JOURACA_SP_2017

Meditation Versus Relaxation: Comparing
the Psychological and Physiological
Effects
Jessica Campbell
Mindfulness meditation and progressive
muscle relaxation (PMR) are two empirically
supported techniques that have been
found to produce sensations of relaxation,
decreased autonomic arousal, and a reduction
in symptoms of anxiety (Baer, 2006;
Rausch, Gramling, & Auerbach, 2006).
Mindfulness meditation functions to reduce
anxiety by promoting the nonjudgmental,
objective observation of anxiety provoking
thoughts and experiences, observing these
thoughts and experiences with curiosity, and
allowing them to come and go without the
intention to respond to them. Progressive
muscle relaxation is an exercise founded on
the proposition that anxious thoughts and
experiences can result in muscle tension,
which consequently leads to subjective feelings
of anxiety. Physiological tension, and
the subjective experience of anxiety is reduced
through tensing and releasing different
muscles of the body in a systematic
fashion. The existing research comparing
the mechanisms by which each intervention
functions to reduce symptoms is sparse. The
present study aims to investigate the differing
psychological and physiological responses
to mindfulness meditation and progressive
muscle relaxation. The overall effectiveness
of mindfulness meditation and
progressive muscle relaxation will be compared
on levels of state mindfulness, as well
as physiological response (heart rate and
respiration), and a reduction of symptoms of
stress and anxiety.
Department of Psychology
Psychology
Mentor: Dr. Elise Labbe– Coldsmith
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