The effect of loving-kindness meditation on positive emotions: a meta-analytic review - PubMed (original) (raw)

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The effect of loving-kindness meditation on positive emotions: a meta-analytic review

Xianglong Zeng et al. Front Psychol. 2015.

Abstract

While it has been suggested that loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is an effective practice for promoting positive emotions, the empirical evidence in the literature remains unclear. Here, we provide a systematic review of 24 empirical studies (N = 1759) on LKM with self-reported positive emotions. The effect of LKM on positive emotions was estimated with meta-analysis, and the influence of variations across LKM interventions was further explored with subgroup analysis and meta-regression. The meta-analysis showed that (1) medium effect sizes for LKM interventions on daily positive emotions in both wait-list controlled RCTs and non-RCT studies; and (2) small to large effect sizes for the on-going practice of LKM on immediate positive emotions across different comparisons. Further analysis showed that (1) interventions focused on loving-kindness had medium effect size, but interventions focused on compassion showed small effect sizes; (2) the length of interventions and the time spent on meditation did not influence the effect sizes, but the studies without didactic components in interventions had small effect sizes. A few individual studies reported that the nature of positive emotions and individual differences also influenced the results. In sum, LKM practice and interventions are effective in enhancing positive emotions, but more studies are needed to identify the active components of the interventions, to compare different psychological operations, and to explore the applicability in clinical populations.

Keywords: Buddhism; compassion; four immeasurables; loving-kindness; meditation; positive emotion.

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Figures

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1

Flowchart for the literature search.

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 2

Randomized control trail (RCT) studies on daily PE, comparison with waitlist control group. The highest estimation was based on high arousal positive (HAP) emotion in Koopmann-Holm et al. (2013). Subgroup analysis compared LKM on loving-kindness and LKM on compassion.

FIGURE 3

FIGURE 3

RCT studies on daily PE, comparison with waitlist control group. The lowest estimation was based on low arousal positive (LAP) emotion in Koopmann-Holm et al. (2013). Subgroup analysis compared LKM on loving-kindness and LKM on compassion.

FIGURE 4

FIGURE 4

Non-RCT studies on daily PE. The highest estimation was based on frequency of happiness (Freq) in Alba (2013), unactivated positive emotion (Unactivate) in Kearney et al. (2014) and modified Differential Emotions Scale (mDES) in Johnson et al. (2011). Subgroup analysis compared LKM with course and without course.

FIGURE 5

FIGURE 5

Non-RCT studies on daily PE. The lowest estimation was based on long-term happiness (Trait) in Alba (2013), activated positive emotion (Activate) in Kearney et al. (2014), day reconstruction method (DRM) in Johnson et al. (2011). Subgroup analysis compared LKM with course and without course.

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FIGURE 6

RCT studies for PE from on-going practice, comparison with neutral visualization. The highest estimation was based on prosocial positive emotion (OtherFocus) in Seppala et al. (2014).

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FIGURE 7

RCT studies for PE from on-going practice, comparison with neutral visualization. The lowest estimation was based on self-focused positive emotion (SelfFocus) in Seppala et al. (2014).

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FIGURE 8

RCT studies for PE from on-going practice, comparison with memory training.

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