PhD Dissertations by MUM Students – Psychology

Transcendental Meditation, adaptation mechanisms and valuations

Order No. 9133556

This study investigated the effect of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique on deeper structures of personality. In Experiment 1, it was hypothesized that nine months of TM practice would increase scorings of a specific adaptation mechanism, Reversal II, in the projective test DMTm. In Reversal II, the threatening figure in the DMTm stimuli is described as relatively positive. Therefore, Reversal II, traditionally understood as a defense or adaptation mechanism, could also reflect an orientation toward positive values. In Experiment 1, performance of 22 matched experimental subjects (mean age 42.8 yrs, s.d. 8.68), and 22 controls (mean age 42.0 yrs, s.d. 12.3) was compared on the DMTm in posttest. The experimental subjects were scored with significantly more Reversal II (p < 0.05, one-tail test) and Transformations, another DMTm variable (p < 0.05, two-tail test), compared to the controls (Fisher’s Exact Test). The second experiment tested the concept that Reversal II could reflect an orientation toward positive values by testing the same subjects over the same time period as in the first experiment with SIMm, a measure of psychological health. It was hypothesized that if the TM subjects increased in scorings of Reversal II, they would also increase in SIMm-scores, indicating an orientation toward positive values in life. The results of Experiment 2 showed an increase in an orientation toward positive values in the TM subjects (p < 0.05, One-Factorial ANCOVA), suggesting that the higher scoring of Reversal II in these subjects more accurately reflects an orientation toward positive values, as opposed to increased use of an adaptation mechanism. Finally, in Experiment 3 it was hypothesized that nine months practice of the TM technique would enhance psychological health as studied in a sample of 89 subjects that comprised 33 experimental subjects (mean age 42.5 yrs, s.d. 10.2), and 56 controls (mean age 42.4 yrs, s.d. 11.5). Using a pre-posttest design, there was a significant increase in psychological health in the TM group compared to the controls (p < 0.05, One-Factorial ANCOVA). Overall, these results suggest that practice of the TM technique increases psychological health and enhances an orientation toward positive values. Source: DAI, 52, no. 09B, (1991): 5008

Change in the quality of life in Canada: intervention studies of the effect of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program.

Order No. 8918485

This study tested the prediction that the collective participation of a critical number of participants in the group practice of the Transcendental MeditationΠand TM-SidhiΠprogram is sufficient to create increased coherence in the collective consciousness of society, resulting in improved quality of life. According to the theory of collective consciousness of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the square root of one percent of the population practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program together can influence in a positive way the quality of life of society; this is based on the suggestion that the deepest level of consciousness has a field character. This prediction was tested for the nation of Canada using weekly data from 1982-1985 (study 1) and monthly data from 1972-1986 (study 2). The independent variable was the weekly or monthly average number of participants in the largest group of practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program, located in Iowa, U.S.A. The data were analyzed using time-series analysis in order to most accurately and rigorously estimate intervention effects. Experimental periods for time series impact assessment analysis were weeks or months in which the predicted threshold was exceeded for the combined population of the U.S.A. and Canada.

Box-Jenkins impact assessment analyses in the first study indicated that in contrast to nonexperimental periods there was an estimated mean 4.1% decrease in a violence index composed of the total number of weekly traffic fatalities, homicides, and suicides, and a mean 5.1% decrease in weekly total fatalities due to other accidents (p

Mothers’ adjustment after childbirth: Examining effects of the Mother Baby program of Maharishi Vedic approach to health on maternal postpartum health and recovery

Order No. 9933983

This study used a non-equivalent group, longitudinal, quantitative/qualitative design to examine effects of the Mother Baby program on mothers’ postpartum adjustment. This program is part of Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health, a prevention oriented health care system which includes the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique and the TM-Sidhi program. Thirty-one women, who gave birth between February 1993 and December 1995, participated in this study. Eighteen women in the experimental group participated in this program. Thirteen women, who did not participate in this program, constituted the comparison group. Subjects were administered Profile of Mood States, Edinburgh Depression Scale, Nottingham Health Profile (sleep section), and Rhoten Fatigue Scale, 4 weeks before due date, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after childbirth. Subjects were also interviewed at each visit. Qualitative measures were included with quantitative ones to add richness and depth to the data.

No group differences were found on quantitative measures. However, content analysis of qualitative data revealed marked group differences in: enriched family relations, greater emotional stability, restful quality of sleep, higher, more stable levels of health and energy. Overall, the experimental group exhibited greater stability in their descriptions of their experiences over time and used more warm and positive descriptions compared to the comparison group. These differences are especially noteworthy because the experimental group was significantly older (by 6.8 years).

The lack of congruence of quantitative and qualitative findings was unexpected. In retrospect, these measures were designed to address different dimensions of experience. The quantitative measures assessed mood states, fatigue, and sleep. The qualitative measures assessed more global variables such as maternal well-being and family relations.

Application of the Mother Baby program appeared to facilitate a more smooth postpartum adjustment allowing for more harmonious family relations and enhanced quality of life after childbirth.

Effects of nonpharmacological approaches on cholesterol levels in mild hypertensive African Americans: A pilot study of the Transcendental Meditation program and a health education program.

Order No.9965261

Psychosocial stress may directly contribute to the disproportionately high rates of coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality and its etiologic risk factors in African Americans. Specifically, acute and chronic stress have been shown to raise serum lipids and are associated with clinical coronary events.

In a randomized, clinical trial with a 6 month follow-up, the effects of the Transcendental Meditation® (TM) program and a health education (HE) program on change in lipid and lipoprotein levels were investigated. Sixty-six mildly hypertensive African Americans, ages 25–72, were randomized, at baseline, to either the TM (N = 33) or HE (N = 33) groups. Primary and secondary outcome measures (i.e., lipid and lipoproteins, blood pressure, diet, exercise, and psychological variables) were assessed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

Baseline analyses indicated no significant between-group differences in lipid levels, demographic, physiological, psychological, dietary or exercise variables. Post-test analyses indicated no significant reductions in total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), or low density lipoproteins (LDL), and no significant increase in high density lipoproteins (HDL) between-groups. However, both groups showed significant positive changes in secondary outcome variables, such as blood pressure, pulse, diet, and psychological variables. Additional within-group analyses showed positive correlations between change in TC and LDL with change in Anger-Out and DBP, respectively, in the TM group. Similar correlations were also found in the HE group. Furthermore, a TM subgroup analysis by education revealed that subjects with high school education significantly differed in magnitude of reduction in TC and LDL compared to those with college education.

This study did not support the hypothesis of reduction in lipids with behavioral intervention in the overall sample over six months. On the other hand, this study did support the use of the TM technique and a HE program for reduction of blood pressure and pulse rate, and improvement in psychological and dietary measures. Furthermore, subgroup analyses suggest the hypothesis that education/SES may interact with lipid response to the practice of the TM technique.

Transcendental Meditation and awakening wisdom: a 10-year longitudinal study of self-development.

Order No.9107332

Psychologists commonly define wisdom as highly developed self-knowledge associated with integrated functioning of affect and cognition. Classical Greek philosophy refers to wisdom as a transcendental experience of universal wisdom. The Vedic Psychology of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi unifies and extends these modern and classical perspectives. It proposes that the unified source of all knowledge and experience, including affect and cognition, is a transcendental field of pure consciousness (the Self) that can be known by direct experience (Self- knowledge). This experience is said to promote holistic human development. Wisdom is described as a state of enlightenment, in which stabilized Self-knowledge results in a fully integrated personality. Daily practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) is held to provide the repeated experience of transcendental consciousness necessary for awakening wisdom.

To test the prediction that TM fosters growth of wisdom, 10- year longitudinal data for measures of Loevinger’s ego or self development, McAdams’ intimacy motivation (interpersonal warmth), and Rest’s principled moral reasoning were analyzed for 34 TM practitioners, alumni of Maharishi International University (MIU). These variables provided a convergent measure of growth of wisdom, inclusive of holistic self development affective functioning, and cognitive development in the moral domain. Comparable ego development data were collected from alumni of three control universities, matched with MIU for gender and age.

Covarying for pretest score, MIU alumni increased markedly on ego development in contrast to the control samples (total N = 136, p =.0000002). Two of the control groups did not change significantly, while one decreased significantly. At posttest, 38% of the MIU subjects scored at the highest Autonomous and Integrated stages, compared to 1% of the controls. The MIU posttest mode (Autonomous) was three levels above the mode for controls and two above the highest of 30 samples surveyed. MIU alumni also increased substantially in principled moral reasoning (p =.001) and intimacy motivation (p =.01). Posttest scores were among the highest reported in the research literature.

These findings indicate that experience of transcendental consciousness during TM promotes holistic self development in adulthood, inclusive of both cognitive and affective functioning. They suggest that educators should implement TM as a practical means to develop wisdom. Source: DAI, 51, no. 10B, (1990): 5048

Intelligence and the growth of intelligence in Maharishiês Vedic Psychology and twentieth century psychology.

Order No.9000433

This dissertation has three parts. Part I reviews the history of intelligence research and presents the need for a comprehensive, unified theory of intelligence.

Part II introduces a Vedic theory of intelligence, based on the Vedic Psychology of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the Science of Creative Intelligence. It is proposed that Maharishi’s Vedic theory integrates, clarifies, and completes current theories of intelligence, by resolving their major theoretical issues.

In Part III, one aspect of Maharishi’s Vedic theory of intelligence was operationally defined. It was hypothesized that introduction of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM- Sidhi program in a university education would result in improvements in ten measures representing abilities expressed at different levels of the mind: a questionnaire on experiences of higher states of consciousness, Tellegen’s Absorption Scale (TAS), Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), Cattell’s Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT), Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices, Hick’s choice reaction time, Hick’s simple reaction time, slope of Hick’s choice RT-simple RT, intraindividual standard deviation of Hick’s choice RT, the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT).

A 2-year longitudinal study with control group tested the hypothesis. Experimental group subjects were 25 male and 22 female first year students from Maharishi International University; mean age 25.2 years. Control group subjects were 22 male and 33 female first year students from the University of Northern Iowa, mean age 19 years.

Results of principal components analysis, MANCOVA, and individual ANCOVA’S supported the hypothesis that practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi program in a university setting results in increased intelligence, as measured by: (1) higher scores on CFIT (p <.005), (2) faster simple RT (p <.025), (3) faster choice RT (p <.00001), (4) decreased intraindividual SD of choice RT (p <.00001), (5) decreased slope of RT (p <.00001), and (6) increased frequency of experiences of higher states of consciousness (p <.001).

Furthermore, the results supported the following hypotheses: (a) intelligence can be developed; and (b) pure intelligence integrates and supports all levels of the mind. The results also provide evidence in support of five other points of Maharishi’s Vedic theory of intelligence, developed in part II.

The conclusion of this dissertation is that Maharishi’s Vedic theory of intelligence is the most viable theory so far to explain the diverse findings regarding the structure and development of intelligence; furthermore, the TM and TM-Sidhi program is proposed as an important component of education that unfolds intelligence. Source: DAI, 50, no. 08A, (1989): 2427

Alleviating political violence through enhancing coherence in collective consciousness: impact assessment analyses of the Lebanon war.

Order No.8822340

This longitudinal social experiment tests a new approach to peace and alleviation of political violence through enhancing coherence, and thereby reducing stress, in an underlying field of collective consciousness. It was predicted that collective practice of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field (which includes the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi techniques) in a series of seven assemblies held within a 2-1/4 year period from June, 1983 to August, 1985, in Lebanon, Israel, Yugoslavia, Netherlands, and U.S.A., would enhance coherence in collective consciousness and behavior in Lebanon. An 821-day data base, recording daily levels of cooperation and conflict, and number of reported war fatalities and injuries, was generated using independently developed 16-point scales (Rasler, 1981). Events were coded by an experienced Lebanese coder, blind to the experimental hypotheses and technology employed, from eight international news sources, including the New York Times, and news broadcasts from radio stations in and near Lebanon representing all major parties to the conflict, as reported by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service.

Box-Jenkins impact assessment analyses indicated that in contrast to nonexperimental days, during the 93 days when the assemblies were sufficiently large for a predicted impact in Lebanon there was an estimated mean 66% increase in level of cooperation among antagonists, 48% reduction in level of conflict, 71% reduction in war fatalities, and 68% reduction in war injuries (p <.0001 for each variable). On a Peace/War Index combining these variables, all seven assemblies showed independently significant positive impacts (p <.01), with an overall estimated mean improvement of 1.22 standard units (p <.0001). Improvements could not be accounted for in terms of changes in temperature, holidays, or other forms of seasonality or trends in the dependent series, which were explicitly controlled for. Consistent with the proposed causal role of the assemblies, their impact was immediate, independent of distance from Lebanon; their dates of occurrence were independent from prior level of conflict; and predictions were not publicized in Lebanon. Results support a proposed unified-field-theoretic model of collective behavior as a basis for a needed new paradigm for understanding peace and eliminating violent conflict. Source: DAI, 49, no. 08A, (1988): 2381

Transcending OCD: Studying the effects of Transcending Through the Transcendental Meditation Technique On Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Order No. 10137550

This doctoral dissertation explores the efficacy of transcending through Transcendental Meditation® practice for reducing symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Transcending means to go beyond and is the process of the mind experiencing more quiet levels of thought, ultimately going beyond even the subtlest impulse of a thought, to experience the silent state of self-awareness at the source of thought. OCD is an anxiety disorder marked by recurring, intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and ritualized, repeated behaviors performed in an effort to gain relief from obsessions (compulsions).

OCD is deep-rooted and all-pervasive, manifesting across all levels of life, from the inner most self to outer behavior. The two most common treatments for OCD—Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and medication—reduce OCD symptoms but do not address the underlying cause of OCD, which is stress and a fragmented sense of self. To best treat OCD, a holistic treatment is required that not only targets the specific, surface expressions of disorder but removes the root of the disorder by integrating all levels of the personality.

A semi-structured interview was conducted with eleven people with OCD who learned the Transcendental Meditation technique. Content analysis of the interview data revealed that OCD primarily impacted one’s sense of self and feelings (17 codes including 48 quotations). Some of the codes in this supercode were anxiety, embarrassment, bondage, depersonalization and depression. In parallel, transcending primarily led to integration of one’s sense of self and feelings (13 codes with 63 quotations). The codes in this supercode included decreased anxiety, calmer, love, higher self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-trust. Transcending was a holistic treatment which led to integration of all levels of the individual. Effects of Transcendental Meditation practice were most prominent at subtler levels of life—sense of self and emotions. Integration of deeper levels of one’s personality supported greater integration of more expressed levels of experience—mind, senses, body and environment.

Transcending during Transcendental Meditation appears to treat OCD by working at the source of the disorder—lack of integration of one’s sense of self—providing a foundation for real freedom from the obsessions and compulsions that characterize OCD.

Consciousness and cognitive development: a six-month longitudinal study of four-year-olds practicing the children’s TM technique

Order No. 9000434

This study was designed to test the prediction, based on a Vedic model of development, that effortless attention on the “thinking level of the mind” through appropriate, nonsemantic internal speech during the practice of the Children’s Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique is sufficient to accelerate cognitive development among young children. This six-month longitudinal study is the first to employ the Children’s TM technique as a direct treatment intervention.

It was predicted that four-year-old children who regularly practice the Children’s TM technique would develop at a significantly faster rate than controls on a set of basic cognitive abilities, recognized to be interindividually stable, including field independence, conceptual maturity, sustained attention, and impulsivity; and on a set of concrete reasoning abilities which indicate a transition to the next developmental period, including conservation and perspective taking. Three empirically derived factors supported the theoretical grouping of the variables, and were identified as psychological differentiation, concrete operational reasoning, and impulsivity. Also, the first unrotated factor was identified as analytical intelligence (Jensen, 1985; Spearman, 1927).

Seventy-three children were tested at pretest, 40 attending preschools which introduce the Children’s TM technique during the child’s fourth year, and 33 attending progressive control preschools. Covarying for pretest and control variables (age, gender, SES, previous preschool experience, and parents’ educational level), a linear trend analysis of the effect of regularity of practice of the Children’s TM technique indicated that more regular practice produces significantly more growth on psychological differentiation (p =.03) and analytical intelligence (p =.03), with a trend in the predicted direction on concrete operational reasoning (t(56) = 1.54, p =.06). In addition, planned contrasts also showed that high regularity Children’s TM subjects improved significantly more than controls on psychological differentiation (p =.035) and analytical intelligence (p =.04). When data were analyzed separately for subjects of nonmeditating testers (n = 49) in order to remove the effect of a possible meditating tester bias favoring TM subjects, the greater improvements of high regularity TM subjects over controls were even more substantial: psychological differentiation (p =.005), concrete operational reasoning (p =.03), and analytical intelligence (p =.001).

Consistent with a developmental model based on Vedic psychology (Alexander, Davies et al., 1989), these results indicate that acceleration of holistic cognitive development can be facilitated by direct stimulation of inherent cognitive functions through regular practice of the Children’s TM technique, without requiring further environmental enrichment. On the basis of this and prior research, the Vedic theory of consciousness is proposed as the foundation of a new paradigm for understanding cognitive development. Source: DAI, 51, no. 03B, (1989): 1518

Transcendental Meditation as an intervention in the aging of neurocognitive function: reduced age-related declines of P300 latencies in elderly practitioners.

Order No.9228949

Two cross-sectional experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that long-term practice of Transcendental Meditationå (TM) would preserve the speed of neurocognitive processes in elderly practitioners, as measured by latency of the P300 component of event-related brain potential and choice reaction time (RT). In Experiment 1, 13 TM subjects, group matched with 13 non-TM subjects on age (mean 65.7 yrs.) and gender (9 females in each group) participated in two oddball tasks (visual and auditory). Group t-tests indicated the TM group had faster P300 latencies than the non-TM group in the visual task, while no differences were found in the auditory task for P300 latency or RT.

In Experiment 2, TM and non-TM subjects from young (6 in each group, mean 20 yrs.) and older (10 in each group, mean 69 yrs.) age ranges, matched on age, gender, IQ, exercise level, and self-health ratings, were compared on a task intended to manipulate stimulus discriminability and stimulus-response compatibility; variables demonstrated to affect stimulus evaluation and response-related stages of processing, respectively.

ANOVAs indicated, (1) P300 latency and RT increased with difficulty in discriminability and stimulus-response compatibility, though RT was substantially more prolonged than P300 latency when an incompatible response was required, (2) P300 latencies were longer in older subjects in all conditions, while RT differences between young and older subjects became significant when task difficulty increased, indicating a centrally mediated age effect with complexity effects confined to response-related stages of processing and, (3) P300 latencies were faster for older TM than non-TM subjects across conditions, while RT was faster in older non-TM than TM subjects. Evidence suggests faster RT in older non-TM compared with TM subjects may have been partially due to motivational/strategy differences.

Overall, the results suggest neurocognitive processing speed may be preserved with age as a result of long-term practice of TM and potential mechanisms are discussed in terms of models of adult cognition, including models from Maharishi’s Vedic Psychology. Source: DAI, 53, no. 06B, (1992): 3189

Cognitive style differences in temporal organization: event-related potentials and the study of serial order.

Order No.9534650

Field dependent-independent (FDI) cognitive style differences along a dimension of cognitive restructuring ability have been attributed to differential engagement of central executive processes of the prefrontal cortex. It was hypothesized that prospective temporal organization (the ability to temporally integrate plan with goal) was a psychological process essential to cognitive restructuring which would index cognitive style differences.

Thirty subjects were grouped into high restructuring ability (15 field independent) and low restructuring ability (15 field dependent) on the basis of rod-and-frame test scores, a traditional measure of FDI. A serial order recall task was then administered requiring subjects to encode and elaborate features from two successive complex geometric shapes presented over a computer screen in response to a feature probe requesting a temporal (serial order) judgment. The task manipulated a retrospective temporal organization function (the ability to link past events in service of a goal) and a prospective temporal organization function by independently varying elaboration demand as well as feature recall demand.

Reaction time and performance accuracy verified the manipulation of experimental variables and confirmed that subjects complied with elaboration and feature recall requirements. A repeated measures MANOVA indicated the cognitive style groups did not differ on retrospective temporal organization indexed by a positive slow wave which was significantly enhanced at frontal, central and parietal sites in the high elaboration relative to the low elaboration condition. A repeated measures MANOVA revealed the groups did significantly differ in amplitude of a primarily frontal and central negative slow wave (CNV) prior to the feature probe in the high demand prospective temporal organization condition.

The results from this study provide psychophysiological evidence in support of theories of FDI which suggest central executive processes may play an important role in explaining differences in the FDI cognitive style. It is suggested the theoretical model associating the frontal lobes with a temporal organization function and the use of ERP methodology may serve as a valuable framework to further explore the psychological construct of FDI. Source: DAI, 56, no. 06B, (1995): 3494

The Maharishi Effect and government: effects of a national demonstration project and a permanent group of Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program practitioners on success, public approval, and coherence in the Clinton, Reagan and Bush presidencies

Order No. 9735103

The purpose of the dissertation was to examine the effect of large groups of individuals practicing the Transcendental MeditationÎ (TMÎ) and Transcendental Meditation- SidhiÎ programs together (known as the “Extended Maharishi Effect”) on success and support for government. Studies assessed the impact of these large groups on both short and long term trends.

The first study assessed the impact of the National Demonstration Project (NDP) in Washington whose purpose was the creation of a coherent environment for government. Predictions of the NDP were lodged with an independent review board comprised of criminologists and sociologists from six universities, civic leaders and the police department. Predictions included increased success and support for President Clinton and improved quality of life in Washington.

Nine variables investigated these predictions. All nine variables showed a significant increase in positivity after the start of the NDP which reversed the negativity prior to the NDP. Measures included Clinton’s approval ratings, media positivity toward the President, variables indicative of social stress: emergency psychiatric calls, hospital trauma, police complaints, and accidental deaths and a social stress index. Bipartisanship in Senate and House utilizing ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD on roll call votes exhibited a significant increase between the pre and post measures.

The results were replicated with three Presidential administrations (Clinton, Reagan, and Bush) showing a significant impact of TM and TM-Sidhi program groups at Maharishi International University, the NDP, and numbers at similar large assemblies held in the 1980’s. Variables analyzed with time series transfer-function analysis were presidential approval ratings, media positivity, and U.S. interactions with other countries.

Both short term results of the NDP on approval ratings and other variables and the longer term studies support the hypotheses of the NDP on government variables lending support to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s original predictions that coherence in a social system can be enhanced through large groups generating the Extended Maharishi Effect. Source: DAI, 58, no. 06A, (1997): 2385

The search for bliss: a model of emotional development based on Maharishi°s Vedic Psychology.

Order No.9633806

Virtually all paradigms of modern psychology acknowledge a human tendency toward positive affective states. Addressing the significance of this natural tendency from the perspective of Maharishi’s Vedic PsychologySM, a model of emotional development is constructed. The preference for happiness is identified as expressing a primary, evolutionary drive that originates in a universal field of absolute bliss consciousness and leads human development to attain an enduring state of bliss, which then provides a backdrop for experiencing the temporal emotions. This model was explored through the subjective methodologies of qualitative research. Twenty participants of the Transcendental MeditationŒ and TM-SidhiŒ program were interviewed about experiences of bliss and emotions. Content analysis produced a portrait of emotional functioning that appears to be a distinct, higher stage of development than is described in contemporary models. Whereas momentary “peak” experiences are recorded in every culture participants reported stabilizing such experiences. This stabilization led to a shift in identity from external factors to inner bliss. Changes in emotional experience accompanied this shift: enhanced richness of experience; increased positive affect; decreased negativity; freedom from attachments and the overpowering influence of emotions; greater differentiation; more positive outlook. Participants also completed the Loevinger Sentence Completion test for ego- development and, as a group, scored significantly higher than normative data, p < .05. The study provides experiential elaboration to the theoretical model and uncoversn ew dimensions for research in emotional development. It also demonstrates that regular practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi programs develops and stabilizes a profound state of bliss which, in addition to providing inner fulfillment, results in greater happiness and success in daily life. Source: DAI, 57, no. 06B, (1996): 4055

The effects of Maharishi’s Consciousness-Based approach to rehabilitation with inmates in Curacao

Order No. 9836283

An offender rehabilitation study was conducted at Strafgevangenis Federal Prison, Cura¨ao, the Netherlands Antilles from August 1994 to June 1995. Subjects (N = 300) were male and predominately of African descent but with a mixture of Portuguese, Dutch, East Indian, Chinese, or South American as well. The purpose of this multidimensional study was to test the effects of the practice of the Maharishi Transcendental MeditationSM technique on recognized psychosocial and cognitive predictors of criminal behavior. Subjects were tested on psychosocial measures of aggression (Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory), psychological distress and well-being (Mental Health Inventory), impulsiveness (Barratt Impulsivity Scale), cognitive distortion (How I Think Questionnaire), socially desirable responding (SDRS-5), self-esteem (Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale- -modified), and self-reported social behavior (created by the author). They were also tested on two cognitive performance measures which have been correlated to intelligence: field independence (Group Embedded Figures Test) and inspection time (Zhang’s Inspection Time Test). Tests were translated into Spanish and Papiamentu and showed 90% word-to-word accuracy in reverse translation. These tests, including subscales, created twenty-one dependent variables that were reduced by principal components analysis to form six factors: Cognitive Distortion, Psychological Distress, Aggression, Impulsiveness, Intelligence- related Measures, and Psychological Well-being. Univariate analysis of covariance for effect of group on factor change scores showed a significant difference between groups on two factors: Cognitive Distortion (p = 0.036) and Intelligence- related Measures (p = 0.05), and a trend toward significance on the factor Psychological Well-being (p = 0.082). Low compliance to treatment and differential sensitivity of tests to treatment effects were considered the most likely causes for lack of results. However, the results that were obtained in the present study add further support to the claim that the practice of the Maharishi Transcendental Meditation technique is a useful rehabilitation tool that positively affects psychosocial and cognitive predictors of criminal behavior. Source: DAI, 59, no. 06B, (1998): 3093

Elements of entrepreneurial success: the links among inner competencies, inner development and success

Order No. 995611

This exploratory study inquired into the link between changes associated with personal development and competencies relevant to business success in a group of entrepreneurs in Fairfield, Iowa. The Fairfield entrepreneurs are part of an entrepreneurial community in the rural Midwest, which has enjoyed considerable success. In addition, the vast majority of the Fairfield entrepreneurs are long-term practitioners of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental MeditationÎ (TM) and TM- SidhiÎ program, two well-documented techniques for facilitating stress management, promoting health, and fostering personal growth.

The study sought to assess whether the entrepreneurs exhibited any common inner competencies, which had played a role in their success, and whether any of these competencies were linked to the inner growth the entrepreneurs had enjoyed as a result of the TM and TM-Sidhi practice. To answer the research questions, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted using the techniques of grounded theory.

The results of the study suggested that a number of the competencies widely thought to be linked to success might be developed and/or augmented through the practice of the TM and the TM-Sidhi program. This suggests that many, if not all, of these competencies are not fixed, in-born personality features, but might instead be part of an inherent developmental potential.

The results further indicated that the TM technique develops a number of qualities not commonly observed in the literature. These included superior stress management skills, which seemed to derive from an expansion of the internal resources that the person had to draw on. Many interviewees also exhibited a type of functioning, which appeared to go beyond the ‘normal’ range of human experience. All study participants reported frequent use of intuition; a sense of being in tune with a cosmic stream of evolution; and awareness of a more holistic, all-encompassing level of truth and reality. This in turn was expressed in more universal values, which embraced the wider interests of employees, community, or environment as a whole.

Based on the findings of the study, a theory of the nature and origin of competencies was presented. Source: DAI, 60, no. 12B (2000): p. 6398

Voice quality and Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM- Sidhi program: vocal acoustics in health and higher states of awareness

Order No. 9228950

Two experiments investigated the effect of improved physiological health and decreased psychological stress and anxiety on voice quality, reflected in changes of five acoustic perturbation measures: (a) short-term frequency and amplitude perturbation (jitter and shimmer), (b) the coefficient of variation for longer-term amplitude (CVA) and frequency perturbation (CVF), and (c) the harmonics-to-noise ratio (H/N). The first experiment, a four-month longitudinal, random assignment study, analyzed voice data on 16 college-age male subjects before and after four months of either Transcendental Meditation (TM) or a stress management (SM) course. After four months, the TM group showed a significant reduction in CVF (p =.055) compared to the SM group, together with large to medium effect sizes (ES $>$.40) for changes in jitter, H/N, and CVA, suggesting with larger sample sizes most of the acoustic measures would reach significance. These perturbation values were in the healthy range, and were similar those of the long- time TM subjects in Experiment 2. The second experiment, a cross-sectional study compared six long-time TM and TM-Sidhi subjects reporting experiences of “higher states of consciousness” to six non-meditating comparison subjects. The only significant group differences were in CVA (p =.020). Initial changes seen in the first experiment did not seem to continue with additional TM practice.

These data suggest initial short-term reductions in acoustic perturbation with TM practice reach a stable normal, perhaps optimal, level, which is then maintained. The change is in the direction of improved voice clarity and freedom from roughness or hoarseness. Further research could investigate suprasegmental speech to better discriminate deeper changes in speech and communication which may develop with long-term practice of the TM and TM-Sidhi program. Thus, prosodic features of multi-syllabic speech–variations in loudness, pitch, and speaking rate–together with formant and harmonic band analysis, may reveal subtler aspects of communication such as changes in affect which could develop with the TM and TM- Sidhi program. Source: DAI, 53, no. 06B, (1992): 3190

Nonpharmacologic treatment of hypertensive heart disease in African Americans: a trial of the Transcendental Meditation program and a health education program.

Order No. 9836284

Hypertensive heart disease (HHD), a major public health problem in African American communities, contributes to the disproportionally high rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in this population. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and diastolic dysfunction are key indicators of HHD. Lifestyle modification with diet restriction, weight reduction and exercise have been found to regress left ventricular mass and reduce elevated blood pressure (BP). The Transcendental MeditationΠ(TM) technique has been reported to reduce blood pressure, sympathetic arousal and the influence of psychosocial stressors associated with CVD. In a randomized, clinical, controlled trial with a one-year follow-up, we investigated the effect of the TM technique and a diet and exercise, health education (HE) program on left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and diastolic function (E/A ratio) determined by standard M-mode and Doppler echocardiography (echo). Within group analysis were assessed by paired t-test and between groups comparison was assessed by ANCOVA. Thirty-four (15 male and 19 female) African Americans, mean (+-SD) LVMI, 102.89 (24) and E/A ratio, 0.98 (.34) were randomized to the TM (N = 19) and the HE (N = 15) groups. There was no significant difference between groups at baseline on clinical or echo measures. Both groups showed significant within group reductions in LVMI after one year, 10.3% (p <.01) in the TM group and 14.5% (p <.01) in the HE group. Diastolic function (p =.035, one tailed) was significant in the TM group when controlling for age, pre E/A ratio and systolic BP, compared to the HE group. Furthermore, the TM group showed significant improvements in quality of life measures including energy (p =.023), positive affect (p =.01), behavioral control (p =.01) and self efficacy (p =.02) compared to the HE group. Both lifestyle modification approaches were found to be efficacious in reducing left ventricular mass in African Americans. However, the TM group showed additional improvements in quality of life, diastolic function and diastolic blood pressure. Source: DAI, 59, no. 06B, (1998): 311

Relationship between subjective bliss, 5-hydroxy-3-indoleacetic acid and the collective practice of Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program

Order No. 9114490

According to a large body of scientific research, collective practice of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi program creates a harmonizing influence on the collective consciousness of society, as seen, for example, in positive changes of social indicators. This effect, called the Maharishi Effect, is understood to operate on the most abstract, fundamental and unified level of nature’s functioning, the Unified Field of Natural Law, described by Maharishi’s Vedic Psychology as a field of “pure consciousness.” This field is subjectively experienced during the TM and TM-Sidhi program as a field of inner “bliss” and is understood to be the simplest state of one’s awareness.

The purpose of this dissertation was (a) to test the hypothesis that collective practice of Maharishi’s TM and TM-Sidhi program increases the subjective experience of bliss, a quality of awareness fundamental to moods and emotions, (b) to test the hypothesis that the collective practice of Maharishi’s TM and TM-Sidhi program increases serotonin turnover as indicated by 5-HIAA excretion rates, and (c) to provide insight into the dynamic relationship between the mental and physiological processes that appear to be affected by this program.

Over 50 consecutive days, in 10 subjects, the subjective experiences of bliss in daily activity were evaluated through an experiential sampling method (BLISS), while day and night excretion rates of the serotonin metabolite 5-HIAA were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Using Liu’s simultaneous transfer function approach, the impact of the size of the evening TM and TM-Sidhi group practice on the endogenous variables BLISS and 5-HIAA was assessed. A 9.6% increase in the reported experience of bliss and a 17.2% increase in daytime 5-HIAA excretion was found for each 100- person increase in the TM-Sidhi group. In addition, a one-way impact of the endogenous variable BLISS on the endogenous variable 5-HIAA was found, suggesting an effect of mental states on physiological functions, as posited in the framework of psychoneuro-immunological theories. Using similar methods, the quality of night sleep and the quality of experiences during the TM and TM-Sidhi program were also related to the TM- Sidhi group size, with significant total increases of 30.8% and 67.9%, respectively, for each 100-person increase in the TM- Sidhi group.

Based on Maharishi’s Vedic Psychology, a theoretical framework was proposed which could explain these results as well as other recent results on happiness, sleep quality and serotonergic function in relation to affective states. Source: DAI, 52, no. 01B, (1990): 0551

Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep.

Order No.9605338

The ancient Vedic tradition (as brought to light by Maharishi, 1969) has described permanent “higher states of consciousness” (HSC) in which a distinctive state termed transcendental consciousness (i.e. silent inner-awareness without thought)–is capable of being maintained even during sleep. The Transcendental MeditationŒ (TM) program is predicted to promote transcendental consciousness and is correlated with non- descending theta/alpha (7-9 Hz). We predicted that subjects reporting HSC during deep sleep would display the typical EEG pattern of transcendental consciousness along with delta of stage 3 and 4 sleep.

Eleven (9 f, 2 m; mn age = 39.7 yrs.) healthy long-term practitioners of TM (mn = 17.8 yrs.) reporting HSC, and nine (8 f, 1 m; mn age = 27.1 yrs.) short-term meditating controls and 11 healthy non-meditating controls (11f; mn age = 29.45 yrs.) volunteered for ambulatory EEG recording. An EEG montage of C4- A1, C3-A2, EOG, and EMG was employed. Subjects with major psychiatric and physical illness were excluded. Experimentals were selected on the basis of responses to a standard scale and interviews designed to distinguish self-reports of HSC.

No significant difference was found between groups in sleep architecture or time spent in sleep stages, 2, 3, 4 and REM, for the night except experimentals had significantly greater stage 1 than controls. Spectral analysis of experimentals first three sleep cycles had significantly more theta2 (6-8 Hz) and alpha1 (8-10 Hz) relative power for sleep stages 3 and 4 as compared to meditating controls (p =.0005) and nonmeditating controls (p =.000003) with no significant differences between groups in time in delta.

Along with a pattern of theta/alpha superimposed on delta, experimentals exhibited significantly more low EMG during stage 3 and 4 sleep and significantly greater REM density during REM for the first three cycles compared to meditating controls.

These findings of simultaneous theta2-alpha1 with delta, low EMG during deep sleep, and increased REM density is a distinct electrophysiological profile that lends support to the ancient Vedic prediction of the existence of higher states of consciousness. Source: DAI, 56, no. 10B, (1995): 5797

Increased personal harmony and integration as effects of Maharishi Gandharva music on affect, physiology, and behavior: the psychophysiology of an evolving audience.

Order No. 9534648

This dissertation presents a theoretical understanding of Maharishi Gandharva VedaSM music and five exploratory studies on its integrating effects for the listener. Experiment 1 measured immediate pre-post effects of five live concerts (N = 697), using a specially created self-report bipolar adjective check list based on Maharishi Ayurveda, measuring balanced and imbalanced affect. (1) The concerts significantly balanced affect on three orthogonal scales, indicating reduced tension, decreased irritability, and less lethargy (p <.0001); (2) females changed more than males on the first two dimensions; (3) greater pre-post changes occurred in the evening compared to afternoon performances. Experiment 2 (N = 188) found no social compliance effects. Also, unfamiliar Maharishi Gandharva Veda music produced greater balance on the tension dimension than did familiar, liked Western Baroque.

Experiments 3 and 4 were pilot EEG experiments with single subjects. Experiment 3 found that Maharishi Gandharva Veda music improved psychophysiological balance as indicated by increased global EEG alpha and theta activity and by changes in the subject’s Maharishi Ayur-Vedic pulse taken by a trained physician. Experiment 4 found frontal beta power increased, associated with subjective experiences of bliss.

Experiment 5 measured immediate effects of Maharishi Gandharva Veda music on 27 psychiatric, institutionalized geriatrics randomly assigned to two groups–20 min five days a week for eight weeks of Maharishi Gandharva Veda music or Western Baroque music. Previous investigators have shown that the Western Baroque selections had significant therapeutic effects. No significant changes were found in either group for the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale or Fairview Self-Help Scale, which were administered every two weeks six hours after the session. Thus, neither Maharishi Gandharva Veda music nor Western Baroque had long-term therapeutic effects for this elderly psychiatric population for the amount of exposure to the music that they received. However, structured observations during the music indicated the Maharishi Gandharva Veda group demonstrated greater improvement in physical and social behavior.

Together, the five experiments suggest Maharishi Gandharva Veda music can be a powerful tool for balancing the individual’s mind, body, and behavior. Further research is needed to confirm these initial findings. Source: DAI, 56, no. 06A, (1995): 2039

Crime prevention and rehabilitation through the Transcendental Meditation and TM- Sidhi programs: two evaluation studies of a Consciousness-Based approach

Order No. 9971791

Two studies are reported on the application to offender rehabilitation and crime prevention of a Consciousness- Based approach utilizing the Transcendental Meditation and TM- Sidhi programs of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Study I followed recidivism rates over 15 years among former inmates who learned the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program at a maximum security prison in California. Survival analysis controlling for 22 subject profile and criminal background variables found significantly lower rates of re-arrest leading to felony conviction among inmates instructed in the TM technique compared to matched controls. Lower recidivism rates were observed during the follow-up period among the TM group than among the control subjects (46.7% versus 66.7%). This difference was significant (p = .0008) in a Cox regression analysis, which showed that the reduction in the risk of recidivism was 43.5%. Analysis of long- term relapse patterns, using a split population Weibull model with covariates, indicated that 58.1% of the TM group versus 73.7% of the control group would eventually re-offend (p = .01). Significant reductions in recidivism in TM subjects compared to controls were also found on a measure of severity of re- offending (p = .023). Study 2 was a prospective experiment on the effects of an eight-week assembly of approximately 4,000 participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs in Washington, D.C. during 1993. Time series analysis of FBI weekly crime data controlled for effects of weather variables, daylight, police staffing, historical crime trends and annual patterns in the District of Columbia, as well as trends in neighboring cities. Results showed that violent crimes against persons (i.e., homicides, rapes, and assaults) dropped significantly during the Demonstration Project, corresponding with increases in the size of the group; the maximum decrease was 23.3% (p < 2 × 10 -9) coincident with the peak number of participants in the group during the final week of the assembly. The time series analysis also indicated that a permanent group of 4,000 coherence-creating experts in the District would have a long-term effect of reducing HRA crimes by 48%. These results are discussed in terms a theoretical model for the effects of development of consciousness on causes of crime identified by standard criminological theories. Source: DAI, 61, no. 04A (2000): p.1625

Improved quality of life in Iowa through the Maharishi Effect.

Order No.9114491

Numerous studies of diverse populations and cultures on the city, state, national and international levels have demonstrated that group practice of the Transcendental MeditationŒ (TM) and TM-SidhiŒ program improves the quality of life as indicated by such measures as reductions in crime, traffic fatalities, unemployment and inflation. Several recent studies have indicated that Iowa has a low level of social stress and high level of quality of life relative to the rest of the United States. Since a large group of TM and TM-Sidhi program participants has been present at Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa since 1979, the present study tested the hypothesis that monthly increases in the size of this group have contributed to improvements in Iowa’s quality of life.

The study used Box-Jenkins time series transfer function analysis on monthly rates of unemployment, crime, and traffic fatalities and on an equally weighted composite index of these three variables from 1979 to 1986. The hypothesis of the study was consistently supported. Transfer function estimates indicated significant and sizable reductions in the monthly rates of unemployment (p <.004), and traffic fatalities (p <.0001) at a lag of one month, and an immediate decrease in the same month (lag 0) in crime rate (p =.05). In addition, a significant improvement in quality of life on the composite index (p <.004) was found at lag one. These results were generally quite robust with respect to different specifications of competing noise models. The final transfer function models were objectively identified as those which met the usual diagnostic criteria and which also minimized the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), a measure of optimal model choice.

Time series transfer function analysis was chosen for this study because it provides both a rigorous and conservative estimate of the magnitude of the influence of the independent variable. This method controlled for the effects of trends and cycles such as those due to seasonal changes, business cycles, and holidays, and thus eliminated these alternative explanations. The introduction of the seat belt law in 1986 was also studied and did not influence the results for the traffic fatality variable. State officials were queried concerning other possible alternative hypotheses and no viable alternative explanations were found.

Therefore results of the study upheld the hypothesis that the quality of life in Iowa improved when numbers of participants in the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program increased. Source: DAI, 51, no. 12B, (1990): 6155

Testing and developing holistic intelligence in Chinese culture with Maharishi°s Vedic PsychologySM: three experimental replications using Transcendental Meditation.

Order No.9534649

Modern psychology defines intelligence as the ability to learn, reason, adapt, and efficiently accomplish tasks. This dissertation extended this view to the Chinese tradition of holistic intelligence as seen from Maharishi’s Vedic PsychologySM. Maharishi Vedic Psychology posits a universal source called pure intelligence at the basis of personality and nature, which is called the Tao in the Chinese tradition.

This dissertation tested the hypothesis that enlivening the holistic source of pure intelligence/Tao by Maharishi’s Transcendental MeditationŒ (TM) program develops holistic intelligence, optimizing all aspects of mental functioning and personality. Holistic intelligence was operationalized by six culture-fair tests: Test of Creative Thinking (TCT-DP); Contructive Thinking Inventory (CTI); Spielburger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); Inspection Time (IT); Cattell’s Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT); Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), which respectively measure creativity; practical intelligence; anxiety (experiential intelligence); neural efficiency (physiological intelligence); fluid intelligence; and field independence (contextual intelligence).

Three randomized, blind, controlled studies (6-12 months) were conducted with 363 Chinese students, mean age 14.5-17.5. The first study compared TM with Napping, and no-interest subjects. The second study compared TM with Contemplation technique, and control. The third study compared TM with control.

The emergence of 5 to 6 distinct components from factor analyses supported that multiple intelligences exist. MANCOVA showed that the TM groups increased multiple intelligences significantly more than controls in three studies. For the three studies combined, the TM groups improved more than controls on all tests: TCT-DP (p < .000000008); CTI (p < .00009); STAI (p <.00001); IT (p < .0003); CFIT (p <.001); GEFT (p <.00000004). The effect sizes were largest on measures associated with deeper levels of mind, creativity (.77), anxiety (.63), field independence (.58), practical intelligence (.5), inspection time (.46), fluid intelligence (.4); MANCOVA showed that TM increased holistic intelligence more than Contemplation (p <.000001) or Napping (p <.000045).

These findings confirmed that intelligence is holistic and can be developed through regular experience of pure intelligence/Tao through Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation program. They confirm that TM has the ability to simultaneously improve a broad range of mental abilities which has a far-reaching impact on the field of intelligence and education. Source: DAI, 56, no. 06A, (1995): 2178

Testing the field paradigm of Maharishi’s Vedic Psychology: EEG coherence and power as indices of states of consciousness and field effects

Order No. 8820230

Vedic Psychology, as formulated by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, proposes a field paradigm of psychology that links current theories of psychological phenomena with the systematic understanding of a field of pure consciousness from the Vedic tradition. This paradigm hypothesizes that the unified field of natural law described by physics is a field of pure consciousness that can be directly experienced and thoroughly investigated in the simplest form of human awareness through a series of technologies: the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and TM-Sidhi program. This field paradigm was tested with three experiments. The electroencephalographic (EEG) pattern of contact with this field through the TM technique and of acting within it through the TM-Sidhi program were identified. Then the field effect of a TM-Sidhi expert on a non-meditating subject was tested, as measured by the dynamic relationship of their EEG patterns. Source: DAI, 49, no. 08B, (1988): 349

Transcendental Meditation and individual differences in mental capacity.

Order No.9534649

The practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique is predicted to expand the conscious capacity of the mind (Maharishi, 1963). This dissertation tested the hypothesis that one of two measures of mental capacity in 20th century psychology: mental energy or speed of processing, would be sensitive to the expansion of the conscious capacity of the mind through the TM practice. It also assessed the effect of strategy on performance. Two experiments were conducted using a task with three levels of difficulty: (1) standard P300 oddball task, (2) a tracking task, and (3) distracters, that tested both mental energy and the speed of processing models.

The first experiment compared nonequivalent control and meditating subjects. The most significant finding was a different pattern of loading for the two groups. With increasing task difficulty, the control group exhibited increasing P3 amplitude and latency, while the meditating subjects exhibited decreasing amplitude and smaller latency increases. The second experiment, which used short term and long term meditators found no significant differences between the groups. The data from the two experiments were combined in a post hoc analysis, to address the age confound in the first experiment and to examine the robustness of the TM effect. The two meditating groups loaded similarly on P3 amplitude and latency and together were significantly different from the control subjects.

The different pattern of loading for the TM group could not be accounted for by the mental capacity models in 20th century psychology. Current psychology conceptualizes expanded mental capacity as the number of items an individual can operate on in their mind, or the speed with which they can move betweeen items. In contrast, Maharishi’s Vedic Psychology conceptualizes the expansion of conscious capacity as more powerful thoughts thar are more fully integrated with the depth of the mind. These results suggest that it is an interaction between the internal operations of the mind, discussed in strategy theory, and the external stimulus that determine an individual’s performance. Source: DAI, 56, no. 06B, (1995): 3497

The effects of the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique and exercise on cognitive and psychophysiological measures in the elderly

Order No. 3013167

Two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of interventions-the Transcendental Meditation™ technique and exercise (EX)-on a set of cognitive and psychophysiological measures in elderly people.

In Experiment 1, 25 healthy elderly people aged 65 to 90 years (8 males) were assigned one of three conditions: usual care, TM or EX. Cognitive performance was assessed using the following measures: the Mini-Mental State Examination, Digitspan (forward and backward), Verbal-Paired Associate (immediate and delayed), the Logical Memory (immediate and delayed), Benton Visual Retention, Block Design, Digit Symbol, Stroop Color-Word, the Group Embedded Figures, Vocabulary, and the Inference tests. Mental speed of processing (P300 latency and reaction time) were measured from three visual tasks [two two-button-pressing both the target (20%) and the standards and counting the target (20%)]. There were no significant differences among groups on pretest measures. No differences were found among the groups on any of the variables after 12 months.