The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Attention and Rumination

Abstract

Mindfulness meditation (MM) has grown in popularity over the recent years, becoming a way in which to achieve awareness of the present moment. Benefits of MM include decreased rates of mind wandering, depression, and anxiety, as well as improvements in well-being and attention. However, MM researchers using novice meditators usually compare them to a passive control group or a control group that completes relaxation training. The present study used a cognitively active control group as a comparison group to examine the way attention, rumination, and mind wandering are affected by a short-term MM training. Participants were randomly assigned to complete one week of MM training or one week of poetry analysis. Participants completed measures before and after training, as well as seven days of experience sampling following the completion of training. Results indicated that all participants showed improvements in mindfulness and attention and declines in rumination, and that the two groups did not differ in the magnitude of these effects. Additionally, our longitudinal results indicated that attention did not mediate the relationship between mindfulness and rumination, but our experience sampling results suggested that state mind wandering mediated the relationship between state mindfulness and state rumination. These results suggest that individuals may need to reach intermediate levels of MM training before seeing effects distinct to MM practice.