Top

Gepubliceerd in:

01-06-2010 | Original Paper

Does Mindfulness Meditation Enhance Attention? A Randomized Controlled Trial

Auteur: Randye J. Semple

Gepubliceerd in: Mindfulness | Uitgave 2/2010

Abstract

Mindfulness-based interventions have been incorporated into a variety of psychotherapies. Attentional disruptions are common in many mental disorders, and it seems generally accepted that practicing mindfulness enhances attention. We tested the hypothesis that mindfulness training would enhance four components of attention: sustained vigilance, concentration, inhibition of distraction, and executive control. A randomized three-group design included: (1) a mindfulness meditation group, (2) a progressive muscle relaxation group to control for effects of physical relaxation on attention, (3) a wait-listed group to control for practice effects of repeated measures. Fifty-three community adults were randomly assigned to one of these groups. Forty-five participants completed the 4-week program. After training and 4 weeks of twice-daily practice, the mindfulness group demonstrated significantly greater discriminability on a signal detection task than did the other groups. Significant improvements in sustained attention were found following mindfulness meditation, which did not appear to be mediated by relaxation or practice effects. Performances on measures of concentration and inhibition of distraction did not support the hypothesis. These results partially support current considerations of mindfulness meditation to enhance attention.

vorige artikel Mindful Parenting in Mental Health Care

volgende artikel Mindfulness as Presence

One of the most consistent findings in psychology is that optimal arousal is necessary to produce efficient performance for any given task (Broadbent 1958).

Allen, N. B., Chambers, R., & Knight, W. (2006). Mindfulness-based psychotherapies: a review of conceptual foundations, empirical evidence and practical considerations. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 285–294. doi:10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01794.x.CrossRefPubMed

Anderson, N. D., Lau, M. A., Segal, Z. V., & Bishop, S. R. (2007). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and attentional control. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 14, 449–463. doi:org/10.1002/cpp.544.CrossRef

Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: a conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 125–143. doi:10.1093/clipsy/bpg015.CrossRef

Benson, H., Beary, J. F., & Carol, M. P. (1974). The relaxation response. Psychiatry, 37, 37–46.PubMed

Bernstein, D. A., & Borkovec, T. D. (1973). Progressive relaxation training: a manual for the helping professions. Champaign, IL: Research Press.

Bhikkhu Bodhi (Ed.). (1993). A comprehensive manual of Abhidhamma Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society.

Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., et al. (2004). Mindfulness: a proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11, 230–241. doi:10.1093/clipsy/bph077.CrossRef

Blackburn, I. M., & Davidson, K. M. (1995). Cognitive therapy for depression and anxiety: a practitioner's guide (amended ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science.

Boals, G. F. (1978). Toward a cognitive reconceptualization of meditation. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 10, 143–182.

Bondolfi, G. (2005). Mindfulness and anxiety disorders: possible developments. Constructivism in the Human Sciences, 10, 45–52.

Broadbent, D. E. (1958). Perception and communication. London: Pergamon Press.

Chambers, R., Lo, B. C. Y., & Allen, N. B. (2008). The impact of intensive mindfulness training on attentional control, cognitive style, and affect. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 303–322. doi:10.1007/s10608-007-9119-0.CrossRef

Davidson, R. J., & Schwartz, G. E. (1976). The psychobiology of relaxation and related states: a multi-process theory. In D. I. Mostofsky (Ed.), Behavior control and modification of physiological activity (pp. 399–442). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Davidson, R. J., Goleman, D. J., & Schwartz, G. E. (1976). Attentional and affective concomitants of meditation: a cross-sectional study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 85, 235–238. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.85.6.611.CrossRefPubMed

Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., & Schumacher, M. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65, 564–570. doi:10.1097/01.PSY.0000077505.67574.E3.CrossRefPubMed

Deikman, A. J. (1966). De-automatization and the mystic experience. Psychiatry, 29, 324–338.

Delmonte, M. M. (1987). Personality and meditation. In M. A. West (Ed.), The psychology of meditation (pp. 118–132). New York: Oxford University Press.

Fan, J., McCandliss, B. D., Sommer, T., Raz, A., & Posner, M. I. (2002). Testing the efficiency and independence of attentional networks. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14, 340–347.CrossRefPubMed

Golden, C. J. (1978). Stroop Color and Word Test: a manual for clinical and experimental uses. Wood Dale, IL: Stoelting.

Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: a meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57, 35–43. doi:10.1016/S0022-3999(03)00573-7.CrossRefPubMed

Hameroff, S. R., Kaszniak, A. W., & Scott, A. C. (Eds.). (1996). Toward a science of consciousness: the first Tucson discussions and debates. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hautus, M. J. (1995). Corrections for extreme proportions and their biasing effects on estimated values of d'. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 27, 46–51.

Hautus, M. J. (1997). Calculating estimates of sensitivity from group data: pooled versus averaged estimators. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 29, 556–562.

Jacobson, E. (1925/1987). Progressive relaxation. American Journal of Psychology, 100, 522–537. [reprinted from Jacobson, E. (1925). American Journal of Psychology, 36, 73–87]. doi:10.2307/1422693.CrossRef

Jensen, A. R., & Rohwer, W. D., Jr. (1966). The Stroop Color–Word Test: a review. Acta Psychologica, 25, 36–93. doi:10.1016/0001-6918(66)90004-7.CrossRefPubMed

Jha, A. P., Krompinger, J., & Baime, M. J. (2007). Mindfulness training modifies subsystems of attention. Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 7, 109–119. doi:10.3758/CABN.7.2.109.CrossRef

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go there you are: mindfulness meditation for everyday life. New York: Hyperion.

Lazar, S. W., Kerr, C. E., Wasserman, R. H., Gray, J. R., Greve, D. N., Treadway, M. T., et al. (2005). Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport, 16, 1893–1897. doi:10.1097/01.wnr.0000186598.66243.19.CrossRefPubMed

Lee, J., Semple, R. J., Rosa, D., & Miller, L. (2008). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children: results of a pilot study. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 22, 15–28. doi:10.1891/0889.8391.22.1.15.CrossRef

Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B., & Loring, D. W. (2004). Neuropsychological Assessment (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

MacLeod, C. M. (1991). Half a century of research on the Stroop effect: an integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 109, 163–203. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.109.2.163.CrossRefPubMed

McNair, D. M., Lorr, M., & Droppleman, L. F. (1992). Manual for the Profile of Mood States. San Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Service.

Moore, A., & Malinowski, P. (2009). Meditation, mindfulness and cognitive flexibility. Consciousness and Cognition: An International Journal, 18, 176–186. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2008.12.008.CrossRef

Nuechterlein, K. H., Parasuraman, R., & Jiang, Q. (1983). Visual sustained attention: image degradation produces rapid sensitivity decrement over time. Science, 220, 327–329. doi:10.1126/science.6836276.CrossRefPubMed

Ornstein, R. E. (1986). The psychology of consciousness (3rd ed.). New York: Penguin Books.

Rani, N. J., & Rao, P. V. K. (1996). Meditation and attention regulation. Journal of Indian Psychology, 14, 26-30.

Rosvold, H., Mirsky, F., Sarason, I., Bransome, E., & Beck, L. (1956). A continuous performance test for brain damage. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 20, 343–350. doi:10.1037/h0043220.CrossRefPubMed

Rubia, K. (2009). The neurobiology of meditation and its clinical effectiveness in psychiatric disorders. Biological Psychology, 82, 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.04.003.CrossRefPubMed

Schmertz, S. K., Anderson, P. L., & Robins, D. L. (2009). The relation between self-report mindfulness and performance on tasks of sustained attention. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31, 60–66. doi:10.1007/s10862-008-9086-0.CrossRef

Semple, R. J., Lee, J., Rosa, D., & Miller, L. F. (2010). A randomized trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children: promoting mindful attention to enhance social–emotional resiliency in children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 218–229. doi:10.1007/s10826-009-9301-y.CrossRef

Shapiro, D. A. (1987). Implications of psychotherapy research for the study of meditation. In M. A. West (Ed.), The psychology of meditation (pp. 173–188). New York: Oxford University Press.

Spielberger, C. D. (1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Tang, Y.-Y., & Posner, M. I. (2009). Attention training and attention state training. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13, 222–227. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2009.01.009.CrossRefPubMed

Tang, Y.-Y., Ma, Y., Wang, J., Fan, Y., Feng, S., Lu, Q., et al. (2007). Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104, 17152–17156. doi:10.1073/pnas.0707678104.CrossRef

Valentine, E. R., & Sweet, P. L. G. (1999). Meditation and attention: a comparison of the effects of concentrative and mindfulness meditation on sustained attention. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 2, 59–70. doi:10.1080/13674679908406332.CrossRef

Walsh, R. N. (1996). Meditation research: the state of the art. In B. W. Scotton & A. B. Chinen (Eds.), Textbook of transpersonal psychiatry and psychology (pp. 167–175). New York: Basicbooks.

Walsh, R. N., & Shapiro, S. L. (2006). The meeting of meditative disciplines and western psychology: a mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist, 61, 227–239. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.61.3.227.CrossRefPubMed

Wechsler, D. (1997). Manual for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Pearson Education, Inc.

Wenk-Sormaz, H. (2005). Meditation can reduce habitual responding. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 11, 42–58.PubMed

Zylowska, L., Ackerman, D. L., Yang, M. H., Futrell, J. L., Horton, N. L., Hale, T. S., et al. (2008). Mindfulness meditation training in adults and adolescents with ADHD: a feasibility study. Journal of Attention Disorders, 11, 737–746. doi:10.1177/1087054707308502.CrossRefPubMed

Titel: Does Mindfulness Meditation Enhance Attention? A Randomized Controlled Trial
Auteur: Randye J. Semple
Publicatiedatum: 01-06-2010
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Mindfulness / Uitgave 2/2010
Print ISSN: 1868-8527
Elektronisch ISSN: 1868-8535
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-010-0017-2

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 2/2010

Mindfulness for Psychologists: Paying Kind Attention to the Perceptible

Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Severity and Marijuana Use Coping Motives: A Test of the Mediating Role of Non-Judgmental Acceptance within a Trauma-Exposed Community Sample

Mindfulness as Presence

Training Teachers to Deliver Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Learning from the UK Experience

Mindful Parenting in Mental Health Care

Ronald D. Siegel: The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems