Relationship between meditation experience and attentional bias to chocolate

Abstract

Meditation practice usually includes attentional training. As such, it may influence attentional bias to emotionally arousing stimuli. This study examined differences in attentional bias to chocolate-related stimuli between those who regularly practice meditation (experienced, n = 48, novice, n = 39) and those who do not (controls, n = 38). Attentional bias was measured using emotional Stroop and dot-probe (100, 500 and 2000 ms durations) tasks, completed after a period of fasting. Compared to controls, meditators showed a higher attentional bias on the dot-probe at 100 ms, but a lower attentional bias at 2000 ms, though these results failed to reach statistical significance. No significant differences were found using the Stroop task. Analysis of the relationship between predicted mediators (self-reported mindfulness, attentional control and self-regulation scores) and dot-probe measures showed significant positive correlations at 2000 ms for non-meditators. For meditators there were no significant correlations between the mediator and the dot-probe measures, though there was a pattern of positive correlations at 100 ms and negative correlations at 2000 ms. These findings suggest that although meditation practice does not result in an overall reduction in attentional bias to chocolate, it may reduce the delay between stimulus onset and bias. Further research would be needed to confirm this possibility.