Cited by 456Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMind wandering and attention

Differential effects of mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and loving-kindness meditation on decentering and negative reactions to repetitive thoughts

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Feldman, Greg, Greeson, Jeff, Senville, Joanna·2010·Behaviour Research and Therapy

Abstract

Decentering has been proposed as a potential mechanism of mindfulness-based interventions but has received limited empirical examination to date in experimental studies comparing mindfulness meditation to active comparison conditions. In the present study, we compared the immediate effects of mindful breathing (MB) to two alternative stress-management techniques: progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and loving-kindness meditation (LKM) to test whether decentering is unique to mindfulness meditation or common across approaches. Novice meditators (190 female undergraduates) were randomly assigned to complete one of three 15-min stress-management exercises (MB, PMR, or LKM) presented by audio recording. Immediately after the exercise, participants completed measures of decentering, frequency of repetitive thoughts during the exercise, and degree of negative reaction to thoughts. As predicted, participants in the MB condition reported greater decentering relative to the other two conditions. The association between frequency of repetitive thought and negative reactions to thoughts was relatively weaker in the MB condition than in the PMR and LKM conditions, in which these two variables were strongly and positively correlated. Consistent with the construct of decentering, the relative independence between these two variables in the MB condition suggests that mindful breathing may help to reduce reactivity to repetitive thoughts. Taken together, results help to provide further evidence of decentering as a potential mechanism that distinguishes mindfulness practice from other credible stress-management approaches.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.brat.2010.06.006

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  • Several unassessed processes, such as decentering, may enhance the effects of mindfulness.

    “The effects of mindfulness may be enhanced by several processes that were not assessed in this study, including decentering that was identified by Feldman, Greeson, and Senville (2010) and Shapiro et al. (2006) as a core mechanism.”

    From A Mindfulness-Based Intervention: Differential Effects on Affective and Processual Evolution (2018) · cites this paper as Feldman et al., 2010

    The Abstract describes decentering as a proposed potential mechanism of mindfulness-based interventions, and the Discussion says the study provides further evidence for it as a mechanism distinguishing mindfulness practice from other exercises. The paper does not establish decentering as a core mechanism or show that it enhances mindfulness’s effects. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • In that study, a three-way interaction indicated that only those in the mindful breathing condition who improved highly on decentering showed a decoupling effect between frequency of and reactions to thoughts.

    “Furthermore, a three-way interaction adding self-reported decentering indicated that only those in the mindful breathing condition who improved highly on decentering showed a decoupling effect between frequency of and reactions to thoughts.”

    From Decoupling as a Mechanism of Change in Mindfulness and Acceptance: A Literature Review (2015) · cites this paper as Feldman et al., 2010

    The Results (Correspondence between measures of decentering; page not supplied) report that participants in mindful breathing who experienced high decentering showed greater independence between thought frequency and negative reactions. However, the three-way interaction was only marginally significant (p = .058), and the paper describes high post-exercise decentering, not improvement in decentering over time. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Mindfulness training has been associated with increased decentering and metacognitive awareness.

    “Indeed, mindfulness training has been associated with increased decentering and metacognitive awareness [44–46].”

    From Testing the mindfulness-to-meaning theory: Evidence for mindful positive emotion regulation from a reanalysis of longitudinal data (2017) · cites this paper as [45]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports higher decentering scores after mindful breathing than after either comparison exercise, supporting the decentering part of the claim. It describes decentering as a higher-order metacognitive skill, but does not report a separate increase in metacognitive awareness. (LLM, conf=0.81)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Experimental studies have shown that decentering increases only in the mindfulness condition when compared to a control, relaxation, or loving-kindness meditation.

    “Experimental studies have provided support for such claims, with decentering increasing only in the mindfulness condition when compared to a control, relaxation, or loving-kindness mediation, respectively (Erisman & Roemer, 2010; Feldman et al., 2010).”

    From Mediators of acceptance and mindfulness-based therapies for anxiety and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as Feldman et al., 2010

    The Discussion reports higher post-exercise decentering scores after mindful breathing than after progressive muscle relaxation or loving-kindness meditation. The study did not measure a pre-to-post increase in decentering or include a neutral control condition, so it does not establish that decentering increased only in the mindfulness condition. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Attending to cognition within a mindful internal experience could increase awareness of repetitive thoughts and lead to exposure and habituation, potentially aiding emotional processing and reducing the impact of repetitive thoughts.

    “Attending to cognition as part of a mindful internal experience could help in the development of awareness of repetitive thoughts and lead to exposure and habituation processes, which may contribute to emotional processing and reduce the impact of repetitive thoughts (Feldman et al., 2010;Shapiro et al., 2006).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Jacobson E 1938 Progressive relaxation: a physiological and clinical investigation of muscular state and their significance Chicago University of Chicago Press
  2. Shapiro S Brown KW Astin J 2008 October Toward the Integration of Mindfulness into Higher Education: A Review of Research Report prepared for the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society

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Authors
Feldman, G., Greeson, J., & Senville, J.
Affiliations
Simmons University (US)
Corresponding author
Feldman, Greg
Venue
Behaviour Research and Therapy
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2010-10
Volume
48
Issue
10
Pages
1002-1011
ISSN
0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2156039263
Cited by
455
References
67
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 35 · 2014: 27 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 20
FWCI
21.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Rowan Digitals Works (Rowan University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (K99 AT004945)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
Keywords
mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, loving-kindness meditation, decentering, repetitive thinking, stress management strategies, mindfulness meditation, novice meditators
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Adolescent, Attention, Awareness, Breathing Exercises, Empathy, Female, Humans, Love, Relaxation Therapy, Self-Assessment, Self Care, Thinking, Meditation, Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical, Resilience, Psychological, Young Adult

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