Abstract

Numerous studies have been conducted on the effects of meditation on long-term meditators. This current study aims to test the immediate effects of meditation on cognition. It is hypothesized that meditation will have a significant effect on cognition in comparison to the control of chocolate. In order to test this hypothesis participants were subject to two conditions: a meditation condition and a chocolate condition. After each condition participants were given a cognition test designed to test their reading comprehension and math skills. Using a related samples t-test I conclude that meditation does not have a significant effect on cognition using the given parameters. After the study was completed I noticed that there may have been a carryover effect from the meditation condition. To test this post hoc hypothesis two independent samples t-test were run. The first test used the test scores after the chocolate condition and compared individuals who underwent the chocolate condition first with individuals who participated in the meditation condition first. The second test used the same two groups and compared their test scores after the meditation condition. Both tests concluded that there was no significance in the order in which one received the conditions; however, the greatest difference was found when comparing the two groups test scores after the chocolate condition. Thus the overall findings of this study imply that further research needs to be done to determine if an isolated meditative practice can have a significant effect on cognition.

Recommended Citation

Dyck, Ryan (2016) "Meditation and Chocolate: Comparing their Effects on Cognitive Abilities," Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 18, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/psych_journals/vol1/iss18/2