Thepractisesofmindfulnessandmetacognitionhavelongbeenshowntoproduceawiderange

ofgenerallypositiveeffectsinpeople.Mindfulnesscanbeviewedasaprocessofbringinga
certainqualityofattentiontomomentbymomentexperiencethepsychologicalstudyof
mindfulnessinvolvesincreasingawarenessandskilfulrespondingtomentalprocessesthat
contributetoemotionaldistressandmaladaptivebehaviourapproachingonesexperiencewith
anorientationofcuriosityandacceptance,regardlessofvalenceordesirabilityisalso
characteristicofmindfulness(Bishop,2004).However,thedefinitionofmetacognitionappears
tobeslightlymoreambiguousitcanbesaidtorefertoonesknowledgeconcerningonesown
cognitiveprocessesoranythingrelatedtothem(Flavell,1976,p.232).Becausemindfulness
specificallyinvolvesawarenessofpresentexperiencesandcognitiveprocesses,itcanbeviewed
asatypeofmetacognition.Overthelastfewdecades,researchershavebeguntostudytheeffects
ofmindfulnessandmetacognitiononeverythingfromphysicalhealthtoimprovedaffectand
emotionregulation.Basedonthiswork,itcanbearguedthatpractisingmindfulnesscanlead
peopletoimprovevariousaspectsoftheircognitiveabilitiesaswell.

Thestudyofthinkingandreasoninghasbeenlongandcontentioushoweveranunderstandingof
itsteadilybeingachieved.Manyprocessescanbeviewedascomponentsofthinkingand
reasoningsuchasdeductiveproblemsolving,insightproblemsolving,learning,creativityand
memory.Mindfulnessitselfisathoughtprocess.Meditationisthemostcommonformalmethod
ofmindfulnesspractise(Shapiro,2006)mosttypesofmeditationinvolveobjectivelyobserving
andfocusingonsomeaspectofexperience,suchasbodilysensations,breathing,imagesor
sounds.
Meditationpracticecanbeviewedasascaffoldingusedtodeveloptheskill,of
mindfulness(KabatZinn,2005).
Psychologicalmindfulnessprograms,suchasMindfulness
BasedStressReduction(MBSR),incorporatevarioustypesoftraditionalmediationcustoms
(Grossman,2003).Practisingmindfulnesscanimprovemanyoftheskillsnecessaryforthinking
andreasoning.

Attentionisakeycomponentofthinkingandreasoning.Theskillfulcontrolofonesattentionis
integralinordertofocusonaproblemathandortoabsorbinformation.Itconsistsoftheability
toholdonesattention,theabilitytocontrolthemovementofonesattentionandtheabilityto
avoiddistractionfromcompetinginformation(Shapiro,2006).AstudybyHarrisetal.,for
example,examinedeffortfullcontrol,motivation,andattentionregulationinpreschoolerswithin
thecontextofparentchildinteractions.Inthestudy,childrenweregivenapuzzletaskto
complete,firstwiththeirmotherspresent,andthenindividuallythechildrenwhowerehigherin
effortfullcontrol,motivationandattentionregulationweremoreaccuratewhenworking
independently(Harrisetal.2007).Attentionisalsoinvolvedinprocesseslikememoryand
learning(Langer2000).

Mindfulnesspractisehasbeenshowntohaveapowerfuleffectonattention(Langer,2000).In
ordertomeditateorattemptmindfulnessinanyway,onemustpracticeholdingandcontrolling
onesattention.AccordingtoShapiroetal.(2006),mindfulnessiscomposedofintention,
attentionandattitude.Asaresult,allthevariousaspectsofattentioncanbeimprovedthrough
withmeditationandmindfulness.

Theseimprovedattentionalabilitieshavebeendemonstratedbyanumberofresearchers.Ina
studybyOrtneretal.(2007)itwasfoundthatmindfulnessreducedinterferencewithattentionin
acognitivetask.Theexperimentfocusedonaffectiveinterference.Subjectswhowere
mindfulnessmeditatorswereaskedtocategorizetonesaftertheywereshowneitheraffectiveor
neutralpicturesParticipantswithmoremindfulnessmeditationexperienceshowedless
interferencefromaffectivepictures.Inasecondexperiment,subjectswhoreceivedasevenday
mindfulnessmeditationtraininginterventionalsosawlessaffectiveinterferencewhencompared
tothosewhoreceivedrelaxationmeditationtrainingornotrainingatall.

AnotherstudyconductedbyJhaetal.(2007)comparedmoreexperiencedparticipantsofa
meditationretreatprogramwithagroupwhotookacourseinMBSR.Theywerelookingatthe
effectsofthesetwotypesoftrainingonconcentrativeattentionandreceptiveattention.
Concentrativeattentionreferredtotheabilitytofocuswithoutbecomingdistracted,while
receptiveattentionwasdescribedsimplykeepingattentionfullyreadiedinthepresent
momentofexperiencewithoutorienting,directing,orlimitingitinanyway(Jha,2007,p.110).
Theyfoundthatthosewhohadmindfulnesstrainingwerebetterattheconflictmonitoringtasks
theyshowedlessflankerinterference.MBSRparticipantsimprovedtheirorienting
performancerelativetothecontrolparticipantsbothconflictmonitoringandorientingwere
describedformsofvoluntaryattentionalselection.Themindfulnesstrainedgroupalsoshowed
moreoverallreceptiveattentiontherewasapositivecorrelationbetweentheamountof
mindfulnesstrainingaparticipanthadandtheamountofreceptiveattentiontheyshowed.

Similarly,meditationshowspromiseastherapytoimproveADHD.Inastudyconductedby
Zylowskaetal.in2008,24adultsandeightadolescentswithADHDenrolledinaneightweek
trainingprogram.Theprogramwasratedhighlybyparticipantsandtheyreportedimprovements
intheirADHDsymptoms.Testperformanceontasksmeasuringattentionandcognitive
inhibitionwerealsonotedbyresearchers.

Overall,itappearstobeclearthatattentionisamajorcomponentofthinkingandreasoningas
wellasmindfulnessmeditation.Practisingmindfulnessmeditationappearstostrengthen
peoplesconcentrationskills,deterthemfrombecomingdistracted,allowsthemtoorient
themselvesandincreasestheirreceptiveattentionabilities.Thisisonecrucialmannerinwhich
mindfulnessandmetacognitioninfluencethethinkingandreasoningprocess.


Theprocessofmemory,anditsassociatedskills,isalsotiedcloselytoanykindofthinkingand
reasoningability.Memoriesareencoded,storedandretrieved(Winters,2008).Themodeby
whichamemoryisstoredplaysasignificantroleinhoweasilyretrievableitwillbe.When
lookingatadualprocessmodelofthinkingandreasoning,ithasbeenproposedthatreasoningis
basedonanassociativesystemandarulebasedsystem(BarbeyandBarsalou,2009).The
generalizedsystemusesfasterandbroadercognitiveoperations,includingmemoryretrievalto
producequick,heuristicbasedjudgements.Themorespecializedsystemisslowerandmore
mechanicalitallowsforconsciousandlogicalprocessing.Inductivereasoning,forexample,
largelydependsontheretrievalandevaluationofworldknowledgefrommemory.Thusmemory
retrievalbecomesanessentialpartofprocesseslikeinductivereasoning.Forexample,Chietal.
(1981)comparedhowexpertphysicsstudentsrepresentedphysicsproblemsascomparedto
novices.Allparticipantstendedtorepresentproblemsincategories.Thestudydemonstratedthat
theproblemrepresentationsforexpertsweredifferentwhencomparedtothenovicestheyeach
tendedtofavouradifferentcategoryofproblem.Thesuccessfulcompletionoftheproblem
dependedontheparticipantsknowledgeofthecategory.Inasimilarvein,moreexperiences
chessplayersarelikelytousememorytorememberpositionsofthepiecesandrespectivemoves
(GobetandSimon,1996).AnexperimentconductedbydYdewalleetal.in1983askedstudents
tostudyeitherforamultiplechoicetestorforanessaytest.Thosewhostudiedfortheessay
wereforcedtobemoreawareofthematerialandthereforestudiedlongerandmoremindfully.
Theydidbetteronbothversionsofthetest.Ineachofthesecases,memoryisakey
characteristicofthinkingandreasoning.

Mindfulnesspractisehasbeenshowntoimprovesomesignificantareasofmemory.Itmay,for
example,improvepeoplesabilitytotransferknowledgefromdomaintodomain.Thisfailureto
retrieverelevantinformationisseeninduringtheretrievalprocess.AccordingtoSalomonand
Globerson(1987),mindfullearningwasthevolitional,metacognitivelyguidedemploymentof
nonautomatic,usuallyeffortfulprocesses(p623).Usingmindfulorhighroadtransferwill
allowfortheconsciousandcontrolledtransferofinformation.Thepractiseofmindful
transferringofinformationcanbeseeninProblemBasedLearning,asreviewedbyHmeloSilver
(1994).Here,studentslearnedconceptsusingselfdirectedlearningandthenappliednew
knowledgetoacomplexproblemwithnosinglecorrectanswer.Theythenlearntomindfully
abstractknowledgeandlearnhowtoreapplytheirstrategies.StudentsinaPBLcurriculumwere
significantlymorelikelytoapplyscientificknowledgecorrectlyandwithflexibility.Similarly,
undergradstudentsinamultidisciplinaryPBLprogramdemonstratedincreasesonfactual
knowledgeandwiththeircomplexproblemsolvingskills.Thus,mindfullearningstrategiescan
beshowntofacilitatetransferofinformationand,indoingso,improveonescontroloverthe
retrievalstageofmemory.

Mindfulnessandmetacognitioncanalsobeseentoimprovelearningtheencodingaspectof
memory(Wong,1994).Ina2001study,Langeretal.demonstratedthatlearningcouldbeseen
toimprovewhenparticipantstookamindfulapproachtoobservingstimuli.Inordertofacilitate
constantawarenessofstimuliforthefluidandadaptablecategorizationofnewinformation,
researchersmaintainedalearningenvironmentofnovelty.Theylookedatschoolchildrenwho
wereusedtostudyingfromvaryingspatialperspectivesandcomparedthemtothosewhocame
fromamoretraditionaleducationalsystem.Thestudentsforwhomtheconstantchangingof
spatialperspectiveswasnovelweremuchmoresuccessfulatrememberingtheinformation
presented.Asaresult,theresearchersconcludedthattheimprovedperformancewasaresultof
increasedawarenessormoremindfullybasedattention.Increasedmindfulnesswhilelearning
informationallowsenhancedencodingofmemories.

Bothencodingandretrievalofmemorycanbepositivelyaffectedbymindfulness.Byusing
mindfulnesspractices,peoplelearntobettercontrolthetransferofknowledge,makingconcepts
moreflexibleandapplicable.Theycanalsoconsciouslyincreaseawarenesswhilelearningand
absorbmoreinformation.Thereappearstobelittleevidenceregardingthestorageor
consolidationofmemory.

Itcanbearguedthattheeffectofmindfulnessonthinkingandreasoningmaybecausal.There
arefewknownfactorsthroughwhichmindfulnessmayindirectlyaffectreasoning.TheBigFive
PersonalityTraits,forexample,showcorrelationswithmindfulnessaswellasthinkingand
reasoning.Mindfulnessisnegativelycorrelatedwithneuroticismandpositivelycorrelatedwith
positiveaffectandconscientiousness(Giluk,2009).AstudyconductedbyFurnhumetal.(2009)
administeredaRevisedNEOPI,anabstractreasoningtestandadivergentthinkingtest(DI)to
over550Britishadults.TheyfoundastrongpositivecorrelationbetweenDT,abstractthinking
andtheBigFivepersonalityfactorsofOpennesstoExperienceandExtraversion.Overall
abstractreasoningandpersonalityfactorsaccountedforonly7%ofthevarianceinDT,causing
theresearcherstoconcludeonlyamodestcorrelation.Despitethefactthatbothmindfulnessand
reasoningcorrelatewiththeBigFivePersonalityTraits,thereislittleoverlapintraitsthusitis
highlyunlikely,inthiscase,thatmindfulnessimprovescognitionandreasoningindirectly.
Allinall,mindfulnessappearstobeapowerfultoolbecauseitcanbeusedbymostpeoplewith
noadverseeffectsorspecialconsiderations.Mindfulnessdoesincreasepositiveaffectand
reduceanxiety(Langer,2000).Positiveaffecthasbeenshowntofacilitatetheintegrationof
informationwhenproblemsolvingaswell(Estrada,1997).Oneofitsmainshortcomingsisthat
itrequirestimeandpatience.Thiskindofselfdisciplinemaybedifficulttoachieveinitiallyfor
youngerchildrenorthosewithattentionaldisorders.Additionally,theeffectsofmindfulness
onlyremainwhileitispracticed.Itdoes,however,providepeoplewithameansbywhichto
practisetheskillsthatareintegraltothinkingandreasoning.

Thepractisesofmindfulnessandmetacognitionhavelongbeenshowntoproduceawiderange
ofgenerallypositiveeffectsinpeople.Mindfulnesscanbeviewedasaprocessofbringinga
certainqualityofattentiontomomentbymomentexperiencethepsychologicalstudyof
mindfulnessinvolvesincreasingawarenessandskilfulrespondingtomentalprocessesthat
contributetoemotionaldistressandmaladaptivebehaviourapproachingonesexperiencewith
anorientationofcuriosityandacceptance,regardlessofvalenceordesirabilityisalso
characteristicofmindfulness(Bishop,2004).However,thedefinitionofmetacognitionappears
tobeslightlymoreambiguousitcanbesaidtorefertoonesknowledgeconcerningonesown
cognitiveprocessesoranythingrelatedtothem(Flavell,1976,p.232).Becausemindfulness
specificallyinvolvesawarenessofpresentexperiencesandcognitiveprocesses,itcanbeviewed
asatypeofmetacognition.Overthelastfewdecades,researchershavebeguntostudytheeffects
ofmindfulnessandmetacognitiononeverythingfromphysicalhealthtoimprovedaffectand
emotionregulation.Basedonthiswork,itcanbearguedthatpractisingmindfulnesscanlead
peopletoimprovevariousaspectsoftheircognitiveabilitiesaswell.

Thestudyofthinkingandreasoninghasbeenlongandcontentioushoweveranunderstandingof
itsteadilybeingachieved.Manyprocessescanbeviewedascomponentsofthinkingand
reasoningsuchasdeductiveproblemsolving,insightproblemsolving,learning,creativityand
memory.Mindfulnessitselfisathoughtprocess.Meditationisthemostcommonformalmethod
ofmindfulnesspractise(Shapiro,2006)mosttypesofmeditationinvolveobjectivelyobserving
andfocusingonsomeaspectofexperience,suchasbodilysensations,breathing,imagesor
sounds.
Meditationpracticecanbeviewedasascaffoldingusedtodeveloptheskill,of
mindfulness(KabatZinn,2005).
Psychologicalmindfulnessprograms,suchasMindfulness
BasedStressReduction(MBSR),incorporatevarioustypesoftraditionalmediationcustoms
(Grossman,2003).Practisingmindfulnesscanimprovemanyoftheskillsnecessaryforthinking
andreasoning.

Attentionisakeycomponentofthinkingandreasoning.Theskillfulcontrolofonesattentionis
integralinordertofocusonaproblemathandortoabsorbinformation.Itconsistsoftheability
toholdonesattention,theabilitytocontrolthemovementofonesattentionandtheabilityto
avoiddistractionfromcompetinginformation(Shapiro,2006).AstudybyHarrisetal.,for
example,examinedeffortfullcontrol,motivation,andattentionregulationinpreschoolerswithin
thecontextofparentchildinteractions.Inthestudy,childrenweregivenapuzzletaskto
complete,firstwiththeirmotherspresent,andthenindividuallythechildrenwhowerehigherin
effortfullcontrol,motivationandattentionregulationweremoreaccuratewhenworking
independently(Harrisetal.2007).Attentionisalsoinvolvedinprocesseslikememoryand
learning(Langer2000).

Mindfulnesspractisehasbeenshowntohaveapowerfuleffectonattention(Langer,2000).In

ordertomeditateorattemptmindfulnessinanyway,onemustpracticeholdingandcontrolling
onesattention.AccordingtoShapiroetal.(2006),mindfulnessiscomposedofintention,
attentionandattitude.Asaresult,allthevariousaspectsofattentioncanbeimprovedthrough
withmeditationandmindfulness.

Theseimprovedattentionalabilitieshavebeendemonstratedbyanumberofresearchers.Ina
studybyOrtneretal.(2007)itwasfoundthatmindfulnessreducedinterferencewithattentionin
acognitivetask.Theexperimentfocusedonaffectiveinterference.Subjectswhowere
mindfulnessmeditatorswereaskedtocategorizetonesaftertheywereshowneitheraffectiveor
neutralpicturesParticipantswithmoremindfulnessmeditationexperienceshowedless
interferencefromaffectivepictures.Inasecondexperiment,subjectswhoreceivedasevenday
mindfulnessmeditationtraininginterventionalsosawlessaffectiveinterferencewhencompared
tothosewhoreceivedrelaxationmeditationtrainingornotrainingatall.

AnotherstudyconductedbyJhaetal.(2007)comparedmoreexperiencedparticipantsofa
meditationretreatprogramwithagroupwhotookacourseinMBSR.Theywerelookingatthe
effectsofthesetwotypesoftrainingonconcentrativeattentionandreceptiveattention.
Concentrativeattentionreferredtotheabilitytofocuswithoutbecomingdistracted,while
receptiveattentionwasdescribedsimplykeepingattentionfullyreadiedinthepresent
momentofexperiencewithoutorienting,directing,orlimitingitinanyway(Jha,2007,p.110).
Theyfoundthatthosewhohadmindfulnesstrainingwerebetterattheconflictmonitoringtasks
theyshowedlessflankerinterference.MBSRparticipantsimprovedtheirorienting
performancerelativetothecontrolparticipantsbothconflictmonitoringandorientingwere
describedformsofvoluntaryattentionalselection.Themindfulnesstrainedgroupalsoshowed
moreoverallreceptiveattentiontherewasapositivecorrelationbetweentheamountof
mindfulnesstrainingaparticipanthadandtheamountofreceptiveattentiontheyshowed.

Similarly,meditationshowspromiseastherapytoimproveADHD.Inastudyconductedby
Zylowskaetal.in2008,24adultsandeightadolescentswithADHDenrolledinaneightweek
trainingprogram.Theprogramwasratedhighlybyparticipantsandtheyreportedimprovements
intheirADHDsymptoms.Testperformanceontasksmeasuringattentionandcognitive
inhibitionwerealsonotedbyresearchers.

Overall,itappearstobeclearthatattentionisamajorcomponentofthinkingandreasoningas
wellasmindfulnessmeditation.Practisingmindfulnessmeditationappearstostrengthen
peoplesconcentrationskills,deterthemfrombecomingdistracted,allowsthemtoorient
themselvesandincreasestheirreceptiveattentionabilities.Thisisonecrucialmannerinwhich
mindfulnessandmetacognitioninfluencethethinkingandreasoningprocess.

Theprocessofmemory,anditsassociatedskills,isalsotiedcloselytoanykindofthinkingand
reasoningability.Memoriesareencoded,storedandretrieved(Winters,2008).Themodeby
whichamemoryisstoredplaysasignificantroleinhoweasilyretrievableitwillbe.When
lookingatadualprocessmodelofthinkingandreasoning,ithasbeenproposedthatreasoningis
basedonanassociativesystemandarulebasedsystem(BarbeyandBarsalou,2009).The
generalizedsystemusesfasterandbroadercognitiveoperations,includingmemoryretrievalto
producequick,heuristicbasedjudgements.Themorespecializedsystemisslowerandmore
mechanicalitallowsforconsciousandlogicalprocessing.Inductivereasoning,forexample,
largelydependsontheretrievalandevaluationofworldknowledgefrommemory.Thusmemory
retrievalbecomesanessentialpartofprocesseslikeinductivereasoning.Forexample,Chietal.
(1981)comparedhowexpertphysicsstudentsrepresentedphysicsproblemsascomparedto
novices.Allparticipantstendedtorepresentproblemsincategories.Thestudydemonstratedthat
theproblemrepresentationsforexpertsweredifferentwhencomparedtothenovicestheyeach
tendedtofavouradifferentcategoryofproblem.Thesuccessfulcompletionoftheproblem
dependedontheparticipantsknowledgeofthecategory.Inasimilarvein,moreexperiences
chessplayersarelikelytousememorytorememberpositionsofthepiecesandrespectivemoves
(GobetandSimon,1996).AnexperimentconductedbydYdewalleetal.in1983askedstudents
tostudyeitherforamultiplechoicetestorforanessaytest.Thosewhostudiedfortheessay
wereforcedtobemoreawareofthematerialandthereforestudiedlongerandmoremindfully.
Theydidbetteronbothversionsofthetest.Ineachofthesecases,memoryisakey
characteristicofthinkingandreasoning.

Mindfulnesspractisehasbeenshowntoimprovesomesignificantareasofmemory.Itmay,for
example,improvepeoplesabilitytotransferknowledgefromdomaintodomain.Thisfailureto
retrieverelevantinformationisseeninduringtheretrievalprocess.AccordingtoSalomonand
Globerson(1987),mindfullearningwasthevolitional,metacognitivelyguidedemploymentof
nonautomatic,usuallyeffortfulprocesses(p623).Usingmindfulorhighroadtransferwill
allowfortheconsciousandcontrolledtransferofinformation.Thepractiseofmindful
transferringofinformationcanbeseeninProblemBasedLearning,asreviewedbyHmeloSilver
(1994).Here,studentslearnedconceptsusingselfdirectedlearningandthenappliednew
knowledgetoacomplexproblemwithnosinglecorrectanswer.Theythenlearntomindfully
abstractknowledgeandlearnhowtoreapplytheirstrategies.StudentsinaPBLcurriculumwere
significantlymorelikelytoapplyscientificknowledgecorrectlyandwithflexibility.Similarly,
undergradstudentsinamultidisciplinaryPBLprogramdemonstratedincreasesonfactual
knowledgeandwiththeircomplexproblemsolvingskills.Thus,mindfullearningstrategiescan
beshowntofacilitatetransferofinformationand,indoingso,improveonescontroloverthe
retrievalstageofmemory.

Mindfulnessandmetacognitioncanalsobeseentoimprovelearningtheencodingaspectof

memory(Wong,1994).Ina2001study,Langeretal.demonstratedthatlearningcouldbeseen
toimprovewhenparticipantstookamindfulapproachtoobservingstimuli.Inordertofacilitate
constantawarenessofstimuliforthefluidandadaptablecategorizationofnewinformation,
researchersmaintainedalearningenvironmentofnovelty.Theylookedatschoolchildrenwho
wereusedtostudyingfromvaryingspatialperspectivesandcomparedthemtothosewhocame
fromamoretraditionaleducationalsystem.Thestudentsforwhomtheconstantchangingof
spatialperspectiveswasnovelweremuchmoresuccessfulatrememberingtheinformation
presented.Asaresult,theresearchersconcludedthattheimprovedperformancewasaresultof
increasedawarenessormoremindfullybasedattention.Increasedmindfulnesswhilelearning
informationallowsenhancedencodingofmemories.

Bothencodingandretrievalofmemorycanbepositivelyaffectedbymindfulness.Byusing
mindfulnesspractices,peoplelearntobettercontrolthetransferofknowledge,makingconcepts
moreflexibleandapplicable.Theycanalsoconsciouslyincreaseawarenesswhilelearningand
absorbmoreinformation.Thereappearstobelittleevidenceregardingthestorageor
consolidationofmemory.

Itcanbearguedthattheeffectofmindfulnessonthinkingandreasoningmaybecausal.There
arefewknownfactorsthroughwhichmindfulnessmayindirectlyaffectreasoning.TheBigFive
PersonalityTraits,forexample,showcorrelationswithmindfulnessaswellasthinkingand
reasoning.Mindfulnessisnegativelycorrelatedwithneuroticismandpositivelycorrelatedwith
positiveaffectandconscientiousness(Giluk,2009).AstudyconductedbyFurnhumetal.(2009)
administeredaRevisedNEOPI,anabstractreasoningtestandadivergentthinkingtest(DI)to
over550Britishadults.TheyfoundastrongpositivecorrelationbetweenDT,abstractthinking
andtheBigFivepersonalityfactorsofOpennesstoExperienceandExtraversion.Overall
abstractreasoningandpersonalityfactorsaccountedforonly7%ofthevarianceinDT,causing
theresearcherstoconcludeonlyamodestcorrelation.Despitethefactthatbothmindfulnessand
reasoningcorrelatewiththeBigFivePersonalityTraits,thereislittleoverlapintraitsthusitis
highlyunlikely,inthiscase,thatmindfulnessimprovescognitionandreasoningindirectly.

Allinall,mindfulnessappearstobeapowerfultoolbecauseitcanbeusedbymostpeoplewith
noadverseeffectsorspecialconsiderations.Mindfulnessdoesincreasepositiveaffectand
reduceanxiety(Langer,2000).Positiveaffecthasbeenshowntofacilitatetheintegrationof
informationwhenproblemsolvingaswell(Estrada,1997).Oneofitsmainshortcomingsisthat
itrequirestimeandpatience.Thiskindofselfdisciplinemaybedifficulttoachieveinitiallyfor
youngerchildrenorthosewithattentionaldisorders.Additionally,theeffectsofmindfulness
onlyremainwhileitispracticed.Itdoes,however,providepeoplewithameansbywhichto
practisetheskillsthatareintegraltothinkingandreasoning.