersonalfamiliarizationandexperiencewith
meditation and concluded with weekly homework assign- theappliedtechniques.
mentsrelatingtothetopicoftheweek(seeTable1).Home-
work assignments were designed to help participants Measures
incorporate the formal sitting meditation practice into ev-
eryday life. TheIRI(Davis1983)tapsfourseparateaspectsoftheglobal
Allparticipantsalsoreceivedahandoutattheendofeach concept “empathy.” The subscales are fantasy, PT, EC, and
session summarizing the content. Participants also received PD. Each subscale has seven items rated on a five-point
anaudioCDwithguidedmeditationsandwereinstructedto scalefrom0(doesnotdescribemewell)to4(describesme
follow the CD for their meditation practice two or three verywell).Forthepresentstudy,theauthorshavechosento
times before doing them on their own. excludethesubscalefantasy.TheSwedishversionofIRIis
The guided meditation of session 1 was based on the translated and validated by Cliffordson (2001) and shows
vipassana body scan meditation described by S.N. Goenka. acceptable alpha values ranging from 0.71 to 0.80. In this
Theguidedmeditationsofthefourimmeasurablesandhome- study, obtained alpha values were 0.83, 0.66, and 0.81 for
work assignments (sessions 2 to 6) were based on Pema PT,PD, and EC,respectively.
Chödrons audiobook “Perfect Just as You Are” (Chödron ThePerceivedStressScale(PSS;Cohenetal.1983)isa
2009).TheguidedmeditationsofTonglen(sessions7and8) 14-item measure designed to tap the degree to which sit-
were based on Pema Chödrons “Going To the Places That uationsinone’slifeareappraisedasstressful.Theitemsare
ScareYou”(Chödron2002).Theprogramwasconductedby rated on a five-point scale from 1 (never) to 5 (very often).
theauthors,KoushaSafarzadehandErikWallmark,whoboth The Swedish version is validated by Eskin and Parr (1996)
Table1 Topicandcontentofeachsession
Session Topic Summaryofcontent
1 Mindfulness Meditation:mindfulnessofbreathandbodilysensations
Lecture:introductiontosittingandlayingdownpostures,theexperience
ofmoment-to-momentsensations
2 Receivingloving-kindness Meditation:receivinglovefromothers
Lecture:definitionofloving-kindness,comingtoknowone’songoing
emotionalexperience
3 Loving-kindness Meditation:loving-kindnessforselfandothers
Lecture:contemplationoverthecommonhumandesireforhappiness,
directingandexpandingloving-kindness(seven-stepexpansionintroduced)
4 Compassion Meditation:compassionforselfandothers
Lecture:contemplationoverthecommonhumandesiretoavoidsuffering,
developingcouragetostaywithpainfulexperiencesthroughnon-judgmental
observationandapplying“on-the-spot”compassion
5 Empatheticjoy Meditation:joywithothersandself
Lecture:contentmentindailylife,attentiontosourcesofhappiness,cultivating
joyinone’sownandother’sgoodfortune,identifyingandworkingwith
competitivenessandjealousy
6 Equanimity Meditation:noticingliking,disliking,andindifference;
Lecture:introducingtherelativenatureandimpermanenceofphenomena,noticing
andlettinggoofjudgments/opinions,likes/dislikes
7 Tonglenforoneself Meditation:Tonglen,transformingself-directedshameandguiltintoforgiveness
andspaciousness
Lecture:unitingthefourimmeasurables,seeingactionsandtheirconsequences,
non-conceptualwisdom
8 Tonglenforothers Meditation:Tonglenforothersinneed
Lecture:utilizingdifficultemotionstopromotealtruism,helpingthrough
Tonglenwhenhelpisnotpossible
9 Closurea Silentmeditationsession,concludedwithhowtocontinuethepractice
aThesessionwasincludedtoenablecollectionofmeditationtimedatafromtheinterventiongroup
Mindfulness
with an alpha value of 0.82. In this study, the alpha value formula suggested by Rosenthal (1984) for matched-pairs
was 0.85. data(d0t/√df).
The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Neff 2003) is a 26- A Bonferroni correction was employed to control for
item measure with six subscales, tapping the construct of multiple comparisons and to minimize the type I error rate
self-compassion. The subscales are self-kindness, self- intheabsenceofdistincthypothesesatthesubscalelevelfor
judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and the FFMQ and SCS. Only differences of p<0.01 were
overidentification. The internal consistency for the total considered significant.
26-item SCS was found to be 0.92 (Neff 2003). The
Swedish translation of SCS is being validated by Ström-
berg (2010, unpublished manuscript). Obtained alpha val- Results
ues in this study were 0.85 for self-kindness, 0.81 for
self-judgment, 0.80 for common humanity, 0.80 for Randomization Check
isolation, 0.64 for mindfulness, and 0.78 for
overidentification. Attestforindependentsamplesindicatedthattheinterven-
TheFive-FacetMindfulnessQuestionnaire(FFMQ;Baer tion group scored significantly lower on self-kindness, t
et al. 2006) is a 39-item scale designed to measure five (40)0−2.03, p<0.05, d00.62; PD, t (40)02.18, p<0.05,
factors of mindfulness: observing, describing, acting with d00.67; and other-oriented tendency (EC−PD), t (40)0
awareness, non-judging, and non-reactivity. Items are rated −2.51, p<0.05, d00.77, as compared to the control group.
on a five-point scale from 1 (never or very rarely true) to 5 No other significant differences (all other p>0.10) on de-
(very often or always true). The subscales showed satisfac- pendent variables were foundbetween groups.
tory alpha values ranging from 0.75 to 0.91 (Baer et al.
2006). Alpha coefficients for the Swedish version of the Post-InterventionDifference in Altruistic-Oriented Tenden-
FFMQ total scale and its five subscales ranged from 0.80 cy (EC−PD)
to 0.92 (Lilja et al. 2010). In this study, the obtained alpha
valueswere0.82forobserving,0.93fordescribing,0.88for Aone-waybetween-groupsANCOVAwasusedtoexplore
acting with awareness, 0.93 for non-judging, and 0.88 for the effect of the four immeasurables intervention on
non-reactivity. altruistic-oriented tendency (i.e., EC−PD). A small differ-
ence on post-intervention scores was obtained, showing a
StatisticalProcedures tendency(p00.10)towardssignificance(seeTable2).Be-
causeofthesignificantdifferencesbetweengroupsonpre-
All data analyses were carried out using the Statistical intervention scores,additionalanalyseswereperformed to
PackagefortheSocialSciences(SPSS)version19.0(SPSS assess changes within groups. A paired t test showed
Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Preliminary data checks were significant changes in altruistic-oriented tendency scores,
conducted to ensure that there was no violation of the t (19)0−3.16, p00.005, d00.73, for the intervention
assumptions of normality, homogeneity of variances, line- group. Cohen’s d (0.73) indicated a large effect size. No
arity, and homogeneity of regression slopes. A Levene’s significantwithin-groupschangewasfoundforthecontrol
test, indicating that the group variances are not equal, was group.
found to be significant for the describe facet of FFMQ
(p<0.02). Because the largest variance was no more than Post-InterventionDifference in PerceivedStress, Empathy,
fourtimesthesmallest,theanalysisismostlikelytobevalid Mindfulness, and Self-Compassion
(Howell 2010). In this case, the largest variance was
approximatelytwicethesmallest,indicatingthattheviolation ANCOVAwas also used to compare the effects of training
wasnotsevere. in the four immeasurables on stress, empathy, mindfulness,
Independent-samples t test was used to compare the and self-compassion. After adjusting for pre-intervention
pretestscoresofalldependentvariablesfortheintervention scores,significantdifferenceswerefoundbetweeninterven-
and control groups. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) tion and control groups on post-intervention scores for all
wasconductedtoinvestigatetheeffectofthefourimmeas- measures except EC, PD and the FFMQ facet non-judge
urablesinterventiononoutcomemeasuresofaltruisticori- (see Table 2).
entation, empathy, mindfulness, self-compassion, and Theinterventiongroupreportedsignificantlylowerpost-
stress,controllingforpretestdifferencesonthesemeasures intervention scores on perceived stress as compared to the
intheinterventionandcontrolgroups.Paired-samplesttest controlgroup,F(1,39)08.17,p00.01,η200.17,indicating
(one-tailed)wasusedtoassesschangeswithingroups.Pre– that the four immeasurables intervention contributes signif-
post effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were calculated using the icantly todecreased levels of perceived stress.
Mindfulness
7 2 1 7 7 1 7 1 3 5 3 3 3 1 3 4 4 8 s
η² 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 nes
ul
df
n
Mi
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
bles p 0.01 0.34 0.03 0.09 0.10 0.00 0.01 0.04 0.00 0.16 0.02 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 acet
a F
vari VA ve-
esforall ANCO F 8.17 0.95 4.88 3.07 2.71 10.46 8.15 4.73 11.38 2.03 5.70 19.59 5.71 4.60 11.37 12.00 12.28 15.28 FFMQFi
z
si e,
effect d 0.26 0.20 0.07 0.00 0.12 0.21 0.40 0.17 0.15 0.49 0.20 0.08 0.02 0.36 0.18 0.18 0.40 0.11 ubscal
d s
an ss
OVA, ns distre
ANC r 0.71 0.54 0.72 0.72 0.37 0.86 0.93 0.93 0.60 0.78 0.81 0.89 0.83 0.74 0.82 0.83 0.77 0.80 onal
s
way per
’scores,Cohensdforpairedmeans,one- 0Controlgroup(22)n PrePost 42.23(8.84)40.59(8.27) 30.27(2.76)29.68(3.54) 25.91(4.55)25.68(3.64) 19.23(4.02)19.23(3.26) 11.05(4.41)10.45(4.18) 120.77(25.77)123.59(25.31) 25.18(6.66)26.18(6.87) 29.18(7.37)29.73(8.58) 21.36(6.81)20.50(5.95) 25.14(8.72)27.82(8.14) 18.68(5.82)19.36(5.64) 80.95(18.23)80.32(18.38) 16.64(4.03)16.68(4.28) 14.14(4.63)13.00(4.43) 13.23(3.57)12.86(3.41) 11.59(3.91)12.00(4.08) 12.59(3.19)11.77(3.05) 13.77(3.48)14.00(3.12) −PDempathicconcernsubscaleminus
st C
vspo d 0.93 0.23 0.52 0.72 0.73 0.94 0.90 0.73 0.57 0.90 0.67 1.24 0.86 1.26 0.92 0.78 0.81 1.06 ex,E
pre Ind
n y
sbetwee r 0.44 0.83 0.82 0.72 0.81 0.52 0.74 0.65 0.49 0.67 0.16ns 0.63 0.52 0.72 0.73 0.71 0.60 0.55 Reactivit
n
darddeviations(inparentheses),correlatio 0Interventiongroup(20)n PrePost 40.15(6.39)34.40(5.57) 28.70(4.04)29.25(4.33) 25.80(4.77)27.20(3.53) 21.85(3.75)19.45(4.89) 6.85(6.32)9.80(7.12) 121.6(20.70)139.5(19.04) 25.40(6.28)28.43(5.24) 27.55(5.01)30.85(5.84) 23.95(5.86)27.25(6.07) 25.35(6.96)30.20(6.62) 18.25(5.21)22.05(3.62) 72.50(16.35)88.20(13.15) 13.95(4.56)17.25(3.06) 16.20(3.93)12.50(4.06) 11.70(3.69)13.95(2.70) 11.62(3.79)9.52(2.98) 11.50(2.31)13.20(2.50) 14.80(2.86)12.15(2.52) nificantatatleastp<0.05 PerceivedStressScale,IRIInterpersonalCompassionScale
Table2Meansandstan Variable PSS IRI EC PT PD−ECPD FFMQ,total Observe Describe Actwithawareness Non-judge Non-reactivity SCS,total Self-kindness Self-judgment Commonhumanity Isolation Mindfulness Overidentification Allotherrvaluesaresig nsnonsignificant,PSSQuestionnaire,SCSSelf-
Mindfulness
Regarding post-intervention differences in empathy- Regardingpost-interventiondifferencesinself-compassion,
related measures, a significant between-groups difference significant between-groups differences were found on all six
was found only on PT post-intervention scores, F (1, 39)0 subscales,withthelargestdifferencesobtainedonthecompos-
4.88, p00.03, η200.11, while no significant post- iteSCS,F(1,39)019.59,p<0.001,η200.33,anditssubscales:
intervention differences were found on either EC or PD. overidentification,F(1,39)015.28,p<0.001,η200.28;isola-
However,whenscoresonPDwereinspectedinbothgroups tion, F (1, 39)012.00, p<0.001, η200.24; and common hu-
at the two time points, a notable decrease in scores was manity, F (1, 39)011.37, p<0.001, η200.23, indicating a
observed for the intervention group while scores for the higher degree of self-kindness, sense of common humanity,
controlgroupremainedalmostunchanged.Additionalanal- andamorebalancedapproachtoone’sowninnerexperiences
yses were thus performed to assess changes within groups. for those who participated in the intervention as compared to
A paired t test showed significant changes in PD scores, t thosewhodidnot.
(19)03.13, p00.005, d00.72, for the intervention group.
Cohen’sd(0.72)indicatedalargeeffectsize.Nosignificant Relationship BetweenMeditation Time and Pre–Post
within-groupschange was found forthe control group. Changes
Regarding post-intervention differences in mindfulness
as measured by the FFMQ, the largest between-groups Table 3 shows the correlations between total meditation
differences were found on the composite FFMQ post- practice time and pre–post-intervention changes on all de-
intervention scores, F (1, 39)010.46, p<0.001, η200.21, pendent variables. Total meditation time during the inter-
and FFMQ facet act with awareness, F (1, 39)011.38, p< vention period was significantly related to a decrease in
0.001, η200.23, implying a significantincrease in mindful- perceived stress, r0−0.47, p00.04, and an increase in the
ness fortheinterventiongroup. mindfulnesscompositescale,r00.45,p00.05.Furthermore,
amoderate,significantassociationwasfoundbetweenmed-
itation time and altruistic orientation, r00.46, p00.04, im-
plying that meditation time tends to be important for the
Table3 Pearsoncorrelationsbetweentotalmeditationtimeandpre– developmentofthedispositionaltendencytofeelECrather
postchangesonallmeasuresfortheinterventiongroup than PDinsituations ofperceivinganother as inneed.
Changein Totalmeditationpracticetime
r p
Table 4 Correlations between pre- and post-intervention change
scores for four empathy measures and other measures concerning
PSS −0.47 0.04 stress,mindfulness,andself-compassionfortheinterventiongroup
IRI
Changein IRI
EC 0.31 0.18
PT 0.37 0.11 EC PT PD EC−PD
PD −0.34 0.15
EC−PD 0.46 0.04 PSS 0.19 −0.46** 0.52** −0.31
FFMQ,total 0.45 0.05 FFMQ,total 0.41* 0.38* −0.27 0.46**
Observe 0.18 0.45 Observe 0.05 0.25 −0.30 0.27
Describe 0.43 0.06 Describe 0.52** 0.26 −0.12 0.40*
Actwithawareness 0.38 0.10 Actwithawareness 0.50** 0.05 −0.11 0.38*
Non-judge 0.31 0.19 Non-judge 0.14 0.25 −0.15 0.21
Non-reactivity 0.41 0.07 Non-reactivity 0.38* 0.62*** −0.29 0.46**
SCS,total 0.22 0.35 SCS,total 0.02 0.11 −0.47** 0.39*
Self-kindness 0.03 0.80 Self-kindness −0.08 0.03 −0.44** 0.31
Self-judgment −0.28 0.23 Self-judgment −0.12 −0.09 0.23 −0.26
Commonhumanity 0.12 0.62 Commonhumanity 0.11 0.12 −0.31 0.32
Isolation −0.09 0.72 Isolation 0.20 0.35 0.25 −0.09
Mindfulness 0.50 0.03 Mindfulness 0.21 0.37 −0.50** 0.53**
Overidentification −0.23 0.32 Overidentification −0.01 −0.36 0.44* −0.36
PSSPerceivedStressScale,IRIInterpersonalReactivityIndex,EC− PSSPerceivedStressScale,IRIInterpersonalReactivityIndex,EC−
PD empathic concern subscale minus personal distress subscale, PD empathic concern and personal distress difference scores, FFMQ
FFMQ Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, SCS Self-Compassion Five-FacetMindfulnessQuestionnaire,SCSSelf-CompassionScale
Scale *p<0.10;**p<0.05;***p<0.01
Mindfulness
Relationships Between Pre–PostChange Scores line with our predictions and indicates that it is the actual
For Empathy-RelatedMeasuresandOtherVariables engaging in the meditations that cultivates altruism and not
just attending thegroup sessions.
As shown in Table 4, associations between pre and post InlinewithBirnieetal.(2010)exploringtheeffectsof8-
change scores between the IRI scales (including altruistic weekmindfulness-basedprogramsonempathy,wesimilarly
orientation) and other variables were observed. The in- obtainedsignificantpretopostchangesondispositionalPT,
crease in EC was found to be related to increases in the butnotondispositionalEC,asmeasuredwiththeIRI(Davis
mindfulnessfacetsdescribe,r00.52,p<0.05,andactwith 1983). There are at least five likely explanations for these
awareness, r00.50, p<0.05. Increases in PT showed a results.First,andperhapsthemostplausibleexplanation,is
strong, significant positive correlation with changes in the the unfortunate pretest heterogeneity between the control
mindfulnessfacetnon-reactivity,r00.62,p<0.01,andneg- and intervention groups on dispositional EC. Second, it
ative correlation with changes in perceived stress, r0 maybethat8weeksistooshortofatimeperiodforchanges
−0.46, p<0.05. Decreases in PD showed a strong positive in dispositional EC. Third, it is also possible that there are
correlation to decreases in perceived stress, r00.52, p< construct validity issues concerning “compassion” as culti-
0.05, as well as a negative correlation with the composite vatedinmeditationand“EC”asmeasuredbytheIRIscale.
SCS, r0−0.47, p<0.05. Furthermore, increases in non- Thelatterconceptishighlycorrelatedwithpersonalitytraits
reactivity,r00.46, p<0.05, and mindfulness, both as mea- such as emotional reactivity, r00.52 (Davis 1983, 1994),
suredbyFFMQ,r00.46,p<0.05,andbySCS,r 00.53,p< whereascompassioninitstraditionalcontextisexpectedto
0.05, were all associated toward increases in altruistic be associated with calmness, insight, and a natural inclina-
orientation (EC−PD). tion towards kindness (Dalai Lama and Cutler 1998;
AccordingtoCohen’s(1988)conventionsforthecorrela- McLeod 2001). No association between changes in EC
tioncoefficientthatitselfisameasureofeffectsize,r0±0.50 andself-compassionfurthermorepointtotheneedforaddi-
indicatesalargeeffectsize.Majorityofthecorrelationswere tional definitional clarifications in the field. Fourth, it may
closeorabovethethresholdforalargeeffectsize,indicating bethatmeditationonthefourimmeasurablesdoesnotalter
importanceoftheexaminedrelationships. dispositionalEC—apossiblebuthighlyunlikelyalternative.
A fifth more plausible explanation may be that EC is culti-
vated in the four immeasurables through activating the
Discussion “valuing the other path” via PT (Batson 2011) which thus
may exhibit a “delay effect” (as observed in Batson et al.
Participantswhoengagedinthefourimmeasurablesprogram 1997)—fromenhancedtendencytoadopttheperspectiveof
showedverybeneficialoutcomesascomparedtothosewho others to the increased tendency to feel EC. A follow-up
remainedonthewaitinglist.Theydisplayedincreasedlevels measureonparticipant’slevelsofECcouldinvestigatesuch
of dispositional PT, self-compassion, and mindfulness and hypothesis.
decreased levels of perceived stress. Engaging in the four Interestingly, changes in PT in the intervention group
immeasurablesthusseemstofacilitatethetendencyforadopt- were significantly related to increases in the mindfulness
ingtheperspectiveofothers,promotegreaternon-judgmental (FFMQ) facet non-reactivity. In line with Decety and
kindness towards oneself, viewing suffering as a common Lamm’s (2011) assertion that facilitated inhibition (of the
shared experience, and foster the relation to emotions with self-perspective) enhances the ability to adopt the perspec-
mindfulattentionratherthanover-identifying. tive of another, self-regulation may hence be a pathway by
Surprisingly, no significant changes were observed on which mindfulness skills promote PT. As noted above,
dispositional EC and PD—the measures of main signifi- increased PT has important interpersonal implications such
cance for altered altruistic orientation. A tendency towards as reducing prejudice (Batson and Ahmad 2009) and pro-
significancewas,however,obtained,andresultsofapairedt moting greater social connectedness (Galinsky and Mosko-
test (i.e., within-group changes from pre- to post- witz 2000). Consequently, meditations on the four
intervention) furthermore showed a significant change in immeasurables seem to be viable approaches for increasing
altruistic orientation for the intervention group, whereas no thetendency to adopt the perspective ofothers.
change was observed for the control group. The significant Although dispositional PD showed no significant
change among meditation participants indicates that the between-groups differences, a paired-samples t test showed
interventionalteredaltruistic orientation forthose engaging asignificant change between pretestandposttestscores for
in the practice. Moreover, change in altruistic orientation the intervention group, whereas no significant change was
among the intervention group exhibited a significant corre- obtained for the controls. This result is not clear-cut, but it
lation with the amount of time spent practicing meditation may indicate that engaging in the meditations of the four
during the intervention period. This important finding is in immeasurablesdecreasesPD.DecreasedlevelsofPDinthe
Mindfulness
intervention group were most notably associated with increased risk of type II error. However, large effect sizes
increases in self-compassion. This implies that self- indicate noteworthy changes in many studied outcomes for
compassion reduces the tendency for feeling alarmed, dis- those who completed the intervention as well as in the
turbed,andupsetwhenfacingother’sdistress,reducingself- importance of the studied relationships. The small sample
focusedeffortstoalleviateone’sowndistressratherthanthe size may explain why the random assignment procedure
other’s distress. This finding is furthermore in line with failed toyieldmore homogenousgroups.Also,participants
studies indicating that self-compassion is positively linked inthisstudywererecruitedusingconveniencesampling.All
to mental health (Neff 2003) and inversely linked to psy- individuals were well-educated and strictly screened for
chopathology (VanDam et al.2011). pathologyand substance abuse. Theywerealso highlymo-
Significant differences between groups on post- tivated to participate in meditation practice. Generalization
intervention scores for all six self-compassion subscales of the findings is thus limited, warranting further
werefoundinthisstudy.Thisresultimpliesahigherdegree investigation.
of self-kindness, sense of common humanity, and a more
balancedapproachtoone’sowninnerexperiences.Medita- Conclusions and Future Directions
tion time was, however, surprisingly not related to self-
compassion,except forthemindfulnesssubscale—possibly Meditation may offer a powerful source for human develop-
due tothe relatively small samplesize. ment.Thisstudypresentsanumberofsignificantandimpor-
A central theme in the four immeasurables training as tanteffectsofengagingintheBuddhistmeditationsofloving-
adopted here (Chödron 2009) was to let go of “the story- kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, as well as the
line”—that is, to let go of thought content and returning to practiceofTonglen(“takingandsending”).Thefindingssug-
ongoing moment-to-moment direct experience and notice gestthatengaginginthemeditationsfacilitatesthetendencyfor
the emotional effect of engaging in the practice. The four adopting the perspective of others, promotes non-judgmental
immeasurables entail mindfulness (Hofmann et al. 2011). kindness towards oneself, helps view suffering as a common
As expected, significant changes in mindfulness for the sharedexperience,andfostersrelationstoemotionswithmind-
interventiongroupwerefound,confirmingpreviousstudies fulattentionratherthanover-identifyingwiththem.Thisstudy
ontheeffectsofmindfulness-basedinterventions(e.g.,Baer further contributes to extant findings showing that not only
2003;Davidsonetal.2003).Decreasedlevelsofstresswere mindfulness- and relaxation-focused interventions (e.g. Baer
alsoobtainedhereforthoseparticipatingintheintervention. 2003) but also meditations based on the four immeasurables
Thus, this study makes an important contribution by show- contribute to decreased levels of perceived stress. Prominent
ingthatthemeditationsofthefourimmeasurablescultivate increases in mindfulness and self-compassion suggest that
stress-reducing effects, though this was not explicitly em- these meditations also lead to improved emotional regulation
phasized.Timespentpracticingthefourimmeasurableswas strategies entailing a balanced awareness with one’s ongoing
furthermorecorrelatedwithbothreducedperceivedstressas emotional experience, without the need to either suppress or
well as increased mindfulness. The finding that the amount expressit(Neff2003).
ofmeditativeexperienceisrelatedtothedegreeofmindful- Training the mind through meditation offers an exciting
nessisinlinewiththefindingsbyLykinsandBaer(2009). newpathofinquiryinpsychology,andthefieldiscurrently
onlyinitsinfancy.Thisstudyintroducedthemeditationsof
Limitations of thePresent Study the four immeasurables as a promising approach for the
cultivation of compassion and interpersonal kindness. This
AlthoughEC,asmeasuredbytheIRI(Davis1983),hasbeen may go beyond individuals and have practical applications
linked to helping and experiences of EC (Davis 1994), the for professional clinical psychologists. Grepmair et al.
relationshipbetweenIRIandaltruisticmotivationisnotclear (2007), for example, showed that psychotherapists who
(Batson2011).Batsonetal.(1986),forexample,showedthat engaged in mindfulness meditation were more successful
correlations between EC (as measured with the IRI) and intherapy as compared tonon-meditators. Patients ofmed-
helping vanished when participants were in an easy-escape itatingtherapistsshowedasignificantdecreaseinsymptom
conditionascomparedtoadifficult-escapecondition,indicat- severity and rated their therapist significantly higher on
ing an egoistic motivation for viewing oneself as altruistic clarification and problem-solving skills as compared to
ratherthananactualdesiretoincreasetheother’swelfaremay patientstreatedbynon-meditatingtherapists.Furtherstudies
be in play. There is ambiguous evidence for correlations with more rigorous and multifaceted methods are required
between IRI (Davis 1983) scores and neuroimaging data for a deeper exploration of this new and promising
investigatingempathicactivation(DecetyandLamm2011). approach.
Asecondlimitationinthisstudyisthesmallsamplesize, Batson (2011) offers in his “empathy-induced altruism
which can lead to attenuated statistical power and an hypothesis” (EAH) an intriguing model where altruistic