Sax, Sarah Ashley

Mindfulness refers to a state of mental awareness in which the individual is focused on the current moment while attempting to experience and nonjudgmentally accept passing sensations and thoughts. A previous study (Vernon, Stiksma, & Levy, 2014) found that one week following a single meditation training session, participants reported positive results. This current study examined the efficacy of the same one-session mindfulness meditation training administered online and the participants’ scores of mindfulness, stress, and social behavior and emotion. Between the pre-treatment and post-treatment, anxiety decreased, negative affect decreased while positive affect increased, and mindfulness decreased. This research will have implications for online mindfulness meditation classes, and whether the physical presence of an instructor is beneficial.