Mindfulness meditation and reduced emotional interference on a cognitive task

The effect of mindfulness meditation (MM) on attentional control in emotional contexts was examined. In Study 1, MM practitioners (N = 28) categorized tones presented 1 or 4 s following the onset of affective pictures. Reaction times (RTs) to tones for affective minus neutral pictures provided an index of emotional interference. Participants with more MM experience showed less interference from affective pictures and reported higher mindfulness and psychological well-being. Study 2 was a controlled, randomized experimental study in which participants (N = 82) received MM training, relaxation meditation (RM) training, or no intervention (waiting-list control; WLC). Behavioral, self-report, and psychophysiological measures were administered before and after a 7-week intervention period. Although both MM and RM resulted in smaller skin conductance responses to unpleasant pictures and increased well-being, reductions in emotional interference from unpleasant pictures were specific to MM. These findings indicate that MM attenuates prolonged reactivity to emotional stimuli.