Abstract
The current study examined the relationships among mindfulness, attention control, mind wandering, and
emotion. In Study 1, 149 undergraduate and graduate students were surveyed. Results suggested that attention control
reduced negative emotions through a decrease in mind wandering and that acceptance of mindfulness directly reduced
negative emotions. Previous studies have indicated that mindfulness training (MT) and the attention training technique
(ATT) enhance attention control. Study 2 compared MT and the ATT to examine their effects on mind wandering and
negative emotions. The participants were 37 undergraduate and graduate students who were randomly assigned to an MT
group (n=13), an ATT group (n=13), and a control group (n=11). The experiment included a pre-test and post-test over a
period of two weeks, and mind wandering was measured using the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). The MT
and ATT groups were asked to undergo daily training for two weeks, and the control group was asked to engage in routine
activities. Results indicated that the MT and ATT groups were able to control mind wandering and that attention control
and the acceptance of mindfulness were effective in decreasing mind wandering.
