Preventing guilt by association: Mindfulness and susceptibility to evaluative conditioning

Evaluative conditioning (EC) is a type of attitude formation in which a stimulus is evaluated as positive or negative based on repeated pairings with valenced stimuli. Emerging evidence suggests that individuals differ in susceptibility to EC and these differences may be related to various social and psychological biases. One variable that has been linked with less negative attitude formation, although not using an EC paradigm, is mindfulness. Further, mindfulness is proposed to alter dimensions of elaboration that may underlie EC, particularly conditioning of negative attitudes. Therefore, three studies were conducted to examine whether mindfulness is linked to differential susceptibility to EC, particularly less conditioning of negative attitudes, and whether aspects of elaboration mediate this proposed relation. In all three studies, participants were exposed to an EC paradigm in which positive and negative pictures were paired with neutral Chinese ideographs. Then, they completed ideograph likability ratings. In Study 1, a measure of trait mindfulness was inversely associated with conditioning of negative attitudes, but not after accounting for negative state affect. In Study 2, there was no relation between either of two measures of trait mindfulness and susceptibility to EC. In Study 3, mindfulness was experimentally manipulated by randomly assigning participants to a mindful breathing induction or a mind-wandering control condition before they completed measures of elaboration and the EC paradigm. As compared to the control condition, the mindfulness condition showed greater susceptibility to conditioning of negative attitudes, after controlling for awareness of the picture-ideograph pairings. There was no support for the proposed mediation models through elaboration in either Studies 2 or 3. However, both studies provided evidence that more mindful individuals demonstrated less cognitive elaboration on negative stimuli. Further, both studies suggested that greater cognitive elaboration in response to pictures predicted less susceptibility to conditioning of positive attitudes and possibly greater susceptibility to conditioning of negative attitudes. Altogether, the three studies provided mixed and inconclusive evidence as to the relation between mindfulness and susceptibility to EC. However, the findings regarding cognitive elaboration may help to advance both the mindfulness and EC literatures

Does mindfulness reduce negativity bias? A potential mechanism for reduced emotional distress

The present research examined if mindfulness reduced negativity bias on measures of attitude formation and cognitive style, as a potential explanation for the beneficial effects of mindfulness on emotional disturbance. Two studies were conducted. Study One was correlational and found that trait mindfulness inversely correlated with measures of negative cognitive style, and that the latter partially mediated an inverse association between mindfulness and predisposition to depression and anxiety. Further, correlations between mindfulness and both positive attitude formation and optimism hinted at a potential positivity bias. Study Two extended these findings using a randomized experimental design comparing a mindfulness induction to an unfocused attention control condition. The mindfulness condition demonstrated a positivity bias in attitude formation and increased optimism compared to the control condition, but did not demonstrate bias in attitude generalization. Potential explanations and implications for emotional disturbance are discussed

Knowledge and Perceived Ambiguity of Physical Activity Recommendations and Physical Activity in Men and Women in the United States

Background: The majority of Americans - especially women - do not meet physical activity recommendations. Having physical activity goals has been associated with physical activity participation, and physical activity recommendations set by public health experts can be viewed as externally set goals. However, past research has shown that goals that are specific rather than ambiguous are more likely to be achieved, and variations in recommendations over time and across sources may have created perceived goal ambiguity.Objectives: This study aimed to (1) examine the extent of physical activity recommendation knowledge among adults in the United States, (2) quantify perceptions of the ambiguity of these recommendations, (3) determine whether knowledge of physical activity recommendations is associated with physical activity level, and (4) investigate whether perceived ambiguity of recommendations moderates the relationship between recommendation knowledge and activity. An additional objective was to explore demographic differences in any associations detected.Methods: SUDAAN was used to weight data from the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) (N=5,586) to represent the U.S. population. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and logistic regression was used to determine crude and adjusted odds ratios.Results: An estimated 31% of Americans had accurate knowledge of recommendations, and 35% reported engaging in physical activity at the recommended level. An estimated 75% perceived the recommendations as ambiguous. The odds of reporting accurate knowledge of recommendations were significantly higher among women than among men (OR 1.53,95% CI 1.22-1.93), but accurate knowledge of recommendations was associated with physical activity at the recommended level only among men (OR 1.67,95% CI 1.06-2.64). Perceived ambiguity did not moderate the association between knowledge and activity level in any analysis.Conclusions: These findings support disseminating updated physical activity recommendations as indicated by the scientific evidence base. Future research should explore: (1) how to boost knowledge of recommendations, particularly in men, (2) factors that would enable women to act on such knowledge, and (3) gender differences in other determinants of physical activity

Does mindfulness attenuate thoughts emphasizing negativity, but not positivity?

The current research investigated whether mindfulness is differentially associated with thoughts that emphasize positive or negative valence. In Study 1, trait mindfulness was inversely associated with negative rumination but unassociated with positive rumination, controlling for state affect. In Study 2, participants completed either a mindful breathing meditation or a comparable control exercise, followed by a thought listing while viewing affective images. Compared to the control condition, the mindfulness condition listed proportionately fewer negative thoughts, particularly in response to negative images, and more non-valenced thoughts. The conditions did not differ in their proportions of positive thoughts. These results suggest that mindfulness may attenuate thoughts that emphasize negativity but not those that emphasize positivity

Upward Spirals of Mindfulness and Reappraisal: Testing the Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory with Autoregressive Latent Trajectory Modeling

Psychol Inquiry 26(4):377–387, 2015b) proposes that mindfulness generates eudaimonic well-being by promoting positive reappraisal, the positive psychological process through which stressful events are re-construed as benign, meaningful, or growth-promoting. To test this hypothesis, we examined prospective relations between state mindfulness and positive reappraisal in a community sample participating in a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI). At seven weekly time points throughout the MBI, participants (N = 234) engaged in a 10-min mindfulness meditation exercise at home and completed a measure of the degree of state mindfulness experienced during the meditation, as well as a measure of their use of positive reappraisal over the previous week. Support for the mindful reappraisal hypothesis of the Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory was found: in latent growth curve and multivariate autoregressive latent trajectory models, increases in the trajectory of state mindfulness experienced during meditation were significantly and robustly associated with more frequent use of positive reappraisal over the course of participation in the 8 week-long MBI. Thus, mindfulness and reappraisal may reciprocally enhance one another as interdependent components of a positive feedback loop whose structure might be best described as an upward spiral.The mindful reappraisal hypothesis of the Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory (Garland et al. in Psychol Inquiry 26(4):293–314, 2015

The effects of a mindfulness-based program on the incidence of injuries in young male soccer players

We tested the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based program in reducing sport injury incidence. 168 young male elite soccer players were randomly assigned to mindfulness (MG) and control (CG) groups. The MG consisted of 7 sessions based on the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment approach while the CG consisted of 7 presentations on sport injury psychology. Athlete-exposure and injury data were recorded during one season. State and trait mindfulness, sport anxiety, stress, and attention control of participants were assessed. Number of injuries, average of injuries per team, and days lost to injury in the MG weresignificantly lower than in the CG. Mindfulness and attention control werelower and sport anxiety and stress were higher in injured players than innon-injured players. Psychological variables were associated with injury. Mindfulness training may reduce the injury risk of young soccer players due to improved mindfulness and attention control and reduced sport anxiety

Mindfulness: An effective coaching tool for improving physical and mental health:

This article provides an overview of the mechanisms of action, evidence base, and practice of mindfulness, with an emphasis on how to easily incorporate this valuable skill into practice

From a state to a trait: Trajectories of state mindfulness in meditation during intervention predict changes in trait mindfulness

Theory suggests that heightening state mindfulness in meditation practice over time increases trait mindfulness, which benefits psychological health. We prospectively examined individual trajectories of state mindfulness in meditation during a mindfulness-based intervention in relation to changes in trait mindfulness and psychological distress. Each week during the eight-week intervention, participants reported their state mindfulness in meditation after a brief mindfulness meditation. Participants also completed pre- and post-intervention measures of trait mindfulness and psychological symptoms. Tests of combined latent growth and path models suggested that individuals varied significantly in their rates of change in state mindfulness in meditation during the intervention, and that these individual trajectories predicted pre-post intervention changes in trait mindfulness and distress. These findings support that increasing state mindfulness over repeated meditation sessions may contribute to a more mindful and less distressed disposition. However, individuals’ trajectories of change may vary and warrant further investigation

Mindfulness of voices, self-compassion, and secure attachment in relation to the experience of hearing voices

Objectives: Developing compassion towards oneself has been linked to improvement in many areas of psychological well‐being, including psychosis. Furthermore, developing a non‐judgemental, accepting way of relating to voices is associated with lower levels of distress for people who hear voices. These factors have also been associated with secure attachment. This study explores associations between the constructs of mindfulness of voices, self‐compassion, and distress from hearing voices and how secure attachment style related to each of these variables. Design: Cross‐sectional online. Method: One hundred and twenty‐eight people (73% female; Mage = 37.5; 87.5% Caucasian) who currently hear voices completed the Self‐Compassion Scale, Southampton Mindfulness of Voices Questionnaire, Relationships Questionnaire, and Hamilton Programme for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaire. Results: Results showed that mindfulness of voices mediated the relationship between self‐compassion and severity of voices, and self‐compassion mediated the relationship between mindfulness of voices and severity of voices. Self‐compassion and mindfulness of voices were significantly positively correlated with each other and negatively correlated with distress and severity of voices. Conclusion: Mindful relation to voices and self‐compassion are associated with reduced distress and severity of voices, which supports the proposed potential benefits of mindful relating to voices and self‐compassion as therapeutic skills for people experiencing distress by voice hearing

A Moment of Mindfulness: Computer-Mediated Mindfulness Practice Increases State Mindfulness

Three studies investigated the use of a 5-minute, computer-mediated mindfulness practice in increasing levels of state mindfulness. In Study 1, 54 high school students completed the computer-mediated mindfulness practice in a lab setting and Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) scores were measured before and after the practice. In Study 2 (N = 90) and Study 3 (N = 61), the mindfulness practice was tested with an entirely online sample to test the delivery of the 5-minute mindfulness practice via the internet. In Study 2 and 3, we found a significant increase in TMS scores in the mindful condition, but not in the control condition. These findings highlight the impact of a brief, mindfulness practice for single-session, computer-mediated use to increase mindfulness as a state