| Many elderly people in American society believe they cannot exercise personal control over their lives since life situations are unpredictable and their physical and social resources are limited. Recent research has demonstrated that mindfulness training through a process orientation will increase the perception of control among elderly people and will lead to improved psychological functioning, better health, increased confidence and memory, thereby reducing the feelings of vulnerability in old age.;This study examined the effect that Process and Outcome instructions had on the experience of control, i.e., level of cognitive awareness, degree of personal involvement, and personal changes in self-esteem, life satisfaction, and desired control among elderly women between the ages 60-84. Two main questions were addressed: (1) Do Process and Outcome instructions have a differential effect on the experience of control among elderly women? (2) Are there differences between Low Mindful and High Mindful elderly women in their experience of control?;There were no statistically significant differences for the factors of treatment group (Process or Outcome), time, nor an interaction between group and time for the variables of personal involvement, mindfulness, or desired control. A statistically significant increase was found on the Distinction Scale (cognitive awareness) over time for both the Process and Outcome groups (p ;Results suggest that Process and Outcome instructions were not sufficiently powerful to produce differences in subjects' experience of control. However, since there was an increased level of cognitive awareness among both groups of subjects, it was argued that these subjects received mindfulness training when given the assignment to write essays. Mindfulness training emphasizes choice, novel stimuli, and asks subjects to consider an explanation of relevant and rejected information. |
