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CONCENTRATIVE MEDITATION ON MEMORY OF EMOTIONALLY-VALENCED STIMULI

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Date Issued:
2019
Abstract/Description:
Concentrative meditation derives from mindfulness practices; it is a meditation for beginners which helps meditators focus on specific stimuli such as sounds or breathing patterns. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of concentrative meditation on memory for positively, negatively, and neutrally valenced visual stimuli. In the current study, undergraduate student participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: concentrative meditation or mind-wandering meditation (active control). Participants were presented with positive, neutral, and negative still images and completed a free recall task. We hypothesized that participants in the concentrative meditation condition would perform best at free recall memory tasks and that participants in both conditions would remember emotionally-valenced stimuli best. Findings suggest that participants remembered more emotionally-valenced stimuli than neutral stimuli. Contrary to expectations, the mind-wandering active control condition performed better at free recall memory tasks than the concentrative meditation condition.
Title: CONCENTRATIVE MEDITATION ON MEMORY OF EMOTIONALLY-VALENCED STIMULI.
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Name(s): Rosas-Merritt, Alexandra R., author
Vernon, Laura , Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree Grantor
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Date Created: 2019
Date Issued: 2019
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Jupiter, Florida
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 30 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Concentrative meditation derives from mindfulness practices; it is a meditation for beginners which helps meditators focus on specific stimuli such as sounds or breathing patterns. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of concentrative meditation on memory for positively, negatively, and neutrally valenced visual stimuli. In the current study, undergraduate student participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: concentrative meditation or mind-wandering meditation (active control). Participants were presented with positive, neutral, and negative still images and completed a free recall task. We hypothesized that participants in the concentrative meditation condition would perform best at free recall memory tasks and that participants in both conditions would remember emotionally-valenced stimuli best. Findings suggest that participants remembered more emotionally-valenced stimuli than neutral stimuli. Contrary to expectations, the mind-wandering active control condition performed better at free recall memory tasks than the concentrative meditation condition.
Identifier: FAUHT00100 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, 2019.
Collection: FAU Honors Theses Digital Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUHT00100
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.

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