Agora: Red Deer Polytechnic Undergraduate Journal
Volume 16:1 2025 Agora Conference Proceedings

Stoicism and the Brain: Using a Portable
Electroencephalogram with a Stoic
Intervention
Samuel W. Darby1, Stephen B.R.E Brown1,
Jude Danyau1, Nicole Schmid1, and
Scott Oddie
Note: This is a summary of the whole paper. If you wish to read
the entire paper, please email me at sam.darby@rdpolytech.ca

Introduction
In recent years, the Hellenistic philosophy of Stoicism
has

become

popular

among

many

people

as

a

philosophical approach to living life (Sellars, 2014). Stoicism
has existed since around 300 BC, with Zeno of Citium
labelled as its founder. Recently, it has gained traction
among many laypeople as a mindset for approaching
negative

and

positive

life

events

without

becoming

overwhelmed. Brown et al. mention that Stoicism provides
a means to manage negative emotions while maintaining
human connections, ensuring that one’s reactions remain
appropriate.

Still,

it

is

not

emotional

detachment,

suppression, or a lack of motivation to challenge injustices or
78

confront adverse events (2022). Indeed, Marcus Aurelius, an
Emperor of Rome and a Stoic, wrote, “You have power over
your mind–not outside events. Realize this, and you will find
strength” (Aurelius, 2006). This ideology, which posits that an
individual can have power over their reactions to life events
rather than trying to control the events themselves, has brought
strength, resilience, peace, calmness, and hope to those who
follow the teachings of Stoicism (Hammer & Gordon, 2023).
Practicing Stoicism has been found to bring about a myriad of
benefits, like a decreased tolerance to pain (Calderón et al.,
2017; Cagle & Buntle, 2017; Spiers, 2006; Nöelle-Jorand,
Joulia, & Braggard, 2001; Yong, 2005), increased quality of life
with patients who have muscular dystrophy (Ahlström &
Sjöden, 1996), and a better outlook on the concept of death
(Castelo et al., 2018; Hammer & Gordon, 2023; Menzies &
Whittle, 2022), as well as decreased suicidal ideation (Witte et
al., 2012), generally reduced stress levels (Martin, 2015;
Trapnel, 1999), increased levels of empathy and self-efficacy,
(Brown et al., 2022), and many others. One important thing to
note about living a Stoic life is not to confuse it with stoic
ideology, which is a gross misrepresentation of the Stoic
philosophy and reduces its intellectual complexity to emotional
non-expressiveness and suppression (Alfons et al., 2022). An
example of this occurring is with some men with cancer living a

79

misunderstood stoic life, who can mistakenly believe they must
“remain stoic” by not complaining or seeking help (Brown et al.,
2022). This misinterpretation can, unfortunately, increase their
risk of suicide (Witte et al., 2012), and in this example, death.
Other adverse effects, as listed by Furnham and Robinson
(2023), include individuals experiencing less pleasure and joy in
life, as they perceive such positive emotions as inappropriate.
Although extensive studies have explored the pros and
cons of Stoicism, there is a lack of empirical, neuroscientific
research on its effects. Some neuroscientific studies have
revealed links between Stoicism and brain activity, although the
number of available studies is limited. For instance, an fMRI
study described that individuals with strong Stoic traits
suppressed facial expressions during intense heat pain, which
was associated with heightened frontostriatal activation (Kunz
et al., 2011). Another study found increased neural activity
correlating with increased suicide rates in males who display
higher levels of emotional Stoicism, which is simply another
term for Stoic ideology, in various brain areas that overlapped
with regions constituting a neuronal network underlying
depression (Deshpande et al., 2016).
That being said, due to the lack of research regarding the
effects of Stoicism on the brain, this study employed
electroencephalography

(EEG)

to

80

investigate

whether

individuals newly introduced to Stoicism exhibit increased
neuronal synchrony in their brainwaves following Stoic training.
The Muse portable EEG device, developed by InteraXon Inc.
(marketed as ChooseMuse), was utilized to measure neural
oscillations associated with brainwave activity, as there is a
growing body of research supporting the experimental use of the
Muse EEG, which was initially designed for meditation, but has
also been found capable of many experimental procedures, such
as recording event-related potentials (ERP; Kringolson et al.,
2017), alpha frequency variability (Sidelinger et al., 2023), and
general frequency spectra analyses (Pontifex & Coffman, 2023).
The Muse EEG has only four electrodes at TP9/10 and AF7/8,
with reference at Fpz, resulting in limited data that can be
gathered from this device. That being said, those electrodes have
been found to measure characteristics associated with Stoic
attributes, such as stress reduction and emotional regulation,
specifically for alpha, beta, and theta brainwaves (Fahrion et al,
1992; Jung & Lee, 2021; Lee, Kim & Lee, 2022; van der Werf
et al., 2013; Wheelock et al., 2016).
In essence, this study hopes to explore Stoicism more
deeply by using portable EEG technology to investigate the
neural effects associated with the thoughts and practices of this
Hellenistic philosophy. Validated behavioural questionnaires
will also be used to measure Stoic attitudes and Behaviours, as

81

well as Rumination and Reflection tendencies, to pair with the
EEG data. As an active control, a journaling condition will be
used to compare to the Stoicism group because the practice of
journaling encourages similar levels of introspection like
Stoicism does, but also because the Stoic group will have a
booklet in which they will be asked to journal their thoughts
(Woodbridge & Rust O'Beirne, 2017). A passive control, with no
intervention, will be used as a baseline for both the Stoicism and
journaling groups.
Method
Materials
Thirty-four healthy undergraduate students from a Red
Deer Polytechnic (RDP) statistics class volunteered for this
study. Their Stoic tendencies were measured using the Stoic
Attitudes and Behaviours Scale (SABS 5.0), a 60-item, sevenpoint Likert questionnaire developed by Modern Stoicism,
which includes questions such as, “to flourish as a human being
all you need is good character and understanding of what really
matters in life,” and “nothing except our judgements and
voluntary actions are truly under our control in life” (2020).
Higher scores indicate greater alignment with Stoic principles.
Likewise, the Rumination Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ), a
24-item, seven-point Likert questionnaire developed by Trapnell

82

and Campbell (1999), was used to measure scores on two
subscales: Rumination, which refelcts negative self-focus
associated with neuroticism, and Reflection, which captures
intellectual and positive self-focus, which is linked to openness
to experience. The RRQ includes questions such as “long after
an argument or disagreement is over with, my thoughts keep
going back to what happened,” and “people often say I’m a
‘deep,’ introspective type of person.” Participants completed the
surveys in person using the digital platform Simple Survey
(2025), which was accessed via a laptop.
The participant's electroencephalograms were acquired
using the Muse (1st ed.) portable EEG, which features electrodes
analogous to AF7/8 and TP9/10, with Fpz serving as the
reference electrode from the standard 10-10 layout, set at a
sampling rate of 500 Hz. Researchers obtained EEG recordings
with the Mind Monitor mobile app, developed by Clutterbuck
(2015), which uploaded participant recordings to Dropbox. Data
uploads contained bandwidths for alpha, beta, theta, delta, and
gamma across each electrode (20 samples total: five bandwidths
for each of the four electrodes), as well as the raw output for
each electrode (four total) and accelerometer and gyro
information for X, Y, and Z axes.
The Stoic Week Handbook for Students, developed by
Modern Stoicism, was used to introduce participants to Stoicism

83

through daily themes such as emotions, resilience, friendships,
nature, and character, and guided them through journaling
activities to reflect on their experiences of trying to live like a
Stoic for each day. Modern Stoicism designed the booklet for
university students, tailored to the demographic used in this
study, which gave concise, easy-to-understand, and coherent
Stoic training for them to complete on their own daily during the
following week (2021, link in references). Those in the
journaling condition were given a 32-page Hilroy Canada
Journal to record their writings.
Procedure
During an in-person meeting, the principal investigator
(PI) asked participants to complete the SABS 5.0 and the RRQ
and performed a brainwave measurement using the Muse
portable EEG. Participants had the option to skip questions if
they so chose to. During the EEG recording, the PI asked them
to think about and try to relive a recent stressful experience.
Each EEG recording took 45 seconds. The entire collection
process took about 15 minutes per participant, and the acquired
data served as an initial measurement to compare the postexperimental data.
Participants were split into three groups after collecting
their data in the pretest session. The Stoicism group (n = 11)

84

completed the Stoic Week Handbook for Students (2021) and
journaled their thoughts about their day while practicing
Stoicism every day throughout the week. The journaling group
(n = 10) served as an active control. They were given no specific
direction on what to journal about, but were asked to journal
about their day every day throughout the week. The passive
control group (n = 11) did not participate in any activities during
the week.
At the end of their respective intervention weeks, each
participant returned to complete the questionnaires again and
also to obtain new EEG recordings while being asked to think
about a different stressful experience. The PI also kept an
anonymized copy of their own writings from the week to assess
whether participants completed the tasks assigned to their
respective conditions, serving as a manipulation check.
Results
Behavioural Data
A mixed ANOVA was conducted for each subscale of the
RRQ, with intervention as the between-subjects factor and
session as the within-subjects factor. For Rumination, there was
a significant session x condition interaction with a small effect
size, F(2, 29) = 3.540, p = .042, 𝑛𝑛𝑝𝑝2 = .196. A simple main effects

analysis performed on the interaction effect revealed a
85

significant difference between conditions in the pre-test, F(2,
29) = 4.142, p = .026, 𝑛𝑛𝑝𝑝2 = .222, but not for the post-test, F(2,
29) = 0.974, p = .063. Based on this, the interaction effect of

Rumination appears to stem from the inverse increase in
journaling, while Stoicism decreases after the intervention,
explaining why there were significant differences before the
intervention but not after. There was also a significant main
effect for session, F(1, 29) = 4.987, p = .033, 𝑛𝑛𝑝𝑝2 = .147, but the
main effect of condition was not significant, F(2, 29) = 2.506, p

= .099. Pairwise comparisons revealed a significant reduction in
Rumination post-intervention for the Stoicism group (p = .005),
but there were no significant increases for journaling (p = .468)
or decreases in the control group (p = .110).
For Reflection, no significant effects were found for the
interaction F(2, 29) = 0.603, p = .554, session F(1, 29) = 2.349,
p = .136, or condition F(2, 29) = 0.417, p = .663, indicating no
changes in reflective behaviours within or between groups.
A mixed-ANOVA revealed no significant interaction
effect, F(2, 29) = 0.603, p = .554, nor was there a significant
main effect for condition, F(2, 29) = 0.417, p = .663. However,
a significant main effect of session was found with a small effect
size, F(1, 29) = 4.543, p = .042, 𝑛𝑛𝑝𝑝2 = .135, with pairwise

comparisons revealing a significant increase for the Stoicism
group (p = .003), meaning that as expected, the Stoicism group
86

did significantly increase in their Stoic attitudes and behaviours
after their Stoic training.
To further add to the results from the SABS 5.0, a z-test
was calculated using the SABS 5.0 population mean from
Modern Stoicism’s 2020 Stoicism Mindfulness and Resilience
Training (SMRT) month-long course, utilizing the pre-test
results as a general population of people who are representative
of having an interest in Stoicism (LeBon, 2020). Using the posttest scores from this experiment (M = 303.546) and the pre-test
scores from the SMRT 2020 course (M = 291.6, SD = 24), a
significant z-score was found, z(N = 11) = 1.65, p = .05 (onetailed), indicating that this Stoic intervention of only one week
was indeed enough to significantly improve an individuals Stoic
attitudes and Behaviours compared to the general population.
EEG Results
The EEG results were analyzed using both data-driven
and theory-driven approaches. A significant improvement in
Stoic qualities would be due to the increased synchrony and
amplitude within specific wavelengths and electrodes, with a
higher mean amplitude indicating more synchrony since more
neurons are firing the same signal simultaneously (Fahrion et al,
1992; Hollandt et al., 2023). For the data-driven approach, 20
mixed-ANOVAs were performed for each of the four electrodes
(AF7/8 and TP9/10), which had an output measured in bels for
87

alpha, beta, theta, delta, and gamma waves. Each of those
bandwidths at each electrode was compared before and after the
intervention, as well as between the control, journaling, and
Stoicism conditions, resulting in 4 electrodes × 5 frequency
bands = 20 mixed-ANOVAS. The only significant differences
found across all 20 mixed-ANOVAs were due to changes in the
control group for the Delta AF7 effect of session, F(1, 28) =
4.727, p = .038, 𝑛𝑛𝑝𝑝2 = .144 (control increased, p = .033), the Theta

TP10 interaction: F(2, 28) = 3.434, p = .046, 𝑛𝑛𝑝𝑝2 = .197 (control

decreased, p = .028), and the Gamma AF7 interaction: F(2, 28)
= 3.994, p = .030, 𝑛𝑛𝑝𝑝2 = .222 (control decreased, p = .026). No

other effects, electrodes, or bandwidths were found to be
significant. That being said, it is unlikely that these EEG results
are clinically significant as delta and gamma wavelengths are
not associated with markers of stress or other attributes of
Stoicism, such as resilience or emotional regulation (Fahrion et
al, 1992; Jung & Lee, 2021; Lee, Kim & Lee, 2022; van der Werf
et al., 2013; Wheelock et al., 2016). Additionally, the control
group was the only significant factor, suggesting a possible
confounding variable that may have skewed the results. Theta,
conversely, has been found to correlate with these attributes,
which prompted the theory-driven approach.
The theory-driven approach only considered the
Stoicism condition, specifically at specific brainwaves, namely
88

theta, beta, and alpha. Seeing as the current study aimed to
determine whether Stoicism can enhance synchrony in an
individual's brain and reduce stress, these wavelengths are most
closely correlated with Stoic attributes. Therefore, paired
samples t-tests were performed for each bandwidth and
electrode, similar to the mixed-ANOVA. However, instead of
performing 20 comparisons, only 12 were conducted (4
electrodes × 3 frequency bands = 12 mixed ANOVAS). No
significant effects were found. However, Theta TP9 (Mpre =
0.4702421447, Mpost = 0.6581143828), t(10) = 1.622, p = .068
(one-sided), and Theta TP10 (Mpre = 0.3305608727, Mpost =
0.5211720088), t(10) = 1.682, p = .062 (one-sided) yielded
meaningful trends (Fig. 4 & Fig. 5), indicating that there were
some increases in theta-wave amplitude bilaterally in the
temporal lobe. Limitations in study design necessitated the use
of a relatively low sample, thereby offering reduced statistical
power.
Discussion
This study utilized a portable EEG device and self-report
questionnaires to determine the effects of a week-long Stoic
intervention on brainwave synchrony, rumination, reflection,
and Stoic attitudes and beliefs. Statistically significant decreases
in rumination, as measured by the RRQ, were observed in the

89

Stoicism group, while the reflection subscale remained
unchanged. The SABS 5.0 revealed significant improvements in
Stoic attitudes and behaviour following the intervention. As a
whole, the EEG data did not reveal statistically significant
changes. However, bilateral trends in the temporal lobe
suggested increased neural synchrony associated with coherent
theta wave oscillations.
An unplanned but ultimately beneficial confounding
variable emerged during this study, as participants were
concurrently preparing for and taking a statistics midterm exam
during the intervention period. This real-world stressor provided
a unique context to assess the resilience-building potential of
Stoic training. Despite the heightened stress, participants in the
Stoicism group demonstrated reduced rumination and improved
Stoic attitudes, indicating that even brief exposure to Stoic
philosophy can yield measurable psychological benefits under
pressure. In contrast, participants in the journaling control
condition, who were instructed only to journal daily without
specific guidance, showed increased rumination scores postintervention. This outcome is likely due to the absence of
structured prompts, leading to unproductive and stressamplifying thought patterns during the exam period. These
results

underscore

the

value

of

structured

cognitive

interventions, such as Stoicism, over unguided self-reflection.

90

The stark difference in outcomes between the two groups aligns
with prior findings that emphasize the importance of guided
journaling (Wäschle et al., 2015). Furthermore, the observed
benefits of Stoic training, including emotional regulation and
resilience (Park & Kim, 2018), suggest that Stoicism promotes
more constructive cognitive patterns, even amidst acute stress.
Given the minimal time commitment required, Stoic practices
may serve as a practical resilience strategy for students in
academic settings.
Although it was hypothesized that the Stoicism group
would show increased Reflection scores on the RRQ, given
Stoicism’s emphasis on self-awareness and introspection, no
significant changes were observed in any group, including the
journaling condition. This result was unexpected, as both Stoic
practice and journaling are often linked to enhanced selfreflection in prior research (Whitmore et al., 2019). A likely
explanation lies in the limitations of the RRQ Reflection
subscale, which may not be sensitive to the specific form of
introspection cultivated by Stoic philosophy. Whereas the RRQ
emphasizes positively valenced, self-focused reflection, Stoic
reflection is more values-driven and centred on virtue,
discipline, and emotional regulation (Barrientos-Rastrojo,
Saavedra-Macías, & Nardi, 2024). This subtle distinction in
measurement may have restricted the scale’s capacity to detect

91

significant changes in reflective thinking during the brief
intervention period for the Stoic group. Additionally,
establishing a reflective mindset, especially one rooted in Stoic
philosophical principles, likely requires a more extended period
and consistent reinforcement than is feasible within the
constraints of this research project. Future research may benefit
from employing more targeted reflection measures and lengthier
or more immersive interventions that allow Stoic principles to
become more fully integrated into an individual's identity.
The EEG data from this study provided limited but
potentially meaningful insights. A data-driven analysis revealed
statistically significant differences in the delta, theta, and gamma
frequency bands, but only within the control group. These
frequencies are not typically associated with emotional
regulation or cognitive domains central to Stoic practice (Saskia
et al., 2024; Smith, Lair, & O’Brien, 2019) and are likely
attributable to confounding variables such as bioelectrical noise,
uncontrolled environmental factors, or out-of-lab discussions
about Stoicism amongst participants. As such, these findings do
not offer strong evidence of meaningful cognitive shifts and
should be interpreted cautiously.
In contrast, the theory-driven analysis of the Stoicism
group targeted the alpha, beta, and theta frequency bands, which
are bandwidths previously linked to stress and emotional

92

control. While no statistically significant effects were found,
trends toward increased theta activity at TP9/10 (temporal lobe)
sites closely mirrored prior research on emotional regulation and
neural synchrony (Jung & Lee, 2021; Wheelock et al., 2016).
Notably, increased amplitude in theta waves suggests enhanced
neuronal synchrony, aligning with findings by Pagnotta, Riddle,
and D’Esposito (2024), who demonstrated a correlation between
theta synchrony and improved cognitive control. Applying these
findings to their study, participants who were asked to recall a
recent stressful event during EEG recording, after Stoic training,
may have demonstrated improved alignment between external
stressors and internal emotional regulation goals. Although these
EEG changes were not statistically significant, the trends
support the hypothesis that Stoic practice may enhance brain
synchrony, particularly in theta activity linked to an adaptive
stress response.
In conclusion, this preliminary research provides
promising evidence for further investigation into Stoicism using
brain imaging techniques. Despite the study’s constraints, it has
revealed significant changes in participants’ mental states and
suggests promising directions for identifying the subtle
neurological patterns associated with practicing this ancient yet
pertinent philosophical mindset. These results lay the foundation
for more extensive studies that could deepen our understanding

93

of how Stoic principles influence cognition and behaviour at
both psychological and neurological levels.

94

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