University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 8-2014 Measuring mindful interoception : development of the mindful interoception sampling task (MIST). Samuel J. Dreeben University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Dreeben, Samuel J., "Measuring mindful interoception : development of the mindful interoception sampling task (MIST)." (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 371. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/371 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The nivU ersity of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The nivU ersity of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MEASURING MINDFUL INTEROCEPTION: DEVELOPMENT OF THE MINDFUL INTEROCEPTION SAMPLING TASK (MIST) By Samuel J. Dreeben B.A. Williams College, 2006 M.A. University of Louisville 2011 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky August 2014 MEASURING MINDFUL INTEROCEPTION: DEVELOPMENT OF THE MINDFUL INTEROCEPTION SAMPLING TASK (MIST) By Samuel J. Dreeben B.A. Williams College, 2006 M.A. University of Louisville 2011 A Dissertation Approved on June 18, 2014 by the following Dissertation Committee: _________________________________ Paul Salmon, Ph.D., Dissertation Chair _________________________________ Ken Linfield, Ph.D. _________________________________ Keith Lyle, Ph.D. _________________________________ Benjamin Mast, Ph.D. _________________________________ Sandra Sephton, Ph.D. ii ABSTRACT MEASURING MINDFUL INTEROCEPTION: DEVELOPMENT OF THE MINDFUL INTEROCEPTION SAMPLING TASK (MIST) Samuel J. Dreeben June 18, 2014 Sustained, non-evaluative, present moment interoception or ―mindful interoception‖ (MI) is a central feature of many widely practiced clinical interventions, including mindfulness-based therapies, cognitive-behavioral therapies, focusing-oriented psychotherapy, and Gestalt therapy. However, to date, no valid measures of MI have been developed. The lack of such a measure has precluded attempts to discern A) to what extent MI ability changes as a function of MI-based therapies, B) if change in MI mediates symptom reduction, and C) if individual differences in MI ability are associated with anxiety, mindfulness, and other hypothetically related constructs. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate the first such measure of MI, the Mindful Interoception Sampling Task (MIST). The MIST is a behavioral measure of MI, in which participants focus attention on sequential regions of the body and are periodically prompted to report whether their attention has wandered. Higher scores on the MIST are thus hypothetically reflective of lower levels of MI. iii One hundred eight participants were recruited from undergraduate psychology courses for this study. Participants were administered the MIST and the Schandry heartbeat detection task, a widely used behavioral measure of interoception. A battery of questionnaires was also administered, and resting heart rate and blood pressure were recorded. Results of this study indicate the MIST is a valid behavioral measure of mindfulness, the first of its kind. Further research is still needed to determine whether the MIST specifically measures MI. Current findings, however, do suggest the newly identified construct of MI is an important and promising focus of clinical research. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................. vii Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 Mindfulness .......................................................................................................... 1 Interoception ........................................................................................................ 6 Mindful Interoception ........................................................................................ 11 Measuring Mindful Interoception ...................................................................... 18 The Mindful Interoception Sampling Task ........................................................ 35 Methods.......................................................................................................................... 44 Participants ......................................................................................................... 44 Procedures .......................................................................................................... 45 Measures ............................................................................................................ 46 Results ............................................................................................................................ 49 Data Overview ................................................................................................... 49 Preliminary Analyses ......................................................................................... 51 Primary Analyses ............................................................................................... 54 Supplementary Analyses .................................................................................... 63 Exploratory Analyses ......................................................................................... 66 Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 72 v Ordering Effects and Internal Consistency ........................................................ 72 Potential Covariates ........................................................................................... 73 Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 ............................................................................... 74 Self-Report Measures of Mindfulness and MI ................................................... 76 Construct Validity of MIST Focal Regions ....................................................... 78 Variations on the MIST ..................................................................................... 81 Observations on the MAIA ................................................................................ 82 Limitations ......................................................................................................... 84 Strengths ............................................................................................................ 85 Future Directions ............................................................................................... 87 Closing Thoughts ............................................................................................... 89 References ...................................................................................................................... 90 Supplemental Tables .................................................................................................... 107 Appendices ................................................................................................................... 114 Curriculum Vita ........................................................................................................... 125 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Facets of Mindfulness, as Identified in Definitions of Mindfulness ............................ 107 2. Mechanisms of Mindfulness, as Identified in Theoretical Papers ................................ 108 3. Completed Measures ...................................................................................................... 50 4. MIST Focal Regions, by Sequence in Script ...............................................................52 5. MIST Focal Regions, by Region of Body ....................................................................53 6. Pearson Product-Moment Correlations for Interoceptive Tasks and Potential Physiological Covariates ........................................................................................................ 54 7. Pearson Product-Moment Correlations for Interoceptive Tasks and ASI-3 Subscales .. 56 8. Semi-Partial Correlations for Interoceptive Tasks and ASI-3 Subscales ..................... 109 9. Pearson Product-Moment Correlations for Interoceptive Tasks and Selected MAIA Scales ...................................................................................................................................... 58 10. Semi-Partial Correlations for Interoceptive Tasks and Selected MAIA Scales ........... 109 11. Pearson Product-Moment Correlations for PHLMS Awareness Scale and FFMQ Act with Awareness Scale with Selected MAIA Scales ............................................................... 61 12. Hypothesized Nomological Net .....................................................................................