Imagining food can make it feel real, but mindful attention reduces this effect. In one condition, participants were instructed to immerse themselves in food images; in another, they applied mindful attention. Saliva volume and automatic approach bias toward attractive food were measured. Mindful attention reduced saliva volume and automatic approach bias compared to immersion. During immersion, higher saliva volume, subjective realism, and food craving traits were linked to stronger approach bias, while meditation experience was linked to weaker bias. The findings suggest that mindful attention can de-automatize automatic food biases.
Dereification—viewing mental events as mere representations rather than accurate depictions of reality—is a core feature of mindfulness meditation, contrasted with subjective realism, where one becomes immersed in mental contents. This study examined how mindful versus immersed instructions affect approach-avoidance tendencies toward visual stimuli. Novices and experienced meditators viewed neutral and attractive food images under both states, then performed an approach-avoidance task with behavioral, salivary, EEG, and self-report measures. Approach bias toward attractive food correlated with N2 amplitude (response inhibition), and mindful instruction modulated this bias via N1 amplitude (early attention). Experienced meditators showed less late affective reappraisal during mindfulness, indicated by lower LPP amplitude. Findings suggest mechanisms by which mindfulness-based interventions may help psychiatric conditions.