State Mindfulness During Meditation Predicts Enhanced Cognitive Reappraisal

Abstract

Putatively, mindfulness meditation involves generation of a state of "nonappraisal", yet, little is known about how mindfulness may influence appraisal processes. We investigated whether the state and practice of mindfulness could enhance cognitive reappraisal. Participants (N = 44; M age = 24.44, SD = 4.00, range 19 - 38, 82.2% female) were randomized to either 1) mindfulness, 2) suppression, or 3) mind-wandering induction training conditions. Cognitive reappraisal was assessed with the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) prior to experimental induction, and state mindfulness was assessed immediately following induction using the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS). Participants practiced their assigned strategy for one week and then were reassessed with the ERQ reappraisal subscale. Participants receiving mindfulness training reported significantly higher levels of state mindfulness than participants in the thought suppression and mind wandering conditions. Although brief mindfulness training did not lead to significantly greater increases in reappraisal than the other two conditions, state mindfulness during mindfulness meditation was prospectively associated with increases in reappraisal. Path analysis revealed that the indirect effect between mindfulness training and reappraisal was significant through state mindfulness. Degree of state mindfulness achieved during the act of mindfulness meditation significantly predicted increases in reappraisal over time, suggesting that mindfulness may promote emotion regulation by enhancing cognitive reappraisal.

Keywords: cognitive reappraisal; emotion regulation; mind wandering; mindfulness; suppression.

Figures

Figure 1

Scatterplot depicting the association between state mindfulness achieved during the act of mindfulness meditation and residualized changes in reappraisal in the following week. Data points represent individual cases within the brief mindfulness training condition. Higher values on the Y-axis denote increased use of cognitive reappraisal from Time 1 to Time 2.

Figure 2

Path model of state mindfulness as a mediator of the effects of mindfulness training on residualized change in cognitive reappraisal (N = 44). Unstandardized coefficients are presented. Though the direct effect between group assignment (mindfulness training versus suppression/mind wandering) and reappraisal was not significant, a bias-corrected bootstrap test indicated the significance of the indirect effect of group assignment (mindfulness training versus suppression/mind wandering) on reappraisal through state mindfulness: a × b = 1.67, bootstrap SE = .89, 95% CI: (.31, 4.11). Model R-squared = .54.