Individuals differ in their tendency to shift towards habitual behavior after stress. Mindfulness is an individual characteristic that does not only influence the stress response, but also cognitive processes. Therefore, effects of trait-mindfulness on the balance between goal-directed and habitual behavior after a stress induction were investigated. During this study, forty-seven healthy male and female participants mainly without meditation experience, were exposed to either a laboratory acute stress induction or a control procedure before they performed in a two-staged instrumental learning paradigm and completed a mindfulness questionnaire. Participants learned the acquired discriminations and a congruence effect, as predicted, was found. Moreover, explicit knowledge was highly indicative of level of goal-directedness. The stress manipulation was successful. Stressed individuals did not shift more towards habits. Mindfulness did not predict the level of goal-directedness, neither did it affect stress responses. Future studies might incorporate a mindfulness intervention or compare differently experienced meditators. This could help to approve mindfulness as a potential intervention to reduce cognitive shifts towards habits, which play a major role in development of pathological behavior.
Table of Contents
Instrumental Learning
Associative representations underlying instrumental behavior.
Detecting shifts towards habits.
Stress Affects the Balance Between Goal-directed and Habitual Control of Behavior
Mindfulness
Method
Participants
Design and Procedure
Stress induction
Subjective stress ratings
Blood pressure
Instrumental learning
Slips-of-action test
Explicit knowledge
Assessing mindfulness
Statistical Analysis
Results
Checking of Stress Manipulation, Instrumental Learning, and Mindfulness
Stress.
Instrumental learning
Slips of action
Mindfulness.
Stress-induced Shift towards Habits
Differential Stress Responses between more and less Mindful Individuals
Moderation of Mindfulness on the Stress-induced Shift
Discussion
A Mediation Model
Conclusion
References
Research Objectives and Topics
The study investigates whether individual differences in trait-mindfulness moderate the stress-induced shift from goal-directed behavior to habitual control. It examines how acute stress influences the balance between these two systems and whether higher levels of mindfulness can act as a buffer against this behavioral shift.
- Effects of acute stress on instrumental learning and behavioral flexibility.
- Distinction between goal-directed and habitual control of behavior.
- Assessment of mindfulness as a multi-faceted personality trait.
- Evaluation of potential moderation effects of mindfulness on stress-induced behavioral changes.
- Use of the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST) and instrumental learning paradigms.
Excerpt from the Book
Stress Affects the Balance Between Goal-directed and Habitual Control of Behavior
It was shown that stress affects learning. For example rodents and men favored dorsal striatum-dependent S-R learning over hippocampus-dependent spatial (cognitive) learning after stress (Kim, Lee, Han, & Packard, 2001; Schwabe et al., 2007). Furthermore, when rats were exposed to chronic stress, their decision-making was not only biased towards habitual strategies, but stress also caused opposite structural changes, with atrophy in the medial prefrontal cortex, the area underlying goal-directed learning and hypertrophy in the dorsolateral striatum, which facilitates habit learning (Dias-Ferreira et al., 2009). For humans, stress before learning an instrumental task rendered behavior insensitive to outcome devaluation and therefore habitual at the expense of goal-directed performance (Schwabe & Wolf, 2009). This may indicate a stress-induced shift from prefrontal cortex- and dorsomedial striatum-based goal-directed learning to dorsolateral striatum-based habit learning (Schwabe & Wolf, 2013), with reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex (van Stegeren et al., 2010) and facilitated S-R memory processes (Schwabe et al., 2007). Glucocorticoid stress hormones (mainly cortisol for humans) have been suggested to act as switch between ‘cognitive’ and ‘habit’ learning systems (Schwabe, Schächinger, de Kloet, & Oitzl, 2010). Indeed, the high density of glucocorticoid receptors in the prefrontal cortex (McEwen, de Kloet, & Rostene, 1986) suggests that this area is highly sensitive to stress. However, only concurrent glucocorticoid and noradrenergic activity impairs goal-directed action (Schwabe, Tegenthoff, Höffken, & Wolf, 2012). The present study expects to raise both catecholamine and glucocorticoid concentrations as a result of exposing participants to an acute stressor, which should in return elicit shifts towards habits.
Summary of Chapters
Instrumental Learning: Provides the theoretical background on goal-directed vs. habitual behavior and the neural substrates underlying these systems.
Stress Affects the Balance Between Goal-directed and Habitual Control of Behavior: Discusses how stress impacts cognitive flexibility and shifts behavioral control from goal-directed to habit systems.
Mindfulness: Defines mindfulness as a construct and explores its potential role in regulating stress responses and enhancing cognitive control.
Method: Details the experimental design, the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST), the instrumental learning task, and the measurement of mindfulness using the KIMS-D.
Results: Presents the findings of the stress manipulation, the instrumental learning performance, and the absence of a significant moderation effect of mindfulness on behavioral shifts.
Discussion: Interprets the results in the context of existing literature and addresses limitations of the study, such as the timing of mindfulness assessments.
Conclusion: Summarizes the implications for understanding pathological behavior and suggests that future studies should further explore mindfulness interventions.
Keywords
mindfulness, stress, instrumental learning, goal-directedness, habits, behavioral control, Maastricht Acute Stress Test, glucocorticoid, noradrenergic, cognitive flexibility, trait-mindfulness, KIMS-D, slips-of-action, outcome devaluation, associative representation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research explores whether individual levels of trait-mindfulness influence the tendency of individuals to shift from goal-directed, flexible behavior toward more automatic, habitual responses when exposed to acute stress.
Which central topics are addressed?
The work covers the neurobiology of stress, the cognitive distinction between goal-directed and habitual action, and the role of mindfulness as a psychological trait in modulating stress responses.
What is the primary objective of this thesis?
The main goal is to determine if mindfulness serves as a protective factor or "buffer" that helps individuals maintain goal-directed control over their actions, even when they are under the pressure of an acute stressor.
Which scientific method did the author employ?
The author used a controlled laboratory experiment, applying the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST) to induce stress, followed by a two-staged instrumental learning paradigm to assess whether participants utilized goal-directed or habitual decision-making strategies.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body reviews existing literature on stress-induced behavioral shifts, details the experimental methodology, presents statistical analyses of the participants' task performance, and evaluates the proposed moderation models.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include mindfulness, stress-induced shift, instrumental learning, goal-directedness, habit formation, and behavioral flexibility.
Why did the study fail to find a significant moderation effect of mindfulness?
The study found that the stress-induced shift toward habits was not observable in the current setup, potentially due to the timing of the task after the stressor or the specific motivational nature of the monetary rewards used.
How did the author measure mindfulness in the participants?
Mindfulness was assessed using the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS-D), a 39-item questionnaire that evaluates four facets: Observing, Describing, Acting with awareness, and Accepting without judgment.
What are the implications for clinical psychology?
The findings suggest that understanding individual susceptibility to stress-induced habits could inform clinical interventions for disorders characterized by compulsive or repetitive behaviors, such as addiction or depression.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Gerrit Karpowski (Autor:in), 2016, Effects of Trait-Mindfulness on the Stress-induced Shift from Goal-directed Actions towards Habits, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/385877
