Graduate Researcher, Educator, and Contemplative at Oregon State University focused on psychological mechanisms of change in meditation practices and Buddhist texts, including social attribution, psychological accessibility, and altruism.
Meditation research in recent decades has disproportionately focused on the Buddhist derived prac... more Meditation research in recent decades has disproportionately focused on the Buddhist derived practice of "mindfulness" meditation while leaving most other Buddhist meditation practices unstudied. The current study seeks to remedy this homogeneity through the adaptation of a novel meditation practice used in Tibetan Buddhism to affect motivation. We explored traditional Buddhist models of meditation and connected psychological theories of motivation with our target meditation, particularly in terms of self-efficacy, value, cost, intrinsic, and extrinsic motives. Based on these hypothesized relationships, we constructed a meditation practice and an RCT to understand whether the novel motivation meditation influenced these motivational constructs or changed at-home meditation behaviors. Participants (n = 48) were randomized to either a mindfulness-only or a mindfulness plus motivation meditation condition. Both groups received 90-minute Zoom courses for 8-weeks. Data was collected at baseline, throughout the weekly courses, and at endpoint. While results showed unforeseen sampling issues, analyses indicated that self-efficacy and attainment value with respect to meditation practice were both strengthened by participation in the study.
Recent research on the benefits of mindfulness has focused on identifying the mechanisms of posit... more Recent research on the benefits of mindfulness has focused on identifying the mechanisms of positive change. Two prominent theories have identified the transformation of the self as a possible key to understanding the benefits observed in the clinic and the lab. While these theories are undoubtedly useful within the context of psychology, there are notable differences between such models and those found within Buddhist traditions. As the scientific study of meditation attempts to answer questions about the processes of psychological change in contemplative practice, it may be important to understand what has been at stake in Buddhist practice historically in order to improve our understanding of the effects we observe. This paper examines the construct of “self” and how it is understood to transform through meditation practice by comparing scientific theories arising out of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with those from the Gelugpa Buddhist tradition of Tibet. The author contends that while both traditions seem to agree that “self” is deeply connected to the experience of negative emotions, the discrepancy between their respective models may be significant. Buddhism makes the strong claim that the strength or weakness of a particular kind of self is responsible for our experience of suffering or well-being. Since the contemporary theories examined do not appear to account for this self, we should take note of this discrepancy and bring this insight into future discussions and theories of contemplative well-being.
RCT of 3-week meditation intervention using mindfulness and compassion styles of meditation with ... more RCT of 3-week meditation intervention using mindfulness and compassion styles of meditation with active control group.
Increasing social interaction could be a promising intervention for improving the cognitive well‐... more Increasing social interaction could be a promising intervention for improving the cognitive well‐being of socially isolated older adults. However, we expect that the efficacy of a social intervention can differ across subjects due to personality traits, preference for specific activities, and different pathological stages, even within the same clinical diagnosis. For most behavioral intervention studies, the priority of randomized controlled trials is not necessarily to gain a statistically significant intervention effect, but to find which subjects benefit from the specific intervention. Factoring this potential heterogeneity into the efficacy analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) will be discussed.
Background: Increasing social interactions through communication technologies could offer a cost-... more Background: Increasing social interactions through communication technologies could offer a cost-effective prevention approach that slows cognitive decline and delays the onset of Alzheimer's disease. This paper describes the protocol of an active project named “Internet-based conversational engagement clinical trial (I-CONECT)” (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02871921). The COVID-19 pandemic related protocol modifications are also addressed in the current paper.Methods: I-CONECT is a multi-site, assessor-blind, randomized controlled behavioral intervention trial (RCT). We aim to randomize 320 socially isolated adults 75+ years old [160 Caucasian and 160 African American participants, 50:50 split between those with normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)] recruited from the community to either the video chat intervention group or the control group (1:1 allocation). Those in the video chat group receive a computer and Internet service for the duration of the study, which the...
In our previous NIH-funded randomized controlled behavioral clinical trial, we developed a conver... more In our previous NIH-funded randomized controlled behavioral clinical trial, we developed a conversation-based social interaction cognitive stimulation protocol delivered by trained interviewers through webcams and a user-friendly interactive Internet interface. Daily 30 minute face-to-face video-chats were conducted for 6 weeks. Despite a short duration, this proof of concept study demonstrated high adherence among older adults (mean age 80 years) and showed improvement in cognitive domains which tap language-based executive functions and semantic memory among the experimental group compared to the control group who did not engage in any video-chats. Building on these results, we are now conducting two NIH-funded projects (https://www.i-conect.org), targeting socially isolated older adults who are less likely to participate in clinical trials despite their high risk of cognitive decline. In this presentation, we introduce a series of projects outlined above and share the challenges ...
Meditation research in recent decades has disproportionately focused on the Buddhist derived prac... more Meditation research in recent decades has disproportionately focused on the Buddhist derived practice of "mindfulness" meditation while leaving most other Buddhist meditation practices unstudied. The current study seeks to remedy this homogeneity through the adaptation of a novel meditation practice used in Tibetan Buddhism to affect motivation. We explored traditional Buddhist models of meditation and connected psychological theories of motivation with our target meditation, particularly in terms of self-efficacy, value, cost, intrinsic, and extrinsic motives. Based on these hypothesized relationships, we constructed a meditation practice and an RCT to understand whether the novel motivation meditation influenced these motivational constructs or changed at-home meditation behaviors. Participants (n = 48) were randomized to either a mindfulness-only or a mindfulness plus motivation meditation condition. Both groups received 90-minute Zoom courses for 8-weeks. Data was collected at baseline, throughout the weekly courses, and at endpoint. While results showed unforeseen sampling issues, analyses indicated that self-efficacy and attainment value with respect to meditation practice were both strengthened by participation in the study.
Recent research on the benefits of mindfulness has focused on identifying the mechanisms of posit... more Recent research on the benefits of mindfulness has focused on identifying the mechanisms of positive change. Two prominent theories have identified the transformation of the self as a possible key to understanding the benefits observed in the clinic and the lab. While these theories are undoubtedly useful within the context of psychology, there are notable differences between such models and those found within Buddhist traditions. As the scientific study of meditation attempts to answer questions about the processes of psychological change in contemplative practice, it may be important to understand what has been at stake in Buddhist practice historically in order to improve our understanding of the effects we observe. This paper examines the construct of “self” and how it is understood to transform through meditation practice by comparing scientific theories arising out of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with those from the Gelugpa Buddhist tradition of Tibet. The author contends that while both traditions seem to agree that “self” is deeply connected to the experience of negative emotions, the discrepancy between their respective models may be significant. Buddhism makes the strong claim that the strength or weakness of a particular kind of self is responsible for our experience of suffering or well-being. Since the contemporary theories examined do not appear to account for this self, we should take note of this discrepancy and bring this insight into future discussions and theories of contemplative well-being.
RCT of 3-week meditation intervention using mindfulness and compassion styles of meditation with ... more RCT of 3-week meditation intervention using mindfulness and compassion styles of meditation with active control group.
Increasing social interaction could be a promising intervention for improving the cognitive well‐... more Increasing social interaction could be a promising intervention for improving the cognitive well‐being of socially isolated older adults. However, we expect that the efficacy of a social intervention can differ across subjects due to personality traits, preference for specific activities, and different pathological stages, even within the same clinical diagnosis. For most behavioral intervention studies, the priority of randomized controlled trials is not necessarily to gain a statistically significant intervention effect, but to find which subjects benefit from the specific intervention. Factoring this potential heterogeneity into the efficacy analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) will be discussed.
Background: Increasing social interactions through communication technologies could offer a cost-... more Background: Increasing social interactions through communication technologies could offer a cost-effective prevention approach that slows cognitive decline and delays the onset of Alzheimer's disease. This paper describes the protocol of an active project named “Internet-based conversational engagement clinical trial (I-CONECT)” (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02871921). The COVID-19 pandemic related protocol modifications are also addressed in the current paper.Methods: I-CONECT is a multi-site, assessor-blind, randomized controlled behavioral intervention trial (RCT). We aim to randomize 320 socially isolated adults 75+ years old [160 Caucasian and 160 African American participants, 50:50 split between those with normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)] recruited from the community to either the video chat intervention group or the control group (1:1 allocation). Those in the video chat group receive a computer and Internet service for the duration of the study, which the...
In our previous NIH-funded randomized controlled behavioral clinical trial, we developed a conver... more In our previous NIH-funded randomized controlled behavioral clinical trial, we developed a conversation-based social interaction cognitive stimulation protocol delivered by trained interviewers through webcams and a user-friendly interactive Internet interface. Daily 30 minute face-to-face video-chats were conducted for 6 weeks. Despite a short duration, this proof of concept study demonstrated high adherence among older adults (mean age 80 years) and showed improvement in cognitive domains which tap language-based executive functions and semantic memory among the experimental group compared to the control group who did not engage in any video-chats. Building on these results, we are now conducting two NIH-funded projects (https://www.i-conect.org), targeting socially isolated older adults who are less likely to participate in clinical trials despite their high risk of cognitive decline. In this presentation, we introduce a series of projects outlined above and share the challenges ...
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Thesis Chapters by Jacob Lindsley
Papers by Jacob Lindsley