ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Original Research

Authors

Ajilchi   B. (*)
Rahmani   J. (1)
Zoghi   L. (2)






(*) Motor Behavior Department, Physical Education & Sport Sciences Faculty, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
(1) Physical Education Department, Physical Education & Sport Sciences Faculty, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
(2) Psychology Department, Psychology & Educational Sciences Faculty, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

Correspondence

Address: Physical Education & Sport Sciences Faculty, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Village Square, Olympic Village, Tehran, Iran
Phone: -
Fax: -
ajilchi_b@yahoo.com

Article History

Received:  November  3, 2018
Accepted:  February 16, 2019
ePublished:  March 19, 2019

BRIEF TEXT


Cognitive abilities include neural processes involved in the acquisition, processing, maintenance and use of information [1]. The cognitive abilities are the interface between brain behavior and structure and include a wide range of abilities (planning, attention, inhibition, problem solving, simultaneous assignment and cognitive flexibility). ... [2].

Indices related to cognitive abilities in the present study include memory, inhibitory control and selective attention, decision making, planning, sustained attention, social cognition and cognitive flexibility. One of the psychological factors associated with cognitive executive functions is mindfulness [3]. ... [4-9]. The findings of Nejati's research [3] show that executive functions, which are part of cognitive abilities, are highly correlated with mindfulness. Also, in a study by Nejati et al. [10] on 40 students of Tehran University using neurological tests of continuous performance and stroop and mindfulness scale, it was found that by increasing the amount of mindfulness of individuals, the error rate is reduced and concluded that mindfulness is associated with sustained attention functions. Moore and Malinowski [6] examined the relationship between mindfulness and cognitive flexibility to compare the two control groups and the group who had the experience of meditating mindfulness. Using the Stroop Test, the Dot Probe Test and Resistance Test, it was concluded that cognitive performance and cognitive flexibility is positively and significantly related to the interventions and levels of people's mindfulness. Fletcher and Hayes [11] also achieved similar results. In a review study by King et al. [12], it was concluded that mindfulness has a positive impact on the control of attention, memory and self-regulation. A study by Chambers et al. [13] on 20 people using 10 sessions of mindfulness intervention shows that mindfulness has a positive impact on depression symptoms, work memory and lasting attention. ... [14-17].

The purpose of this study was to predict mental awareness with cognitive abilities and its substructures in NAJA (Police Force) students.

This research is descriptive-correlational.

The present study was conducted among female students of NAJA University in 2015-2016.

The sample size was estimated to be 165 by Cochran formula. 193 students were selected by convenience sampling method in view of the probability of falling.

The data collection tools were Questionnaires of Mindfulness, Questionnaire of Attention and Vigilance, and Nejati Cognitive Abilities Questionnaire [18]. Mindfulness Questionnaire: it is qn Autonomy scale is a 39 item that has been transformed by Baer et al. [19] by integrating the terms of the Mindfulness Questionnaires of others using the factor analysis approach. Baer et al. [19] performed exploratory factor analysis on a sample of university students and obtained the following factors; observation(attention to external and internal stimuli such as emotions, cognition, emotions, sounds and smells), acting with vigilance (performance with the presence of a complete mind at any moment and in contradiction to the mechanical action that occurs when the person's mind is in another place), being unbiased with the inner experience (the unconditional state of thought and feelings), the description (the naming of external experiences with words) and being non-reactive (letting the thoughts and internal feelings to come and go without being involved) [20]. Based on the results, the internal consistency of the factors was appropriate and the alpha coefficient was in the range of 0.75 (non-reactive factor) to 0.91 (in the description factor). The correlation between the factors was moderate and in all cases it was significant in the range of 0.15-0.34. Also, in a research on validity and reliability of this questionnaire in Iran, the test-retest correlation coefficients of this questionnaire in Iranian sample were found to be 57% (relating to the factor of being unbiased) and 0.84 (observation factor). Also, alpha coefficients were acceptable between 0.55 for the factor of being non-reactive and 0.83 for the factor of description [21]. Cognitive Ability Questionnaire: Includes 30 questions and is based on a Likert scale of 5 degrees. The questionnaire was designed and standardized by Nejati, which has conducted three separate sectional studies for this purpose. The first part was performed on men and women ages 17-85 (444 men and 651 women) who participated in the initial version of the questionnaire for exploratory factor analysis. After doing the statistical calculations, the questions were reduced from 37 to 30, and factor analysis was performed. Seven factors (memory, inhibitory control and selective attention, decision making, planning, sustained attention, social cognition, and cognitive flexibility) were identified. Reliability of the questionnaire was 0.834 by Cronbach's alpha. The internal consistency of the subscales for the questions of memory, the inhibitory control, the selective attention, decision making, planning, sustained attention, social cognition and cognitive flexibility were 0.755, 0.626, 0.612, 0.578, 0.534,0.438, and 0.455 respectively. In the second study, a test-retest method was used to test the reliability of the test, of which only 23 participated in the posttest, and the correlation coefficient between these individuals was 0.865, and the results of pre-test and post-test at the level of 0.0001 correlated Meaningfuly. In the third study, to compare the validity of the questionnaire, they compared the two groups of elderly and young people whose results indicated that the designed test had the necessary validity to identify the cognitive problems of the elderly [18]. Except for questions about factor six (social recognition), the rest of the questions are reversed. Pearson correlation test was used to analyze the data. In order to predict the predictive power of mindfulness, a single-variable regression was used to estimate the cognitive abilities. Multiple regression was used to examine the predictive power of mindfulness through the components of cognitive abilities. Initial analysis was carried out to ensure that no violation of normative assumptions, linearity and homogeneity of distribution was made. The values of Pearson correlation coefficients between cognitive and mindfulness abilities indicate the required correlation (less than 0.7) between these variables for using multiple regression.

Most of the participants had undergraduate degrees (98, 50.8%) and the age group was 25-30 years old (133, 68.9%). There was a significant positive correlation between mind and the total score of cognitive abilities and some of its components (Table 1). Cognitive abilities could predict 24% of mindfulness variance. Mindfulness = (total cognitive abilities * 0.24)+2.18 The components of cognitive abilities were able to predict mindfulness. However, none of the components could significantly explain a part of mindfulness variance.

Many studies confirm the existence of a positive relationship between cognitive abilities and mindfulness, including Rahmani et al. [22]. Nejati's research also shows that executive functions, which are part of cognitive abilities, are highly correlated with mindfulness. Research by Wimmer et al. [23] in the study of cognitive effects of mindfulness shows that mindfulness has a positive effect on cognitive inhibition and data-processing data processing. Garland et al. [24] also found that meditation in mindfulness could improve cognitive reassessment. Similarly, the results of a review of Chase et al. [25] on 23 studies that have a positive impact of mindfulness on attention, memory, executive functions, and other cognitive scales, show that they all are consistent with the findings of the present study. ... [26]. Concerning the relationship between decision making and mindfulness, the findings are consistent with the results of the research by Rahmani et al. [22], Martinewick, Chambers et al. [13], Reagan and Shakin [14], and Carlaya and Rib [15]. ... [28-30]. Concerning the positive relationship between cognitive flexibility and mindfulness, this finding of the present study was supported by Rahmani et al. [22], which showed that cognitive flexibility is positively correlated with mindfulness; Moore, Malinowski, Fletcher and Hayes [11] that showed that cognitive flexibility is positively and significantly related to the interventions and levels of individual consciousness, Hartcomp and Thornton [26] and Greenberg el al. [31] that have shown that mindfulness contributes to the improvement of cognitive flexibility, are consistent with the findings of this study. Another finding of the study was a positive relationship between planning and mindfulness which is in agreement with the researches of Chattzelsanatholz and Hager [32], Ferreira [33] and Meltzer [34].

It is suggested that a random sampling method be used in future research and a gender comparative analysis be made for more generalizability and better explanation of the results.

The limitations of this study include convenience sampling and non-comparison of results with police men.

The components of cognitive abilities are capable of predicting 24% of the mindfulness variance.

We would like to thank all the staff of the Police and the Naja Research Bureau of the Tehran Province for their valuable contribution to the implementation of this study.

There are no conflicts of interest in the current study.

All participants were taken informed consent to participate in the study.

The financial credibility of this research is provided by the authors.

TABLES and CHARTS

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