Non-specific effects and mechanisms of mindfulness meditation for experimental pain

Participants will complete 6 x 20-minute guided-audio-delivered mindfulness meditation training sessions (over a 7-10 day period). We will manipulate meditation type (mindfulness meditation, sham mindfulness meditation) and instruction (active condition, placebo condition) in a (2x2)+1 balanced placebo design, such that participants will receive a combination of the following: MEDITATION TYPE GM – Get Mindfulness Meditation: participants receive training in a ‘focussed attention’ mindfulness meditation technique taught as means to reduce pain intensity and unpleasantness; or GS – Get Sham (Placebo) Mindfulness Meditation: participants receive training in an active control condition that matches real mindfulness meditation on all aspects but lacks the proposed ‘active ingredient’ of the training (the practice does not provide an anchor for attention or instructions on how to relate mindfully to present moment experience). This is delivered as a means to elicit placebo-mediated (but not mindfulness-mediated) reductions in pain intensity and unpleasantness. AND INSTRUCTION TM – Told Mindfulness: participants are given instructions (regardless of which intervention they actually receive) that lead them to expect they are receiving a highly effective active mindfulness intervention (‘you will receive a new evidence-based mindfulness intervention that is highly effective for reducing pain’); or TS – Told Sham: participants are given instructions (regardless of which intervention they actually receive) that lead them to expect they are receiving the minimally effective sham (placebo) mindfulness intervention (‘you will receive placebo mindfulness intervention that lacks specific ‘active ingredients’ of the mindfulness intervention. You will likely find this training enjoyable and relaxing, but it is not expected to be effective for pain.’) This results in FOUR groups: 1) TM-GM (Told mindfulness-Get mindfulness): this group should demonstrate additive effects of mindfulness AND expectancy; 2) TS-GM (Told sham-Get mindfulness): this group should demonstrate mindfulness effects WITHOUT expectancy effects; 3) TM-GS (Told mindfulness-Get sham): this group should demonstrate expectancy effects WITHOUT mindfulness effects; 4) TS-GS (Told sham-Get sham): this group should demonstrate neither mindfulness or expectancy effects. In all FOUR treatment groups (TM-GM, TS-GM, TM-GS, TS-GS), participants receive 2 x in-lab training sessions (one at baseline and one immediately before post-test) and are asked to complete 4 x training sessions at home in between experimental sessions. Home guided-audio training is delivered via online survey software and adherence is monitored. All guided-training sessions are delivered by a qualified mindfulness instructor with 4+ years’ experience. 5) Finally, we will include an additional no treatment control group (NTC) - this group completes no training and receives minimal instruction with no suggestion of benefit. They listen to a 20-minute podcast at baseline and immediately before post-test (This American Life - Psychic Buddha; https://www.thisamericanlife.org/212/the-other-man/act-one-0) and post-test (ABC Radio National - Who Owns Mindfulness?; http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/who-ownsmindfulness/9024864) to maintain experimenter blinding only. So as not to manipulate participant expectancy, these podcasts do not discuss any benefits of mindfulness.