Can Mindfulness Counteract the Effect of Rumination on Attention? A Comparison Between Mindfulness, Self-Compassion and Control

Depressive rumination can have negative effects on a person's ability to concentrate on tasks that require focused and sustained attention. Previous research has shown that mindfulness practice can be useful in improving aspects of attention, though the research is mixed on whether sustained attention in particular can be improved by practicing mindfulness. Preliminary findings have also suggested that self-compassion may also be related to the cycle of negative affect, rumination, and distracted attention. The current research aimed to evaluate the extent to which a brief mindfulness or self-compassion practice could improve performance on a sustained attention task after a period of depressive rumination. Undergraduate participants (N = 109) engaged in a negative mood induction and a rumination induction. They were then randomly assigned to one of three conditions, mindfulness, self-compassion or a "mind-wandering" control activity. Finally, participants completed the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART; Smallwood et al., 2004).The control group showed better sustained attention than the mindfulness and self-compassion groups. There were no differences in performance between the two experimental groups. Possible reasons for these results are discussed, as are directions for future research.