鍛鍊健康心智：正念、韌性與正向情緒的促進

Cultivating a Healthy Mind: Enhancing Mindfulness, Resilience, and Positive Emotions

在喧囂變動的生活中，焦慮不安如影隨形，如何調節情緒、緩解壓力，遇逆境能重新振作，是重要的心智能力。各地方健身房林立，卻很少健心房的設立，大學生需要鍛鍊健康心智來厚植心理韌性以面對生活的挑戰。本研究在情緒心理學課程中設計系列鍛鍊健康心智活動，包括正念覺察、接納與慈悲，以及正向連結等，簡稱「健康心智MAP」，探討課程的實施對正念、韌性、慈悲、感恩與正向情緒的促進效果，並從學生的作業和學習心得中了解教學成效。研究設計採用實驗組和控制組的前後測設計，實驗組為50位大學生，控制組有39位。研究結果顯示：量化資料分析部分，除了正念量表外，實驗組學生在韌性、慈悲、感恩、正向情緒等量表的得分高於控制組。質化資料分析部分，學生在學習心得中提及在此課程的收穫，包括身心覺察、自我接納、心存感恩、打破慣性、感受美好等。心智鍛鍊活動強調在生活中實踐，將知識化為行動，少量頻繁的持續練習，從覺察、連結到深化，創造新迴路，帶來良循環，促成心改變。教師省思此教學實踐研究可改善理論學習與實務脫節的現象，學生不僅習得情緒心理學的理論知識，也培育有益情緒健康的心智能力。最後，說明本研究的限制和建議。

In an increasingly fast-paced and unpredictable world, anxiety and emotional distress have become prevalent challenges. The ability to regulate emotions, manage stress, and recover from adversity is increasingly recognized as a critical psychological skill. While physical fitness is heavily emphasized—with gyms found in abundance—spaces or systems for developing a healthy mind are rarely prioritized. University students are often navigating complex academic, social, and personal transitions, yet little attention is given to cultivating the emotional and psychological skills they need to cope. To meet this need, this study explores how Emotional Psychology courses can go beyond theoretical instruction to actively foster emotional well-being and psychological resilience.
Emotional Psychology, as a scientific discipline, explores the nature, causes, and consequences of emotions. However, its academic treatment often remains theoretical, and students frequently report difficulty applying what they learn to real-life emotional experiences. Without the inclusion of experiential and practical components, emotional knowledge remains abstract and disconnected from lived reality. In response to this gap, this study developed and implemented a series of structured“Healthy Mind Training”activities within an Emotional Psychology course. These activities were grounded in three key pillars: Mindfulness, Acceptance and Compassion, and Positive Connection—together referred to as the Healthy Mind MAP. This integrative framework emphasizes not only the acceptance and transformation of negative emotions but also the intentional cultivation of positive experiences to build resilience and emotional well-being. Through experiential learning, daily practice, and reflection, students were guided to internalize emotional regulation techniques, reshape neural pathways, and transform habitual patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether integrating healthy mind training activities into an Emotional Psychology course could improve university students’levels of mindfulness, resilience, compassion, gratitude, and positive emotions. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine the effectiveness of the intervention.
The research adopted a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with an experimental group (n = 50) and a control group (n = 39). Measurement tools included the Mindfulness Scale, Resilience Scale, Compassion Scale, Gratitude Scale, Positive Emotions Scale, and the positive mental health BMI. These scales were administered before and after the course to evaluate changes in psychological indicators. Covariance analysis was used to test the results. In addition, students’written reflections, learning portfolios, and responses to specific assignments were collected for qualitative analysis.
Quantitative analysis showed significant improvements in the experimental group compared to the control group in resilience (F(1, 86) = 9.81, p < .01,η²= .102), compassion (F(1, 86) = 7.66, p < .01,η²= .082), gratitude (F(1, 86) = 4.62, p < .05,η²= .051), positive emotions (F(1, 86) = 7.32, p < .01,η²= .078), and the positive mental health BMI (F(1, 86) = 5.58, p < .05,η²= .061). However, no significant difference was found in mindfulness (F(1, 86) = 1.91, p > .05,η²= .022). These findings suggest that the course effectively enhanced students’resilience, compassion, gratitude, and positive emotions—though not mindfulness.
Qualitative findings provided rich insights into the student’s personal growth and learning. In the area of mindfulness, students reported that practices such as mindful breathing and mindful eating helped them notice their mental habits and become more present in daily life. The“Seven-Day Mindful Eating”exercise helped students rediscover the sensory experience of eating and reduce automatic behaviors. Through“Daily Mindfulness Activities,”students described shifting from a distracted to a more attentive and curious approach to everyday tasks.
In the acceptance and compassion component, students engaged with tools such as the“Mental Playlist”to identify common cognitive distortions and gain awareness of self-critical thought patterns. Activities such as“Compassionate Hands”and“Loving-Kindness Wishes”encouraged self-kindness and empathy for others. Many students expressed that learning to be gentle with themselves during failure or emotional hardship significantly reduced self-judgment and promoted emotional recovery.
The positive connection element featured exercises like“Three Good Things”and“Daily Five Gratitude”which helped students reframe their attention toward the positive aspects of their lives and increased positive emotions. The“Daily New Experience”activity encouraged curiosity and disrupted habitual routines, often resulting in feelings of freshness and delight. Activities such as“Reach Out to Three People”promoted interpersonal connection, while“A Kind Act a Day”encouraged prosocial behavior and nurtured a sense of social contribution and joy. In short, students highlighted gains in self-awareness, self-acceptance, gratitude, and the ability to break habitual patterns.
The results of this study are discussed as follows: First, while most psychological traits improved through the intervention, mindfulness did not show significant change. This may be due to the limited duration of mindfulness training in the course and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which shifted some lessons online and reduced experiential learning opportunities. Existing literature (e.g., Creswell, 2017; Kabat-Zinn, 2005) emphasizes the importance of sustained, long-term mindfulness practice to observe notable psychological benefits. Second, the program enhanced compassion and resilience. Learning to accept emotions and cultivate self-compassion helps reduce inner resistance and fosters the capacity to recover from setbacks. These qualities are essential in navigating emotional distress, as they allow individuals to relate to suffering with kindness rather than avoidance or self-blame. Research supports the idea that self-compassion strengthens resilience and fosters emotional flexibility (Austin et al., 2023; Neff, 2023).
Third, expanding positive experiences is a powerful strategy for emotional transformation. By savoring positive moments and expressing gratitude, students can overcome the brain’s negativity bias and foster a cycle of emotional growth and neural restructuring (Hanson, 2021). Such practices help rewrite neural pathways, creating new emotional patterns and promoting well-being. Finally, frequent, small-scale daily practices emerged as a key success factor. These assignments translated theoretical knowledge into embodied skills, reinforcing the idea that what we repeatedly practice becomes part of our neural and emotional architecture. However, it is essential to monitor the workload; excessive assignments may lead to student fatigue or resistance, even when intentions are beneficial.
In conclusion, this study demonstrated that integrating mental training activities into an Emotional Psychology course can effectively enhance students’resilience, compassion, gratitude, and positive emotions. While mindfulness improvements were not statistically significant, the overall approach proved successful in helping students internalize emotional regulation skills and deepen self-awareness. The Healthy Mind MAP approach turns theoretical knowledge into lived experience through consistent, small-scale practices, leading to positive psychological change. This teaching practice bridges the gap between theory and application, equipping students not only with academic understanding but also with mental skills essential for emotional health.
This study has several limitations that provide directions for future research. First, this quasi-experimental study was embedded in a course, with non-random assignment to groups, limiting causal inference. Future studies may adopt randomized controlled designs. Second, while self-report measures were used to assess emotional states, future studies may benefit from incorporating ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via smartphones to more accurately capture real-time emotional experiences. Third, the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to shifts between in-person and online teaching, which affected the implementation of interactive and outdoor activities. Finally, while the curriculum aimed to cover core aspects of mind training, the number of activities may have limited depth in some areas, such as mindfulness. Assignment design also warrants careful consideration regarding quantity and variety to avoid student fatigue. In the future, developing a mobile app for conveniently recording reflections on various activities may reduce the burden of written assignments and enhance student engagement.