Implicit and explicit emotional behavior and mindfulness

Religious and Existential Determinants of Affective Response to a Brief Mindfulness Intervention

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are often promoted in the Western world as being "secular" in nature, despite the religious/spiritual (R/S) roots of mindfulness itself. Relevant individual characteristics such as R/S, however, have yet to be examined thoroughly in relation to treatment response. Using pre-post experimental designs, we examined the interaction of participant religiosity and different religious framings (Buddhist, secular, spiritual) of a brief MBI as determinants of affective responses to the MBI using regression in two online samples (Study 1: N=677; Study 2: N= 157). Aspects of religiosity (existential quest, scriptural literalism) had differential effects on affective responses to MBIs dependent on the framing of the condition. Participants' R/S, as well as the R/S attributes of an MBI, may impact affective responses to MBIs. Further research is needed to ascertain how, and to what extent, MBIs might be optimized in order to maximize benefits for participants with diverse religious and existential commitments.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00139-0.

Acceptance Mindfulness-Trait as a Protective Factor for Post-Natal Depression: A Preliminary Research

(1) Background: the prevalence of postnatal depression (PND) reaches up to 20%. PND could be based on the interaction between a psychological vulnerability and chronic stress that pregnancy would activate. Vulnerability factors reflect a psychological profile mirroring mindfulness-trait (MT). A high level of MT is associated with an efficient regulation of both physiological and psychological stress, especially negative moods. Interestingly, mindfulness level can be improved by program based on mindfulness meditation. We hypothesize that MT is a protective factor for PND. We also postulate that negative moods increase during the pregnancy for women who develop a PND after delivery (2) Methods: we conducted a multicentric prospective longitudinal study including 85 women during their first trimester of their pregnancy and 72 from the childbirth to the baby's first birthday". At the inclusion, presence and acceptance of MT and various variables of personality and of psychological functioning were assessed. Mood evolution was monitored each month during the pregnancy and a delivery trauma risk was evaluated after delivery. PND detection was carried out at 48 h, 2, 6 and 12 months after the delivery with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale with a screening cut-off >11. (3) Results: high-acceptance MT is a protective factor for PND (OR: 0.79). Women without PND displayed less negative mood during pregnancy (p < 0.05 for Anxiety, Confusion and Anger). (4) Conclusions: these results suggest the value of deploying programs to enhance the level of mindfulness, especially in its acceptance dimension, before, during and after pregnancy, to reduce the risk of PND.

Validation of the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale on experienced meditators and nonmeditators

OBJECTIVE

The Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale's (PHLMS) psychometric properties, theoretical assumptions, convergent validity, and relationships to symptom, happiness and social desirability measures were investigated in novel samples.

METHODS

Internet-recruited general public samples of experienced meditators (n = 67, 21 male, 46 female, average age 50) and nonmeditators (n = 61, 28 male, 32 female, and 1 transgender; average age 41.9) were used.

RESULTS

Meditators scored higher than nonmeditators on both PHLMS Acceptance, t(126) = 2.77, p < .01, d = 0.49, and Awareness t(126) = 4.18, p < .01, d = 0.74. Higher PHLMS Acceptance subscale scores were associated with decreased scores on all symptom measures in nonmeditators, but only in select measures among meditators. Generally, PHLMS Awareness subscale scores were not related to symptoms. Awareness interacted with meditator status on outcome measures.

CONCLUSIONS

PHLMS may be used in the general public and experienced meditator populations. Mindfulness facets become intercorrelated in experienced meditators.

Mindfulness Dampens Cardiac Responses to Motion Scenes of Violence

Mindfulness is linked with improved regulatory processes of attention and emotion. The potential benefits of mindfulness are vast, including more positive emotional states and diminished arousal in response to emotional stimuli. This study aims to expand of the current knowledge of the mechanisms of mindfulness by relating the latter to cardiovascular processes. The paper describes two studies which investigated the relationship of trait mindfulness to self-report measures of emotions elicited during a violent video clip and cardiovascular responses to the clip. Both studies recruited male and female participants, mainly university undergraduate students. The clip was 5-min-long and evoked mainly feelings of tension and disgust. In study 1, we found that higher scores for trait mindfulness were associated with increased scores for valence (r = .370, p = .009), indicating a more positive interpretation of the clip. In study 2, the average heart rate during the clip was lower than during the preceding (p < .05) and following (p < .01) non-exposure conditions. Higher trait mindfulness was related to diminished heart rate reactivity (r = −.364, p = .044) and recovery (r = −.415, p = .020). This latter effect was obtained only when trait anxiety was used as a statistical covariate. Additionally, increased trait mindfulness was accompanied by higher resting heart rate (r = .390, p = .027). These outcomes suggest that mindfulness is linked with reductions in negative feelings evoked by violent motion stimuli.

A Workplace Mindfulness Intervention May Be Associated With Improved Psychological Well-Being and Productivity. A Preliminary Field Study in a Company Setting

Background: Mindfulness trainings are increasingly offered in workplace environments in order to improve health and productivity. Whilst promising, there is limited research on the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in workplace settings.

Objective: To examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a Workplace Mindfulness Training (WMT) in terms of burnout, psychological well-being, organizational and team climate, and performance.

Methods: This is a preliminary field study in four companies. Self-report questionnaires were administered up to a month before, at start of, and right at the end of the WMT, resulting in a pre-intervention and an intervention period. There was no separate control group. A total of 425 participants completed the surveys on the different time points. Linear mixed model analyses were used to analyze the data.

Results: When comparing the intervention period with the pre-intervention period, significantly greater improvements were found in measures of burnout (mean difference = 0.3, p < 0.001), perceived stress (mean difference = -0.2, p < 0.001), mindfulness [mean difference = 1.0 for the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) and 0.8 for the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), both p < 0.001], and well-being (mean difference = 0.4, p < 0.001). Additionally, greater increases in team climate, organizational climate and personal performance were reported during the intervention compared to the pre-intervention period with largest improvements in team cooperation (mean difference = 0.3, p < 0.001), productivity (mean difference = 0.5, p < 0.001), and stress (mean difference = -0.4, p < 0.001). Effect sizes were large for mindfulness (d > 0.8), moderate for well-being, burnout and perceived stress (d = 0.5–0.8), and ranged from low to moderate for organizational and team climate and personal performance (d = 0.2–0.8).

Conclusion: These preliminary data suggest that compared to the pre-intervention period, the intervention period was associated with greater reductions in burnout and perceived stress, improvements in mindfulness, well-being, and increases in team and organizational climate and personal performance. Due to design limitations, no conclusions can be drawn on the extent to which the WMT or non-specific factors such as time have contributed to the findings. Further studies, preferably using randomized controlled designs with longer follow up periods are needed to evaluate whether the associations found can be attributed to the WMT and whether these sustain after the training.

Self-reported trait mindfulness and affective reactivity: a motivational approach using multiple psychophysiological measures

As a form of attention, mindfulness is qualitatively receptive and non-reactive, and is thought to facilitate adaptive emotional responding. One suggested mechanism is that mindfulness facilitates disengagement from an affective stimulus and thereby decreases affective reactivity. However, mindfulness has been conceptualized as a state, intervention, and trait. Because evidence is mixed as to whether self-reported trait mindfulness decreases affective reactivity, we used a multi-method approach to study the relationship between individual differences in self-reported trait mindfulness and electrocortical, electrodermal, electromyographic, and self-reported responses to emotional pictures. Specifically, while participants (N = 51) passively viewed pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant IAPS pictures, we recorded high-density (128 channels) electrocortical, electrodermal, and electromyographic data to the pictures as well as to acoustic startle probes presented during the pictures. Afterwards, participants rated their subjective valence and arousal while viewing the pictures again. If trait mindfulness spontaneously reduces general emotional reactivity, then for individuals reporting high rather than low mindfulness, response differences between emotional and neutral pictures would show relatively decreased early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes, decreased skin conductance responses, and decreased subjective ratings for valence and arousal. High mindfulness would also be associated with decreased emotional modulation of startle eyeblink and P3 amplitudes. Although results showed clear effects of emotion on the dependent measures, in general, mindfulness did not moderate these effects. For most measures, effect sizes were small with rather narrow confidence intervals. These data do not support the hypothesis that individual differences in self-reported trait mindfulness are related to spontaneous emotional responses during picture viewing.

Mindfulness meditation and explicit and implicit indicators of personality and self-concept changes

The scientific interest on mindfulness meditation (MM) has significantly increased in the last two decades probably because of the positive health effects that this practice exerts in a great variety of clinical and non-clinical conditions. Despite attention regulation, emotional regulation, and body awareness have been argued to be critical mechanisms through which MM improves well-being, much less is known on the effects of this practice on personality. Here we review the current state of knowledge about the role of MM in promoting changes in practitioners’ personality profiles and self-concepts. We first focus on studies that investigated the relations between mindfulness and personality using well-known self-report inventories such as the Five-Factor model of personality traits and the Temperament and Character Inventory. Second, based on the intrinsic limitations of these explicit personality measures, we review a key set of results showing effects of MM on implicit, as well as explicit, self-representations. Although the research on MM and personality is still in its infancy, it appears that this form of meditative practice may notably shape individuals’ personality and self-concept toward more healthy profiles.

Effects of an 8-week meditation program on the implicit and explicit attitudes toward religious/spiritual self-representations

Explicit self-representations often conflict with implicit and intuitive self-representations, with such discrepancies being seen as a source of psychological tension. Most of previous research on the psychological effects of mindfulness-meditation has assessed people's self-attitudes at an explicit level, leaving unknown whether mindfulness-meditation promotes changes on implicit self-representations. Here, we assessed the changes in implicit and explicit self-related religious/spiritual (RS) representations in healthy participants following an 8-week mindfulness-oriented meditation (MOM) program. Before and after meditation, participants were administered implicit (implicit association test) and explicit (self-reported questionnaires) RS measures. Relative to control condition, MOM led to increases of implicit RS in individuals whit low pre-existing implicit RS and to more widespread increases in explicit RS. On the assumption that MOM practice may enhance the clarity of one's transcendental thoughts and feelings, we argued that MOM allows people to transform their intuitive feelings of implicit RS as well as their explicit RS attitudes.

Mindfulness-based interventions in schools-a systematic review and meta-analysis

Mindfulness programs for schools are popular. We systematically reviewed the evidence regarding the effects of school-based mindfulness interventions on psychological outcomes, using a comprehensive search strategy designed to locate both published and unpublished studies. Systematic searches in 12 databases were performed in August 2012. Further studies were identified via hand search and contact with experts. Two reviewers independently extracted the data, also selecting information about intervention programs (elements, structure etc.), feasibility, and acceptance. Twenty-four studies were identified, of which 13 were published. Nineteen studies used a controlled design. In total, 1348 students were instructed in mindfulness, with 876 serving as controls, ranging from grade 1 to 12. Overall effect sizes were Hedge's g = 0.40 between groups and g = 0.41 within groups (p < 0.0001). Between group effect sizes for domains were: cognitive performance g = 0.80, stress g = 0.39, resilience g = 0.36, (all p < 0.05), emotional problems g = 0.19 third person ratings g = 0.25 (both n.s.). All in all, mindfulness-based interventions in children and youths hold promise, particularly in relation to improving cognitive performance and resilience to stress. However, the diversity of study samples, variety in implementation and exercises, and wide range of instruments used require a careful and differentiated examination of data. There is great heterogeneity, many studies are underpowered, and measuring effects of Mindfulness in this setting is challenging. The field is nascent and recommendations will be provided as to how interventions and research of these interventions may proceed.

Rasch-Analyse des Freiburger Fragebogens zur Achtsamkeit

Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die psychometrische Überprüfung der 14-Item Version des Freiburger Fragebogens zur Achtsamkeit auf der Grundlage der Rasch-Analyse. Da sowohl eine ein- (Achtsamkeit als Generalfaktor) als auch zweifaktorielle Lösung (Achtsamkeit zusammengesetzt aus Präsenz und Akzeptanz) für den FFA-14 vorgeschlagen wurde, werden in dieser Studie die psychometrischen Kennwerte für beide Lösungen auf der Grundlage des Ratingskalenmodell (RSM) verglichen. Die psychometrische Analyse belegte mit Ausnahme eines Items die psychometrische Qualität des Instruments und zeigte die Überlegenheit der zweifaktoriellen Lösung auf. Jedoch waren auch Boden- und Deckeneffekte nachzuweisen, die die Messung bei Probanden mit sehr hohen bzw. niedrigen Achtsamkeitsausprägungen eventuell verzerren könnten.