Zen meditation and access to information in the unconscious

Madelijn Strick; Tirza H J van Noorden; Rients R Ritskes; Jan R de Ruiter; Ap Dijksterhuis

doi:10.1016/j.concog.2012.02.010

Zen meditation and access to information in the unconscious

Conscious Cogn. 2012 Sep;21(3):1476-81. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.02.010. Epub 2012 Apr 28.

Authors

Madelijn Strick¹, Tirza H J van Noorden, Rients R Ritskes, Jan R de Ruiter, Ap Dijksterhuis

Affiliation

¹ Social Psychology Program, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Montessorilaan 3, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. M.Strick@uu.nl

PMID: 22546473
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2012.02.010

Abstract

In two experiments and two different research paradigms, we tested the hypothesis that Zen meditation increases access to accessible but unconscious information. Zen practitioners who meditated in the lab performed better on the Remote Associate Test (RAT; Mednick, 1962) than Zen practitioners who did not meditate. In a new, second task, it was observed that Zen practitioners who meditated used subliminally primed words more than Zen practitioners who did not meditate. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Female
Humans
Male
Meditation / psychology*
Middle Aged
Psychological Tests
Subliminal Stimulation
Unconscious, Psychology*