A number of projects in our lab are investigating how mindfulness relates to people's emotional experience. A few of the questions were are looking at:

(1) Role of mindfulness in emotional stability. How does a person's tendency to be mindful influence their emotional experiences in everyday life? Christina Hill is answering this question using experience sampling methodology. In particular, she is examining the interplay of mindfulness, emotional stability, and various forms of emotional awareness, with a particular eye towards how it can further our understanding of the emotional deficits present in borderline personality disorder.

(2) Role of mindfulness in affective forecasting. Does being mindful of one's emotional experiences lead people to more accurately predict how they will feel in future situations? A large body of research suggests that people are prone to make a number of errors in their forecasts of their future emotions, but little is known about the factors that improve people's accuracy. Amber Emanuel is conducting a number of studies looking at the potential for mindfulness to improve how well people are able to predict their emotional reactions.