You 'd Better Do It Online: Practicing Guided Meditation
A quantitative study on digital media use and the experience of self-transcendent emotions
Julissa Zwemmer [10881433] Master’s Thesis
Master Track Entertainment Communication Graduate School of Communication
University of Amsterdam Dr. Rinaldo Kühne
26/06/2020 Word count: 7415
Abstract
The use of online guided meditation media is rising exponentially. However, this new type of media has not been investigated thoroughly for possible effects. In the literature, much research has been aimed at traditional guided meditation practices and revealed a significant effect on the experience of self-transcendent emotions. The aim of this study is to fill the void in scientific research on the effects of digitally-mediated guided meditation content, by looking at the relationship between the duration of online guided meditation use and the experience of self-transcendent emotions. More specifically, this study examines perceived autonomy, co-presence and telepresence as digital mediators. A cross-sectional online survey with convenience sampling was conducted (n=168). The results show no significant effect of online guided meditation use on the experience of self-transcendent emotions. Furthermore, no significant mediators have been identified, although the experience of telepresence significantly increases the experiences of gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation. These findings suggest that telepresence is a key factor in inducing self-transcendence emotions when using online guided meditation media. Finally, this study provides a set of suggestions for future research with the aim of defining online guided mediation media as a meaningful and significantly recommendable type of digital media to be consumed.
Keywords: Online guided meditation, self-transcendent emotions, perceived autonomy, co-presence, telepresence
You 'd Better Do It Online: Practicing Guided Meditation
Online guided meditation media is a new type of digital media that provides guided meditation exercises embedded in different online media platforms, which is currently used by the majority of social media users (Basso et al., 2019; Buie & Blythe, 2013; Carter & Asencio, 2019). For example, there are at least 15 million YouTube videos (YouTube, 2020), 73 thousand tracks on Spotify (Spotify, 2020) and 250 Apps (Apple App Store, 2020) named guided meditation. The aim of the online guided meditation content is to provide meditation instructions on how to concentrate on breathing and observing thoughts, emotions and physical sensations (Basso et al., 2019). The online guided meditation user intends to obtain the ability to disengage from his or her cognitive patterns to clarify the mind (Carter & Asencio, 2019). Motives for the consumption of this type of media have been stated as developing a more conscious mind and stress relief, but the actual effects of the content have not yet been studied (Janicke & Ramasubramanian, 2017). Therefore, it is necessary to study the impact of this new digital media as it is utilized in significant numbers. Previous studies have looked at the effects of the traditional version of guided meditation and indicate that practicing meditation induces certain positive emotions, such as self-transcendent emotions (Fredrickson et al., 2017; Fredrickson et al., 2008; Hofmann et al., 2011; Kang, 2019; Philipp & Forintos, 2010). Gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation are characterized as
transcendent and differ from other positive emotions in that they are not primarily self-centred, yet enhance feelings of universal solidarity and enable pro-social behaviour (Van Cappellen et al., 2013; Yaden et al., 2016). Therefore, the emotional outcomes of guided meditation are considered beneficial as they lead to psychological well-being, personal development, social involvement and happiness (Oliver et al., 2018).
New factors begin to play an important role when content is embedded in a digitally-mediated context (Carter & Asencio, 2019). Previous studies on the effects of digital media
already indicated a new set of variables to be relevant, such as the experience of perceived autonomy (Smith & Snider, 2019). Digital media consumers desire a high degree of autonomy, which allows them to make decisions solely based on their own preferences (Carter & Asencio, 2019). The experience of perceived autonomy is a primary indicator of the intensity of emotional involvement with the content (Jung, 2011). In addition, findings on the impact of social media content suggest that the principle of co-presence is essential to understand the influence of digital media use (Basso et al., 2019). Being aware of the presence of other human beings in the immediate environment affects the emotional
responses of internet users (Biocca et al., 2003). Interestingly, digital media studies mention the importance of telepresence, due to its key role in predicting emotional experiences while consuming online media content (Barreda et al., 2020). Digital media users tend to
experience telepresence (i.e. awareness of being imaginably located in a digital environment) and it appears to significantly enhance emotional elicitation (Lim & Childs, 2020). However, still, too little is known about the effects of specifically online guided meditation use and its potential mediators. Studying this new type of digital media content may reveal whether the use of online guided meditation induces self-transcendent emotions and whether digital embedding contributes to enhancement of the effect. Therefore, this study contains the following research question: Does the use of online guided meditation influence the experiencing of self-transcendent emotions?
Theoretical background Online guided meditation
To understand the concept of online guided meditation, it is important to compare its characteristics with those of offline guided meditation. The online version of guided
meditation reveals several key elements that are both different and similar to the traditional model. First of all, the actual meditation exercises remain the same whether online or offline
guided mediation is used. Guided meditation is a type of meditation, which originally is described as a process where one or more participants meditate in response to verbal instructions from the advanced practitioner or teacher (Sedlmeier et al., 2012). The guide talks the meditator through a process, in which the ability to focus on a single object is trained (Basso et al., 2019). Usually, breathing is used as a centre piece that enables one to disengage from thoughts, emotions, or other cognitive mechanisms (Sedlmeier et al., 2012). The guide provides support while meditating by reading a script out loud that is developed to make the meditator aware of their breathing, and provides visualization exercises about life events (e.g. love, grief, anxiety) (Sedlmeier et al., 2012). Especially for beginners, guided meditation is a good way to start practising meditation and meditators report that their attitude towards meditating is more positive when having a teacher guiding them through the process (Keune & Forintos, 2010). For example, while you're distracted or losing focus on your breathing, reminders of the instructor helps the meditator to let go of distracting thoughts and bring back the awareness of the breathing (Hanley & Garland, 2019). A
meditation teacher often helps extending the duration and intensity of the practice (Keune & Forintos, 2010). Moreover, online and offline mentors promote the same goal: to easily maintain the awareness on the breathing, while letting go of cognitive distractions (Hanley & Garland, 2019). By doing so, meditators are able to reach a higher level of awareness that makes it easier to respond more calmly and peacefully to life events (Hanley & Garland, 2019). Therefore, the content characteristics of online and offline guided meditation are similar.
Secondly, the guide’s voice in online guided meditation is digitally-mediated. Traditionally, the guidance of offline guided meditation includes either face-to-face communication or paper written text (Piron, 2001). The significant difference between offline- and online guided meditation is the translation of natural sounds into audio
recordings and the addition of video display (Buie & Blythe, 2013). For example, the guiding voice in online guided meditation is translated into sound recordings, videos, or audio-visual media (Buie & Blythe, 2013). By recording natural sounds into electronic audio, the content may stay the same, although the sound quality evolves: background noises can be reduced to generate maximum concentration on the relevant audio and/or voice (Buie & Blythe, 2013). When it comes to the addition of a visual display (i.e. online guided meditation YouTube videos), this is often featured as pictures of beaches, sunsets, clouds, Buddhas, lights, star fields, waterfalls, dolphins, bowls or mandalas (Buie & Blythe, 2013). This additional display is a significant difference in content characteristics when comparing online and offline guided meditation. However, meditation is supposed to be practiced with closed eyes, therefore, these visual displays are not closely watched and are not considered a potential influence on the outcomes of online guided meditation practices (Buie & Blythe, 2013). In short, the content of the online guided meditation remains the same, the sound is digitally-mediated and the added visuals are not making a substantial difference.
Finally, the integration of guided meditation content into digital media is a key element of online guided meditation. Digitally-mediated media refers to a technological setting where communication between individuals or consumption of content occurs via a computer, mobile phone, or similar electronic device (Carter & Asencio, 2019). For instance, guided meditation content can be found on YouTube, Spotify and other social media apps. The traditional content is, therefore, embedded in not only a different context but also in different digital media platforms. Studies indicate that digital media users experience an increased mobility and flexibility, due to the possibility of online streaming (Flett et al., 2019). Online guided meditation users also experience the same flexibility, due to the digital embedding (Carter & Asencio, 2019). In addition, digital media gives the user the ability to regulate preferences (Flett et al., 2019). The user is free to choose the location and time of the
practice and the digital media landscape makes it possible for everyone with an internet-connected device to upload or watch guided meditation videos and/or audio files. Moreover, the digital sphere also makes it possible to adjust the volume of the audio and brightness of the screen to one’s preference in order to create the perfect meditation practise environment (Carter & Asencio, 2019). In short, online guided meditation obtains similar content
characteristics, yet the digital embedding provides new possibilities, such as the opportunity to practice without physical requirements, but with flexibility of the experience (e.g. audio
and/or visual) and mobility of time and place (Carter & Asencio, 2019). Self-transcendent emotions
Admiration, awe, gratitude, hope, elevation, inspiration, joy, love, pride, and serenity are indicated as positive emotional outcomes of practicing guided meditation (Fredrickson et al., 2017; Fredrickson et al., 2008; Hofmann et al., 2011; Kang, 2019; Keune & Forintos, 2010). Some of these emotions are conceptualized as self-transcendent emotions (i.e. gratitude, admiration, awe and elevation) and differ from other positive emotions in a way that they are not predominantly self-serving (Van Cappellen et al., 2013). Self-transcendent emotions are distinguished by the enhanced motivation to embrace pro-social behaviour (Van Cappellen et al., 2013; Yaden et al., 2016). Experiencing self-transcendent emotions is
recommended, acknowledged as pleasant and considered to be important, due to contributing to psychological well-being, human flourishing, social engagement and happiness (Oliver et al., 2018). Recent research suggests that self-transcendent emotions are not only induced when practicing guided meditation but also when consuming digital media, for instance, reality tv-shows (Tsay-Vogel & Krakowiak, 2016), films (Janicke & Ramasubramanian, 2017), music (Ji et al., 2019), and social media posts (Rieger & Klimmt, 2019a, 2019b; Zhaoa & Dale, 2019). Therefore, this study argues whether guided meditation content
Gratitude
Gratitude is claimed to be a self-transcendent emotion, which includes a feeling of appreciation or kindness (Fredrickson et al., 2017; Fredrickson et al., 2008; Hofmann et al., 2011; Kang, 2019; Keune & Forintos, 2010). The emotion has a wider social purpose: cultivating interactions with others befitting the desires and wishes of the receiver (Algoe & Haidt, 2009). Online guided meditation is an elicitor of this emotion, because the guiding voice will stimulate the meditator to feel a sense of connection with other individuals (Hanley & Garland, 2019). Online guided meditation contains content characteristics, such as a vocal guide incorporating visualizations to picture specific human interaction scenarios to be thankful for (Kang, 2019). The guided meditation exercise creates awareness of all one’s relationships and stimulates one to feel a sense of gratitude for their loved ones and to be alive in general (Hanley & Garland, 2019).
Awe
Awe is described as a feeling of being overwhelmed by witnessing great power (Algoe & Haidt, 2009). It may appear in circumstances both naturally (e.g. watching a massive storm) and socially (e.g. being in the presence of an authority) (Hanley & Garland, 2019). The content characteristics of online guided meditation are an elicitor of awe, because the exercises can introduce the act to visualizing situations that induce a powerful feeling, for example an encounter with a national leader (Hanley & Garland, 2019). These imaginations make us feel overwhelmed, because we become aware of their power (Algoe & Haidt, 2009). An online guided meditation provides the practitioner with visualization exercises to feel overwhelmed by the imaginable power of the other and becoming aware of the impact of power (Janicke & Ramasubramanian, 2017). These practices evoke being aware of external power and induce the experience of awe (Algoe & Haidt, 2009).
Admiration
Admiration is a feeling that is triggered when people see an extraordinary display of skill, talent, or achievement (Algoe & Haidt, 2009) Online guided meditation content is an elicitor of this self-transcendent emotion, due to the practice of analysing a person that you admire, which increases the awareness of your own desired goals and achievements
(Fredrickson et al., 2017; Fredrickson et al., 2008). For example, an exercise of online guided meditation can help the meditator experience clarity of one’s purposes, by focussing on breathing and gaining space in the mind to become aware of underlying desires (Fredrickson et al., 2017). Picturing yourself in future settings to reach your desired purpose may stimulate to feel proud of achievements and enhance the sense of admiration for own potential abilities (Kang, 2019).
Elevation
Elevation is considered a self-transcendent emotion and described as a distinctive physical feeling of opening in the chest, combined with the feeling of being uplifted (Algoe & Haidt, 2009). It is described by participants as a feeling of warmth and expansion that is accompanied by appreciation and affection (Algoe & Haidt, 2009). Practicing online guided meditation is most likely an elicitor of this emotion. Hanley and Garland (2019) claim that the content characteristics of offline guided meditation induce the experience of elevation. The authors argue that the guiding voice helps the meditator to reach a higher level of awareness that allows you to detach yourself from physical and cognitive sensations. By rising to a higher level of awareness, a certain uplifting feeling can be experienced, such as elevating to an upper level of self-awareness (Algoe & Haidt, 2009). The awareness is expended from an individual, to social-, or even to a universal level of awareness, and elicits uplifting positive emotions or feelings (Hanley & Garland, 2019). Since the content
elevation will be induced by the consumption of online guided meditation.
Duration of guided meditation practice
Research reveals that the duration of guided meditation practices relates to the elicitation of emotional experiences (Fredrickson et al., 2017; Fredrickson et al., 2008; Hofmann et al., 2011; Kang, 2019; Philipp & Forintos, 2010). A meditator experiences positive emotions more strongly when practicing meditation for longer periods of time
compared to their usual duration (Fredrickson et al., 2017). According to Philipp and Forintos (2010), most meditators practice no longer than two hours and it is proven that within this time of practice self-transcendent emotions are induced. It is unclear whether the variation of practice time increases or decreases the intensity of emotional experiences. However, those who meditate at least ten minutes per practice report a broader range of experienced positive emotions in comparison to shorter meditation practices (Kang, 2019). As mentioned before, the content characteristics of guided meditation are considered the same when digitally-mediated. Therefore, gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation are assumed to be elicited when consuming online guided meditation in the same process as in practising traditional guided meditation. The following hypotheses were established: H1= The longer adults use online guided meditation, the more they experience (a) gratitude, (b) awe, (c) admiration, (d)
elevation.
Digitally-mediated variables
Digital embedded characteristics expose new variables within the relationship of digital media use and emotional experiences (Carter & Asencio, 2019). This study argues that perceived autonomy, co-presence and telepresence function as mediators on the experience of self-transcendent emotions when using online guided meditation.
Perceived autonomy
individual believes his or her actions are based on free will, without external influences. According to the self-determination theory, which is a general theory of human behaviour, people need to perceive a feeling of autonomy to actively engage with media consumption (Deci & Ryan, 2002). When individuals believe that their choices depend entirely on their self-determination, they feel psychologically free and are intrinsically motivated to continue consuming the media that provides this experience (Deci & Ryan, 2002). The theory also applies to digital media use and points out that especially social media use increases the feeling of autonomy, due to having freedom of expression in several ways (Demircioglu & Chen, 2019; Valkenburg & Peter, 2013). Online guided meditation media provides a similar feeling of autonomy, due to it giving the freedom of practicing guided meditation at any time and any place (Demircioglu & Chen, 2019). Therefore, the longer online guided meditation media is used, the more consumers become aware of their autonomy while using this type of digital media (Demircioglu & Chen, 2019). With this in mind, the following hypothesis was established: H2= The duration of online guided meditation increases the experience of perceived autonomy.
Furthermore, online guided meditation can provide an experience of perceived autonomy, which influences the outcomes of the practice. ASMR studies describe
technologically-mediated intimacy when consuming digital media content (Fredborg et al., 2018; Smith & Snider, 2019). These studies discovered that this new form of intimacy may function as a mediator on the emotional outcomes of digital affective media (e.g. ASMR and online guided meditation). Within the conceptualized intimacy, perceived autonomy is one of the sources that stimulates the experience of intimacy with digital media content (Fredborg, Clark, & Smith, 2018). The degree of perceived autonomy created by online media content, can further improve feelings of privacy, comfort, and support which aid in one’s ability to disclose emotions (Smith & Snider, 2019). The experience of perceived autonomy while
using online guided meditation can, therefore, influence the emotional experiences. The following hypotheses were formulated and an indirect effect with the degree of perceived autonomy as a mediator on the relationship between the duration of online guided meditation use and the experience of self-transcendent emotions is expected: H3= The experience of perceived autonomy while using online guided meditation increases the experience of (a)
gratitude, (b) awe, (c) admiration, (d) elevation.
Co-presence
Digital media has given us the mobility and flexibility to consume and practice meditation when and where we want. Studies implement the importance of meditating at a place where the meditator has the possibility to eliminate social interaction (Basso et al., 2019; Flett et al., 2019). It is important to be able to minimize the sound of background conversations and people’s movements while meditating, as these can negatively influence the positive outcomes of a practice (Bargh & McKenna, 2004). Online guided meditation has the ability to control the meditation experience by simply clicking the ‘pause’ button when disturbed or connecting earplugs/headphones to decrease the volume of background sounds (Flett et al., 2019). Studies claim that the control over the experience of co-presence (i.e. the degree of being aware of your presence with others and others being aware of your presence) while meditating is preferable and one of the most reported motives to consume digital media (Bargh & McKenna, 2004; Biocca et al., 2003). Some meditators enjoy the presence of a verbal guide, they refer to it as a distant voice that keeps you on the right track and reminds you to not get distracted by ongoing thoughts (Basso et al., 2019). Whenever a meditator does get distracted, the guide can kindly bring your attention back to your breathing again (Basso et al., 2019). The duration of a guided meditation practice does influence the experience of co-presence (Bargh & McKenna, 2004). The longer a meditator practices with an online guide, the more he/she experiences the presence of the instructor and becomes aware of their
ability to monitor the co-presence experience by opening or closing the eyes to view the instructor physically displayed and adjusting the volume to bring more focus to the voice (Bargh & McKenna, 2004). Therefore, the following hypothesis was formulated: H4= The duration of online guided meditation increases the experience of co-presence.
However, it might also not be preferable to experience co-presence when practicing meditation. Some meditators found it difficult to achieve a higher level of awareness, when the elimination of co-presence is not possible (Basso et al., 2019). The lack of co-presence makes it possible to engage more strongly in meditation practices and increases the likelihood that emotional experiences will be deepened and disclosed (Smith & Snider, 2019).
Therefore, the degree of co-presence while using online guided meditation influences
emotional experiences. The following hypotheses were formulated and an indirect effect with the experience of co-presence to be a mediator on the effect of the duration of online guided meditation use and the experience of self-transcendent emotions is expected: H5= The experience of co-presence while using online guided meditation decreases the experience of (a) gratitude, (b) awe, (c) admiration, (d) elevation.
Telepresence
The guide’s instructions of online guided meditation helps the meditator through visualizations and stimulates them to be present in an imaginable situation, event or condition (Leary et al., 2008). For example, an exercise could be to picture the idea of lying down by a river and letting go of particular thoughts to be washed away by the water (Leary et al., 2008; Sliwinski, et al., 2017). The degree of feeling physically located or being imaginably located in the digital mediated environment, is called telepresence (Jeandrain, 2001; Jung, 2011). Previous studies suggest that a longer meditation practice will give the meditator more time to engage within the visualisation and increase the feeling of being present in the mediated
world (Bargh & McKenna, 2004). Therefore, the following hypothesis was formulated: H6= The duration of online guided meditation increases the experience of telepresence.
Prior findings suggest that a stronger telepresence experience leads to more intense emotional experiences (Jung, 2011). For example, the experience of telepresence enhances digitally-mediated intimacy that stimulates emotional disclosure (Smith & Snider, 2019). Online guided meditation creates the ability to use headphones/earplugs to eliminate
background noises and turn the volume up to increase the engagement with the guided voice (Sliwinski, et al., 2017). Thus, when the duration of online guided meditation use increases, more time is spent to transport to an imaginably world and experiences emotions as if the situation was real. In other words, online guided meditation provides the opportunity to experience telepresence and allows meditators to be aware of imaginable sensations and open up to their own internal emotional experiences. An indirect effect with the experience of telepresence as mediator on the relationship of online guided meditation use and the experience of self-transcendent emotions is expected. The following hypotheses were established: H7= The experience of telepresence while using online guided meditation
increases the experience of (a) gratitude, (b) awe, (c) admiration, (d) elevation. Please find all hypotheses illustrated in Figure 1.
Method Sample and Design
A cross-sectional online survey with convenience sampling was conducted over 263 participants. The research design is chosen to achieve a sample size in a relatively fast and inexpensive way (Bryman, 2008). The questionnaire was established in Qualtrics and distributed via a link that was shared on online social media platforms (e.g. Facebook). In order to recruit people using online guided meditation, it was necessary to reach potential participants on social network sites associated with online guided meditation. The survey link was, therefore, posted on Facebook groups (e.g. Everybody Headspace or Meditation & Mindfulness) or sent via personal messages on WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook to people who followed and/or liked pages, groups, accounts that were associated with online guided meditation. Participants opened, on a voluntary basis, the link to the questionnaire, which led them first to an informed consent, through which they were specifically informed of their anonymity, security and confidentiality of their given answers. The first question would appear unless the participants decided to not agree with the informed consent. Following questions were asked about demographic characteristics, whether participants ever used online guided meditation, the duration of their consumption, the experience of perceived autonomy, co-presence and telepresence while using online guided meditation and the
experience of self-transcendent emotions. In the end, they would be thanked for participating, see Appendix A for the full questionnaire.
The collected data was analysed in SPSS version 24. After filtering out incomplete entries and participants who had never used online guided meditation, 168 responses
remained. Participants were on average 35 years old (M= 34.99, SD= 12.09, 74.5% female), hold a university degree (58.5%) and indicated to be fulltime employed (35.6%) or work as freelancers (26.6%). The majority of participants were from the Netherlands (33.2%),
followed by Argentina (9.8%), whereas the remaining participants showed a diverse range of nationalities. YouTube (12.7%) and the Headspace App (9.7%) are used the most among the participants to practice online guided meditation with.
Measurements
Duration of online guided meditation use
According to Philipp and Forintos (2010), most meditators practice no longer than two hours and other study results claim that the experience of positive emotions, including self-transcendent emotions, are more likely to be induced within this timeframe of practice (Fredrickson et al., 2017; Fredrickson et al., 2008; Hofmann et al., 2011; Kang, 2019). Therefore, participants were able to indicate their average online guided meditation practice between 1 and 120 minutes. The variable is measured with the item “When I use online guided meditation, I meditate for...” (see Appendix A). The responses could be indicated on an interval scale from 1-120 minutes (M = 24.28, SD = 6.30).
Self-transcendent emotions
Participants could indicate to what extent they experience gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation, while using online guided meditation on a 7-point Likert scale (1= strongly agree to 7= strongly disagree). Each self-transcendent emotion was given a descriptive definition, in order for participants to acknowledge the same identification of the emotion. Definitions were composed based on significant measurements in previous studies. The used explanations for all emotions and reference are noted in Table 1. The emotions gratitude (M=5.78, SD= 1.16), awe (M=3.77, SD= 1.50), admiration (M=4.10, SD= 1.61) and elevation (M=5.23, SD= 1.29), were measured with one item “When using online guided meditation, I experience..” (see Appendix A).
Table 1. Given definitions of self-transcendent emotions
Definition Reference
Gratitude Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation felt by and/or similar positive response shown by the recipient of kindness.
Alkozei et al. (2019)
Awe Awe is an emotion comparable to wonder but less joyous and seen as a combination of surprise and fear.
Bethelmy & Corraliza (2019)
Admiration Admiration is a social emotion felt by observing people of competence, talent, or skill exceeding standards
Trivedi & Sama (2020)
Elevation Elevation is an emotion distinct as a feeling of warmth and expansion that is accompanied by appreciation and affection.
Klebl et al. (2020)
Perceived autonomy
The self-determination scale from Sheldon et al. (1996) is used to measure perceived autonomy with 5-items. The computed scale is mostly used to measure the experience of perceived autonomy with face-to-face events, yet multiple studies show the sufficiency of the scale to measure the concept with consumption of digital media (Granow et al., 2018;
Johnson et al., 2020; Li & Wang, 2018;). The items were modified to match the current study context by including online guided meditation media as an additional situational factor. For example: “When using online guided meditation, I feel free to choose when to meditate” (see Appendix A). All items were measured on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). A factor analysis showed that the five items form a single uni-dimensional scale where perceived autonomy was measured to have one component with an eigenvalue greater than one, see Table 2 for all statistical information. All items correlate positively with the component (all factor loading between .73 and .75) with item “I have control over my meditation experience” (factor loading .54) as an exception. The items were analysed for scale reliability and resulted in a reasonably reliable scale.
Co-presence
The items developed by Slater et al. (2000) are used to measure co-presence and chosen due to their proven significance to measure co-presence in digital environments (Li & Wang, 2018). The items are modified by including online guided meditation instead of social media as context, for instance, “When using online guided meditation, I am aware of other people's presence”. All items were measured on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Furthermore, a factor analysis was run on the five items measuring co-presence and resulted in one component with an eigenvalue higher than one, see Table 2 for all statistical information. All items correlate positively with the
component (all factor loading between .54 and .83). The scale proved reasonably reliable.
Telepresence
The Telepresence Instrument (Kim & Biocca, 1997) is used to establish 5-items to measure telepresence and mostly used for within virtual mediated environments. Online guided meditation content is proven to be similar to the same digital environments as which the scale is used to measure telepresence (Buie & Blythe, 2013; Smith & Snider, 2019). The items were modified to match the current study by adding online guided meditation instead of a virtual environment, such as: “When using online guided meditation, I feel I forget about my immediate surroundings”. All items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Ultimately, a factor analysis was run on the five items that measured telepresence and resulted in one component with an eigenvalue higher than one, see Table 2 for all statistical information. The items correlate positively with the component (factor loadings between .68 and .78) with item "I can travel to another world" as an exception (factor loading .48). The items resulted in a reasonably reliable scale.
Table 2. Scale results for all mediator variables.
M SD EV Variance (%) Cronbach’s α Perceived autonomy 5.40 .96 2.44 48.75 .73 Co-presence 3.22 1.20 2.48 49.59 .73 Telepresence 4.36 1.00 2.49 49.74 .74 Note. N = 168. All variables are measured on a scale from 1 to 7.
Control variables
In the present study, various control variables have been taken into account when analysing the effect of the duration of online guided meditation usage on the experience of self-transcendent emotions. Participants were asked to indicate their age, gender, nationality, education level and current employment status. The demographic variables were measured, due to be proven significant in previous research results (Dale et al., 2018). For example, age influences the frequency of meditating, females seem to practice more meditation and
cultural background predicts the usage of online meditation (Dale et al., 2018; Janicke & Ramasubramanian, 2017). In addition, education level predicts the awareness of the benefits of meditating, and full-time employment appears to be a reason to practice meditation to reduce stress (Charoensukmongkol, 2016).
Results Multiple regression model
In order to test H1: “The longer adults use digitally-mediated guided meditation, the more they experience (a) gratitude, (b) awe, (c) admiration, (d) elevation”, multiple
regression analyses were carried out. The regression models1 with the duration of online guided meditation, age and gender as independent variables and the experience of awe, F (3,
1 The residues in all models seem to be normally distributed and show heteroskedasticity, although the cloud sinks to the right which means the prediction is a bit too high. All VIF values were lower than 10, therefore, multicollinearity was not a concern.
164) = 1.76, p = .156, and admiration, F (3, 164) = 1.24, p = .296, as dependent variables were not significant. Yet, the regression model with the experience of gratitude, F (3,164) = 7.03, p < .001, and elevation, F (3, 164) = 3.04, p = .03, as dependent variables are significant see Table 3 for all test results.
Table 3. Multiple regression model of the duration of online guided meditation, self-transcendent emotions and control variables (H1abcd).
Note. N = 168. * p < .05 and ** p< .01 (two-tailed)
The model explains for 11% of the variance in the experience of gratitude (R2 = .11) and 5% of the variance in the experience of elevation (R2 = .05). The duration of online guided meditation has an insignificant weak effect on the experience of gratitude (t = .75, p = .456), awe (t = .36, p = .721), admiration (t = 1.29, p = .200) and elevation (t = .25, p = .800). According to the results, women do experience gratitude and elevation significantly more than men, while using online guided meditation. Age does not significantly affect the experience of self-transcendent emotions while consuming online guided meditation. Nationality was not tested as a control variable, due to the large variety in results, which made it irrelevant to consider the variable as a significant influencer. Additionally, the control variables employment and education were not analysed in the regression model, yet an
Gratitude Awe Admiration Elevation
b t b* (SE) b (SE) t b* b (SE) t b* b t b* (SE) Duration of online guided meditation .01 .75 .06 (.01) .01 .02 .36 .03 1.29 .10 (.02) (.02) .00 .25 .02 (.02) Age .01 1.62 .12 (.01) -.02 -1.77 -.14 -.02 -1.37 -.11 .01 1.46 .11 (.01) (.01) (.01) Gender .73 3.89** .29 (.19) .41 1.61 .13 -.03 -.12 -.01 .51 2.37* .18 (.25) (.28) (.22)
ANOVA test was run and showed insignificant differences in the results. In short, the positive relationship between the duration of online guided meditation and the experience of
gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation, as predicted in hypotheses 1a,b,c,d, are rejected. Mediation model perceived autonomy
Moreover, multiple regression analyses on process model 4 were carried out to test H2 = “The duration of online guided meditation increases the experience of perceived autonomy” and H3= “The experience of perceived autonomy while using online guided meditation increases the experience of (a) gratitude, (b) awe, (c) admiration, (d) elevation”. The regression model with the duration of online guided meditation as independent and the experience of perceived autonomy as dependent was not significant2, see Table 4 for all test results. The regression models with perceived autonomy as independent variable and
gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation as dependent variables are significant, see Footnote 1. The model explains for 11% of the variance in the experience of gratitude, 15% of the variance in the experience of awe, 9% of the variance in the experience of admiration and 26% of the variance in the experience of elevation. The effect of duration of online guided meditation on perceived autonomy and the effect of perceived autonomy on gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation are weak and not significant. The indirect effects were computed for each of 10,000 bootstrapped samples and showed to be insignificant, see Table 4.
Therefore, the positive effect of the duration of online guided meditation on the experience of gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation, is not mediated by the experience of perceived autonomy and are hypotheses 2 and 3a,b,c,d rejected.
2 The control variables haven’t been taken into account in the mediation models, due to insignificant results in previous regression models (see Table 3) and the variables are assumed to be held constant in all other mediation models.
Table 4. The mediation model of the duration of online guided meditation, perceived autonomy and self-transcendence emotions (H2 + H3abcd).
Note. N = 168. All indirect effects had the same bootstrap samples and test results were not significant.
Mediation model co-presence
Furthermore, multiple regression analyses on process model 4 were carried out to test H4= “The duration of online guided meditation increases the experience of co-presence” and H5= “The experience of co-presence while using online guided meditation decreases the experience of (a) gratitude, (b) awe, (c) admiration, (d) elevation”. The regression model with the duration of online guided meditation as an independent and the experience of co-presence as dependent is not significant, see Table 5 for all test results and Footnote 2. The regression models with co-presence as independent variable and gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation as dependent variables are significant, see Footnote 1. The model explains for 11% of the variance in the experience of gratitude, 15% of the variance in the experience of awe, 9% of the variance in the experience of admiration and 26% of the variance in the experience of elevation. The effect of duration of online guided meditation on co-presence
XM MY b CI t p b* F df p R2 Duration of online guided meditation Perceived autonomy .02 -.01, .04 1.37 .174 .12 1.87 1, 166 .174 .00 Perceived autonomy Gratitude .17 -.01, .35 1.84 .067 .09 5.21 4, 163 .001 .11 Awe .11 -.12, .34 .94 .347 .12 7.08 4, 163 .000 .15 Admiration .15 -.10, .41 1.17 .059 .13 3.85 4, 163 .005 .09 Elevation .18 -.01, .36 1.92 .057 .09 14.53 4, 163 .000 .26 Indirect effect .00 -.00, .01
and the effect of co-presence on gratitude, admiration and elevation are weak and not significant. Remarkably, the experience of co-presence has a significant positive weak effect on the experience of awe. For each additional point on the scale of co-presence the
experience of awe increases by .33, when the duration of guided meditation is held constant. Lastly, the indirect effects on the same bootstrapped samples showed to be insignificant, see Table 5. Thus, the positive effect of the duration of online guided meditation on the
experience of gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation, is not mediated by the experience of co-presence. The hypotheses 4 and 5a,c,d are rejected, however, hypothesis 5b is accepted.
Table 5. The mediation model of the duration of online guided meditation, co-presence and self-transcendence emotions (H4 + H5abcd).
Note. N = 168. All indirect effects had the same bootstrap samples and test results were not significant.
Mediation model telepresence
Finally, multiple regression analyses on process model 4 were carried out to test H6= “The duration of online guided meditation increases the experience of telepresence” and H7= “The experience of telepresence while using online guided meditation increases the
XM
MY b CI t p b* F df p R2 Duration of online
guided meditation use
Co-presence -.02 -.05, .01 -1.18 .241 .01 1.38 1, 166 .241 .01 Co-presence Gratitude .01 -.13, .15 .09 .928 .07 5.21 4, 163 .001 .11 Awe .33 .15, .51 3.63 .000 .09 7.08 4, 163 .000 .15 Admiration .19 -.01, .40 1.90 .059 .10 3.85 4, 163 .005 .09 Elevation .13 -.01, .28 1.86 .065 .07 14.53 4, 163 .000 .26 Indirect effect .00 -.01, .00
experience of (a) gratitude, (b) awe, (c) admiration, (d) elevation”. The regression model with the duration of online guided meditation as an independent and the experience of telepresence as dependent is not significant, see Table 6 for all test results and Footnote 2.
Table 6. The mediation model of the duration of online guided meditation, telepresence and self-transcendence emotions (H6 + H7abcd).
Note. N = 168. All indirect effects had the same bootstrap samples and test results were not significant.
The regression models with telepresence as independent variable and gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation as dependent variables are significant, see Footnote 1. The model explains for 11% of the variance in the experience of gratitude, 15% of the variance in the experience of awe, 9% of the variance in the experience of admiration and 26% of the
variance in the experience of elevation. The effect of duration of online guided meditation on telepresence is considered not existing and not significant. Notably, the effect of telepresence on gratitude, awe, and admiration are significantly weak and significantly moderate on elevation. For each additional point on the scale of telepresence the experience of gratitude increases by .32, awe increases by .33, admiration increases by .30 and elevation increases by
XM
MY b CI t p b* F df p R2 Duration of online
guided meditation use
Telepresence .00 -.02, .02 .00 1.000 .01 .00 1, 166 1.000 .00 Telepresence Gratitude .32 .15, .50 3.69 .000 .09 5.21 4, 163 .000 .11 Awe .33 .12, .55 3.05 .003 .11 7.08 4, 163 .000 .15 Admiration .30 .06, .55 2.43 .016 .12 3.85 4, 163 .005 .09 Elevation .57 .39, .74 6.47 .000 .18 14.53 4, 163 .000 .26 Indirect effect .01 -.01, .01
.57, when the duration of guided meditation is held constant. Lastly, the indirect effects on the same bootstrapped samples showed to be insignificant, see Table 6. Concluding, the positive effect of the duration of online guided meditation on the experience of gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation, is not mediated by the experience of telepresence. The hypothesis 6 is rejected, however, hypotheses 7abcd are accepted.
Conclusion and Discussion
The aim of this study was to examine a potential relationship between online guided meditation use and the experience of self-transcendence emotions. The self-transcendent emotions gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation are proven to be induced when practicing traditional offline guided meditation. Experiencing one or more of these emotions is strongly encouraged as it contributes to the well-being of the practitioners (Fredrickson et al., 2017; Frederickson et al., 2008; Hofmann et al., 2011; Kang, 2019; Philipp & Forintos, 2010). The positive impact of practicing guided meditation has not yet been examined among digitally embedded guided meditation content. The present study is the first to look at the impact of online guided meditation use on the experience of self-transcendent emotions. Specific mediators, such as perceived autonomy, co-presence and telepresence, have been taken into account to examine whether the embedding of guided meditation into digital media has influence. Results showed no significant relationship between online guided meditation use and the experience of gratitude, awe, admiration or elevation. Thus, this study was not able to proof that online guided meditation influences the experience of self-transcendent emotions.
Tested hypotheses elaborated on the main outcome of the study by revealing that the duration of online guided meditation is not a significant predictor of the experience of gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation. One possible explanation for this could be that the impact of the length of a guided mediation practice is limited when only measured for a
single online guided meditation session (Piron, 2001). Research shows that increasing the frequency of practicing meditation enables intensive emotional experiences (Berkovich-Ohana & Glicksohn, 2017). Self-transcendent emotions are defined as more intensive
emotions and are less likely to be induced by one-time media consumption experiences (Ji et al., 2019). Therefore, the period of time in which individuals practice meditation and the frequency of practicing mediation may be more important determinants than the duration of a single meditation session (Oliver et al., 2018). Further research would benefit from
measuring the frequency of meditation practices as an additional independent variable, in order to examine whether this results in significant effects on the experience of self-transcendent emotions when consuming online guided meditation media.
Furthermore, perceived autonomy is claimed to be a mediator on the effects of
digitally- mediated content (Fredborg et al., 2018; Smith & Snider, 2019), although this study found no significant results to support the claim. Moreover, the degree of experienced
perceived autonomy while using online guided meditation does not significantly increase or decrease the experience of self-transcendent emotions. Thus, the experience of perceived autonomy does not mediate the relationship of online guided meditation use and the experience of gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation. Possible explanations for this insignificant result could be that the marginal effect of the duration of a single meditation practice is made insignificant by the effect of having certain personality traits (Janicke, et al., 2018). Digital media users, who have traits of a confident person, are more likely to
experience perceived autonomy in comparison to users who do not describe themselves as a confident person (Janicke, et al., 2018). The personality effect may have been more
prominent with online guided meditation users due to certain characteristics (i.e. need for involvement, emphatic concern and universality) that act as predictors of the experience of self-transcendent emotions while consuming digital media (Janicke, et al., 2018). Further
research should focus on the effect of personality traits on the relationship between consuming online guided meditation, the experience of perceived autonomy and the experience of self-transcendent emotions.
Similarly, the experience of co-presence was expected to be a mediator, as previous studies revealed that the experience of co-presence had an impact on the overall practice of guided meditation (Basso et al., 2019; Smith & Snider, 2019). The present study shows the effect of the duration of online guided meditation use on the experience of co-presence, to be insignificant. However, the effect of the experience of co-presence on the experience of self-transcendent emotions, was only significant for the emotion awe. A possible explanation for this could be the influence of the guide’s presence, that may be interpreted as a powerful figure (Alsharekh, 2016; Bulu, 2012). The guide can be seen as a teacher or advanced practitioner, who gains respect from the users (Bulu, 2012). Teachers displayed on digital media who are perceived as powerful figures, tend to increase the feeling of authority from its users (Alsharekh, 2016). The feeling of being accompanied by a powerful guide, although not physically, increases the experience of awe (Bulu, 2012). This offers an explanation as to why only the emotion awe was significantly predicted by the experience of co-presence.
In this study, the experience of telepresence has shown itself to be an insignificant mediator, although it seems to be a significant predictor of the experience of self-transcendent emotions. Moreover, online guided meditation use does not influence the experience of telepresence. However, the degree of telepresence does increase the experience of gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation. These results can be clarified by the significant impact of telepresence on the intensity of emotional experiences (Pelet et al., 2017). The degree of telepresence does indicate to what extent digital media users emotionally engage with the content (Wirth et al., 2012). Research reveals that digital media content, which stimulates
users to feel physically present within imagined scenarios, are more likely to experience telepresence and experience more intensive emotions (Pelet et al., 2017; Wirth et al., 2012).
Limitations and future research
An issue this study faced early on was the operationalization of the term online guided meditation media. Previous studies did not look sufficiently at this particular media content. Therefore, the theoretical background of this concept is not comprehensive enough to generalize the findings to all online guided meditation content. Present research considered all digital content with vocal meditation instructions as online guided meditation media. However, there could be a significant difference between guided meditation content
embedded in different types of digital media. Online guided meditation content embedded in YouTube for example, provides a platform for social interaction (Shah et al., 2020). The degree of co-presence when consuming YouTube, Facebook or Instagram content is higher compared to other social media, such as Spotify, due to the possibility to live-stream and to communicate live online with other users (Shah et al., 2020). These social media platforms provide guided meditation exercises in which thousands of other users can comment on the lessons (Filter et al., 2020). Therefore, the experience of using online guided meditation on YouTube, Facebook and/or Instagram can be significantly different to guided meditation content on Spotify. Moreover, the use of apps instead of social media platforms, increases the degree of perceived autonomy more significantly (Huberty et al., 2019). Most apps are programmed to provide personal feedback on the users’ exercises, by analysing answered questions to measure progress (Bhalla, 2019; Huberty et al., 2019). Therefore, the use of guided meditation apps may be a greater influence on the experience of perceived autonomy and possibly the experience of self-transcendent emotions.
guided meditation media, by conducting content analyses on online guided meditation media and defining more elaborated content characteristics. For example, the guide’s intonation or gender influences the degree of emotional involvement (Reinikainen et al., 2020). Research reveals that emotional experiences are intensified when the likability of the person in the content is high (Reinikainen et al., 2020). The variation of the guide’s characteristics may reveal more potential elicitors of gratitude, awe, admiration and elevation. With the growing popularity of online guided meditation use, it is important that scientific literature actively keeps investigating new digital media. Even though, the findings did not prove to be of significance in regards to online guided meditation use, self-transcendent emotions and digital mediators, this research still provides interesting insights for future research to elaborate on. Future research should look into the possible explanation of the influence of popular digital media and should try to clarify whether the consumption of online guided mediation induces self-transcendence emotions. Lastly, researchers should also investigate whether the usage of online guided meditation relates to human well-being. With significant results, the consumption of online guided meditation might be stated as beneficial and enables the possibility to prescribe online guided meditation use by health institutions to promote mental well-being on a societal level.
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Appendix A Questionnaire
Dear participant,
In this study we are interested in the possible effects of using guided meditation via digital media and the experience of self-transcendent emotions. Please fill in the survey if you have practised meditation at least once in your life. The survey will take about 5 minutes.
As this research is being carried out under the responsibility of the ASCoR, University of Amsterdam, we can guarantee that:
1) Your anonymity will be safeguarded, and that your personal information will not be passed on to third parties under any conditions, unless you first give your express permission for this.
2) You can refuse to participate in the research or cut short your participation without having to give a reason for doing so. You also have up to 24 hours after participating to withdraw your permission to allow your answers or data to be used in the research.
3) Participating in the research will not entail your being subjected to any appreciable risk or discomfort, the researchers will not deliberately mislead you, and you will not be exposed to any explicitly offensive material.
For more information about the research and the invitation to participate, you are welcome to contact the research leader at "julissa.zwemmer@uva.student.nl" any time. Should you have any complaints or comments about the course of the research and the procedures it involves as a consequence of your participation in this research, you can contact the designated member of the Ethics Committee representing ASCoR, at the following address: ASCoR Secretariat, Ethics Committee, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15793, 1001 NG Amsterdam; 020‐525 3680; ascor‐secr‐fmg@uva.nl. Any complaints or comments will be treated in the strictest confidence. We hope that we have provided you with sufficient information.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your assistance with this research, which we greatly appreciate.
Kind regards,
Julissa Zwemmer
o I agree, fully and voluntarily, to participate in this research study. With this, I retain the right to withdraw my consent, without having to give a reason for doing so. I am aware that I may halt my participation in the experiment at any time.
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What is your age in years? (e.g. 25)
What is your country of origin?
Which gender do you identify with? Male
Female Other
Do not want to disclose
What is your highest achieved level of education? Less than high school
High school graduate College degree
University degree Doctorate degree
What is your current employment situation? Employed fulltime
Employed part time
Unemployed looking for work Freelancer
Retired Disabled
First, we are interested in how much you use online guided meditation.
Online guided meditation is when you practise meditation with verbal instructions from an instructor via digital audio/video media. You can think of guided meditation practises on Spotify, YouTube, Apps (Headspace/Calm) etc.
Have you ever used online guided meditation?
No Yes
Which digital media do you mostly use to practise guided meditation?
When I use online guided meditation, I meditate for...
Now, we are interested in your experiences during online guided meditation. Please indicate to what extent you identify with the statements below
