Namaste: The influence of meditation on attentional focus

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine whether meditation and meditative techniques alter attentional focus. To measure attentional focus, the two-target attentional blink task was used to examine the effects of meditation and meditative techniques on both temporal and spatial selective attention. In Experiment 1, it was hypothesized that experienced meditators would perform better than non-meditators. Moreover, two types of meditation—Focused Attention and Open Monitoring—were examined to determine whether type of meditation produces distinct patterns of performance in this task. In contrast to predictions, non-meditators performed better than meditators. Further, the meditators in the sample showed no preference for one meditation type over the other. In Experiment 2, at four points during the task participants were asked to close their eyes and focus their attention based on Open Monitoring meditative techniques or control instructions. It was hypothesized that meditative instructions would lead to improved performance in the two-target task. The results show a pattern in favour of the prediction, but did not reach significance. The current study provides insights into the questions of what type of meditation and what degree of meditative experience is required to alter one’s attentional focus.