Impact of Mindfulness on Short-Term Memory: An Annotated Bibliography

Biological Sciences 1
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Introduction
Tenacious and rigorous periods of work may affect the effectiveness of working memory
(WM) and lead to increased levels of distraction. WM is a multidimensional structure which
comprises of the aptitude to remember information that is pertinent to work from
longstanding memory (Lewis-Peacock and Postle 2008) in addition to the capacity to retain
and deploy newly received knowledge within short times while safeguarding against
intrusions extraneous to the work (Cowan 2016). Working memory is significant for survival
and prospering in intricate and difficult circumstances. Additionally, effective working
memory is beneficial in improved and effective work performance. As a result, it will reduce
accidents and injury workers and students. However, increasing number of studies suggest
that extraneous situations compromise working memory performance (Arnsten 2009). This
paper seeks to examine how mindfulness affects short-term memory task performance
through an annotated bibliography of relevant studies. This paper examines four peer-review
primary scientific journal articles and one peer-review literature review article (2014 -2018)
relevant to the study topic, in order to develop an in-depth understanding of the topic under
study.
Key terms: working memory, mindfulness, attention, mindfulness scales, attention
regulation, episodic memory, memory performance, mindfulness meditation, intervention,
consciousness, unconscious
Short-form mindfulness drill safeguards against comprise of working memory (WM)
over high-demand intervals

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Jha et al. (2017) conducted a study to ascertain whether short-form mindfulness training
prevents the degradation of (WM) over high demand intervals. The authors carried out the
study using three military soldiers persevering strenuous interval of training in military. The
study used three military cohorts in order to ascertain which specific aspects of military
training programs are of most importance. Two groups received an eight-hour variants of a
military training course, out of which one focused on training exercises in class ( forty
participants) and the other focused on didactic content (forty participants). The third group
(forty-six respondents) did not receive any training. The authors found out that percentage
accuracy of tasks was greater on low compared to high-load trials.
Comment
The study by Jha et al. (2017) is much relevant to the topic under investigation because it
examines the impact of short-form mindfulness on cognitive resilience of tasks that are too
demanding. The study is of validity score of five because the findings answer the objective of
research.
Trait mindfulness and cognitive task performance: Exploring the attentional construct
of mindfulness
Quickel et al. (2014) conducted a study using 164 south eastern university students to assess
the focus construct of mindfulness. The objective of the research was to ascertain whether
trait mindfulness can independently be used to explain any of the disparities on work
performance. The authors administered to the 164 participants five frequently applied
mindfulness scales and six standardized and investigational thoughtfulness and working
memory jobs that demand focused concentration. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the
authors found out that there was no association between the typical variance designated by
aspects of trait mindfulness with the typical inconsistency in jobs that demand focused

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attention. The researchers concluded that scales used in measuring mindfulness do not always
capture the concentration elements of mindfulness.
Comment
The study is much relevant to the topic of study because it also examines the association
between effective mindfulness and its impact on cognitive resilience. It is validity score is
five because it uses various standardized measures to arrive at the conclusion.
Mindfulness enhances episodic memory performance: evidence from a multimethod
investigation
Brown et al. (2016) conducted a series of multiple experiments to assess whether mindfulness
improves episodic memory performance (an example of lasting memory). The first research
included 143 participants and the findings showed that an individualistic reported state of
mindful focus projected improved gratitude accomplishment on the Remember-Know (RK)
model. The second study comprised of 93 participants, and the outcomes showed that short
drilling in a fixated focus type of mindfulness lead to improved recognition performance of
memory on the R-K work comparative to a randomized, coordinated dynamic regulated
situation. The third and final study included 57 participants and went above and beyond the
initial experiments by demonstrating that extremely brief training led to free-recall memory
performance. Thus, mindful attention has positive effect on motivation and episodic memory.
Comment
The article is related to the topic of study because it seeks to prove that mindfulness improves
episodic memory performance. The study can be rated at 5 validity score since it uses test re-
test approaches to reach its conclusion.