Date of Award
1-1-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Psychology
First Advisor
Stephanie Miller
Second Advisor
Todd Smitherman
Third Advisor
Melvin Matthew
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Mindfulness, often defined as “awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003, p. 145), has been proposed as a potential practice to aid in self-regulation and emotional control (Diamond & Ling, 2019). However, results have been mixed, especially during early development (Mak et al., 2018; Pearce et al., under review). One possible reason for these inconsistent findings may be related to the multidimensional nature of both mindfulness and executive function (EF). For instance, it has been suggested that mindfulness practices two components, focused attention (i.e., focusing attention on a chosen object in a sustained manner) and open monitoring (i.e., monitoring and non-reactivity of experience from moment to moment, Holas & Jankowski, 2012). Furthermore, EF tasks vary on the task requirements and emotion involved with “hot EF” involving emotions when making decisions compared to “cool” EF which relies less on emotions (Zelazo & Carlson, 2012). The present study examined whether different elements of mindfulness practice differentially improved EF across two tasks in preschoolers. Children completed two EF tasks in this study, the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS related to cognitive flexibility and cool EF) and the gift delay (related to inhibition and hot EF). To examine how different elements of mindfulness affected EF, we manipulated the type of mindfulness instruction provided to children before the task in 4 conditions: focused attention, open monitoring, a combination of focused attention and open monitoring, and a control condition with no mindfulness instruction. Result indicates that tasks involving emotion regulation (e.g., waiting for a gift) improved as children were encouraged to use more elements of mindfulness during the task. This work suggests multiple components of mindfulness may be useful for improving preschoolers’ executive function.
Recommended Citation
Rajbhandari, Biju, "Mindfulness Practice relates to Improvements in Delaying Gratification in preschoolers" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2715.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2715