Social Representations of Meditation: A Cross-Cultural Qualitative Study with Greek and Indian Participants

Meditation and mindfulness have gathered increasing research attention worldwide, with millions of people adopting these practices. Despite being one of the most extensively studied psychological tools with global reach and recognition as a research-based psychotherapeutic practice, there remains ambiguity surrounding its approach. Research on meditation has predominantly taken quantitative approach, with minimal exploration of its cross-cultural dimensions in the international literature. This study aimed to address this gap by focusing on the cross-cultural examination of the social representation of meditation among Greek and Indian participants, both with and without meditation experience. Qualitative research methods, including interviews and thematic analysis were employed. Four main themes emerged from the analysis: meditation meaning-making, meditation teachers, meditation outcomes, and meditation mechanisms. Interestingly, the findings revealed more similarities than differences in the social representations of meditation across cultures. This suggests the presence of universal elements, possibly reflecting fundamental aspects of human functioning that transcend cultural boundaries.