meditation

Meaning: Meditation is a group of practices that train attention and awareness. In focused-attention forms, a person holds attention on one object, such as the breath or a phrase. In open-monitoring or mindfulness forms, the person observes thoughts and sensations as they arise without judging them. The MCAT treats it as an altered state of consciousness, like hypnosis, drowsiness and drug-induced states, that is entered voluntarily while the person stays awake.

On the MCAT: Passages often present EEG data. Relaxed, awake meditators typically show more alpha waves (about 8–13 Hz) than during alert, task-focused beta activity (above about 13 Hz), and deeper practice may add theta waves (about 4–7 Hz). Expect questions that predict lower heart rate, slower breathing and reduced sympathetic arousal, or that treat meditation as a relaxation and stress-management technique. In study-design questions, look for a missing control group, self-selection (people who choose to meditate may differ from those who do not), and the difficulty of blinding participants.

Common confusion: Meditation is not sleep. The person remains awake and responsive, and the EEG lacks the sleep spindles, K-complexes and delta waves of deeper sleep stages. Alpha waves also appear in ordinary relaxed wakefulness with the eyes closed, so alpha alone does not prove a person is meditating. It also differs from hypnosis, which relies on suggestion from another person.