SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION AND TM-SIDHI PROGRAMME, VOL.
2
PAPER 129
THE EFFECT OF TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
ON REACTION TIME
J. HARDESTY
Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S.A.
MARK
Research completed May 1972.
The practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique was found to improve reaction time.
The following figure has been prepared for
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Reaction times for both
simple and two-choice visual tasks improved significantly
after 15 minutes of TM.
FIG. 1. IMPROVED REACfiON TIME.
.I
Before TM
After TM
Simple Visual Task
Before TM
After TM
Two-Choice Visual Task
Simple and two-choice task reaction times were recorded before and after ten Western Kentucky University
students engaged in a technique known as Transcendental Meditation. A 2 X2factorial design was utilized.
It was hypothesized that after Transcendental Meditation, reaction time scores would be significantly decreased and that there would be a significant difference between the means of the task complexity conditions.
There were significant mean score differences between the control period and after the meditation period in
both task conditions with p < .01. There was no interaction. The results showed Transcendental Meditation
to significantly affect reaction time, which suggests that the technique may have practical value.
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a systematic
technique in which one turns "the attention inwards
towards the subtler levels of a thought until the mind
transcends the experience of the subtlest state of the
thought and arrives at the source of the thought."
(2). The method as taught by Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi yields the meditator immediate physiological
changes and involves no concentration, contemplation, suggestion, physical manipulation, nor
any type of control ( 1).
In studying the physiological effects of TM,
Wallace (4) found significant differences between
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the control period and the meditation period. He discovered that during meditation, heart rate and
oxygen consumption decreased, skin resistance
increased, and the electroencephalograph displayed
specific changes.
In light of this information the question is asked:
Will TM have a significant effect on reaction time?
The present study explored this problem.
Woodworth and Schlosberg (5) describe two
types of reaction time tasks, simple and disjunctive
or two-choice. A simple reaction time task involves
HARDESTY
MOTOR AND PERCEPTUAL ABILITY, AND ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE: REACTION TIME -PAPER
the presentation of a uniform stimulus which requires a uniform response, while a two-choice reaction time task deals with alternatives. Different
stimuli call for different responses. The authors also
note that the average simple task reaction time is
.20 to .25 sec when the stimulus is a light, while
two-choice task reaction time has a longer latency
period when the stimulus is a light.
Differences in reaction time are the result of
many factors. Underwood (3) states that intensity of
the stimulus and knowledge of the results by the
subject may account for the differences in reaction
time. Other problems are progressive error or practice effects and foreperiod factors. In the latter, the
subject may "jump-the-gun" in anticipation of the
stimulus and "respond" before the stimulus is
given. In contrast to this, the subject may control
himself so as to not make a false reaction, and lose
his "edge" as he waits for the stimulus. Studies
have shown that the foreperiod has much influence
on reaction time (3), so efforts were made to control
these and other factors mentioned.
In consideration of other physiological effects of
TM, difference in reaction time was expected before
and after TM. The hypotheses were that simple and
two-choice task complexity reaction time will be
significantly decreased after TM, and that there will
be a significant difference between the means of
the task complexity conditions.
METHOD
SUBJECfS-The subjects were ten students from
Western Kentucky University who had received
systematic and consistent training in TM through
an organization which specializes in teaching the
technique. Subjects' practice of the method ranged
from two months to approximately one and a half
years. The subjects constituted the entire population
of TM students from SIMS at the university.
APPARATUS-A Stoelting electric reaction timer
was used in the experiment which included stimuli
for simple and two-choice visual task operations.
Facing the subject was a platform with three response keys. Behind this, facing the subject, was a
stimulus box from which the various translucent
stimuli colors appeared. The experimenter started
the timer and stimulus simultaneously by moving
a toggle switch. The timer was graduated in hundredths of a second and was stopped by the correct
129
subject response. If the wrong key was pressed the
timing continued until the correct response was
made. The experimenter was able to control the
selection of lights by a rotary switch. The timer was
reset by another switch.
PROCEDURE-React!on time ·was measured under
four conditions for each subject and each condition
consisted of ten trials. The order of the conditions
was counterbalanced across the subjects to control
the effects of practice and fatigue.
The experimental conditions consisted of simple
visual reaction time task before TM, two-choice
visual reaction time task before TM, simple visual
reaction time task after TM, and two-choice visual
reaction time task after TM.
For the simple visual reaction time task, the subject was exposed to one white light stimulus. When
the light came on, the subject reacted by pressing
one key as fast as possible. In the two-choice visual
reaction time task, the subject was exposed to either
a red or a green light, one light being presented at a
time. The subject reacted by pressing a specified key
if one colored light appeared and another specified
key if another colored light appeared. The order of
the colored stimuli presentation was random.
In the condition before TM, the subject engaged
himself in simple paper and pencil games for 15
minutes. After this time, the reaction time testing
began. The time limit and the purpose of the games
were to occupy the subject's mind, insuring that he
did not meditate before testing, and to balance the
time variable when the subject would meditate. In
the condition after TM, the subject meditated for 15
minutes in a room adjacent to the testing room. An
additional minute or two was given for the subject to
"come out" of his meditation and testing was then
begun immediately.
Ten practice trials were run before the start of the
experiment to familiarize the subject with the procedure. He was instructed to hold his index finger
above the appropriate key, almost touching it. To
prevent the subject from losing his "edge" and
from responding too soon, a "ready" signal was
given from one to five seconds before the onset of
the stimulus. The reading on the reaction timer was
recorded after each trial and the timer was reset. A
one minute rest period was allowed after 20 trials.
DESIGN-The design employed here was a 2 X 2
factorial design. The values of one independent
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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION AND TM-SIDHI PROGRAMME, VOL.
variable, type of task, were simple and two-choice
task. Here, the simple condition consisted of the
appearance of one light in which the subject was to
respond with one key. The two-choice condition
exposed the subject to either a red or a green light in
which he was to respond with one of two keys. The
values of the second independent variable, engagement in TM, were before and after TM. Here, when
the subject was instructed to do so he meditated as
he had been taught. The dependent variable was the
amount of time between the start of the stimulus and
the beginning of the response. This is the subject's
reaction time.
SCORING AND ANALYSIS-The data was scored by
determining the mean reaction time under each condition for each subject, and then summing these
means under each condition. An analysis of variance was the technique of measurement for significance.
RESULTS
The data for two subjects were omitted from the
study for procedural reasons.
The mean reaction times for ten trials under each
condition were: simple visual task before TM, .217
sec; simple visual task after TM, .191 sec; choice
visual task before TM, .422 sec; choice visual task
after TM, .367 sec.
The analysis of variance was computed for the
conditions and it was found that the difference between the reaction time scores before TM and after
TM under the task complexity conditions were significantly different, F(1,28)=170.71, p<.Ol.
The differences were also significant between
the task complexity conditions, F(1,28)=7.76,
p<.Ol. There was no interaction, F(1,28)=1.06.
These data are shown in table 1.
TABLE 1
ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE: THE EFFECT OF
SOURCE
Between
Simple vs Two-choice (A)
Before vs After (B)
AXB
Within
•p <.01
906
TM
AND TASK COMPLEXITY
df
MS
28
29.02
0.18
0.17
1.32
F
7.76*
170.71*
1.06 NS
2
The ·null hypotheses, that there is no difference
between the means of the two task complexity conditions, and no difference between the means of
engagement in TM, were both rejected. The null
hypothesis of no interaction was not rejected. The
empirical hypotheses were confirmed.
DISCUSSION
The differences between the mean scores for the
simple visual reaction time and the two-choice
visual reaction time task supported the hypothesis
that there would be differences between the task
complexity conditions. The simple task had the
shorter latency period. In the simple visual condition, a decision had to be made merely on whether
a stimulus had occurred or not which is an easy
detection task. In the choice condition, the subject
had to discriminate as to which light was on.
In the two-choice condition, several subjects
commented that they could have done better if they
could have remembered which key corresponded
with which light stimulus, that the condition was
more of a memory task than a reaction time task. If
the stimuli had appeared directly above the appropriate keys this difficulty would not have occurred.
The mean reaction time scores between the control period and the after TM period were shown to
be significant, which supported the hypothesis that
TM causes a decrease in one's reaction time. TM
reduced the latency period for both reaction time
task conditions.
The fact that TM is easily learned and produces
immediate physiological changes in both the novice
and the experienced meditator indicates that there
may be some practical value present. On an elementary level, quick reaction time is called for daily.
Whether one is performing factory tasks or driving
an automobile, quick reaction time is essential. In
various sports, quick reaction time may be the thin
line between winning and losing. On a more sophisticated level, the airline pilot must constantly watch
his indicators and the landing strip in which alertness and swift reaction time are very essential (5).
Decreased reaction time, coupled with the fact that
TM decreases oxygen consumption (4), would be
very helpful in space travel and exploration.
Research has been insufficient concerning this
meditative technique. Wallace (4) suggests that TM
may produce, physiologically, a state of consciousness other than those ordinarily experienced which
may be helpful in clinical medicine. He indicates
that TM has been suggested for the relief of mental
and physical tension and that its beneficial effects on
individual health in the area of drug abuse is being
explored. Much research, indeed, is needed on this
technique which has been shown to have beneficial
physical and mental effects.
REFERENCES
1. MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI. 1966. The Science of
Being and Art of Living. Rev. ed. Los Angeles: International SRM Publications.
2. MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI. 1969. Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita: A new translation and commentary, Chapters 1-6. Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin.
3. UNDERWOOD, B. 1966. Experimental psychology.
New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
4. WALLACE, R. K. 1970. Physiological effects of Transcendental Meditation. Science 167: 1751-1754.
5. WOODWORTH, R., and SCHLOSBERG, H. 1954. Experimental psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.
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