Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Pilates, Mindfulness And Somatic Education, Karen Caldwell, Marianne Adams, Rebecca Quinn, Mandy Harrison, Jeffrey M. Greeson

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

The Pilates Method is a form of somatic education with the potential to cultivate mindfulness – a mental quality associated with overall well-being. However, controlled studies are needed to determine whether changes in mindfulness are specific to the Pilates Method or also result from other forms of exercise. This quasi-experimental study compared Pilates Method mat classes and recreational exercise classes on measures of mindfulness and well-being at the beginning, middle and end of a 15 week semester. Total mindfulness scores increased overall for the Pilates Method group but not for the exercise control group, and these increases were directly related …

Can Enlightenment Be Traced To Specific Neural Correlates, Cognition, Or Behavior? No, And (A Qualified) Yes, Jake H. Davis, David R. Vago

Publications and Research

The field of contemplative science is rapidly growing and integrating into the basic neurosciences, psychology, clinical sciences, and society-at-large. Yet the majority of current research in the contemplative sciences has been divorced from the soteriological context from which these meditative practices originate and has focused instead on clinical applications with goals of stress reduction and psychotherapeutic health. In the existing research on health outcomes of mindfulness-based clinical interventions, for example, there have been almost no attempts to scientifically investigate the goal of enlightenment. This is a serious oversight, given that such profound transformation across ethical, perceptual, emotional, and cognitive domains …

Never Mind? Mindfulness And Competent Intercultural Interaction, Yanrong (Yvonne) Chang

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

The ultimate goal of intercultural communication research and education has been or should be to have successful intercultural interactions and build productive intercultural relationships. A close examination of 42 pairs of email exchanges between college students in the U.S. and China during spring 2011 shows how mindfulness shapes positively intercultural interactions. It describes three manifestations of mindfulness, five salient features of mindful intercultural email interaction, and three functions of mindfulness in intercultural interaction. The implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.

The Influence Of Mindful Attention On Value Claiming In Distributive Negotiations: Evidence From Four Laboratory Experiments, Jochen Reb, Jayanth Narayanan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examined the effect of mindful attention on negotiation outcomes in distributive negotiations across four experiments. In Studies 1 and 2, participants who performed a short mindful attention exercise prior to the negotiation claimed a larger share of the bargaining zone than the control condition participants they negotiated with. Study 3 replicated this finding using a different manipulation of mindful attention. Study 4 again replicated this result and also found that mindful negotiators were more satisfied with both the outcome and the process of the negotiation. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future directions.

The Ethics Of Conscious Capitalism: Wicked Problems In Leading Change And Changing Leaders, Jeremy P. Fyke, Patrice M. Buzzanell

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Given corporate scandals, organizational crises, and accounting irregularities (e.g. Citigroup, BP oil spill, Enron, Arthur Andersen), leadership ethics has grown in relevance. The current study takes a discursive approach to engage in a multimethod case study of a consulting and leadership development firm that takes Conscious Capitalism as the impetus for, and target of, leader development. Using constructivist grounded theory and critical discourse analysis, we reveal themes and ‘best practices’ voiced by consultants and clients for cultivating mindfulness and developing ethical leaders, as well as micro- and macro-level paradoxes, tensions, and challenges: structuring-releasing; expanding-contracting; opening up-closing; and collaborating-competing. Our critical …

Searching Mindfully: Are Libraries Up To The Challenge Of Competing With Google Books?, Amrita Dhawan

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Traditional research tools used by libraries, such as encyclopedias and catalogs were created in an age of print and information scarcity. They have not kept up with changes in the information world, including an abundance of online information in different formats and the rise of interdisciplinary topics which attempt to solve ‘real world’ messy problems and not traditional theoretical questions. The traditional tools rest on collaboration between OCLC, LOC, private aggregators, librarians and faculty. The search results they deliver offer excessive information with very little guidance on how to systematically sift through them. This makes the research process harder and …

Relationship Between Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction And Immune Function In Cancer And Hiv/Aids, Rachel L. Zeichner, Jeffery L. Kibler, Simon B. Zeichner

Faculty Articles

Objective: Chronic stress is widespread, and is detrimental to immune functioning and to overall physical and emotional health. These effects may be potentiated in patients with chronic illness, as high levels of chronic stress are common in this population. Numerous studies support the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in improving psychological functioning. If a strong relationship is found between MBSR and immune function, then MBSR may be implemented as a strategy to improve immune functioning and overall well-being.

Methods: In the present review paper, the relationship between MBSR and immune function is evaluated. Empirical studies measuring immune markers as …

Relations Among Self-Concealment, Mindfulness, And Internalizing Problems, Joshua Edmunds, Akihiko Masuda, Erin C. Tully

Psychology Faculty Publications

Self-concealment and mindfulness can be viewed as two fairly stable emotion/behavior regulation tendencies, which are often linked to a range of internalizing problems. The current study examined whether low levels of mindfulness and higher levels of self-concealment predict higher levels of depression, anxiety, and somatization for both men and women. An ethnically diverse sample of college undergraduate females (n = 738) and males (n = 249) completed a web-based survey that included the self-report measures of interest. Path analysis models were evaluated separately for male participants and female participants. The findings from these models revealed that low levels …

Psychological And Neural Mechanisms Of Trait Mindfulness In Reducing Depression Vulnerability, Natalie A. Paul, Steven J. Stanton, Jeffrey M. Greeson, Moria J. Smoski, Lihong Wang

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Mindfulness-based interventions are effective for reducing depressive symptoms. However, the psychological and neural mechanisms are unclear. This study examined which facets of trait mindfulness offer protection against negative bias and rumination, which are key risk factors for depression. Nineteen male volunteers completed a 2-day functional magnetic resonance imaging study. One day utilized a stress-induction task and the other day utilized a mindful breathing task. An emotional inhibition task was used to measure neural and behavioral changes related to state negative bias, defined by poorer performance in inhibiting negative relative to neutral stimuli. Associations among trait mindfulness [measured by the Five …

Addressing Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Bullying: A Mindfulness-Based Intervention Manual, Melanie L. Ernould

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The following dissertation offers an intervention to combat the negative effects that bullying has
on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth in high school. The literature review demonstrates the need for such an intervention through examples of the damaging effects that such bullying has on LGB youth. These incidents of bullying are far too common in American schools, and the effects far reaching, as the media has been saturated with stories of “gay teen suicides” in recent years. While affirmative interventions are currently the status quo for work with LGB populations, it can be argued that these are limited. In …