Reappraisal and mindfulness: A comparison of subjective effects and cognitive costs

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2013.10.006

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Volume 51, Issue 12, December 2013, Pages 899-904

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2013.10.006 Get rights and content

Highlights

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Mindfulness and reappraisal training showed equivalent effects in reducing sadness.
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Reappraisal resulted in greater depletion of cognitive resources than mindfulness.
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Greater trait mindfulness predicted more effective emotion regulation.

Abstract

The present study investigated the relative effects of mindfulness and reappraisal in reducing sad mood and whether trait mindfulness and habitual reappraisal moderated the effects. The study also compared the extent to which implementation of these strategies incurred cognitive resources. A total of 129 participants were randomly assigned to receiving training in mindfulness, reappraisal, or no training prior to undergoing an autobiographical sad mood induction. Results showed that mindfulness and reappraisal were superior to no training, and equivalent in their effects in lowering sad mood. Compared to mindfulness, reappraisal resulted in significantly higher interference scores on a subsequent Stroop test, reflecting greater depletion of cognitive resources. Higher trait mindfulness, but not habitual reappraisal, predicted greater reductions in sadness across conditions. The study suggests that although mindfulness and reappraisal are equally effective in down-regulating sad mood, they incur different levels of cognitive costs.

Section snippets

Participants

A total of 129 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to receiving training in mindfulness (n = 43), reappraisal (n = 43), or to a no-instruction condition (n = 43). Potential participants were directed to an online survey and invited for participation if they fulfilled study criteria. Inclusion criteria were age between 18 and 55 years old and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979) scores of 10–29. Due to ethical concerns, participants were excluded and

Manipulation check

Twenty-one participants (16.3%) reported a mood shift of less than 1 point (1 cm on a 10 cm line) in response to the mood induction procedure and were excluded from subsequent analyses. Groups did not differ significantly on the number of participants excluded on this basis. A 3 (group) × 2 (time, pre- vs. post-mood induction) ANOVA of sadness ratings demonstrated a significant main effect of time (F(1, 89) = 393.55, p < .001), no main effect of group, and no interaction. Mean ratings of

Discussion

This study showed that mindfulness and reappraisal were superior to no training, and equivalent in their effects in lowering sad moods induced through negative autobiographical recall. The reappraisal group demonstrated significantly higher Stroop interference scores compared to the mindfulness group. Greater trait mindfulness, but not habitual reappraisal, predicted greater reductions in sadness across conditions.

The finding that mindfulness and reappraisal were each more effective than no

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Duke Interdisciplinary Initiative in Social Psychology in the completion of this research project. We would also like to thank M. Zachary Rosenthal, Jeffrey Brantley, and Kathleen Sikkema for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript, and Michelle Van Dellen for providing statistical support. This project was supported by participant payment grants from Duke Interdisciplinary Initiative in Social Psychology and Aleane Webb

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Shorter communicationReappraisal and mindfulness: A comparison of subjective effects and cognitive costs

Highlights

Abstract

Section snippets

Participants

Manipulation check

Discussion

Acknowledgments

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Clinical Psychology Review

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Consciousness and Cognition

Explore (NY)

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Cognitive and Behavioral Practice

International Journal of Psychophysiology

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Biological Psychology

NeuroImage

Behaviour Research and Therapy

Cognitive therapy of depression

Mindfulness: a proposed operational definition

Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice

Mindfulness and coping with dysphoric mood: contrasts with rumination and distraction

Cognitive Therapy and Research

The social consequences of expressive suppression

Emotion

Responding mindfully to unpleasant thoughts and images: reliability and validity of the Southampton Mindfulness Questionnaire

British Journal of Clinical Psychology

Shorter communication
Reappraisal and mindfulness: A comparison of subjective effects and cognitive costs