2024/07/31 by Tessa Benson‐Greenwald, Avital Pelakh, Michael Tumminia +6 · 1 voice
Psychology · #Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions #COVID-19 and Mental Health #Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
paper · pdf · doi:10.31234/osf.io/uq3v7
openalex publication_date 2024/07/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
Many college students view introductory physics as demanding, psychologically threatening contexts. We use the challenge-threat model to demonstrate mindfulness training helps students see they have the resources to overcome their physics demands. Two experiments (Ns = 27, 149; 1 pre-registered RCT) explored the distribution of psychological threat within introductory physics and tested whether mindfulness training could alter students’ appraisals and psychological threat. In screening data, over half of students reported threat. Historically excluded group students were more likely to report threat (vs. challenge) and dominant group students were more likely to report challenge (vs. threat). Further, mindfulness training increased perceived momentary resources and reduced monetary threat during the intervention. Mindfulness buffered against escalating thread and declining resources three months later. The results demonstrate the benefits of mindfulness in academic contexts where stress can be adaptive by changing appraisals and reducing threat in introductory physics.