Cognitive Processes Are Central in Compassion Meditation
In responding to our recent paper in TiCS [1] Engen and Singer raise important issues related to the constructive family of meditation practice, arguing against the central role of reappraisal and perspective taking and proposing instead that motivational and affective states are the main mechanisms in compassion based meditations, and more broadly in the constructive family [2] Although we agree that motivation and affect have an important role in compassion meditation, we disagree with the broader conclusions they draw.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences