Mindfulness Training & Assessment and Intelligence

Abstract

Three key attentional mechanisms, attentional orienting (curiosity, openness and acceptance), engaging attention and sustaining-monitoring attention are the core skills on-target in any mindfulness-based program. Mindfulness skills are inherently related to top-down processes, such as awareness and reflection as well as bottom-up processes, such as emotional reappraisal, thus they can improve one’s cognitive and emotional regulation. Practitioners become more responsive, calm, and focused while experiencing less stress and distractions. Furthermore, mindfulness has been proven to foster stress resilience and create a great sense of interconnectedness so that it diminishes one’s possible involvement in impulsive behaviors. In addition, these techniques have multiple applications in modern medicine, working environments and school psychology, supported by ICTs to enhance practioners’ health status. Research can be focused on practioners’ mindfulness skills training and assessment through smartphones as a cost-effective and usable, every day treatment.