Sample
The sample size in Holzel.
6 male and 10 female participants.
Applicability strengths.
- Corporations can use MBSR stress reduction techniques to reduce employee stress levels and grey matter concentration and to train employees.
- People can use MBSR to reduce stress and increase grey matter concentration.
Most completed activity.
a. body scans
b. yoga
c. sitting meditation.
What is body scan?
How long audio recordings of guided mindfulness exercises were.
What is 45 minutes?
Approach of Holzel.
What is biological.
Ages of the sample. (be specific)
25-55 with a mean age of 37.89 years and resulting sample with a mean age of 38.0 years.
Generalizability weaknesses.
-small sample
-all had something in common (right-handed)
Average hours engaged in formal homework exercises over the 8-week course.
22.6 hours= 27 mins per day
What was conducted 2 weeks prior to the experiment on the MBSR group.
What is MRI?
What FFMQ stands for and how many questions it had.
What is Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and 39 questions?
Where the MBSR courses were held.
Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Ethical strengths.
-P's gave consent
-confidential
-checked if p's were in the right conditions to use the MRI machine
-P's were allowed to withdraw
FFMQ results.
What is it confirmed significant improvements in 'acting with awareness, observing, and non-judging.'
How long MBSR sessions last.
What is consists of eight weekly group meetings lasting two and a half hours each, plus one full day (6.5 hours) during the sixth week of the course?
Meditation experience of participants prior to the study.
What is no meditation classes in the past six months, no more than four classes in the past five years, or ten classes in their lifetime?
Ethnicities of the control sample.
13 Caucasians, two Asians, two African Americans, and one Hispanic
Validity strengths.
-use of quantitative data to measure grey matter concentration, which provided objective data
-independent measures and longitudinal study
-control group allowed for comparison
Improvements in mindfulness in the control group vs. the MBSR group.
What is significant increases in the MBSR group, but not the control group?
The P's took the FFMQ before and after the MBSR sessions. Describe how the questions were answered (i.e. multiple choice, written responses, interview, survey, etc.)
What is responses to the items are given on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = never or very rarely true, 5 = very often or always true)?
Define "mindfulness."
The practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present moment.
Ethnicities of sample.
13 Caucasians, one Asian, one African American, and one multi-ethnic.
Reliability weaknesses.
-lack of standardization between weekly mindfulness sessions since p's chose where and how they were done.
grey matter change.
What is the control group showed a significant difference in grey matter concentration in the posterior cingulate cortex?
Average time in between scanning sessions for the MBSR group and for the control group
What is 56.25 days and 65.67 days?
Does the case support nature or nurture? Why?
What is nature because it is about the workings of the brain, and nurture because the findings demonstrate that experiences, such as attending a regular mindfulness class, can influence our biology/ nature.