Ueberholz RY, Fiocco AJ. The Effect of a Brief Mindfulness Practice on Perceived Stress and Sustained Attention: Does Priming Matter?
Mindfulness (N Y) 2022;
13:1757-1768. [PMID:
35693031 PMCID:
PMC9167905 DOI:
10.1007/s12671-022-01913-8]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Objectives
The objective of the current study was to investigate the effect of a brief mindfulness practice on perceived stress and sustained attention, and to determine whether priming the benefits of mindfulness meditation enhances this effect.
Methods
Two hundred and twenty undergraduate students were randomly assigned to a control condition (CC), a meditation condition (MC), or a priming + meditation condition (PMC). Baseline and post-treatment measures included subjective stress ratings on a visual analog scale (VAS) and performance on a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), determined by reaction time coefficient of variability (RTCV) and three measures of accuracy: correct responses, errors of commission, and errors of omission.
Results
Repeated measures analyses revealed that both the MC and the PMC displayed a decline in perceived stress relative to the CC. Analyses further revelated that the MC and PMC displayed fewer errors of omission relative to the CC. However, only the PMC displayed better performance relative to the CC with respect to total correct response and errors of commission. There were no significant between-group differences for RTCV.
Conclusions
These findings are novel and provide a foundation to further investigate the effect of priming on mindfulness engagement and its potential benefits.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-022-01913-8.
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