File Drawer Report: A Preliminary Test of Video-Mediated Severe Weather Exposure and Note on the Potential Role of Mindfulness in Decreasing Storm-Associated Negative Affect
Matthew J. Bolton, Lara K. Ault, Alan E. Stewart, Margo C. Watt, Stacie H. Hanes, Dylan R. Allen
May 23, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/nzhde (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental pre/post study |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Brief mindfulness exercise |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The authors report that video-based exposure to dangerous weather increased participants' weather-related fear and their intent to take protective actions, and that a brief mindfulness exercise reduced weather-induced negative affect. They describe the effects as small to moderate and note the absence of a control group, concluding that the findings warrant further replication. |
Abstract
Research at the intersection of meteorology and societal impacts is increasingly important. Still, it is relatively rare for this work to take on a psychological frame. Here, we blend media and positive psychology topics with the judgement and decision-making domain for a multifaceted investigation into psychological and behavioral responses to severe and dangerous weather conditions. Using a simple pre/post, quasi-experimental design, we tested the following predictions: 1) Exposure to dangerous weather conditions, via video-based multimedia, would increase participants’ negative affect and weather-related fear; 2) video-mediated storm exposure would increase participants’ intent to engage in future protective actions; and 3) a brief mindfulness exercise would significantly lower the weather-induced negative affectivity. Resource unavailability meant we were unable to conduct a full experiment including a control group. However, all three hypotheses were confirmed and we believe our findings warrant further replication. Results indicated a small but significant (apparent) effect of mindfulness in reducing negative affect when controlling for lived storm experience and positive affect brought on by storm-associated awe and excitement (η_G^2 = 0.02), and small to moderate effects of multimedia exposure on increases in protective action intentions (d = –0.71), and weather fear (d = –0.24). Results are discussed in light of meteorological communication principles, the existing literatures on mindfulness and protective action responses to severe weather, and the potential for mindfulness interventions in psychological responses to severe and dangerous weather.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |