Exploring The Impact Of Focused Attention Meditation On Emotional Distraction: An Experimental Approach
July 11, 2023 Justin Murphy
Focused Attention meditation, which involves narrowing attention to the breath while maintaining a non-reactive attitude, may improve the ability to ignore emotional distractors, but evidence is mixed. In three lab experiments, participants were randomly assigned to a brief guided meditation or a control TED talk, then completed a visual search task with task-irrelevant negative or neutral images. The first experiment showed reduced distraction by negative images after meditation, but the second and third experiments failed to replicate this immediate effect.