Introduction
This quantitative research is created to assess the impact of individual’s level of mental fatigue on the strength of the relationships between mindfulness state in light of mindfulness intervention and working memory function. Previous research revealed that higher degree of mental fatigue is interlinked with poorer working memory. Mindfulness on the other hand is associated with the improvements in cognitive performance. Subsequently, it is important to assess the way mental fatigue affects working memory function in light of mindfulness.
General Statement
Previous research on mindfulness found it quite challenging to conceptualize and operationalize the concept of mindfulness (Grossman, 2011; 2013). However, Holas and Jankowski, (2014) have determined in the study that mindfulness can be assessed on the same level as cognition thus being affected by implicit activities like personality characteristics, quality of personal relationships and attentional control ((Brown & Ryan, 2003; Jankowski, 2010; Caldwel & Shaver, 2013). In other words, this implies that mindfulness that is improved by mediation as one of the practices is on the same level as cognition and can be triggered automatically.
Baranski and Was, (2018) state that mindfulness meditation is mostly based on the attention-oriented practices that include but not limited to meta-awareness, orientation on the specific objects and treatment of thoughts as menta occurrences. Lutz et al., (2015) adds that mindfulness mediation is also extended to secondary qualities like maintenance of stable attention and vividness of experience to name but a few. According to Jha et al. (2010) the cognitive processes that are affected by mindfulness mediation relate to generalized activities that are monthly linked to the maintenance of attention on the specific objects. Zeidan et al., (2010) performed a study on the impact of meditation training on the mood changes and cognitive function in comparison to an active control unit.
This study involved the assessment of the effect of meditation on such variables as verbal fluency, mood, visual coding, and working memory function. The outcomes revealed that listening to an audio book and mediation training resulted in the mood improvement whereas only meditation session increased mindfulness and decreased anxiety and fatigue. Equally, the beneficial effects were found out in respect to the improvements in working memory. In other words, this study demonstrates that meditation practice has a stronger impact on the cognitive components in comparison to other interventions. Jha et al., (2010) developed a study on the impact of mindfulness training on the working memory function in civilians as compared to military control group.
The results of the study confirmed that mindfulness practice affects the working memory function. In particular, it was revealed that working memory function was negatively affected in those study participants that maintained low mindfulness practice. On the other hand, working memory function increased in those study participants that maintained long mindfulness practice. These findings were further confirmed by research outcomes that demonstrated the improvements in working memory capacity and complex cognitive activities driven by mindfulness practices (Mrazek et al., 2013; Quach et al., 2016). Kirk et al, (2019) found out in the study that such mindfulness practice and listening to binaural sounds reduced the negative impact of mental fatigue thus contributing to the improvements of attentional focus.
However, this study incorporates only one aspect of working memory capacity therefore is limited in offering a holistic perspective on the role of mindfulness in the relationship between mental fatigue and working memory capacity. According to Van Dam et al., (2017) the studies that confirmed the positive effects of meditation and mindfulness on the working memory capacity lacked several important aspects like use of multiple measures of working memory function, adaptive control and high control over studies to reduce the potential of alternative explanations. On the other hand, mental fatigue is psychological state that triggers attention deficit due to the increased pressure on cognitive activity (University of Southern Denmark, 2020). Subsequently, this leads to the slower reaction time and inability to maintain attention on the objects as the same source reports.
Statement of Problem
In light of the characteristics of mental fatigue, this research aims to investigate the role of mental fatigue in the relationship between the mindfulness and working memory capacity. Given the fact that mental fatigue reduces the cognitive activity as it was mentioned earlier while mindfulness was determined on the same level as cognition by Holas and Jankowski, (2014) it is important to assess the way mental fatigue will affect the relationship between the mindfulness and working memory capacity. This problem is amplified in light of the fact that the previous studies failed to include the required variables to ensure that there is extensive evidence on the impact of mindfulness on the working memory capacity with limited risk of interpretations. Research by Kirk et al., (2019) confirmed that there is certain positive impact of mindfulness on the aspects of working memory capacity however not all variables related to working memory function were studied in this research.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this quantitative study is to reduce the gap in research by focusing on the investigation of the way mental fatigue affects the relationship between mindfulness and working memory function. This study included the Australian residents who are proficient in English language and are 18 years or older. This study was based on the use of online questionnaire, different scales for self-reporting purpose and pre-recorded 20 minutes’ audio to engage the participants in the mindfulness practice.
Importance of the Study
Mindfulness has gained considerable interest as an area of research not only in social studies but also in business studies (Bunting, 2016; Rothouse, 2020). In other words, mindfulness can be used to improve individual emotional and psychological state in both social and business areas of concern. This research is valuable as it aims to assess the way the relationship between mindfulness and working memory capacity can be affected by mental fatigue. Health experts will be able to use the results of this study to advance the research on the way mindfulness can be manipulated to improve one’s cognitive performance in light of mental fatigue. The outcomes of this study will also be valuable for the holistic and health experts that are looking to promote mindfulness practices for the societal benefits and improvement of life’s quality.
Business managers and governmental institutions will be able to use the results of this research to investigate the way mindfulness can be implemented in the workplace and study settings to improve cognitive and working memory performance among the employees and students. According to Bunting, (2016) and Rothouse, (2020) mindfulness contributes to the development of leadership qualities, improvement of team creativity and performance as well as employee engagement at work.
In addition to this, this research will be valuable and important for the residents and citizens of different countries that are willing to improve working memory function for the daily responsibilities by the use of mindfulness. In general, this study is important as it will advance further research in the field of mindfulness and cognition with the focus being placed on determining and including more variables to assess various relationships to offer even more in-depth insight on the subject.
Theoretical Framework
This study will follow the theory of Halos and Jankowski, (2014) that states that mindfulness is placed on the same level as cognition. The focus of this research will be placed on the assessment of the relationship between dependent variable (Working Memory), independent variable (State Mindfulness) and moderator variable (Mental Fatigue).
Research Questions
The main research question for this study is:
RQ1: How does mental fatigue affects the strength of the relationship between mindfulness following mindfulness intervention and working memory function?
Summary
This chapter was designed to present an introduction on the subject of the impact of mental fatigue on the strength of the relationship between mindfulness and working memory function. This chapter demonstrated that even though there were a lot of studies on the subject there is still a gap in research regarding the role of mental fatigue in the relationship between mindfulness and working memory function. In particular, it was revealed that previous studies were limited in inclusion of an extensive number of variables to assess the impact of mindfulness on the working memory function.
Equally, the research that focused on the investigation of the role of mental fatigue in the relationship between mindfulness and working memory function found out the impact only on some aspects of working memory function. Subsequently, there is a need to reduce this research gap. Research structure will include literature review chapter that will focus on the critical investigation of secondary evidence, followed by the research methodology chapter that will present the research methodology that is the most beneficial in the achievement of the research aims. Analysis of findings chapter will present the main results from primary data collection process, followed by the discussion chapter that will juxtapose literature review evidence and primary data collection outcomes. Conclusion chapter will present the summary of the research.
References
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