Mindfulness and Video Game Play: A Preliminary Inquiry

Abstract

IntroductionMindfulness is a property of consciousness which isbeginning to receive considerable attention from psychol-ogists. It has been described as a non-elaborative, non-judgmental, present-centered awareness where all thoughtsand feeling are acknowledged and accepted (Bishop et al.2004). In a state of mindfulness, attention is regulated suchthat increased awareness is brought to the current field ofthoughts, feelings, and sensations, in addition to beimmersed non-judgmentally in the present moment. Thisstate of mind promotes a state of increased psychologicalacceptance which is the key therapeutic benefit of mind-fulness when used to treat problems of anger, stress, or evenpain (Tusaie & Edds 2009; Wright, Day & Howells 2009).Eastern meditative traditions suggest that being presentto the moment is the foundational idea in the developmentof consciousness (Holzel & Ott 2006). This function ofconscious attention has recently been focused upon byWestern psychologists who view it as a cognitive style(Sternberg 2000). Some of this interest may be due topresent-centered awareness being the hallmark of mindful-ness and various associations between mindfulness andwell-being have been identified. For instance, increasingmindfulness has been the cornerstone of several therapiesaimed at preventing substance-abuse relapse, reducingstress and anxiety, and even aiding in dialectical behaviortherapy (Brown & Ryan 2003). More directly, mindfulnessis useful in disengaging individuals from automaticthoughts, habits, and unhealthy behavior patterns therebyfostering a more self-endorsed and informed behavioralregulation (Baer, Smith, & Allen 2004). Along the samelines, mindfulness meditation has been linked to many ofthe basic elements of positive psychology through theenhancement of metacognitive skills and positively chang-ing mental schemas related to emotion, health, and illness(Hamilton, Kitzman, & Guyotte 2006). Finally, emergingresearch hints that mindfulness may have a significantpositive effect on combating mental illness (Orzech 2009).Several researchers have also noted an associationbetween scores on mindfulness scales and psychologicalabsorption (Baer et al. 2004; Brown & Ryan 2003; Holzel& Ott 2006). The findings are mixed such that with a shortmindfulness scale, Brown and Ryan found an inverserelationship to absorption. The other two research groupsfound a positive relationship between the two constructs,when using longer scales designed to examine facets ofmindfulness. Perhaps, a key difference between themeasures used by these groups is that the scale used byBrown and Ryan (the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale(MAAS)) assesses individual differences in the frequencyof mindful states over time. Whereas the modifiedKentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) usedby Baer et al. and the custom scales used by Holzel andOtt, are multifaceted measures which asses overallmindfulness. While the frequency of mindful episodesdiffers among individuals, so does the intensity—and thisis an important metric.Episodes of heightened mindfulness are the primary goalof traditional eastern yoga (Salmon, Lush, Jablonski, andSephton 2009). However, the same characteristics of amindful experience can be elicited from a variety of highlycognitively engaging tasks. For instance, "flow" is a termused to describe the subjective mental state of elite athletes