Mindfulness Presentation Flashcards
Our group chose the construct of Mindfulness. Specifically we chose Mindfulness because although this construct is being more readily practiced and studied here in the Western world for its benefits on health and well-being, this practice does originate from Eastern and Collectivistic societies. So we were interested in choosing a construct that was relatively new to us.
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Hello introduction
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Using Langer and Bishops description of Mindfulness, being mindful incorporates a flexible state of mind, an openness to novelty or the unfamiliar, being sensitive to contextual surroundings and perspectives, and intentionally being focused in the present time.
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Bishop, although similar to Langer, highlights the importance of discouraging evaluating judgments of the self, discusses bringing more attention to the cognitive and emotional components of being mindful, and seeks to pay specific attention to internal experiences via the emotions.
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Studies on the effects of Mindfulness on health and well being has exploded over the last 20 years.
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For instance Garland, Hanley, Farb and Froeliger report findings in their their study that those who received mindful meditation training versus those in a control group, reported significantly higher levels of state mindfulness, and achieving these mindful states was positively associated with increases in cognitive reappraisal.
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In a study looking at the effects of mindfulness on aging in older populations, Malinowski, Moore, Mead and Gruber report that participants in a mindful meditation training group showed a significant increase on improving reaction time performance, and improving attention regulation, leading to better task performance overall than those in a control group.
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In looking at studies on mindfulness, it’s also important to note that this construct has been extracted from originating societies and so it’s important to note that the nature and effect of mindfulness may play out differently in cultures with different value systems.
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For example, Hwang reports in his study that although mindfulness looks promising as a western technique for those who are Asian-American, these individuals may overly interpret cultural teachings or use them as an excuse for inaction, which may be maladaptive.
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This suggests that the differing contextualizations that exist between two cultures may reduce the effectiveness of mindfulness based approaches for some individuals.
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In a comprehensive review of Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which emphasizes mindfulness, Woidneck, Pratt, Gundy, Nelson, and Twohig report that preliminary evidence highlights that mindful therapies may be effective for diverse groups, but the results of these studies are not clear.
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From the studies, it seems that mindfulness may have a positive effect on our health and well-being. The next question to ask then, is how do we incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives?
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