Inside the Mindful Mind
Current Directions in Psychological Science December 1, 2013 Rimma Teper, Zindel V. Segal, Michael Inzlicht 557 citations
Mindfulness training improves emotion regulation by enhancing executive control, according to a proposed model. Present-moment awareness and nonjudgmental acceptance increase sensitivity to affective cues in experience, refining attunement to subtle emotional changes. This heightened openness signals the need for control, thereby improving executive control and ultimately emotion regulation. The model integrates new findings from executive control research to explain how mindfulness cultivates effective emotion regulation, addressing a gap in understanding the mechanisms behind its psychological benefits.