“Mind the Trap”: Mindfulness Practice Reduces Cognitive Rigidity
A Chiesa, A Chiesa, A Chiesa, A Heeren, A Heeren, Antoine Lutz, A Moore, A Wells, A Zgierska, AH Zohar, AJ Clark, AJ Whitmer, AS Luchins, B Nevo, CM Steele, CM Steele, D Coleman, DJ Miklowitz, EL Cowen, EL Garland, EN Shearin, ER Watkins, EV Sullivan, F Faul, Fadel Zeidan, H Wenk-Sormaz, H Wenk-Sormaz, HS Hodgins, J Cangemi, J Everett, Jon Kabat‐zinn, J Piet, J Schwartz, Jonathan Greenberg, Keren Reiner, L Rapgay, L Roemer, L Zylowska, Leonardo Fontenelle, LJ Seidman, M Fischer, M Levenson, M Rokeach, MC Williams, ME Harrer, MM Linehan, MT Miró, N Meiran, N Meiran, Nachshon Meiran, ND Anderson, NJ Cepeda, P Beljan, P Grossman, P Schultz, P Schultz, Richard Chambers, R Gross-Isseroff, R Wanden-Berghe, S Nolen-Hoeksema, SC Hayes, SR Bishop, T Kingston, TB Kashdan, TE Ellis, TS Nelson, W Ramel, ZV Segal
PLoS One May 15, 2012 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036206 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced mindfulness meditators and non-meditators |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Duration | Eight meeting mindfulness program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindfulness practice Meditators Mindfulness program Cognitive flexibility Cognitive rigidity Thinking flexibility Adaptive thinking Mental flexibility Overcoming bias Less rigidity Problem solving Water jar puzzle Solution finding Adaptive responses Decision making Cognitive bias Mental traps Past experience bias Rigidity bias Fixed thinking Habitual thinking Blinded by experience |
| Citations | 217 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness meditation reduces cognitive rigidity by decreasing the tendency to be blinded by past experience. |
Abstract
Two experiments examined the relation between mindfulness practice and cognitive rigidity by using a variation of the Einstellung water jar task. Participants were required to use three hypothetical jars to obtain a specific amount of water. Initial problems were solvable by the same complex formula, but in later problems (“critical” or “trap” problems) solving was possible by an additional much simpler formula. A rigidity score was compiled through perseverance of the complex formula. In Experiment 1, experienced mindfulness meditators received significantly lower rigidity scores than non-meditators who had registered for their first meditation retreat. Similar results were obtained in randomized controlled Experiment 2 comparing non-meditators who underwent an eight meeting mindfulness program with a waiting list group. The authors conclude that mindfulness meditation reduces cognitive rigidity via the tendency to be “blinded” by experience. Results are discussed in light of the benefits of mindfulness practice regarding a reduced tendency to overlook novel and adaptive ways of responding due to past experience, both in and out of the clinical setting
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 52
- The Effect of Mindfulness-based Programs on Cognitive Function in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Neuropsychology Review August 4, 2021
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Psychiatry. FOCUS: The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry January 24, 2018
- Mindful creativity: the influence of mindfulness meditation on creative thinking Frontiers in Psychology 2014
- Depression, Mindfulness, and Psilocybin: Possible Complementary Effects of Mindfulness Meditation and Psilocybin in the Treatment of Depression. A Review Frontiers in Psychiatry March 31, 2020
- Reduced interference in working memory following mindfulness training is associated with increases in hippocampal volume Brain Imaging and Behavior March 17, 2018
and 47 more in the library
Cites 19
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse Psychotherapy Research March 1, 2003
- Mindfulness, by any other name…: trials and tribulations of sati in western psychology and science Contemporary Buddhism May 1, 2011
- Mindfulness‐based approaches: are they all the same? Journal of Clinical Psychology January 19, 2011
- Mindfulness Meditation for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review Substance Abuse October 1, 2009
and 14 more in the library