Buddist Monks Are Better Negotiators

Buddhist monks with no formal training in negotiation are better at separating logic from emotion during a heated negotiation, recent research suggests. According to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Decision Neuroscience, Buddhist meditators performed better than a control group of non-meditators in accessing portions of the brain devoted to logic, while deactivating emotional circuits of the brain, when evaluating offers in a heated negotiation.

The research, which was undertaken at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, suggests that mindful meditation helps us neutralize emotions and make more rational decisions:

(M)editators activate a different network of brain areas compared with controls, enabling them to uncouple negative emotional reactions from their behavior. These findings highlight the clinically and socially important possibility that sustained training in mindfulness meditation may impact distinct domains of human decision-making.