Testing the Impact of a Brief Acceptance, Mindfulness and Values Intervention on Multiple Features of Task Persistence

1. Testing the Impact of a Brief Acceptance, Mindfulness and Values Intervention on Multiple Features of Task Persistence Michael Levin, Colin Stromberg, Jennifer Villatte, Tom Waltz & Steven Hayes University of Nevada, Reno

2. Overview • Persistence is not always effective • Seeking to develop/refine measures of effective task persistence

3. Task Persistence • Tendency to persist in pursuit of one’s goals despite distress • Behavioral measures of task persistence • Latency to discontinue difficult task • Cold pressor, math task, breath holding, mirror tracing • Analogue to clinically-relevant behavior

4. Predicts Clinical Outcomes • Abstinence from nicotine and illicit drug use • Gambling • Self injury • Depression • Bipolar Disorder • Antisocial Personality Disorder • Borderline Personality Disorder

5. Role of Task Persistence in ACT Research • Captures some features of psychological flexibility • Acceptance, defusion, committed action • Useful measure for micro-component studies • Acceptance, mindfulness and values impact task persistence in combination/isolation

6. Persistence is Not Always Effective • Problematic persistence • Rigid, inflexible, passive, insensitive to contingencies • Effective persistence • Flexible, active, sensitive to contingencies • Where does latency to discontinue a task fit in?

7. Towards a Measure of Effective Persistence • Need a measure that assesses active, flexible, and engaged persistence in a goal-direct activity • Modified Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task • Difficult math task used to assess task persistence

8. Score 0 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

9. Score 0 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

10. Score 1 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

11. Score 2 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

12. PASAT - Pause Version • Focus on points earned as primary DV • Changed the quit button to a pause button • Added self-report questions

13. Purpose of Study • Examine the potential utility of the PASAT-P in capturing effective persistence • Test the impact of a combined acceptance, mindfulness, and values intervention

14. 45 Psychology Students Method

15. ACT Intervention • Connecting persistence to personal values • Control is the problem and acceptance • Polygraph & Chinese Finger Trap metaphors • Defusion from cognitive barriers to persistence • How minds work & I can’t walk exercise • Present moment awareness • Breathing meditation • Swamp metaphor

16. Baseline Correlations

17. ANCOVA Results • Significant difference between conditions on • Number of points earned • Pause time • Willingness • Task rating • Trend with breath holding and time to pause • No significant difference on • Emotional Distress • Errors • Omits

18. Points Earned F = 5.43, p < .05, partial η² = .12

19. Pause Time F = 7.06, p <.05, partial η² = .14

20. Task Rating F = 8.79, p < .01, partial η² = .17

21. Willingness F = 4.98, p < .05, partial η² = .11

22. Discussion • PASAT-P may assess effective task persistence • The measure is sensitive to intervention • Adds to micro-component literature on ACT interventions

23. Limitations • Relatively weak control condition • Demand characteristics, discussing the task, mood induction • Problems with using score as a primary DV • Tested a combined ACT intervention

24. Future Directions • What are we assessing with this measure? • Exploring how to organize and identify forms of persistence • More refined component tests • Continuing to pursue ways to refine task persistence measures