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Intersections of Buddhist Philosophy and Psychological Science: an Exploration of Common and Differential Effects of Meditation AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Victoria A. Braun for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in Psychology, Psychology, and Philosophy presented on June 10, 2014. Title: Intersections of Buddhist Philosophy and Psychological Science: An Exploration of Common and Differential Effects of Meditation Abstract Approved: John A. Edwards Interweaving perspectives from both social cognitive psychology and Tibetan Buddhism, the present study examined common and differential effects of two styles of meditation: Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) and mindfulness meditation (MM). Psychological theories of construct accessibility postulate that cognitive constructs activated frequently are more readily available for processing stimuli. Researchers in the present experiment propose that individuals practicing LKM chronically activate constructs of a prosocial and compassionate nature. These constructs then become more accessible for processing interpersonal and situational stimuli, thus providing a cognitive mechanism by which the effects of LKM are experienced. Secondarily, researchers sought to investigate the effects of a meditation intervention on individual differences in coping with interpersonal conflict. Conflict coping tends to occur in patterned responses that develop early in life and pervades through adulthood, much like that of attachment styles (Ben-Ari & Hirschberg, 2009). In impact interpersonal conflict coping styles. Researchers hypothesized the effects of LKM specifically would cause meditators to shift to more positive and proactive styles of coping with conflict. Oregon State University (OSU) students participated in an eight-week meditation intervention, where students were randomly assigned to practice LKM or MM. Baseline, during-, and post-intervention self-report and cognitive measures were collected. Hypotheses regarding prosocial construct activation, working memory capacity, interpersonal conflict coping were explored, as well as a battery of self-report measures examining psychological well-being and life satisfaction. ©Copyright by Victoria A. Braun June 10, 2014 All Rights Reserved Intersections of Buddhist Philosophy and Psychological Science: An Exploration of Common and Differential Effects of Meditation by Victoria A. Braun A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies Presented June 10, 2014 Commencement June 2015 Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies thesis of Victoria A. Braun Presented on June 10, 2014. APPROVED: ___________________________________________________________________ Major Professor, representing Psychology ___________________________________________________________________ Director of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program ___________________________________________________________________ Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. ___________________________________________________________________ Victoria A. Braun, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The depth of my academic, professional, and personal growth would not be possible without the countless hours of guidance and seemingly limitless patience from Dr. John Edwards, to whom I owe a thousand thank-you’s. I would also like to acknowledge the Oregon State University School of Psychological Sciences for affording me the opportunity to research and become absorbed in what truly inspires me. My graduate cohort, Pamela Lundeberg, Angus Kittelman, Birken Noesen, Nathan Heardener, Angelica Falkenstein, Bailey Wilcox, Shana Needham, Alyssa Raymond, Keiko Botswik, and Amy Beyer, who have transformed the last two years into some of the best of my life. My gratitude is unending for the love and support these people have given me. I would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Winston McCullough for lending his time and resources in my independent study of Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy, and to Dr. Kathryn Becker-Blease, who went out of her way to guide and support me through my first term of graduate school. Finally, I dedicate this thesis to my family- my parents and siblings, Jessica Morrow, and my bodhisattva, for always seeing the light, even when I could not. Thank you. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………2 CHAPTER 2: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY AND MEDITATION………………………4 Emptiness………………………………………………………………………….9 5 Aggregates………………………………………………………………......…10 Mindfulness in Buddhism…….……………………………………………….…11 Compassion in Buddhism………………………………………………………..12 Tonglen Meditation………………………………………………………………16 CHAPTER 3: SOCIAL COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY……………...…18 Perceptual Categorization………………………………………………….…….18 Cognitive Construct Activation………………………………………………….20 Ambiguity of Constructs………………………………………………………....22 Interpersonal Conflict Coping………….………………………………………...24 Working Memory Capacity………………………………………………...……25 CHAPTER 4: VARIABLE OPERALIZATION……………………………………...…26 Selection of the Independent Variable………………………………………...…27 Differential Effects of Meditation………………………………………………..29 Hypotheses……………………………………………………………………….31 Measures………………………………………………………………………....39 Lexical Decision Task……………………………………………..……..39 Self-Report Measures………………………………………….…………40 Working Memory Task…………………………………………………..49 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page Behavioral Measure…………………………………………….………..50 CHAPTER 5: EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN………………………………..……………52 Methods…………………………………………………………..………………52 Participants…………………………………………….…………………52 Design and Procedure………………………..…………..………………53 CHAPTER 6: RESULTS….……………………………………………………………..56 Prosocial Construct Activation…………….…………………………………….56 Interpersonal Conflict Coping……………………………………………………59 Big-Five Personality Traits…………………………..…………………………..60 Situational Appraisal………………………………………………..……………67 Prosocial and Emotion-Based Self-Report Measures………..…………………..68 Additional Self-Report Measures…………….………………………………….71 Symmetry Span………………………………………….……………………….73 Centipede Game……………………………………………….…………………73 CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION……………………………….……………………………77 Summary of Findings…………………………………………………………….77 Interpersonal Conflict Coping…………………..………………………..77 Prosocial Construct Activation…………………………………………..78 Personality ……………………………………….………………………79 Situational Appraisal………………………………………..……………81 Self-Report Measures of Interest…..…………………………………….82 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page Behavioral Measures……………………………………………………..84 Limitations……………………………………………………………..……...…85 Future Directions……………………………..………………………...………..88 Conclusion…………………………………………………………….....………89 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………..………90 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………….…………101 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Total LDT Reaction Time Means and Standard Deviations (ms) by Administration...74 2. Total RSS Coping Style Means and Standard Deviations by Administration…...……74 3. Total BFI Means and Standard Deviations by Administration………………..………74 4. Self-Report Measure Means and Standard Deviations by Group……………..………75 5. Total Situational Appraisal Means and Standard Deviations by Administration……..76 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page A. Word Stimuli Used in Lexical Decision Paradigm………………………….………102 B. The Attentional Control Scale……………………………………………….………103 C. The Beck Anxiety Inventory………………………………………………...………104 D. The Big-Five Inventory…………………………………………………...…………105 E. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale…………………….……107 F. The Cohen-Hoberman Inventory of Physical Symptoms……………………………108 G. The Compassionate Love for Close Others Scale…………………………...………109 H. The Causal Uncertainty Scale….……………………………………………………110 I. The Emotion Reactivity Scale………………………………………………..………111 J. The Emotional Regulation Questionnaire……………………………………………112 K. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index…………………………………………………113 L. The Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale………………………………..………115 M. The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale……………………..……………..116 N. The Perceived Stress Scale……………………………………………….…………118 O. The Responses to Stress Questionnaire….…………………………….……………119 P. The Situational Appraisal Scale…………………………………………...…………122 Q. The Situational Test of Emotion Management……………..…….…………………124 R. The Situational Test of Emotion Understanding…………..……………...…………132 S. The Satisfaction with Life Scale……………………………………………..………140 T. The Transgression Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory…………...………141 U. Behavioral Measures………………………………………………………………...142 Intersections of Buddhism and Psychological Science: An Exploration of Common and Differential Effects of Meditation 2 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The present study examined common and differential effects of different styles of meditation, Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) and mindfulness meditation (MM). Embracing an interdisciplinary perspective, the researchers draw from Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and western psychological research to propose a cognitive mechanism by which meditators experience the positive effects of Loving-kindness meditation (LKM). Mahayana Buddhism heavily emphasizes the idea of ‘emptiness,’ or that all objects, people, and situations lack an inherent, self-existing nature. The mind, instead, projects meaning and separateness of self from others, causing attachment and pervasive suffering to the unenlightened. These philosophical ideas closely parallel social cognitive psychological research on chronic construct accessibility, such that
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