| Sumario: | Cognitive interference theory posits that evaluation anxiety leads to increased levels of off-task thoughts which interfere with cognitive processing. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on managing anxiety by counterarguing negative thoughts and increasing positive thoughts. This approach requires monitoring and control of thoughts which may place additional demands on working memory. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) uses techniques that emphasize non-control of self-talk. ACT would thus not increase working memory resources and may promote better cognitive performance. A sample of 75 university students were randomly assigned to a 2-hour ACT intervention (ACT), a CBT intervention, and a healthy living placebo-control condition (HL). Afterwards, they completed a working memory task (Stroop Color-Word) under anxiety inducing conditions. Results demonstrated that the ACT group had significantly better performance on the Stroop task relative to the CBT and HL groups. The ACT group also reported significantly lower levels of cognitive interference and higher levels of psychological flexibility and mindfulness-acceptance.
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