## 4 Meditation, Implicit Attitudes, and Implicit Memory
A self-esteem IAT effect is reflected by better performance (shorter response times and/or higher rate of correct response) in congruent than incongruent conditions, and indicates that a person automatically (implicitly) associates the self with positive rather than with negative valence (see [27; 28] for further details on the IAT and on the list of stimulus words that can be used for a self-esteem IAT). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|l|l|l|l|l|l|l|l|} \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Ref. **} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Study**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**N**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Medication**} & \multicolumn{2}{l|}{**State/Task**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Explicit Measures**} & \multicolumn{2}{l|}{**Interactact**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Explicit Measure**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Explicit Measure**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Explicit**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Explicit**} \\  & & & & & & & & & & & \\ \hline
[42] & [PERSON] et.al. (2013) & 101 & LEM & T & cognitive control, psychological stress & MRT, PBS & Raw traced Blacks and headlines & LAT & LXX training reduced length based based & headlines \\ \hline
[4  
In their study (study 3), [PERSON] and [PERSON] [33] tested whether dispositional mindfulness (measured through the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, MAAS) was associated with greater self-awareness in relation to well-being, using the IAT to assess automatic associations between self and affective states, and a self-report test to measure the current affective state in participants. Results showed that individuals higher in mindfulness demonstrated a concordance between their implicit and explicit affective experience (see also [PERSON] et al. [34] for similar results). In line with these results, [PERSON] et al. [35] showed that brief mindfulness meditation exercises increased the association between implicit and explicit self-esteem among young naive participants. In another study, [PERSON] et al. [36] found, in a sample of individuals with depression symptoms, that brief (15 min) mindful acceptance training improved implicit dysfunctional attitudes related to depressed mood (assessed by IAT) in participants with high trait mindfulness. Moreover, greater levels of self-concordance between implicit and explicit dysfunctional attitudes were also observed in participants in the mindfulness versus thought wandering condition. As regards studies carried out by our research group, [PERSON] et al. [37] assessed the changes in implicit and explicit self-related religious/spiritual (RS) representations in participants following an eight-week MOM program. Before and after meditation, participants were administered an implicit RS measure (IAT) and a self-report questionnaire in order to assess explicit components of personality (TCI). Relative to control condition, MOM led to congruent increases in both explicit self-transcendence (as concerns the TCI) and implicit religiosity/spirituality levels. More recently, [PERSON] et al. [38] showed that a short mindfulness exercise induced the down-regulation of both self-reported negative mood and implicit negative mood. Finally, by using implicit and explicit measures of autonomy and motivation, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [39] found that dispositional mindfulness moderated the effect of implicit autonomy orientation on day-to-day behavioral motivation. As concerns mindfulness and improvements of implicit attitudes, the study by [PERSON] et al. [40] showed that mindfulness was associated with a weaker implicit self-identification with depression in a population of adult smokers. Implicit measures have also been employed in order to assess the impact of meditation on individuals' implicit attitudes toward the others; [PERSON] et al. [41] studied the effects of brief exercises (7 min) of loving-kindness meditation on both explicit and implicit positivity toward strangers, finding higher feelings of positivity toward strangers and also changes in implicit positivity toward the self.