Mindfulness: An Investigation of its Components, Practice, Associations and Effects

Abstract

<p>Mindfulness has been studied extensively by contemporary researchers due to its reported beneficial psychophysiological effects. However, there are several conceptual issues for which consensus is lacking, including whether mindfulness is a single component, or a multiple component construct. A clear distinction between findings associated with mindfulness cultivated through regular mindfulness meditation (MM), and those associated with trait mindfulness, which is inherent to all humans, is also lacking. </p> <p>It is also not clear which aspects of mindfulness practice are most responsible for the beneficial changes commonly reported in the literature. Moreover, concerns have been raised about the validity of many commonly used self-report scales of trait mindfulness prompting some researchers to suggest future research includes behavioural measures (e.g., mindwandering) to validate self-report measures of mindfulness. </p> <p>The current research aimed to clarify these matters through increasing understanding of the nature of mindfulness, its associations, and effects</p> <p>Study 1 investigated the components of mindfulness in relation to mindfulness practice factors, mindfulness-related qualities, measures of psychological distress, and wellbeing, and cross-cultural differences. Participants, who completed an online survey were 111 Western meditators (WMs), 118 Eastern Meditators (EMs), and 119 non-meditators. Meditators reported higher levels of mindful attention and empathy than non-meditators, but the groups did not differ in acceptance, non-judging, or mindfulness-related qualities. Mindfulness practice factors were found to be associated with mindful attention, but not acceptance or non-judging. Additionally, in comparison to EMs, WMs reported higher acceptance and non-judging (but not mindful attention) and lower psychological distress levels; life satisfaction did not differ between these groups. These findings suggest that mindfulness may be a single component construct comprising attention to the present moment, a skill cultivated through mindfulness training, regardless of culture; and an accepting and non-judgmental attitude may be beneficial for psychological wellbeing</p> <p>In the first stage of Study 2, 552 participants completed an online questionnaire measuring trait mindfulness and trait mind-wandering, and the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), an objective measure of mind-wandering. The study found that acceptance and non-judging were strongly negatively correlated with both trait and objectively measured mind-wandering, while mindful attention was positively correlated.</p> <p>The second stage of this study involved 55 participants from the original pool, who were randomly allocated into three conditions: 1) experimental, 15-minute brief MM; 2) active control, 15-minute progressive muscle relaxation (PMR); and 3) passive control, 15- minute Ted Talk video. Pre- and post-intervention measures included trait mindfulness, trait mind-wandering, positive and negative affect. The key finding was that the brief MM was insufficient to produce significant changes in mindfulness, mind-wandering, and negative affect. Eleven participants completed the third stage of the study, a brief MM intervention, and the measurement of mindfulness, mind-wandering, and negative affect. None of the variables differed significantly across the three time periods. Overall, the Study 2 found that acceptance and non-judging correlated negatively with mind-wandering while mindful attention correlated positively, and there was no significant difference in the levels of these variables after a brief mindfulness intervention. </p> <p>In conclusion, this research indicates that attention is the core component of mindfulness, providing support for the argument that mindfulness may be a single component construct. This research also indicated that acceptance and non-judging may be more important in reducing psychological distress and mind-wandering than mindful attention. Therefore, future research can investigate if MM that increases acceptance is better at reducing psychological distress than the traditional MM that targets attentional increase only. A brief 15-minute MM intervention was not found to significantly alter the levels of mindfulness or mind-wandering. Therefore, future research can try to determine the dose of MM that is needed to harness its beneficial effects. Lastly, to capture all the nuances of mindfulness future research should investigate mindfulness with a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. </p>