Mindfulness to Mitigate Psychological Threat and Improve Engagement and Learning in Introductory Physics Courses

University of Pittsburgh

Status: Completed

Conditions: Stress

Treatments: Behavioral: Mindfulness Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT04589377

STUDY19050258 Part 1

Details and patient eligibility

About

This project involves testing a brief mindfulness training program to reduce students' psychological threat and support motivation, engagement, and learning in introductory undergraduate physics courses. The investigators predict that, compared to a control condition, mindfulness training will reduce psychological threat and increase motivation, engagement, and learning in physics.

Enrollment: 149 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• at least 18 years of age
• current University of Pittsburgh student
• fluent in written and spoken English
• enrolled in introductory physics
• self-reported psychological threat in physics

Exclusion criteria

• under 18 years of age
• not a current University of Pittsburgh student
• not fluent in written and spoken English
• not enrolled in introductory physics
• does not meet self-report psychological threat in physics

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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149 participants in 2 patient groups

Mindfulness Training

Experimental group

Description:

Participants receive 20 minutes of mindfulness training per day for five continuous days (Monday through Friday). Training is delivered remotely to participants' computers and smartphones.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Mindfulness Training

No-Training

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants do not receive training. On Monday and Friday, they listen to a 20 minute audiobook to match for time.