ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the complexity of component variables, and their interactions, all operating in relationship to the effectiveness of meditation. The primary physical-environmental variable involving antecedent preparation for meditation concerns the room or the place where meditation occurs. There has been no specific research looking at the effect of the actual environmental setting on the effects of meditation. Soundproof room would give one opportunity to concentrate more effectively than if one was to attempt meditation initially in a more stimulus-demanding environment. C. F. Stroebel and B. C. Glueck suggest that mantra may be the key variable in effectiveness of meditation. This was tested in a study by Smith which looked specifically at the mantra’s component role in the effectiveness of meditation. The H. A. Witkin Embedded Figure Test, requiring subjects to be able to pick out a certain form from the context of a distracting stimulus background, is another measure often used to assess attentional change resulting from meditation.
