Finding Right Meditation Technique Key to User Satisfaction

July 6, 2012 — New to meditation and already thinking about quitting? You may have simply chosen the wrong method. A new study published online July 7 in Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing highlights the importance of ensuring that new meditators select methods with which they are most comfortable, rather than those that are most popular. 

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If they do, they are likely to stick with it, says Adam Burke, the author of the study. If not, there is a higher chance they may abandon meditation altogether, losing out on its myriad personal and medical benefits. Burke is a professor of Health Education at SF State and the director of SF State's Institute for Holistic Health Studies.

"Because of the increase in both general and clinical use of meditation, you want to make sure you're finding the right method for each person," he said. Although meditation has become significantly more popular in the U.S., Burke said, there have been very few studies comparing multiple methods head to head to examine individual preference or specific clinical benefits.

To better understand user preference, Burke compared four popular meditation methods -- Mantra, Mindfulness, Zen and Qigong Visualization -- to see if novice meditation practitioners favored one over the others. The study's 247 participants were taught each method and asked to practice at home and, at the end of the study, evaluate which they preferred. The two simpler methods, Mantra and Mindfulness, were preferred by 31 percent of study participants. Zen and Qigong had smaller but still sizable contingents of adherents, with 22 percent and 14.8 percent of participants preferring them, respectively.

The results show the value of providing new practitioners a simpler, more accessible method of meditation. But they also emphasize that no one technique is best for everyone, and even less common methods are preferred by certain people. Older participants, who grew up when Zen was becoming one of the first meditation techniques to gain attention in the U.S., in particular were more likely to prefer that method.

"It was interesting that Mantra and Mindfulness were found to be equally compelling by participants despite the fact that they are fundamentally different techniques," Burke said. Mindfulness is the most recent meditation technique to gain widespread popularity, he added, and is often the only one with which a novice practitioner or health professional is familiar. Not surprisingly, Mindfulness was the method most preferred by the youngest participants.

"If someone is exposed to a particular technique through the media or a healthcare provider, they might assume because it's popular it's the best for everyone," Burke said. "But that's like saying because a pink dress or a blue sport coat is popular this year, it's going to look good on everybody. In truth, different people like different things. One size does not fit all."

If an individual is not comfortable with a specific method for any reason, he said, they may be less likely to continue meditating and would lose out on such benefits as reduced stress, lower blood pressure or even treatment for addiction.

Burke hopes to see more comparative meditation studies, especially to determine if particular methods are better at addressing specific health issues, such as addiction. If that's the case, he said, healthcare professionals would be able to guide patients toward techniques that will be most effective for them. Additional studies are also needed to determine if there is a way to predict which method will be best suited for any particular individual, he said.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120706165500.htm

I Need to See Your iPod Before We Can Go Out

What really matters is what you like, not what you are like...Books, records, films — these things matter., - Rob, from the book/movie High Fidelity

There are a number of dating sites founded on the principle that, when it comes to attraction, similarity matters. Whether it’s based in your religion (e.g., jdate.com) or your computer preferences (e.g., cupidtino.com), online dating sites seem tuned in to the fact that sharing similar interests with a partner is a necessary component of a successful match. I recently stumbled upon a site called tastebuds.fm, which states “we've always been interested in the idea that music taste can say a lot about a person and that for some people it is an important factor when choosing a potential partner.” With the Grammy's just around the corner, I figured it was time to think about the importance of music in relationship initiation.

Although I can’t say that tastebuds.fm is more (or less) effective than other methods in helping people find love, their approach is based on an interesting assumption: If music does communicate something about a person, then it’s possible that knowing about a potential partner’s taste in music could be helpful in gauging whether they are a good match for you. Can you learn about someone’s personality from their music preferences?

Research by personality psychologists Peter J. Rentfrow and Sam Gosling has addressed whether musical preferences actually do say anything about people’s personalities. First, their data indicates that music is an important part of people’s lives and individuals believe music says a great deal about themselves and others.¹ Second, it’s one of the first things that young people talk about when getting to know one another.² Rentfrow and Gosling have also identified four general dimensions that describe different music preferences. Which of these genres of music do you like best?

_____ (1) reflective and complex (e.g., jazz)

_____ (2) intense and rebellious (e.g., rock and metal)

_____ (3) upbeat and conventional (e.g., country and pop)

_____ (4) energetic and rhythmic (e.g., rap and electronica/house).

 See below for what these preferences might say about your personality.

When examining these musical preferences in conjunction with personality characteristics (e.g., the Big Five) and other individual difference dimensions, a series of interesting findings emerge.¹ 

1. Reflective/complex: People who like reflective and complex music tend to be more open to experience, have better verbal skills, believe they are intelligent, tend to be politically liberal, and are less athletic.
2. Intense/rebellious: The personality traits associated with preferences for intense and rebellious music were similar to reflective/complex, except that these folks were more athletic and extraverted.
3. Upbeat/conventional: People who like upbeat and conventional music tended to be more extraverted, agreeable, conscientious, less open to new experiences, and were more politically conservative. They also believed they were wealthier, physically attractive, more athletic, less intelligent, and had poorer verbal skills.
4. Energetic/rhythmic: Finally, people who like energetic and rhythmic music tended to be talkative, extraverted, and agreeable. They also report being physically attractive, athletic, and politically liberal.

So, although I haven’t seen any data that indicates tastebuds.fm provides better matches than other online dating services, it wouldn’t surprise me if it is better than pairings without much basis (i.e., that hot guy/gal you met at the bar). Music certainly does say something meaningful about our personalities, and IF similarity on these personality characteristics is important to attraction and relationship development (note that I said “IF” here), then the folks at tastebuds.fm might be on to something.

Source:  http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2012/1/27/i-need-to-see-your-ipod-before-we-can-go-out.html