Compared to self-immersion, mindful attention reduces salivation and automatic food bias.

ABSTRACT: Immersing ourselves in food images can sometimes make it feel subjectively real, as if the actual food were right in front of us. Excessive self-immersion into mental content, however, is a hallmark of psychological distress, and of several psychiatric conditions. Being aware that imagined events are not necessarily an accurate depiction of reality is a key feature of psychotherapeutic approaches akin to mindfulness-based interventions. Yet, it is still largely unknown to what extent one's engagement with mental content, considering it as real, biases one's automatic tendencies toward the world. In this study, we measured the change in subjective realism induced by a self-immersion and a mindful attention instruction, using self-reports and saliva volumes. Then, we measured behaviorally th

SUBMITTER: Baquedano C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5653876 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature