Both retirees and residents of a nursing homes participated in this pilot study. They were introduced to one of four ways to monitor their daily choices over an extended period of time. The types of monitoring varied in the complexity of the thinking required, and also in the amount of control exercised by the subjects. We assumed that the more complicated thinking and more control would increase mindfulness.
The first ("least mindful") group was asked simply to monitor and evaluate particular activities each day for a week (for example, the first drink they chose during the day). The second group monitored different behaviors each day. The third group was asked to focus on different activities each day, but also to list, for each one, three alternatives they could have selected but did not. The last ("most mindful") group was the same as the third group, except the subjects chose which activities to monitor.
... For virtually each measure, the more decisions and control required of the subjects, the more likely they were to have become (1) less depressed; (2) more independent and confident; and (3) more alert and differentiated in their choices. (85-86)
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