The Role of Executive Function in Children’s Mindfulness Experience

Objectives The effects of a 6-week mindfulness program were examined to assess how executive function level played a role in students’ mindful experience. The effects of the mindfulness program were evaluated according to prospective outcomes across students’ level of executive function, in comparison to an active control group. Methods Classrooms were randomly assigned to a mindfulness-based program or a health-based active control group. Pre- and early adolescent students in the 5th to 8th grade (N = 52) from two MindfulMe! program classrooms and two HealthyMe! program classrooms (active control group) completed self-reported pre-test and post-test measures to assess mindful attention awareness, strengths and difficulties, anxious arousal, rumination, and optimism. A composite score was created from student-, teacher-, and parent-reported BRIEF2 screening forms to determine students’ approximate level of executive function prior to the beginning of the program. Results There was a significant decrease in rumination for students in the mindfulness-based intervention when compared to the active controls. Findings suggest executive function predicted an individual’s change score in total difficulties, mindful attention awareness, optimism, and anxious arousal, after participating in a mindfulness-based intervention. Conclusions Mindfulness-based interventions appear to particularly benefit those with higher levels of executive function; however, an active control did not variably impact students according to their level of executive function.

Immersion and Socio-Emotional Experiences During a Movie – Polish Adaptation of the Movie Consumption Questionnaires

The aim of the article is to present a description of the psychometric properties of the Polish adaptation of the Movie Consumption Questionnaires (MCQ) – Immersion and MCQ – Experience. The instrument, created by Fornerino, Helme-Guizon and Gotteland (2008) allows measuring movie consumption in terms of immersion, the intensity of emotions and the intensity of social interactions during the screening. The Polish adaptation of the tool involved two stages, whose participants were movie-goers attending screening events at a cinema ( N=577). The factor structure of the adapted instrument strongly resembles that obtained in the original study (RMSEA<0.08, CFI>0.95, SRNR<0.08) and has demonstrated very good internal consistency (α>0.8, ω>0.8). Criterion validity was also verified through the use of questionnaires that examine the following: affect – PANAS-X (Fajkowska & Marszał-Wiśniewska, 2009), emotionality – HEXACO (Szarota et al., 2007) and mindfulness – Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Skala Świadomej Obecności; Radoń, 2014). Results of the analyses suggest that the adapted scales may be used as satisfactory tools for measuring movie consumption. By the same token, they may be useful in further psychological exploration of the movie screening phenomenon, with particular regard to immersion, emotional reactions and social interactions of the viewer.

The Relationship between Mindful Attention Awareness, Perceived Stress and Subjective Wellbeing

It has been suggested that mindfulness is a predictive factor in self-reported perceived stress. The present study aimed to investigate the link between mindful attention awareness, perceived stress and subjective wellbeing without the presence of a complementary intervention to promote mindfulness-based strategies. Methods: The online survey participants (N = 257) were university students enrolled in initial teacher training. Self-report measures included the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI). Results: PWI was negatively correlated with PSS (r = −0.550, p = .001), MAAS was negatively correlated with PSS (r = −0.567, p = .001) and positively correlated with PWI (r = 0.336, p = .001). The mean score for PSS (M = 20.61, SD = 6.62) was above the reported norm (14.2). Conclusions: The findings suggest that higher levels of mindful attention awareness may be associated with lower levels of perceived stress and higher subjective wellbeing levels and lower levels of perceived stress may be associated with higher subjective wellbeing. The findings confirm that pre-service teachers are a demographic that experiences elevated levels of perceived stress regardless of the stage in initial teacher training programs.

Promoting Stress Management and Wellbeing for Teachers, A Pilot Study

Objectives: Investigate the change in perceived stress, mindful attention awareness, subjective wellbeing and coping for pre-service teachers (PSTs) and the impact of a pilot 6-h Complementary Intervention (CI).Method: Phase One (N = 79) survey at two timepoints. Perceived Stress Scale, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Personal Wellbeing Index and the Brief COPE scale. Phase Two CI pre- and post-program self-report measures (N = 20).Data analysis: Paired-sample and independent sample t-test.Results: The paired-samples t-test confirmed that perceived stress levels (p = 0.082) for PSTs remain elevated across the duration of the academic year. There was not a significant change for the MAAS and sub-scales of the Brief COPE. There was a significant decrease in PWI scores (p = 0.04). The participants in the CI experienced a significant decrease in perceived stress (p = 0.004) pre-program (M = 18.6, SD = 7.04) and post-program (M = 15.55, SD = 6.95), effect size (d = 0.48). Increase in mindful attention awareness (p = 0.019), pre-program (M = 3.49, SD = 0.59) and post-program (M = 3.94, SD = 0.85), effect size (d = −0.57).Conclusion: The findings suggest that perceived stress for PSTs are at above-average levels and a yoga-based CI may provide support for promoting wellbeing and stress management.

Trait Mindfulness Predicts Helping Behavior toward Racial Ingroup and Outgroup Members

A study examined whether trait mindfulness would increase spontaneous helping behavior toward racial outgroup members (vs ingroup members). Self-identifying White participants scoring higher in basic trait mindfulness more frequently helped both racial outgroup and ingroup members in two randomly assigned lab-based helping simulations: (1) giving one’s seat to a person on crutches or (2) aiding an experimenter in picking up dropped consent forms. Men were 3.70 times as likely to help than women. Discussion focuses on the role of individual differences in mindful attention deployment in helping.

What if Marie Kondo Wrote an Organizational Change Book? Making Space for Subtractive Change

Subtraction neglect is a real problem in our lives and organizations. Additive change, increasing the number of activities, tasks, and goals, is the unrelenting norm. Subtractive change removes things. For people and organizations starved from bandwidth, and change scholars and practitioners seeking new capabilities, subtractive change offers opportunity to make organizational change both kinder to people and more effective. I offer a few ideas for promoting subtractive change in scholarship and practice: the difference between Virtuous Subtraction realizing value and Exploitative Subtraction deflecting burdens on to others; the essential roles of reflective practice, awareness of organizational history, and mindful attention to stakeholders in Virtuous Subtraction; and Anticipatory Subtraction where practices are time-marked with start and/or stop dates to call attention to opportunities for review and updating; and legacy-building practices to respect the value served by subtracted practices.