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| Putting Our Minds to Mindfulness: An Interactive Experiment for Experimentation |
| Monday, May 25, 2015 |
| 9:00 AM–10:50 AM |
| 007C (CC) |
| Area: TPC/CBM; Domain: Theory |
| Chair: Scott A. Herbst (The Chicago School of Professional Psychology) |
| Discussant: Emily Kennison Sandoz (University of Louisiana at Lafayette) |
| CE Instructor: Thomas G. Szabo, Ph.D. |
| Abstract: This symposium is an exploration about mindfulness. This is going to be a different sort of symposium. Most symposia feature a series of speakers who take turns telling the audience what they think or what they know or what they think they know and perhaps showing data from experiments that were grounded in that thinking and knowing. The presentations in this series are grounded in not knowing. For an hour and 50 minutes, we are going to pretend we really don’t know anything about mindfulness. We don’t know what it is. We don’t know how to measure it. And we certainly don’t know what questions to ask about it. Each speaker in this series will lead an inquiry. Following a brief review of what we, as a science, thought we knew about mindfulness, the speakers will lead the group through a series of questions aimed at exploring what we would want to know, what we could know, how we might go about knowing it, and the problems we will likely encounter along the way. |
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| Experimental Control: The Rules of the Game |
| SCOTT A. HERBST (The Chicago School of Professional Psychology), Kate Kellum (University of Mississippi), Michael Bordieri (University of Mississippi Medical Center), Emily Kennison Sandoz (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Thomas G. Szabo (Easter Seals Southern California) |
| Abstract: Following a brief synopsis of the series of events that gave rise to this series of talks, this paper will serve as an introduction to the inquiry based presentations, which will function as a cooperative game. This paper will explore the nature of games. Games have certain properties. For example, they generally have rules. The first part of this talk will lay out the rules of play, and specify the consequences of following them or not. Games also have winners and losers and often have some way of tracking whether the game is being won or lost. As a cooperative game, either everyone present wins, or everyone present loses. As such, this presentation will also lay out the conditions for saying that everyone won or lost the game. Following this, attendees will have the opportunity to choose to participate in the game or not, and after that, the game will start. |
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| Let’s Talk: Defining Mindfulness |
| KATE KELLUM (University of Mississippi), Michael Bordieri (University of Mississippi Medical Center), Scott A. Herbst (The Chicago School of Professional Psychology), Emily Kennison Sandoz (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Thomas G. Szabo (Easter Seals Southern California), Timothy M. Weil (University of South Florida) |
| Abstract: In recent years, mindfulness practices have received increasing attention in clinical psychology and in western societies. At face value, the psychological term, “mindfulness,” seems problematic for behavior analysis as it includes the often avoided tact, “mind.” Yet, the tact occurred in multiple symposia at our 40th conference. Given the occurrence in popular culture and in our scientific discussions, it seems appropriate to delineate a behavioral definition, the objections to the term “mind”, and the potential benefits of examining interactions between the environment and this behavior(s). This collaborative discussion will remind participants that behavior analysis "does not insist upon truth by agreement and can therefore consider events taking place in the private world within the skin" (Skinner, 1945). The aim of the discussion is to define “mindfulness” from a behavior analytic perspective and describe the potential benefits of studying this behavior(s) for our science. This discussion will likely result in the development of descriptions of the function of “mindfulness” as well its’ topography as covert and overt behavior. |
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| Minding the Behavior Analysis Shop: Mindfulness as a Topic for Behavior Analytic Research |
| THOMAS G. SZABO (Easter Seals Southern California), Kate Kellum (University of Mississippi), Michael Bordieri (University of Mississippi Medical Center), Scott A. Herbst (The Chicago School of Professional Psychology), Emily Kennison Sandoz (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Timothy M. Weil (University of South Florida) |
| Abstract: Behavior analytic research into the improvement of complex stimulus control by verbally able humans is in its infancy. One strain of current interest involves the use of “mindfulness” strategies to bring behavior under either broad or narrow stimulus control, depending on the moment-to-moment needs of the learner. Although operationally defining “mindfulness” poses conceptual issues for behavior scientists, these problems are solvable when investigators limit their focus to directly observable behavior. The current paper addresses basic and applied issues in need of behavioral research. The presenter will outline a) basic principles that allow for precise identification of the functions mindfulness strategies target and b) components of applied mindfulness-based treatment packages that have not yet been evaluated for their individual utility. Based on the current body of empirical evidence, the presenter and attendees will generate a list of behavior-environment relations of basic and applied relevance for future research. |
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| Paying Attention to the Present Moment: Inspiring Increased Behavior Analytic Inquiry into Mindfulness |
| MICHAEL BORDIERI (University of Mississippi Medical Center), Scott A. Herbst (The Chicago School of Professional Psychology), Kate Kellum (University of Mississippi), Emily Kennison Sandoz (University of Louisiana at Lafayette), Thomas G. Szabo (Easter Seals Southern California) |
| Abstract: Recent years have witnessed an explosion of empirical investigations into mindfulness across multiple basic and applied psychological domains. In the past 10 years alone there have been over 2,000 peer-reviewed empirical publications indexed in PsycInfo containing the keyword of “mindfulness.” In contrast, there has been a relative paucity of behavior analytic inquiries into the phenomenon, with a search of JABA yielding no publications and JEAB yielding only five publications in which mindfulness was referenced. With the primary exception of works guided by relational frame theory, mindfulness has not yet been addressed by the behavior analytic community. This paper endeavors to serve as a call to arms for behavior analysts to design and conduct basic and applied studies of mindfulness and related behaviors. The aim of this discussion is to collaboratively develop a set of concrete mindfulness research proposals that are 1) consistent with behavior analytic methodology and theory, 2) focused on socially meaningful behaviors, and 3) achievable within the next year with no or minimal funding required. |
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