Abstract:
This study investigated the impact a brief mindfulness induction had on the emotional
arousal of individuals with insecure attachments. Participants were prescreened to determine
their attachment style (i.e., anxiously or avoidantly attached) prior to coming to the lab for data
collection. Once in the lab, participants completed a picture-sorting task that required them to
categorize emotionally arousing pictures as either unpleasant or neutral. All participants
completed this task, listened to a prerecorded brief mindfulness induction, and completed the
picture-sorting task a second time. Event-related potentials were collected during both sorting
tasks. Late positive potentials (LPP) were compared between and within attachment groups pre
and post the mindfulness induction. No group differences in LPP amplitude were found between
anxiously and avoidantly attached participants. However, those high in attachment anxiety
showed a significant increase in LPP amplitudes to unpleasant picture after the mindfulness
induction. This suggested a heighted emotional arousal following the induction. This finding has
clinical significance, as brief mindfulness inductions are a popular tool used to supplement
psychotherapy.
