The decentering component of mindfulness reduces reactions to mental imagery.

Abstract

Four experiments examined whether reactions to mental imagery can be reduced by the mindfulness component of decentering, that is, the insight that experiences are impermanent mental states. In Experiments 1a, 1b, and 1c, participants vividly imagined an unpleasant autobiographical event or a rewarding food. When instructed to adopt a decentering perspective in comparison to an immersed perspective during imagery, participants experienced less negative affect and fewer cravings to eat. In Experiment 2, participants were exposed to an attractive or a neutral food, and we assessed salivation and eating-related imagery. Although imagery did not differ between groups, the attractive food elicited less salivation in decentering relative to control participants. We suggest that decentering can make one’s imagery of consuming a food and of reliving of negative experiences less compelling, and thus reduce affective responses to both unpleasant and rewarding imagery, even if the imagery itself is kept active in mind.