Brief Trainings to Buffer Against Acute Stress Effects

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of several brief trainings based on contemplative practices and positive psychology to buffer against the negative effects that acute stress has on behavior and cognitive abilities. The investigators hypothesize that training will buffer against negative effects of acute stress.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stress
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Loving-Kindness meditation training; Behavioral: Breath Awareness meditation training; Behavioral: Gratitude; Behavioral: Control

Detailed Description

Participants will be taught a stress reducing training (breath awareness, loving kindness practice, gratitude exercise) and will practice using this technique for 10-15 minutes. Following this, all participants will undergo the Cold Pressor Task (CPT) for up to 3 minutes.

Before and after these tasks, participant data related to attention, working memory, self regulation, affect, and prosociality will be collected.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 172
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Wisconsin
    • Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53705
      • University of Wisconsin-Madison

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• undergraduate psychology recruitment pool

Exclusion Criteria:

• non-native English speakers, pregnant women

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Loving-Kindness training; Participants receive Loving-Kindness meditation training for approximately 12 minutes.	Behavioral: Loving-Kindness meditation training; Participants undergo training for approximately 12 minutes. Training involves guided reflections and intentions related to feeling loving-kindness towards the self and others.
Experimental: Breath Awareness training; Participants receive Breath Awareness meditation training for approximately 12 minutes.	Behavioral: Breath Awareness meditation training; Participants undergo training for approximately 12 minutes. Training involves guided awareness focused on sensations of breathing.
Experimental: Gratitude training; Participants will receive Gratitude training for approximately 12 minutes.	Behavioral: Gratitude; Participants undergo training for approximately 12 minutes. Training involves reflections of gratitude for people, events, and things in one's life.
Other: Control; Participants write and then think about the physical space in which they live (i.e., their home) for approximately 12 minutes.	Behavioral: Control; Participants will write and then think about the physical space in which they live (i.e., their home) for approximately 12 minutes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Change from baseline performance on Operational Span task	Baseline and 10 minutes following post stress induction
Change from baseline in time spent on hand grip self regulation task	Baseline and 30 minutes post stress induction
Change from baseline on likeability ratings of neutral stimuli	Baseline and 1 minute post stress induction
Number of trials completed in optional Generosity task	40 minutes post stress induction
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings at baseline	Baseline
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings after pre-test measures	2 minutes before training
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings after training	1 minute after training
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings after stress induction	1 minute after stress induction
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule ratings after post-test	1 minute after post-test measures
Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test at baseline	Baseline
Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test after pre-test measures	2 minutes before training
Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test after training	1 minute after training
Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test after stress induction	1 minute after stress induction
Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test after post-test	1 minute after post-test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participant interest in participating in future training	Interest will be rated using a visual analog scale.	40 minutes post stress induction

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Stacey Schaefer, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Goldberg SB, Flook L, Hirshberg MJ, Davidson RJ, Schaefer SM. Brief breath awareness training yields poorer working memory performance in the context of acute stress. Cogn Emot. 2021 Aug;35(5):1009-1017. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2021.1878113. Epub 2021 Jan 29.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 31, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 7, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): August 12, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 23, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 21, 2019
• Last Verified: May 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 2014-0572; MLK2014 (Other Identifier: Study Team)