Metta Meditation Training on Prosocial Behavior
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to look at the impact of a metta meditation training on prosocial behavior and socio-affective brain responses. The training involves an 8-week, online administration of guided metta meditation practices aimed at generating feelings of kindness and compassion for other people. The study examines how participants respond to thinking about familiar others and strangers using behavioral and brain-imaging measures. This study will be important for understanding how people develop the capacity to be prosocial towards other individuals, which is a key component of adaptive social behavior.
Condition
- Social Behavior
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Between 18 Years and 55 Years
- Eligible Genders
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- Is a medically healthy individual - Lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area and is able to travel to Georgetown University
Exclusion Criteria
- Has experience with meditation - Has any MRI contraindication (e.g. metal in the body, cardiac pacemaker, cannot lie still, etc.) - Has any neurological disease - Has a current psychiatric disorder - Is pregnant or planning to become pregnant - Is on medication that affects the central nervous system (e.g. psychotropic drugs)
Study Design
- Phase
- N/A
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel Assignment
- Primary Purpose
- Basic Science
- Masking
- None (Open Label)
Arm Groups
Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
---|---|---|
Experimental Metta meditation |
Eight-week, guided metta meditation training that is administered online |
|
No Intervention Wait-list |
Eight-week wait-list control with no training |
|
More Details
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Georgetown University