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A randomized controlled trial of compassion cultivation training: Effects on mindfulness, affect, and emotion regulation

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Abstract

Compassion is a positive orientation towards suffering that may be enhanced through compassion training and is thought to influence psychological functioning. However, the effects of compassion training on mindfulness, affect, and emotion regulation are not known. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in which 100 adults from the community were randomly assigned to either a 9-week compassion cultivation training (CCT) or a waitlist (WL) control condition. Participants completed self-report inventories that measured mindfulness, positive and negative affect, and emotion regulation. Compared to WL, CCT resulted in increased mindfulness and happiness, as well as decreased worry and emotional suppression. Within CCT, the amount of formal meditation practiced was related to reductions in worry and emotional suppression. These findings suggest that compassion cultivation training effects cognitive and emotion factors that support psychological flexible and adaptive functioning.

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Notes

  1. Similarly, compassion is not a behavior but includes a motivational component which is thought to influence behaviors (e.g., altruism).

  2. Although we opted to include all participants in our analyses, there is one outlier participant (defined as greater than three standard deviations above or below the group mean). When this participant is removed, the association between the average number of minutes of meditation practice and worry (PSWQ) is still significant (r(48) = .35, p < .01) and the association is strengthened; however, for ERQ suppression frequency, when this participant is removed the association between the average number of minutes of formal meditation practice and the ERQ suppression frequency becomes a trend (r(46) = .28, p > .06).

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a Fetzer grant awarded to Philippe Goldin and James Gross, and funding from the Stanford University Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE).

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript do not have any direct or indirect conflicts of interest, financial or personal relationships or affiliations to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, 420 Jordan Hall, Room 430, Stanford, CA, 94305-2130, USA

    Hooria Jazaieri, James J. Gross & Philippe R. Goldin

  2. Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Kelly McGonigal, Thupten Jinpa & James R. Doty

  3. School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    James R. Doty

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  1. Hooria Jazaieri
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  2. Kelly McGonigal
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Jazaieri, H., McGonigal, K., Jinpa, T. et al. A randomized controlled trial of compassion cultivation training: Effects on mindfulness, affect, and emotion regulation. Motiv Emot 38, 23–35 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-013-9368-z

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