A randomised active-controlled trial to examine the effects of an online mindfulness intervention on executive control, critical thinking and key thinking dispositions in a university student sample.
Chris Noone, Michael Hogan
BMC Psychology April 5, 2018 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-018-0226-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | University participants |
| Interventions | Mindfulness meditation Sham meditation |
| Duration | 6 weeks |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Both mindfulness and sham meditation groups showed significant increases in mindfulness dispositions and critical thinking scores, but no significant effects of group allocation were observed for any primary or secondary measure. The authors conclude that no evidence was found that 6 weeks of guided online mindfulness practice improves critical thinking performance, and that claims about such benefits should be tempered. |
Abstract
Arguments for including mindfulness instruction in higher education have included claims about the benefits of mindfulness practice for critical thinking. While there is theoretical support for this claim, empirical support is limited. The aim of this study was to test this claim by investigating the effects of an online mindfulness intervention on executive function, critical thinking skills and associated thinking dispositions. Participants recruited from a university were randomly allocated, following screening, to either a mindfulness meditation group or a sham meditation group. Both the researchers and the participants were blind to group allocation. The intervention content for both groups was delivered through the Headspace online application, an application which provides guided meditations to users. Both groups were requested to complete 30 guided mindfulness meditation sessions across a 6 week period. Primary outcome measures assessed mindfulness, executive functioning, critical thinking, actively open-minded thinking and need for cognition. Secondary outcome measures assessed wellbeing, positive and negative affect, and real-world outcomes. In a series of full-information maximum likelihood analyses, significant increases in mindfulness dispositions and critical thinking scores were observed in both the mindfulness meditation and sham meditation groups. However, no significant effects of group allocation were observed for either primary or secondary measures. Furthermore, mediation analyses testing the indirect effect of group allocation through executive functioning performance did not reveal a significant result and moderation analyses showed that the effect of the intervention did not depend on baseline levels of the key thinking dispositions, actively open-minded thinking and need for cognition. No evidence was found to suggest that engaging in guided mindfulness practice for 6 weeks using the online intervention method applied in this study improves critical thinking performance. While further research is warranted, claims regarding the benefits of mindfulness practice for critical thinking should be tempered in the meantime. The study was initially registered in the AEA Social Science Registry before the recruitment was initiated (RCT ID: AEARCTR-0000756; 14/11/2015) and retrospectively registered in the ISRCTN registry ( RCT ID: ISRCTN16588423 ) in line with requirements for publishing the study protocol.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 31
- Testing the Efficacy of a Multicomponent, Self-Guided, Smartphone-Based Meditation App: Three-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial JMIR Mental Health November 27, 2020
- Mental and Physical Health Impacts of Mindfulness Training for College Undergraduates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Mindfulness September 1, 2023
- Mindfulness-Based Mobile Apps and Their Impact on Well-Being in Nonclinical Populations: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Journal of Medical Internet Research June 21, 2023
- Placebo effects contribute to brief online mindfulness interventions for chronic pain: results from an online randomized sham-controlled trial. Pain October 1, 2023
- Mindfulness or expectancy? The label of mindfulness leads to expectancy effects Counselling and Psychotherapy Research November 1, 2022
and 26 more in the library
Cites 20
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Inside the Mindful Mind Current Directions in Psychological Science December 1, 2013
- Debiasing the Mind Through Meditation Psychological Science December 6, 2013
- Meta-analytic evidence for effects of mindfulness training on dimensions of self-reported dispositional mindfulness. Psychological Assessment 2016
- Effects of Brief and Sham Mindfulness Meditation on Mood and Cardiovascular Variables The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine July 28, 2010
and 15 more in the library