Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Conscious and Non-Conscious Components of the Mind
Source abstract
Abstract
The aim of the present review is to investigate previous studies concerning the effects of meditation and dispositional mindfulness on conscious and implicit or non-conscious attitudes. First we present a brief perspective on conscious and non-conscious states of mind. Then we introduce the fundamental bases of mindfulness meditation. Third we review studies on dispositional mindfulness and meditation that employed either direct or indirect measures to assess explicit and implicit attitudes. Finally, we briefly present how meditation has been associated with the psychotherapeutic practice of psychoanalysis and, hence, as a therapeutic technique to access the unconscious. Until now, few studies have investigated the impact of meditation on non-conscious states of mind and personality; nevertheless, both scientific studies involving implicit measures and reflections from psychotherapy have underlined the importance of meditation in promoting psychological well-being, leading to de-automatization of automatic patterns of responding and to higher levels of self-awareness.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Department of Psychology, University of Rome La Sapienza, 00185 Rome, Italy
Department of Medicine, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
Perceptual Robotics (PERCRO) Laboratory, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, 56010 Pisa, Italy
Psychiatric Clinic, Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, 34149 Trieste, Italy
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