Differences In Mindfulness Research Articles

Dispositional mindfulness and the attenuation of neural responses to emotional stimuli

Considerable research has disclosed how cognitive reappraisals and the modulation of emotional responses promote successful emotion regulation. Less research has examined how the early processing of emotion-relevant stimuli may create divergent emotional response consequences. Mindfulness--a receptive, non-evaluative form of attention--is theorized to foster emotion regulation, and the present study examined whether individual differences in mindfulness would modulate neural responses associated with the early processing of affective stimuli. Focus was on the late positive potential (LPP) of the event-related brain potential to visual stimuli varying in emotional valence and arousal. This study first found, replicating past research, that high arousal images, particularly of an unpleasant type, elicited larger LPP responses. Second, the study found that more mindful individuals showed lower LPP responses to high arousal unpleasant images, even after controlling for trait attentional control. Conversely, two traits contrasting with mindfulness--neuroticism and negative affectivity--were associated with higher LPP responses to high arousal unpleasant images. Finally, mindfulness was also associated with lower LPP responses to motivationally salient pleasant images (erotica). These findings suggest that mindfulness modulates neural responses in an early phase of affective processing, and contribute to understanding how this quality of attention may promote healthy emotional functioning.

Mindfulness predicts less texting while driving among young adults: Examining attention- and emotion-regulation motives as potential mediators

Many young adult drivers read and send text messages while driving despite clear safety risks. Understanding predictors of texting-while-driving may help to indentify relevant targets for interventions to reduce this dangerous behavior. The present study examined whether individual differences in mindfulness are associated with texting-while-driving in a sample of young-adult drivers. Using path analysis, we tested whether this relationship would be mediated by the degree to which individuals use text-messaging as a means of reducing unpleasant emotions (emotion-regulation motives) and the degree to which individuals limit texting in order to focus on present-moment experiences (attention-regulation motives). Individuals lower in mindfulness reported more frequent texting-while-driving and this relationship appeared to be mediated primarily by emotion-regulation motives. Results may help inform the development of mindfulness-based interventions to prevent texting-while-driving.

Effects of Mindfulness Training on Simulated Driving: Preliminary Results

Mindfulness training was examined in relation to drivers' (ages 21 to 38 years) situation awareness and performance. University students enrolled in a Buddhist psychology class were taught concentration techniques in which they were instructed to focus their attention on their breath and mindfulness techniques in which they learned to objectively notice whatever arises in consciousness. These students were to practice these techniques in their everyday activities in order to improve their mindfulness and concentration. Students enrolled in a human factors psychology course served as the control group in which they were not taught mindfulness training exercises. Students in the Buddhist psychology course scored significantly highly on a scale used to assess their ability to concentrate, though differences in mindfulness between the groups were not significant. Situation awareness was assessed using a query method in a driving simulator. Mindfulness and concentration levels were both significantly related to situation awareness for driving (rs = 0.80 and 0.61, respectively). Mindfulness training may greatly impact actual driving performance over time by improving drivers' awareness of their environment and enabling them to block out distractions and to quickly identify hazards. Whereas recent technological advances for improving driving safety (e.g., tactile warnings) have been studied, mental exercises for improving SA in driving have only recently been studied and warrant further research.

Neuroticism as a Risk Factor for Behavioral Dysregulation: A Mindfulness-Mediation Perspective

Neuroticism is an individual difference variable reflecting proneness to negative emotional experiences. High levels of neuroticism are often associated with impulsivity and behavioral dysregulation. Three studies, involving a total of 226 undergraduate participants, were conducted in an effort to better understand the relationship between neuroticism and behavioral dysregulation. Based on relevant theory, it was hypothesized that relations between neuroticism and behavioral dysregulation would be mediated by individual differences in mindfulness. As hypothesized, neuroticism was an inverse predictor of mindfulness and higher levels of mindfulness were associated with (a) lower levels of impulsivity and (b) higher levels of self-control, both assessed in dispositional terms. Furthermore, mindfulness fully mediated the relations between neuroticism and these outcome variables. On the basis of the findings, then, a mindfulness-mediation perspective of neuroticism's behavioral correlates was supported. Implications focus on personality-process perspectives of neuroticism, clinical considerations, and the role of mindfulness in behavioral self-regulation.

Predicting individual differences in mindfulness: The role of trait anxiety, attachment anxiety and attentional control

Two correlational studies sought to identify possible predictors of individual differences in naturally occurring mindfulness. In study one, trait anxiety and attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance, were negatively predictive of mindfulness. In study two, trait anxiety (−) and attentional control (+), but not openness or parental nurturance, predicted mindfulness. In addition, there was evidence of a partial mediation effect of attentional control on the association between trait anxiety and mindfulness. Key features of trait anxiety such as attentional and interpretative processing biases, as well as those of attachment anxiety such as rumination and hypersensitivity, are at odds with mindfulness characteristics such as attention to what is present coupled with an attitude of openness and acceptance. Thus, whether generalised or specific, anxiety appears to be antagonistic to mindfulness; control over one’s attentional resources may form part of the underlying explanation.

Relationships between mindfulness, flow dispositions and mental skills adoption: A cluster analytic approach

Objectives This study examines the relationships between mindfulness, flow dispositions and mental skills adoption. Design Cluster analytic approach. Methods Participants in this study were 182 university student athletes. They were administered the Mindfulness/Mindlessness Scale [MMS; Bodner, T., & Langer, E. (2001). Individual differences in mindfulness: The Langer Mindfulness Scale. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Toronto, Ont., Canada], Dispositional Flow Scale 2 [DFS-2; Jackson, S. A., & Eklund, R. C. (2004). The flow scale manual. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology] and Test of Performance Strategies [TOPS; Thomas, P. R., Murphy, S. M., & Hardy, L. (1999). Test of performance strategies: Development and preliminary validation of a comprehensive measure of athletes’ psychological skills. Journal of Sports Sciences, 17, 697–711]. Results Four distinctive mindfulness clusters were found based on their response on the MMS using cluster analysis. Marked differences in flow dispositions and mental skills adoption habits were observed between the high and the low mindfulness clusters. Those in the high mindfulness cluster scored significantly higher than the low mindfulness clusters in challenge–skill balance, merging of action and awareness, clear goals, concentration and loss of self-consciousness scores of the DFS-2 [Jackson, S.A., & Eklund, R.C. (2004). The flow scale manual. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology]. The high mindfulness clusters also scored significantly higher compared to the low mindfulness cluster in terms of attentional control, emotional control, goal setting and self-talk sub-scales of the TOPS. Conclusions This study suggests that athletes’ flow dispositions and mental skills adoption could be differentiated using mindfulness. The findings have implications towards the understanding of flow and mental skills adoption within sport psychology.