The Relationship between Mindfulness and the Mental Self-Boundary: Validation of the Boundary Protection Scale-14 (BPS-14) and Its Correlation with the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI)

Blaser, Klaus; Zlabinger, Milena; Hautzinger, Martin; Hinterberger, Thilo

doi:10.5539/jedp.v4n1p155

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Ratings are given on a scale from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). The internal consistency of this scale was found to be 0.71 (Cronbach’s alpha) in a validation study with 1,089 participants ( Blaser et al, 2014b ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The model further distinguishes between the corresponding attentional foci. Although the BBAM has been confirmed by two questionnaires, namely the boundary protection scale (BPS; Blaser et al, 2014b) and the interpersonal attention management inventory (IAMI; Blaser et al, 2014a), the physiological role of these mental perspectives has never been studied before. This was the focus of the study presented here.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This could explain why therapists often realize that people with thin boundaries sometimes have difficulties with the distinction between emotions, feelings and thoughts belonging to them and those of another person. The Boundary Protection Scale (BPS-20) is a psychometric instrument for determining the properties of an individual’s mental boundary ( Blaser et al, 2014b ). The ability to read the mental states of a fellow human is called mentalizing ( Fonagy et al, 2002 ; Allen et al, 2008 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neurophysiological correlates of various mental perspectives

Hinterberger¹,

Zlabinger²,

Blaser³

2014

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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A common view of consciousness is that our mind presents emotions, experiences, and images in an internal mental (re-)presentation space which in a state of wakefulness is triggered by the world outside. Consciousness can be defined as the observation of this inner mental space. We propose a new model, in which the state of the conscious observer is defined by the observer’s mental position and focus of attention. The mental position of the observer can either be within the mental self (intrapersonal space), in the mental outer world (extrapersonal space) or in an empathic connection, i.e., within the intrapersonal space of another person (perspective taking). The focus of attention can be directed toward the self or toward the outside world. This mental space model can help us to understand the patterns of relationships and interactions with other persons as they occur in social life. To investigate the neurophysiological correlates and discriminability of the different mental states, we conducted an EEG experiment measuring the brain activity of 16 subjects via 64 electrodes while they engaged in different mental positions (intrapersonal, extrapersonal, perspective taking) with different attentional foci (self, object). Compared to external mental locations, internal ones showed significantly increased alpha2 power, especially when the observer was focusing on an object. Alpha2 and beta2 were increased in the empathic condition compared to the extrapersonal perspective. Delta power was significantly higher when the attentional focus was directed toward an object in comparison to the participant’s own self. This exploratory study demonstrates highly significant differences between various mental locations and foci, suggesting that the proposed categories of mental location and intra- and interpersonal attentional foci are not only helpful theoretical concepts but are also physiologically relevant and therefore may relate to basic brain processing mechanisms.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Neurophysiological correlates of various mental perspectives

Hinterberger¹,

Zlabinger²,

Blaser³

2014

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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“…There are 5 possible responses available (almost never, rarely, occasionally, frequently and almost always), which are scored from 1 to 5 in the same order, although it must be noted that questions 6 to 9 are reversed and must therefore be scored in reverse. The questionnaire has high internal consistency with a Cronbach's α of 0.79 (Blaser 2014b).…”

Section: Boundary Protection Scale (Bps-14)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The validated BPS questionnaire was developed to measure mental self-protection for use in the therapeutic setting as well as for research purposes (Blaser 2014b). The questionnaire investigates various functions of the mental self-boundary, such as permeability, unwanted burdening, maintaining one's own energy, being able to dwell mentally within one's own mental self-boundaries and self-protection.…”

Section: Boundary Protection Scale (Bps-14)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Training to strengthen the mental self-boundary (Self-Boundary Awareness Training, SBAT) results in greater mindfulness: How self-boundary awareness increases mindfulness

Blaser

2017

ASSRJ

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Abstract42 individuals completed an 8-week course to strengthen the mental self-boundary. The group met on seven evenings (2 ½ hours) and for an entire day (6 hours) to exchange experiences and train the conscious perception of their mental self-boundary in pairs or as a group. At home they carried out a guided imagination exercise every day and kept a diary on specific self-boundary issues. The participants also received theoretical input on the spatial Boundary-Based Awareness Model and had the opportunity to physically experience the various mental perspectives in relation to their own inner mental world and that of others. Participants did not carry out any specific mindfulness exercises at home. Evaluation of FMI and BPS questionnaires completed before and after the training revealed a greatly improved score for the selfboundary domain as well as a significant improvement in the mindfulness score. Below we describe the training in more detail and discuss how self-boundary training could lead to greater mindfulness.

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