Front Psychol
July 7, 2022
7 citations
Environmental degradation in the Xochimilco urban wetland near Mexico City is causing farmers to experience despair, helplessness, frustration, anxiety, and stress. Drawing on phenomenology, enactivism, and ecological psychology, the authors argue that the loss of traditional farming-based ways of life limits meaningful interaction with others and the environment, reducing farmers' sense of agency. This negative interplay between ecological decline, affective states, and diminished agency can create a downward spiral of vulnerability, including political vulnerability.
Front Psychol
March 15, 2024
6 citations
Psychedelics can induce mystical-type experiences that often include metaphysical beliefs about reality's fundamental nature, which critics argue are incompatible with naturalism and therefore false. Naturalism is less restrictive than commonly assumed, allowing reality to exceed what science can convey. What mystics call the ultimate nature of reality can be understood as its representation- and observation-independent nature, and such conceptions can be compatible with science. However, showing why mystical claims are true requires addressing how brain processes could afford insight beyond the brain. We can directly know the fundamental nature of our own consciousness, and psychedelics may amplify awareness of what consciousness is in itself beyond conceptual models. Yet it is unclear how mystical experience could access reality beyond individual consciousness. Mystical conceptions may be compatible with naturalism but not verifiable.
Front Psychol
July 3, 2023
6 citations
A ten-week tranquil sitting intervention based on Confucian values of tranquility and reverence improved sleep quality in isolated university students during China's COVID-19 lockdown. In a randomized controlled trial, 35 students in the intervention group practiced the method and had significantly better PSQI scores at post-test and one-month follow-up compared to 35 controls, with moderate to large effect sizes in the middle and late stages. Although the instructor initially challenged the intervention group, sleep quality improved substantially once participants fully mastered the technique. The program emphasizes tranquility and shows promise as a feasible new approach for improving sleep among youths.
Front Psychol
August 11, 2020
6 citations
Two radical embodied cognition frameworks—the enactive approach and the skilled intentionality framework—differ on how they explain the norms guiding action and perception. The skilled intentionality framework sees norms as agents becoming attuned to preestablished ecological frameworks, while the enactive approach sees norms as enacted by agents through sense-making at multiple levels. Both have shortcomings: norm-attunement neglects the temporal, open-ended nature of norms, and norm-enactment fails to recognize that environmental normative frameworks are necessary for norm development. The author proposes an enactive-ecological approach called norm-development, drawing on Merleau-Ponty's concept of spatial levels, where norms are enacted from past interactional histories yet remain open to new configurations.
Front Psychol
October 9, 2024
5 citations
Whether non-human animals possess conscious awareness is a long-debated philosophical question that cannot be settled by direct observation, only inference. This opinion paper critically examines two prominent studies—one claiming sensory consciousness in crows based on neural activity predicting perceptual decisions, and another claiming perceptual awareness in rhesus monkeys based on behavioral responses resembling human conscious and subliminal perception. The author argues that both studies conflate cognition (perception, decision-making, learning) with consciousness (subjective feeling). The crow study cannot distinguish neural correlates of perceptual decision from those of consciousness; the monkey study relies on human subjective reports, creating a circular argument. The author concludes that animal consciousness remains a matter of belief, not scientific validation, advocating an agnostic stance.
Front Psychol
August 21, 2024
5 citations
The article argues that the humanities and social sciences are essential for understanding psychedelic experiences, because these experiences are shaped by context, culture, and personal history—factors often overlooked by biomedical research. It introduces the concept of "anthropotechnics" to analyze how cultural practices and settings influence the outcomes of psychedelic use. The authors contend that integrating humanistic perspectives can provide a more complete picture of how set and setting affect psychedelic experiences, moving beyond purely neurobiological explanations.
Front Psychol
September 8, 2022
5 citations
A meditation workshop led to measurable biological and psychological improvements. Participants who attended a 4-day guided meditation showed a 49.5% median increase in salivary immunoglobulin-A, a marker of immune function, and brainwave changes indicating sustained stress reduction (increased delta waves, decreased high beta, faster alpha state acquisition). Psychological symptoms including anxiety, pain, and PTSD improved, and at six-month follow-up happiness and feelings of oneness increased while depressive symptoms decreased. Cortisol levels did not change. The findings suggest that meditation and transcendent states produce measurable biological and psychological health benefits.
Front Psychol
September 25, 2025
4 citations
Different theories of consciousness—Global Workspace, Higher-Order, Integrated Information, and Predictive Coding—each explain distinct aspects of conscious experience but often conflict due to differing assumptions. This paper argues for a pluralistic approach that respects each theory's contributions, using phenomenological reflection to clarify their explanatory scope. Rather than reducing consciousness to a single principle, the author shows how these models address complementary dimensions of lived experience. Integration grounded in reflective analysis, not unification, is proposed as a starting point for a more adequate science of consciousness.
Front Psychol
September 23, 2025
4 citations
The authors examine methodological challenges in consciousness research, focusing on how theories are compared, the role of empirical evidence, and a replication crisis. They argue that current approaches often lack rigorous theory comparison and that empirical evidence is sometimes insufficiently linked to theoretical predictions. The replication crisis further undermines confidence in findings. The paper calls for improved methods to ensure more reliable progress in understanding consciousness.
Front Psychol
June 20, 2024
4 citations
The human drive to find meaning and the need for connection are rooted in early attachment relationships. According to the free energy principle, self-organizing systems must create models to predict experience, leading to the development of a narrative self. This self-model biases interpretation toward the predictable, causing us to take things personally. Meaning is felt more intensely when defenses are down and the narrative self is offline, allowing less egocentric meaning-making. Dreams, psychosis, and psychedelic states reveal how sense-making occurs without a coherent self, highlighting attachment's role in shaping meaningful experience.
Front Psychol
March 18, 2024
4 citations
The hard problem of consciousness—explaining how subjective experience arises from brain activity—remains unsolved because experience and neural structure are too different to be directly compatible. One alternative is to analyze the structure of consciousness within experience itself, starting with the simplest forms found in early vision. Qualia such as the redness of red are inseparable from their experiential context and may be phenomenal artifacts. The simplest qualitative aspects in early vision have relational significance and form a unitary whole, yet phenomenal appearance alone does not reveal a unitary structure. This suggests exploring the components of experience as possible explanations.
Front Psychol
November 26, 2021
4 citations
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Front Psychol
December 4, 2025
3 citations
Mindfulness training can help adolescent athletes build psychological resilience. An empirical analysis showed that athletes who completed a mindfulness intervention reported improved coping skills and emotional regulation compared to those who did not receive the training. The program involved structured mindfulness exercises over several weeks. Results suggest that such training may be a useful tool for supporting mental toughness and well-being in young sports participants.
Front Psychol
April 8, 2024
3 citations
Bridging the explanatory gap between physical brain processes and conscious experience may require analyzing the structure of consciousness from within, rather than seeking purely neural correlates. A phenomenal analysis of early vision suggests that the simplest conscious experiences are not isolated qualia but unitary sets of qualities. This analysis hypothesizes a hidden structure of consciousness composed of a Hierarchy of Spatial Belongings nested within each other, each formed by a primary content and a primary space. The primary space, though not directly perceptible, can be characterized as phenomenally negative through a subtraction of visibility. This hierarchical structure can explain the qualitative nature of perceptual organization and may serve as an intermediate bridge between experience and brain organization, potentially helping to close the explanatory gap.
Front Psychol
September 8, 2025
2 citations
This work presents a theoretical and methodological framework for studying the mind by integrating first-person (subjective) and second-person (intersubjective) phenomenological inquiry with experimental methods and EEG data. It argues that combining introspective and mindful awareness practices with objective brain measurements can provide a more comprehensive understanding of consciousness than either approach alone. The paper outlines how such integration can bridge the gap between subjective experience and neuroscientific observation, offering a pathway to study mental phenomena that are otherwise inaccessible through purely third-person methods.
Front Psychol
August 19, 2025
2 citations
This conceptual paper introduces Matte Blanco's bi-logic as a framework for understanding psychedelic altered states. Bi-logic reformulates Freud's conscious and unconscious processes into two modes: the asymmetrical mode, characterized by logic, differentiation, and ordered relations in space and time; and the symmetrical mode, characterized by symmetry, generalization, unity, spacelessness, timelessness, paradox, and boundless affect. The authors propose that psychedelics shift the balance toward the symmetrical mode, making it more prevalent in subjective experience and mental functioning. This framework may help therapists and patients better receive and integrate experiences involving intense affect, paradox, and dissolution of self-other boundaries in psychoanalytically-informed psychedelic therapy.
Front Psychol
June 27, 2024
2 citations
The search for neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs) remains central to the neuroscience of consciousness, despite criticism. The author distinguishes between NCCs as data (recorded observations) and NCCs as hypotheses (interpretations that go beyond data and are testable). A framework for 'sufficiency tests' is presented, with four classes: tests for creature consciousness (which systems are conscious), state consciousness (when a system is conscious), phenomenal content (what a system is conscious of), and phenomenal character (how a system experiences). Tests for phenomenal character (How-Tests) are argued to be preferable because they avoid problems with other tests, but they imply a stronger metaphysical connection between neural and phenomenal domains than supervenience, rely on first-person methods, and adopt a form of direct neurophenomenal structuralism.
Front Psychol
April 28, 2021
2 citations
Consciousness research benefits from combining philosophical and scientific approaches. The editorial argues that integrating conceptual analysis from philosophy with empirical methods from neuroscience and psychology can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of consciousness. It highlights the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to address fundamental questions about the nature of conscious experience, such as the hard problem of consciousness and the relationship between mind and brain. The piece suggests that such integration can overcome limitations of purely philosophical or purely scientific approaches, fostering progress in the field.
Front Psychol
May 4, 2026
1 citation
Liberation (moksha, nirvana, kaivalya) across Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions is redefined as perpetual self-transcendence through infinite domain expansion, where identity cannot settle in any achieved position. The framework uses mathematical formalization of observable behaviors, comparative analysis of six traditions, and testable criteria including the Liberation Coefficient (LC) and Self-Transcendence Rate (STR). It resolves five traditional controversies by arguing liberation is a process, not a state; involves ego fluidity, not dissolution; requires world engagement; demands all paths simultaneously; and combines sudden recognition with continuous application. This may establish Liberation Science (Liberology) as a measurable behavioral and consciousness phenomenon.
Front Psychol
October 2, 2025
1 citation
Detached self-observation—the capacity to observe one's own thoughts and feelings without identifying with them—can serve as a catalyst for psychological development. Drawing on dynamical systems theory, cultural mediation, and contemplative traditions, the authors argue that this practice allows individuals to step back from automatic patterns, creating space for new perspectives and behaviors to emerge. The integration of these frameworks suggests that detached self-observation is not merely introspective but a culturally mediated skill that can be cultivated through contemplative practices, potentially fostering transformative change across the lifespan.
Front Psychol
November 21, 2024
1 citation
A parallel is drawn between the development of prayer and creativity, distinguishing ordinary 'little-c' creativity from profound 'Big-C' creativity. Little-c creativity follows a sequential path from authenticity to task motivation, practice, and experience, analogous to ordinary prayer. Big-C creativity, akin to mystical prayer, can emerge spontaneously by moving from authenticity to task motivation while bypassing extensive practice and experience. In such extreme creative moments, artists experience a surrender of agency, with Big-C arising with minimal deliberate thought and no sense of ownership. Drawing on insights from St. John Cassian and Thomas Merton, this work offers a historically grounded perspective on the enigmatic emergence of Big-C creativity.
Front Psychol
June 9, 2026
Reality may be a constructed model generated by a biological prediction engine operating on delayed information, and the substrate of that information could be a pervasive field of topological information states whose defining characteristic is intrinsic expansion. This framework synthesizes physics, neuroscience, and information theory, offering a candidate mechanism rather than an established finding. It presents a reaction–diffusion formalism where the golden ratio φ acts as a dynamical attractor, a layered topological field construction permitting anyon-like behavior at physiological temperatures, a SHEPHERD filtration sequence connecting field dynamics to perception, and four falsifiable predictions. Speculative extensions are distinguished from empirically grounded claims.
Front Psychol
June 4, 2026
Meditation in trained Rajyoga practitioners produces a consistent physiological signature: heart rate variability (HRV) increases, respiration slows, and the coupling between breathing and heart rate strengthens, indicating greater parasympathetic nervous system engagement. The study measured 55 practitioners across three 10-minute states—before, during, and after meditation—using multiscale HRV metrics. Time-domain and frequency-domain HRV indices rose during meditation and partially recovered afterward, while non-linear measures also shifted significantly. Exploratory sex-stratified analyses suggested possible differences in effect magnitude that require further study. The findings support multiscale cardiorespiratory analysis as an operational marker of altered consciousness during Rajyoga meditation.
Front Psychol
May 29, 2026
Conscious experience arises from the dynamic interplay between two structurally distinct cerebral hemispheres. The left hemisphere specializes in order and abstraction through dynamic temporal modeling, while the right hemisphere handles contextual integration, coherence, and model updating via attentional networks. The article presents a three-part model: how unified conscious experience emerges from these hemispheres, how information processing becomes asymmetric through structural arrangements in cortical hierarchies, and how this disparate system generates cumulative concept development unique to the conscious mind. The model draws on neuropsychological and neuroimaging evidence and has implications for clinical, philosophical, and artificial learning systems.
Front Psychol
May 28, 2026
A systematic review and meta-analysis of mindfulness-based interventions for competitive anxiety in athletes found that these interventions reduce anxiety, with the type of control group moderating the effect. The analysis included 12 studies and showed a significant overall effect favoring mindfulness interventions. The magnitude of the effect depended on whether the control condition was active or passive. The authors suggest that mindfulness training can be an effective approach for managing competitive anxiety, but the strength of the evidence is preliminary and varies by comparison group.