Keele Research Repository

Wilson et al. (2015) presented data from three well-powered experiments suggesting that a brief mindfulness induction can increase false memory susceptibility. However, we had concerns about some of the methodology, including whether mind-wandering is the best control condition for brief mindfulness inductions. We report here the findings from a preregistered double-blind randomised controlled trial designed to replicate and extend the findings. 287 participants underwent 15-minute mindfulness or mind-wandering inductions or completed a join-the-dots task, before being presented with lists of words related to nonpresented critical lures followed by free recall and recognition tasks. There was no evidence for an effect of state of mind on correct or false recall or recognition. Furthermore, manipulation checks revealed that mindfulness and mind-wandering inductions activated overlapping states of mind. Exploratory analyses provide some support for mindfulness increasing false memory, but it appears that mind-wandering may not be the right control for brief mindfulness research.