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Perez-Diaz O, Barrós-Loscertales A, Schjoedt U, González-Mora JL, Rubia K, Suero J, Hernández SE. Monitoring the neural activity associated with praying in Sahaja Yoga meditation. BMC Neurosci 2023; 24:61. [PMID: 37957605 PMCID: PMC10642040 DOI: 10.1186/s12868-023-00828-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sahaja Yoga Meditation draws on many religious traditions and uses a variety of techniques including Christian prayer to reach a state known as thoughtless awareness, or mental silence. While there are many studies on the neural correlates of meditation, few studies have focused on the neural correlates of praying. Thus, the aim of our research was to study the neural activity associated with the prayer practices in Sahaja Yoga Mediation, which have not been studied before, to explore effects beyond repetitive speech or "mantra effects". Sixteen experienced Sahaja Yoga Meditation practitioners were scanned using task based functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging while performing formalised and improvised forms of praying and their equivalent secular tasks. RESULTS Our results showed the deactivation of bilateral thalamus during both prayers compared to secular conditions and the activation in the medial prefrontal cortex that was reduced by religious and formalised secular speech conditions but increased during improvised secular speech; similarly, frontal regions were deactivated when comparing prayers to their secular equivalents. DISCUSSION These results seem to depict two important factors related with praying in Sahaja Yoga Meditation merging inner concentration and social cognition. First, the perception of the surroundings mediated by the thalamus may be decreased during these prayers probably due to the establishment of inner concentration and, second, frontal deactivation effects could be related to reduced social judgement and 'mentalizing', particularly in the medial prefrontal cortex. Our findings suggest that praying by Sahaja Yoga Meditation practitioners is neurophenomenologically different from the social cognitive attempt of praying within Christian praying practices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Uffe Schjoedt
- Department of the Study of Religion, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - José L González-Mora
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Katya Rubia
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - José Suero
- Centro de Salud Jazmín, Sermas, Madrid, Spain
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de Leeuw RNH, van Woudenberg TJ, Green KH, Sweijen SW, van de Groep S, Kleemans M, Tamboer SL, Crone EA, Buijzen M. Moral Beauty During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prosocial Behavior Among Adolescents and the Inspiring Role of the Media. COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 2023; 50:131-156. [PMID: 36874391 PMCID: PMC9922666 DOI: 10.1177/00936502221112804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we examined whether adolescents helped others during the COVID-19 pandemic and how stories in the media inspired them in doing so. Using an online daily diary design, 481 younger adolescents (M = 15.29, SD = 1.76) and 404 older adolescents (M = 21.48, SD = 1.91) were followed for 2 weeks. Findings from linear mixed effects models demonstrated that feelings of being moved by stories in the media were related to giving emotional support to family and friends, and to helping others, including strangers. Exposure to COVID-19 news and information was found to spark efforts to support and help as well and keeping physical distance in line with the advised protective behaviors against COVID-19. Moreover, helping others was related to increased happiness. Overall, the findings of this study highlight the potential role of the media in connecting people in times of crisis.
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Li J, He D, Zhang W, Huang R, He X. The Effect of Moral Behavior on Facial Attractiveness. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2023; 16:1521-1532. [PMID: 37143903 PMCID: PMC10153406 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s408741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Evaluating face attractiveness is a core aspect of face perception, which plays an important role in impression formation. A more reliable source of information in impression formation is moral behavior, which forms the primary basis for the comprehensive evaluation of others. Previous studies have found that one can easily form an association when faces and moral behaviors are presented together, which in turn affects facial attractiveness evaluation. However, little is known of the extent to which these learned associations affect facial attractiveness and whether the influence of moral behavior on facial attractiveness was related to facial appearance. Methods We used the associative learning paradigm and manipulated face presentation duration (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2) and response deadline (Experiment 2) to investigate these issues. Under these conditions, the association information was difficult to be retrieved. Participants learned associations between faces and scenes of moral behavior, and then evaluated facial attractiveness. Results We found that both moral behavior and facial appearance influence facial attractiveness under conditions where associated information was difficult to retrieve, and their effects increased with the increase of face presentation time. With increasing response deadlines, the effect of moral behavior on facial attractiveness increased. The influence of moral behavior on facial attractiveness was associated with facial appearance. Conclusion These results suggest that moral behavior continuously affects facial attractiveness. Our findings expand previous research by showing a robust influence of moral behavior on facial attractiveness evaluation, and highlight the important role of moral character in impression formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhui Li
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- School of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Dexian He
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- School of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- School of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- School of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xianyou He
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- School of Psychology; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Correspondence: Xianyou He, Email
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Cheng Q, Han Z, Liu S, Kong Y, Weng X, Mo L. Neural responses to facial attractiveness in the judgments of moral goodness and moral beauty. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 227:843-863. [PMID: 34767078 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02422-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The judgments of moral goodness and moral beauty objectively refer to the perception and evaluation of moral traits, which are generally influenced by facial attractiveness. For centuries, people have equated beauty with the possession of positive qualities, but it is not clear whether the association between beauty and positive qualities exerts a similarly implicit influence on people's responses to moral goodness and moral beauty, how it affects those responses, and what is the neural basis for such an effect. The present study is the first to examine the neural responses to facial attractiveness in the judgments of moral goodness and moral beauty. We found that beautiful faces in both moral judgments activated the left ventral occipitotemporal cortices sensitive to the geometric configuration of the faces, demonstrating that both moral goodness and moral beauty required the automatic visual analysis of geometrical configuration of attractive faces. In addition, compared to beautiful faces during moral goodness judgment, beautiful faces during moral beauty judgment induced unique activity in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex and midline cortical structures involved in the emotional-valenced information about attractive faces. The opposite comparison elicited specific activity in the left superior temporal cortex and premotor area, which play a critical role in the recognition of facial identity. Our results demonstrated that the neural responses to facial attractiveness in the process of higher order moral decision-makings exhibit both task-general and task-specific characteristics. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the essence of the relationship between morality and aesthetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiuping Cheng
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, No. 55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Zhili Han
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, No. 55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
- NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science, New York University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Shun Liu
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, No. 55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Yilong Kong
- School of Music, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Xuchu Weng
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, No. 55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Lei Mo
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, No. 55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
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Cheng Q, Wen X, Ye G, Liu Y, Kong Y, Mo L. Neural underpinnings of morality judgment and moral aesthetic judgment. Sci Rep 2021; 11:18232. [PMID: 34521925 PMCID: PMC8440591 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97782-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Morality judgment usually refers to the evaluation of moral behavior`s ability to affect others` interests and welfare, while moral aesthetic judgment often implies the appraisal of moral behavior's capability to provide aesthetic pleasure. Both are based on the behavioral understanding. To our knowledge, no study has directly compared the brain activity of these two types of judgments. The present study recorded and analyzed brain activity involved in the morality and moral aesthetic judgments to reveal whether these two types of judgments differ in their neural underpinnings. Results reveled that morality judgment activated the frontal, parietal and occipital cortex previously reported for motor representations of behavior. Evaluation of goodness and badness showed similar patterns of activation in these brain regions. In contrast, moral aesthetic judgment elicited specific activations in the frontal, parietal and temporal cortex proved to be involved in the behavioral intentions and emotions. Evaluation of beauty and ugliness showed similar patterns of activation in these brain regions. Our findings indicate that morality judgment and moral aesthetic judgment recruit different cortical networks that might decode others' behaviors at different levels. These results contribute to further understanding of the essence of the relationship between morality judgment and aesthetic judgment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiuping Cheng
- School of Psychology South, China Normal University, Tianhe District, No. 55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Xue Wen
- School of Psychology, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
| | - Guozhen Ye
- School of Psychology South, China Normal University, Tianhe District, No. 55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Yanchi Liu
- School of Psychology South, China Normal University, Tianhe District, No. 55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Yilong Kong
- School of Music, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lei Mo
- School of Psychology South, China Normal University, Tianhe District, No. 55 West Zhongshan Avenue, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
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Wang X, Simmank F, Zhang D, Zeng Y, Silveira S, Sander T, Bao Y, Paolini M. Aesthetics as a common denominator for moral and commercial judgments. Psych J 2020; 10:187-189. [PMID: 33295113 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Using fMRI, a core evaluation mechanism was found for aesthetic judgments with add-on neural activities for moral and commercial judgments. We propose that aesthetic evaluations serve as a basic core mechanism implicitly for moral and commercial judgments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanyu Wang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Fabian Simmank
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,Parmenides Foundation, Pullach, Germany
| | - Dongxue Zhang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yifan Zeng
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Sarita Silveira
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Yan Bao
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Institute of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.,Parmenides Foundation, Pullach, Germany.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Marco Paolini
- Department of Radiology, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
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