Abstract
Attention and working memory are at risk of degradation over intensive intervals in groups engaged in highly demanding jobs. Accordingly, there is great interest in identifying training regimes to promote cognitive resilience in such populations. Herein, US Army Soldiers were assigned to either an 8-week, 16-h mindfulness training (MT) program (n = 40) or to a well-matched active comparison program involving positivity training (PT, n = 40), during an intensive interval of predeployment training. Working memory (WM) and sustained attention task performance, as well as self-reported positive and negative trait affect, were assessed at study onset (T1) and at the end of the MT/PT program interval (T2). Positive and negative trait affect did not change over time or differ across training groups. Yet, overall decline in cognitive task performance was observed from T1 to T2. Importantly, the MT group demonstrated significantly less decline in cognitive task performance relative to the PT group, suggesting better protection from cognitive degradation over time. Based on these results, we argue that MT should be further explored as a cognitive resilience-building tool in high-demand cohorts.
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Notes
Although it was not an outcome measure of central interest, we examined mean reaction time of correct trials for completeness. Response times for correct trials were slower over time, F(1, 66) = 5.80, p = .019, but did not differ among groups, F(1, 78) = 1.99, p = .162, and there was no significant interaction of time and group, F(1, 66) = 2.20, p = .142.
We also examined mean reaction time of correct non-target trials for completeness. Response times for non-target trials did not change over time, F(1, 63) = 2.16, p = .147, did not differ among groups, F(1, 77) = 0.01, p = .966, and there was no significant interaction of time and group, F(1, 63) = 2.27, p = .137.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Lieutenant General Walter Piatt for his invaluable support of this project, as well as Dr. Sara Algoe and John Schaldach for their assistance with training delivery, and Nina Rostrup, Toby Elliman, and Brian Lakey for their assistance with data collection.
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This research was supported by Dept. of Army Grant #W81XWH-11-2-0124 to APJ.
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Jha, A.P., Zanesco, A.P., Denkova, E. et al. Comparing Mindfulness and Positivity Trainings in High-Demand Cohorts. Cogn Ther Res 44, 311–326 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-020-10076-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-020-10076-6