The Effect of Contemplation and Meditation on Great Compassion

on the Psychological Well-being of Adolescents in Schools

Dr. Jennifer Bach & Dr. Tharina Guse University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Department of Psychology Presented the results of this study at the

5th European Positive Psychology Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark, June 2010

& now presenting a poster on this study at the Science of Compassion: Origins, Measures and Interventions

Conference, Telluride, Colorado, USA, July 2012 *Corresponding author Dr. Jennifer Bach: jbachlokanc@gmail.com

Dr. Tharina Guse: tguse@uj.ac.za Tel: +27 11 559 3248

Abstract

This study examined the effect of contemplation and meditation (CM)aimed at developing great/universal compassion on the psychologicalwell-being (PWB) of adolescents (n = 51) in four high schools inEngland. Increases in certain facets of PWB were found in theadolescents (n = 26) who received the CM training, in comparison to acontrol group. Specifically, statistically significant increments inpersonal growth and environmental mastery were found for theexperimental group after the CM training, compared to the control group.Girls in the experimental group also showed a significant decrease innegative affect compared to the boys in the experimental group and thewhole control group. Both the experimental and control groupsdemonstrated improvements in life satisfaction, self-acceptance,autonomy and purpose in life. There were no changes in positive affect,negative affect and positive relations with others for both groups overall.A multi-topic contemplation and meditation program which buildstowards great compassion may increase well-being in adolescents.

Keywords:

psychological well-being; contemplation; meditation; compassion; environmental mastery; personal growth; affect; life satisfaction

Contemplation and Meditation Program Aimed

Towards Developing Great Compassion

(Overview)

Week 1: Breathing meditation

Week 2: Happiness from a different source

Week 3: Inner peace & delusions

Week 4: Equanimity

Week 5: The kindness of others

Week 6: Living meaningfully (Great compassion)

Week 7: Transforming adversity (practising patience, compassion for others from suffering)

Week 8: Transforming adversity

Theorization on the value of practicing virtue to improve well-being began thousands of years ago with Aristotle in the West and Buddha in the East.

Recently, psychological well-being has become an important topic in positive psychology. However, there is:

• Limited research on interventions which aim to increase well-being in non-clinical populations.

• The predominant area of psychological research has focused on alleviating mental illness as opposed to positive functioning and subjective well-being.

Introduction

Lacunas in Psychological Well-being

(PWB) Meditation Research

Meditation has been investigated as a possible well-

being intervention in adults.

– E.g. Frederickson et al. (2008): Loving-kindness

meditation increases PWB

– E.g. Mindfulness correlated with higher PWB

(Brown & Ryan, 2003)

(Lacunas in Psychological Well-

being Meditation Research)However, there is:

1. No research on the effect of meditation on

eudaimonic facets of well-being in youth.

2. Limited information on the possible effect of other

types of meditation (Shapiro, Walsh, & Briton,

2003) on psychological well-being.

E.g. Dearth of research on the effect of

contemplation and meditation on compassion on

the psychological well-being of children and

adolescents.

Aim

• To examine the effect of another form of Buddhist meditation consisting of ‘analytical meditation (AM) and placement meditation (PM)’, here jointly referred to as contemplation meditation (CM), aimed towards the development of ‘great compassion’ on PWB.

What is Contemplation and

Meditation (CM)?

Working definition for two components of a form of

Buddhist meditation: analytical meditation (AM)

and placement meditation (PM) (Gyatso, 1995,

2003):

• Multimodal style of meditation which begins with a

simple breathing meditation as a preparatory stage,

followed by the two main phases of analytical

meditation and placement meditation on virtue.

(What is Contemplation and

Meditation (CM)?)Ideally, each meditation session has five parts including preparation, contemplation, meditation, dedication, and subsequent practice (integrating meditation into our daily life), although contemplation (analytical meditation/AM) and meditation (placement concentration/PM) are highlighted here in the present study.

• Both contemplation and meditation serve to acquaint the mind with virtue. The more familiar we are with these objects, the more peaceful our mind becomes” (Gyatso, 2003, p.20)

Analytical Meditation (AM)

(Contemplation)

• AM: the purpose of analytical meditation (or contemplation) is to bring to mind the object for placement meditation. Done by utilizing various lines of reasoning, contemplation of analogies, and reflection on the meaning of spiritual instructions to develop virtue (e.g. compassion, wisdom)

Placement Meditation (PM)

(Actual Meditation)

• Once the object clearly appears in the mind from the

analytical meditation phase (contemplation) one stops

the analytical meditation, and then one engages in

placement meditation which is applying single-

pointed concentration on the desired feeling,

thought, or intention, that induces virtue or inner

peace (actual meditation) developed from the initial

contemplation (AM) phase (Gyatso, 2003).

Contemplation and Meditation to

Develop ‘Great Compassion’

• This study’s emphasis was on developing

Great Compassion (i.e. Universal Compassion)

(Gyatso, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003)

• Realizations on various virtuous states of mind build

upon one another leading towards the eventual

realization of great compassion (affectionate and

cherishing love needed to develop great compassion)

Location and Participants of Study

• Four High Schools throughout England in 2008 and

2009.

• Participants:

– Recruited from 4 schools in England

– Mean age: 15.8 years

– 25 girls, 26 boys

Method

• Research design:

– Randomized controlled trial

– Experimental group: received contemplation

meditation training (n = 29)

– Control group: received weekly readings on

positive psychology well-being topics from the

book Authentic Happiness (Seligman,

2004),Chapter 1 p. 3-11 (n=22)

(Method)

• Measuring psychological well-being

– Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) (Diener,

Emmons, Larsen, & Griffen, 1985, Pavot &

Diener, 1993)

– PANAS-C (positive affect and negative affect)

(Laurent et al., 1999)

– Psychological Well-being Scales (PWBS):

environmental mastery, purpose in life, positive

relations with others, self-acceptance, autonomy,

personal growth (Ryff 1989; Ryff & Singer, 1996)

(Method)

Experimental Group – CM training:

• Implemented an eight week contemplation and

meditation program on multiple meditation topics

aimed at building ‘great compassion’ in schools.

• 45 minute weekly sessions taught by a trained

meditation teacher

• Program developed by advanced Buddhist meditation

teacher Georgina Pugh, derived from Mahayana

Buddhist methods explained by Gyatso (1995, 1997,

2000, 2001, 2003), at the request of the researchers of

the present study Dr. Jennifer Bach and

Dr. Tharina Guse.

(Method)

Control Group:

• Received eight weekly readings from the book

Authentic Happiness (Seligman, 2002).

• The control group offered compensatory eight

weeks of contemplation meditation classes at

the end of the study

CM Program Aimed at Building

Towards ‘Great Compassion’Week 1: Breathing meditation

• Learning the technique of breathing meditation

• The faults of distraction

• The benefits of mindfulness and concentration

Week 2: Happiness from a different source

• What is a true source of happiness?

• Understanding changing suffering

• Everyone shares the same basic wish to be happy

(CM Program Aimed at Building

Towards ‘Great Compassion’)Week 3: Inner peace & delusions

• Why do we experience suffering?

• What are delusions?

• How we can have no enemies

Week 4: Equanimity

• Exploring our unbalanced feelings towards others.

How to train in equanimity

(CM Program Aimed at Building

Towards ‘Great Compassion’)Week 5: The kindness of others

• We are all interconnected in a web of kindness

Week 6: Living meaningfully (Great compassion)

• The inner wealth of compassion

• How to develop compassion

Week 7: Transforming adversity

• Practicing patience

Week 8: Transforming adversity

(CM Program Aimed at Building

Towards ‘Great Compassion’)Week 5: The kindness of others

• We are all interconnected in a web of kindness

Week 6: Living meaningfully (Great compassion)

• The inner wealth of compassion

• How to develop compassion

Week 7: Transforming adversity

• Practicing patience

• Compassion for others from own suffering

Week 8: Transforming adversity

Data Analysis

• A mixed design ANOVA

• Time (pre- and post-) as the within-subjects effect

• Time-Group (control and experimental) as the

between-subjects effect.

Results

Some facets of well-being improved for the CM

group, in comparison to the control group:

1. Significant increase in environmental mastery

(F = 4.492, p = 0.04, effect size eta = 0.3111).

2. Significant increase in personal growth

(F = 5.310, p = 0.026, effect size eta = 0.326)

3. Significant decrease in negative affect (F = 0.51,

p = .03, eta = .35) for the girls in the experimental

group which did not occur for the boys in the

experimental, or for the girls and boys in the

control group.

(Results)

Both the experimental and control groups showed

a significant increase on several aspects of well-

being:

1. environmental mastery (F = 15.428, p < 0.001,

effect size eta = 0.519), although the experimental

group had a significantly greater increase in EM than

the control group.

2. life satisfaction (F = 7.109, p = 0.011)

3. self-acceptance (F = 7.237, p = 0.010)

4. autonomy (F = 14.309, p < 0.001)

5. purpose in life (F = 9.528, p = 0.004).

(Results)

For both groups there was no change overall in:

1. level of positive affect (F = 3.663, p = 0.063),

2. level of negative affect (F = 2.448, p = 0.126),

3. positive relations with others (F = 0.316, p = 0.577).

Discussion: Increase in Personal

Growth in Experimental/CM Group

The significant increase in PG in the experimental

group may be linked to:

1. The structured program extensively identifying the

benefits of personal growth to improve well-being

2. Providing training in practical methods(skills) to

improve personal growth (development of virtues):

practical training taught on a regular basis (weekly).

3. Taught how to increase compassion supported by

wisdom which did not occur in the control condition.

(Discussion: Increase in Personal

Growth in Experimental/CM Group)

The significant increase in personal growth

in the experimental group may also be due to

the:

4.The classes were given in a classroom setting

(versus correspondence): supportive

environment for personal growth (classes given

by a trained meditation teacher, can ask

questions, peers in CM classes also engaging in

training etc…)

Discussion: Increase in

Environmental Mastery in

Experimental/CM Group

The significant increase in environmental mastery

could be due to the possible empowering effect of

multiple dimensions:

1. multimodal meditation style - utilizing analytical

meditation (contemplation utilizing logic and

reasoning to arise at desired virtuous states of mind)

and placement meditation (concentration) on

virtuous states of mind.

(Discussion: Increase in

Environmental Mastery in

Experimental/CM Group)

2. Multiple topic meditation program (multiple

virtuous realizations, including wisdom theory,

building towards great compassion).

(Discussion: Increase in

Environmental Mastery in

Experimental/CM Group)

3. In the experimental group, the contemplation and

meditation classes involved weekly lessons

extensively explicating how to logically arise at

virtuous states of mind, how to meditate on them, and

how to integrate into daily life and to solve problems.

Discussion: Decrease in

Negative Affect in the

Experimental Group Girls• Females (adolescent and adult females) have been

found to score higher on emotional intelligence in

studies (e.g. Gallagher & Vella-Broderick, 2008;

Katyal & Awasthi, 2005).

• It is possible that boys who received the CM training

would also eventually have a significant reduction in

negative affect with time, although it may take longer

for various possible reasons.

Compared to Other Well-Being

Interventions for Youth• Compared to other quantitative studies that have

examined the effect of a psychological well-

being intervention on the well-being of youth,

there are no other interventions (e.g. Ruini et al.,

2009; Tomba et al., 2010) that have found a

significant increase in environmental mastery

except for the present study that involved

contemplation and meditation on great

compassion meditation topics.

Unchanged Dimensions for Both

GroupsPositive affect, negative affect and positive relations

with others for the whole group (experimental group

and control group overall) remained unchanged.

Possible reasons are as follows:

1. Limited time was allowed for training in CM and the

weekly readings.

(Unchanged Dimensions for Both

Groups)

2. Limitations in the PANAS-C positive affect

questionnaire to measure positive emotions such as

compassion, love, contentment and joy which

contemplation and meditation topics aimed at

building towards great compassion are posited to

develop according to Buddhist theorization (Gyatso,

1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2010).

Discussion: Increase in Well-Being

for Both Groups

Increase on multiple measures of wellbeing for both

the experimental and control groups:

• Both the CM training and the readings focused on the

importance of developing virtue to help others as a

method to improve well-being

(Discussion: Increase in Well-Being

for Both Groups)

Specifically, training in developing the wish to

relieve the suffering of others was taught in the

experimental group (CM mind training) and the effect

of practically helping others on mental well-being

was taught to the control group in the weekly

readings from the book Authentic Happiness

(Seligman, 2004).

Recommendations

1. Specifically measure positive emotions such as

love, contentment, and so forth, as for example

done in Fredrickson et al. (2008)’s study with the

Modified Differential Emotions Scale (mDes;

Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh & Larkin, 2003).

(Recommendations)

2.Measure positive moral emotions such as elevation

and gratitude (e.g. Algoe & Haidt, 2009), but to

also include the measurement of compassion, and

suggestion that compassion is a positive moral

emotion, like elevation and gratitude (Algoe &

Haidt, 2009), as it was correlated with improved

PWB in this study.

3. Measure in relation to pro-social actions and

intentions and well-being.

(Recommendations)

4. Include a scale which specifically measures

negative emotion such as anger (not measured in

PANAS-C), and mindfulness.

5.Research with larger samples, cross-culturally,

different age groups and longitudinally may shed

more light on the applications of CM as a positive

psychology intervention.

6. Investigate the effect of CM training on

mental and physical illness, and addictions.

Conclusion

This CM training program has value as an

intervention to increase psychological well-being

(PWB) in adolescents in schools, as it is correlated

with significant improvements in:

1. Personal growth and environmental mastery in

adolescent boys and girls in the CM training group

2. A significant decrease in negative affect in girls in

the CM training group

(Conclusion)

3. Those who engaged in the CM training program and

also those who received the weekly readings (which

explained the benefits of a positive outlook on

longevity and that engaging in kind actions to help

others can improve well-being more than hedonic

activities) had significant increases in:

life satisfaction, self-acceptance, purpose in life,

autonomy, and environmental mastery

(Conclusion)

4. Other schools who participated in the study were

interested in continuing the program

5. CM potentially improves pro-social intentions and

involvement through contemplation and meditation

on compassion and interrelated virtues (e.g. other

moral emotions and motivations)

6. Further research is required.

Thank-you

(Gaps in Meditation Research)

2. An absence of research on the effect of contemplation

and meditation topics aimed at building towards

‘great compassion’ measured with quantitative self-

report questionnaires for:

• positive psychological functioning (purpose in life,

environmental mastery, autonomy, self-acceptance,

personal growth and positive relations with others),

• life satisfaction

• positive affect

• negative affect

Gaps in Meditation Research

1. Scarcity of research on the effect of multiple topic

meditation programs, such as aimed towards

developing ‘great compassion’.

According to Buddhist theory (e.g. Gyatso, 1995,

2000, 2001, 2003, 2010), the development of ‘great

compassion’ is dependent upon the realization of

precursor virtuous states of mind such as equanimity,

remembering the kindness of others, understanding

the disadvantages of self-cherishing etc…).

All of these states, along with developing wisdom,

are considered to build towards enlightenment (i.e.

(i.e. optimal well-being).

• Minimal researched interventions which aim to increase psychological well-being in adolescents (e.g. in schools)

• Limited research on interventions which aim to develop compassion in youth

• Scarcity of research on the moral emotion compassion and its effects on positive functioning

(Introduction)

‘Great Compassion’

What is Great Compassion (i.e. Universal

Compassion) (Gyatso, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003)?

• Sincerely wishing to alleviate the suffering of all

beings without exception. Feeling the suffering of

others unbearable. In meditation, contemplate and

meditate on this feeling single-pointedly.

• The realization of ‘great compassion’ is dependant

upon: equalizing self with others, exchanging self

with others, and affectionate love for all beings.

• Leads to subsequent realizations of

bodhichitta and eventually enlightenment.