Does mindfulness reduce negative interpretation bias?

ABSTRACT

Negative interpretation bias, or the tendency to interpret ambiguous life events in a negative manner rather than positive or neutral, is a precursor to depression and anxiety. Evidence suggests that mindfulness reduces depression and anxiety, as well as a number of different negative cognitive biases. However, little is known about the association between mindfulness and negative interpretation bias specifically. Across two cross-sectional studies, we investigated this relation. In Study 1 (N = 135), greater trait mindfulness was correlated with less negative interpretation bias. In Study 2 (N = 173), we experimentally tested whether a brief mindfulness induction, compared to a mind-wandering task, decreased negative interpretation bias. Although there was not a direct effect of condition (mindfulness vs. mind-wandering) on negative interpretation bias, there was a significant indirect effect through negative mood. That is, participants in the mind-wandering condition reported greater negative mood following the induction compared to participants in the mindfulness condition, which was associated with more negative interpretation bias. The results suggest mindfulness is associated with less negative interpretation bias and may reduce negative interpretation bias by decreasing negative mood.

KEYWORDS:

• interpretation bias
• mindfulness
• mood

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Notes

1 A series of independent samples t-tests were conducted to explore whether those excluded from analyses differed from those included in analyses on any of the measures. Those who were excluded reported lower levels of stress and depression than those included in analyses (ps < .05). They did not differ on any other measure (all ps > .05).

2 Mediation models using all possible combinations of trait mindfulness measures and psychological distress measures were also tested (see Supplemental Material). The pattern of results was generally consistent across the measures of mindfulness.

3 Participation in Study 1 was not included as an exclusion criterion, so it is possible that some participants from Study 1 also completed Study 2. However, Study 2 was conducted two years after the completion of Study 1. Most students who participated in Study 1 would have progressed with their degrees and no longer been taking introductory psychology courses. Thus, they would not have been participating in the psychology subject pool.

4 As the MAAS, SIAS, and DASS assess trait-level constructs, the manipulation was not expected to influence responses. The measures were presented after the dependent variable in order to minimize participant fatigue prior to the manipulation.

5 The pattern of results remained the same if controlling for baseline mood.

6 The pattern of results remained the same if controlling for negative mood post-manipulation.

7 As there was no evidence of direct effects of the mindfulness induction on any of the interpretation bias indices or trait-level variables, trait-level analyses were conducted to replicate Study 1 findings (see Supplemental Material).

Additional information

Funding

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.