Exploring the relationship of decentering to health related concepts and cognitive and metacognitive processes in a student sample

Abstract

BackgroundDecentering, a central change strategy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, is a process of stepping outside of one’s own mental events leading to an objective and non-judging stance towards the self. The study aimed at investigating associated mechanisms of decentering.MethodThe present study investigated the relation of decentering, operationalized by means of the German Version of the Experiences Questionnaire, to severity of depressive symptoms, assessed by the adaptive Rasch-based depression screening, and self-focussed attention, assessed by the Questionnaire of Dysfunctional and Functional Self-Consciousness. Furthermore, the relationship between decentering and a) the ability to shift and allocate attention by means of the Stroop test, and b) metacognitive monitoring, i.e. the absolute difference between judged and real task performance, was investigated. These relationships were examined in 55 healthy students using Pearson’s correlations.ResultsIn line with our assumptions, higher decentering scores were significantly associated with lower scores on severity of depressive symptoms, with higher functional- and lower dysfunctional self-focussed attention. Contrary to our expectations, results neither indicated a relationship between decentering and attention ability, nor between decentering and metacognitive monitoring.ConclusionsThe present results suggest that decentering is associated with concepts of mental health (i.e. less severity of depressive symptoms and higher functional self-focussed attention). Overall, the concept decentering seems to be mainly composed of self-focussed aspects when investigated in a healthy sample without intervention. Further investigations of associated concepts of decentering should consider aspects of self-relevance and emotional valence.

Distress and retaliatory aggression in response to witnessing intergroup exclusion are greater on higher levels of collective narcissism

“…Mindfulness—a contemplative practice of intentionally directing attention to experience in a non‐judgmental way (Kabat‐Zinn, 1994 )—is likely to address the deficits in the regulation of negative emotions associated with collective narcissism (Golec de Zavala, 2019 ; Golec de Zavala et al., 2020 ). We test whether a short practice of a specific aspect of mindfulness—decentration (i.e., a mental process of distancing oneself from one's immediate experience and re‐evaluating it as a constructed reality of the self, not an unchangeable truth; Kessel et al., 2016 )—can mitigate emotional and physiological distress of exclusion among collective narcissists.…”

Correlates of psychological inflexibility mediate the relation between alexithymic traits and positive emotions

“…Like experiential acceptance, decentering is viewed as a necessary concept for mental health and a healthy development, whereas the absence of this ability leads to psychological dysfunction (e.g., Fresco et al 2007;Kessel et al, 2016).…”

Efficacy of mindfulness‐based stress reduction on fear of emotions and related cognitive behavioral processes in Chinese University students: A randomized controlled trial

“…Decentering is a metacognitive strategy (Lebois et al, 2015), a process through which one is able to step outside of one's immediate experience, thereby changing the very nature of that experience (Safran & Segal, 1996). Generally, decentering is viewed as a necessary concept for mental health and a healthy development, and a central mechanism of change in psychotherapy (Kessel et al, 2016). Emotion regulation is increasingly viewed by contemporary researchers as a foundation for well‐being, academic achievement, and positive adjustment throughout the life span (Eisenberg et al, 2010).…”