Breaking the cycle of desire: Mindfulness and executive control weaken the relation between an implicit measure of alcohol valence and preoccupation with alcohol-related thoughts.
Open accessAbstract
Stimuli with strong affective valence capture attention. This can impede the self-regulation of impulses. That is, preoccupation with a tempting stimulus such as alcohol may lead to a continued activation of automatic affective responses to that stimulus, increasing the likelihood of approach and consumption. Self-regulation may, thus, benefit from variables that weaken the relation between salient stimuli and cognitive preoccupation with those stimuli. Recent research shows that mindfulness and executive control reduce the link between automatic affective responses to alcohol and alcohol consumption. In this study, the authors examined whether mindfulness and executive control may similarly decouple the relation between automatic affective responses and difficulty in disengaging attention from alcohol-related thoughts. Participants completed measures of trait mindfulness, executive control (a working memory task), automatic alcohol-valence associations, and preoccupation with alcohol-related thoughts. Results showed that (a) both trait mindfulness and executive control are inversely related with alcohol preoccupation, and (b) both mindfulness and executive control weaken a positive relation between automatic alcohol-valence associations and alcohol preoccupation.
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In Ostafin et al. (2013), greater alcohol-positive implicit associations were related to greater preoccupation with alcohol-related thoughts only among those low in total mindfulness or more judgmental.
“Greater alcohol-positive implicit associations were related to greater preoccupation with alcohol-related thoughts only among those who were low in total mindfulness or more judgmental.”
From Decoupling as a Mechanism of Change in Mindfulness and Acceptance: A Literature Review (2015) · cites this paper as Ostafin et al., 2013
The paper title (unpaginated) says that mindfulness weakens the relation between implicit alcohol valence and preoccupation with alcohol-related thoughts. The available passages do not establish that a positive association occurred only among people low in total mindfulness or those who were more judgmental; searches for those terms returned only bibliographic material. (LLM, conf=0.70)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA study by Ostafin and colleagues (2013) found that degree of executive control predicted a similar decoupling effect as self-reported mindfulness.
“For example, a study by Ostafin and colleagues (2013) found that degree of executive control predicted a similar decoupling effect as self-reported mindfulness.”
From Decoupling as a Mechanism of Change in Mindfulness and Acceptance: A Literature Review (2015) · cites this paper as Ostafin et al., 2013
The title in our indexed copy states that both mindfulness and executive control weaken the relation between implicit alcohol valence and preoccupation with alcohol-related thoughts, supporting the claimed similar decoupling effect. The available passages do not say that mindfulness was self-reported or describe the executive-control measure, so those details cannot be verified from our copy. (LLM, conf=0.79)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn Ostafin et al. (2013), significant moderation effects were found with the FFMQ total score and the FFMQ nonjudgmental subscale.
“Significant moderation effects were found with the FFMQ total score as well as the FFMQ nonjudgmental subscale.”
From Decoupling as a Mechanism of Change in Mindfulness and Acceptance: A Literature Review (2015) · cites this paper as Ostafin et al., 2013
The available passages from the copy (labeled Abstract, no page given) contain bibliographic details and keywords, but no results for the FFMQ. Searches for the FFMQ total score, the nonjudgmental or nonjudging subscale, and moderation effects found no passage that establishes whether either effect was significant. (LLM, conf=0.70)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredStudies that used multiple subscales of self-reported mindfulness tended to find that decoupling effects only occurred with some of the scales.
“studies that used multiple subscales of self-reported mindfulness tended to find that decoupling effects only occurred with some of the scales (e.g., Ostafin et al., 2013).”
From Decoupling as a Mechanism of Change in Mindfulness and Acceptance: A Literature Review (2015) · cites this paper as Ostafin et al., 2013
The available indexed passages are bibliographic material (labeled Abstract, no page given). The title indicates a weakening of the relation between alcohol valence and alcohol-related thoughts, but the passages do not report whether multiple self-reported mindfulness subscales were tested or whether effects occurred for only some. Searches for mindfulness subscales, interactions, and decoupling effects returned no results addressing that distinction. (LLM, conf=0.72)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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- Authors
- Ostafin, B. D., Kassman, K. T., & Wessel, I.
- Affiliations
- University of Groningen (NL)
- North Dakota State University (US)
- Venue
- Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
- Published
- 2013-12
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1153-1158
- ISSN
- 0893-164X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1501
- OpenAlex
- W2129463419
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 3.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- Psychology of Addictive Behaviors (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Keywords
- mindfulness, executive function, attentional capture, self-regulation, working memory, alcohol consumption
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Female, Humans, Male, Young Adult, Executive Function, Binge Drinking, Mindfulness
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