Meditation and Decision Making Study III

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The overarching goal of the proposed research is to investigate the role of emotions in facilitating successful lifestyle change, defined as healthy behavioral decisions repeated daily, or near daily. Participants are asked to make two lab visits during the course of four weeks to complete electronic questionnaires, be monitored for psychophysiological activity (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, respiration), and listen to a guided meditation audio track. Additionally, between the two visits participants will be asked to complete weekly surveys that ask about daily meditation practice (outside of the lab) and general emotions.

Official Title
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Nonconscious Affective and Physiological Mediators of Behavioral Decision Making Study 3

Conditions
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Meditation

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Lovingkindness Meditation (LKM)
* Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Fluent in written and spoken English, with a high school reading level Willingness or interest in learning to meditate Computer literate with internet access Exclusion Criteria: Individuals who are able to read Chinese logographs Individuals who have or have had a regular meditation practice, defined as having attended a 6-week or longer meditation class, practicing meditation at least 3 days a week for up to 6-weeks. Individuals with allergies to adhesive materials

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 35 Years
Maximum Age: 64 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Factorial Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Placebo Comparator: Neutral<br>Reading passage about brain function which is masked as a news article. | Behavioral: Lovingkindness Meditation (LKM)<br>* Compassionate behavior training (REVISE)<br>Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation<br> <br> |
| Experimental: Lovingkindness Meditation (LKM)<br>Lovingkindness guided meditation experienced in the laboratory and 6 additional LKM meditations taken home on the iPod. | Behavioral: Lovingkindness Meditation (LKM)<br>* Compassionate behavior training (REVISE)<br>|
| Placebo Comparator: Mindfulness Meditation<br>Mindfulness guided meditation experienced in the laboratory and 6 additional Mindfulness meditations taken home on the iPod. | Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation<br> <br> |
| Experimental: Positivity<br>Reading passage about prioritizing positive emotions which is masked as a news article. | Behavioral: Lovingkindness Meditation (LKM)<br>* Compassionate behavior training (REVISE)<br>Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation<br> <br> |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in positive emotions (as measured by the Modified Daily Emotions Scale) | Modified Daily Emotions Scale (mDES) - This measure of explicit positive affect has been successfully used by the PI in multiple studies to detect changes in positive emotion. Previous work by the PI found that Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the mDES positive emotion composite variable was 0.93 in sample of mid-life community adults similar to those anticipated for this study. | Baseline and Weeks 1, 2, and 3 | 
| Change in nonconscious incentive salience (as measured by the Affect Misattribution Procedure) | Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) - This measure of nonconscious incentive salience has acceptable internal consistency for an indirect measure of affect (.69 - .90) and has been found to predict judgments and behavioral outcomes above and beyond self-report measures. | Baseline and Weeks 1, 2, and 3 | 
| Changes in meditation time | Self-reported meditation time recorded daily and weekly. In addition, meditation track play times will be recorded from the iPod. | Weeks 1, 2, and 3 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cardiac Vagal Tone | This measure of parasympathetic control over the heart has been positively associated with both emotional and social functioning. Previous work by the PI's team has found that baseline vagal tone predicts increased positive response to lovingkindness meditation (LKM), and that LKM in turn increases vagal tone. | Baseline |