Mindfulness and equanimity moderate approach/avoidance motor responses.
Catherine Juneau, Rebecca Shankland, Bärbel Knäuper, Michael Dambrun
Cognition & Emotion September 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2021.1927674 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial (Study 1); quasi-experimental (Study 2) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 155 |
| Population | Adult participants |
| Interventions | Breathing meditation Body-scan meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Approach/avoidance task Equanimity Hedonic evaluation |
| Key findings | Breathing meditation practice and higher trait equanimity reduced automatic approach and avoidance biases in motor responses, while body-scan meditation did not. |
Abstract
A person's tendency to approach pleasant stimuli and to avoid unpleasant stimuli reflects a basic psychological phenomenon. The present research aimed to investigate the extent to which mindfulness practices and trait equanimity can attenuate this motivational process. In two studies, participants were asked to perform an Approach/Avoidance Task (AAT). In Study 1 (N = 84), prior to completing the AAT, participants were randomly assigned to one of two guided mindfulness-based meditation conditions (breathing or body-scan) or to an active control condition. In Study 2 (N = 71), which controlled for mindfulness practice, motor responses to the AAT were compared by level of equanimity of the participants (low vs. high). The results revealed that breathing meditation practice and trait equanimity significantly moderated participants' motor responses to the AAT, and that the body-scan meditation did not moderate these responses. Bayesian analyses showed that participants in the breathing meditation group (Study 1) and those with higher equanimity (Study 2) showed a reduction of bias in their motor responses to the AAT. These results suggest that meditation practice and trait equanimity may promote a decrease in automatic motivational approach and avoidance tendencies evoked by positive and negative stimuli.