Publication Date

2016

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Rosenbaum, Alan

Degree Name

Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)

Legacy Department

Department of Psychology

LCSH

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy; Aggressiveness--Treatment; Cognitive therapy; Behavior modification

Abstract

Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly being used to reduce aggressive behavior; however, the mechanisms through which increases in mindfulness are associated with reductions in aggression are not well understood. Based on research suggesting that mindfulness-induced alterations to inhibitory control might be a potential mechanism for this effect, the present study evaluated whether a single, brief mindfulness induction would have immediate, state-based effects on aggressive behavior and whether, if present, such effects would be partially explained by mindfulness-induced changes to inhibitory control. A focused-breathing exercise was used to induce mindfulness in a sample of aggressive, mindfulness-naive, male undergraduates, whose performances on the Stroop task and Taylor Aggression Paradigm were then compared to that of a control group (N = 65). No significant between-groups differences in TAP performance or Stroop interference scores were detected, and response inhibition was not a significant predictor of aggressive behavior. Results suggest that the previously identified effects of mindfulness on inhibitory control and aggressive behavior may not be present after a single mindfulness induction. Problems with operationalizing and assessing mindfulness are discussed.

Comments

Advisors: Alan Rosenbaum.||Committee members: David Bridgett; Julie Crouch; Michelle Lilly; Karen White; Katja Wiemer.||Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

vi, 115 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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