Why Is Attention Hard?

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1 A Wandering Mind = An Unhappy Mind The quality of your life is determined by the focus of your attention. ~Zen teacher Cheri Huber 2250 adults (58.8% male, 73.9% in U.S., mean age = 34) pinged on phone: How are you feeling right now? What are you doing right now? Were you thinking about something other than what you re currently doing? People were less happy when their minds were wandering, and this was true during all activities, including unpleasant. What people were thinking was a better predictor of their happiness than was what they were doing. (Killingsworth & Gilbert 2010) Why Is Attention Hard? Two Types of Attention: Multiple competing demands Limited resource that uses energy Focused Attention Open Awareness?!?!?! Quality or Attitude of Attention: The Brain s Default State: Evaluative Mind-Wandering Evaluating/critical vs. curious/non-judgmental Rejecting/avoidant vs. welcoming/accepting 1

2 Measuring Mind-Wandering 1. The task: your thoughts were about the task you are doing. 2. Task performance: your thoughts were about how well you are doing on the task, or frustrations with the task. 3. Everyday stuff: your thoughts were about what you did recently, what you are going to do later, or casual, everyday, routine things. 4. Current state of being: you were thinking about being sleepy, hungry, bored, or any other current state. 5. Personal worries: your thoughts were about life concerns such as a challenge coming up or a recent argument. 6. Daydreams: you were fantasizing or having thoughts disconnected from reality. 7. Other Grey blocks represent focus task intervals (McVay & Kane 2010) (Van De Ville et al. 2012) Mind Wandering & Goal Neglect Mind-wandering tends to precede executive-control errors, and people who experience more mindwandering also commit more errors. (McVay & Kane 2010) Executive control gives you the ability to choose what matters most, even when it s difficult or some part of you wants to choose differently. A Wandering Mind = An Unhappy Mind 2250 adults (58.8% male, 73.9% in U.S., mean age = 34) pinged on phone: How are you feeling right now? What are you doing right now? Were you thinking about something other than what you re currently doing? People were less happy when their minds were wandering than when they were not, and this was true during all activities, including unpleasant. What people were thinking was a better predictor of their happiness than was what they were doing. (Killingsworth & Gilbert 2010) Why? Unattended stimuli are disliked. Sustained attention is inherently rewarding. ( The Unengaged Mind, Eastwood et al. 2012) 2

3 Bored to Death? Boredom is a chronic stressor, associated with: depression & anxiety (Goldberg et al. 2011; LePera 2011; Sommers & Vodanovich 2000) greater mortality risk (Bloomfield & Kennedy 2006; Britton & Shipley 2010; Maltsberger 2000) ( The Unengaged Mind, Eastwood et al. 2012) ( The Unengaged Mind, Eastwood et al. 2012) Is mind-wandering toxic? Mind-wandering & telomere length Assessed mind-wandering in 239 women (age 49-66) in the SF Bay Area. How often in the past week have you felt totally focused on or engaged in doing what you are doing at the moment? How often in the past week have you had moments when you didn t want to be where you are, or doing what you are doing, at the moment? Self-reported stress and depression Measured telomere length in immune cells. (Epel et al. 2012) What is mindfulness? Intention Attention to present moment Attitude of attention Mind-wandering tendency was related to stress (r=.53, p<.001) and depression (r=.45, p<.001), but only mind-wandering predicted telomere length. (Epel et al. 2012) 3

4 Sample Mindfulness Measures: Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale: acceptance ( I try to distract myself when I feel unpleasant emotions. ) and awareness ( I notice changes inside my body, like my heart beating faster or my muscles getting tense. ) Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure: observing ( I pay close attention to my thoughts ); acting with awareness ( I walk from class to class without noticing what I m doing ); accepting without judgment ( I get upset with myself for having certain thoughts ) Toronto Mindfulness Scale: curiosity ( I was curious to see what my mind was up to from moment to moment. ) and decentering ( I experienced my thoughts more as events in my mind than as a necessarily accurate reflection of the way things really are. ) Attention & Mindfulness Training: Breath Focus 1. Establish comfortable, alert posture, eyes open or closed. 2. Acknowledge intention of practice: to train focus by noticing mind-wandering. 3. Bring focus to the breath (counting breath cycles, or focusing on sensations of breathing). 4. When mind wanders, notice and bring attention back to the breath. 5. Start with 5 minutes, work toward Acknowledge success of practice no matter how much your mind wandered! (Hasenkamp, Wilson-Mendenhall, Duncan, & Barsalou 2012) (Hasenkamp & Barsalou 2012) The Effects of Short-Term Training 63 UNC students with no meditation experience participated in 4 sessions of either mindfulness meditation or listening to an audio book (control). Pre & post tests of mindfulness and several dimensions of sustained attention: visuo-spatial processing, working memory, and verbal fluency. (Zeidan et al. 2010) Meditation group significantly improved in focus, verbal fluency, and working memory; control group did not. Also reported an immediate reduction in anxiety following sustained attention meditation. 4

5 Effects of long-term training: Increased brain volume & connectedness An alternative default mode: Embodied, present moment awareness (Luders et al. 2009, 2011, 2012) (Farb et al. 2007) The importance of brain training Evaluation System Experiential System The effect of attention training on pain experience (13 Zen meditators vs. 13 matched non-meditators) (Grant, Courtemanche, & Rainville 2011) Non-meditators showed more activation in evaluative regions (PFCamyg-hipp). Meditators showed more activation in sensory pain processing regions (accthal-insula). The greater the decoupling of two systems, the higher a meditator s pain threshold. Mindfulness & IBS 75 female IBS patients (age 18-75) randomized to 8-wk mindfulness training or social support group MBSR tailored to IBS concerns, eg: Participants instructed to notice any sensations in the abdominal area and distinguish those sensations from thoughts about sensations. (Garland et al 2011) 5

6 Minding One s Emotions: Mindfulness Training Alters the Neural Expression of Sadness (Farb et al. 2010) (Garland et al 2011) 36 moderately depressed adults Randomly assigned to MBSR or wait list Pre and post: Sad films in fmri; depression inventory After MBSR, greater activation in experiential network..and greater deactivation in evaluation network. The greater the increase in insula activation during sadness, the greater the reduction in depression. Opening to Experience When you find yourself in a painful, stressful, or upsetting state: Turn your attention to the breath (present moment focus & sensory experience). Investigate the state as sensation (how does it feel in your body?). Recognize evaluation language and selfreferential thinking; observe with awareness. Remember your intention and broaden/ refocus attention. Take-Aways 1. Attention is an important resource for wellbeing, and a trainable skill. 2. The brain s default state is toward evaluative mind-wandering, but mindfulness training can transform it. 3. In times of pain and stress, the quality of your attention may determine your suffering. kellymcgonigal.com/attention 6