Does mindfulness attenuate thoughts emphasizing negativity, but not positivity?
Laura G. Kiken, Natalie J. Shook
Journal of Research in Personality December 1, 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2014.08.002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Two studies: correlational and experimental Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Mindful breathing meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 68 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness is inversely associated with negative rumination and reduces negative thoughts in response to negative images, but is unassociated with positive rumination or positive thoughts. |
Abstract
The current research investigated whether mindfulness is differentially associated with thoughts that emphasize positive or negative valence. In Study 1, trait mindfulness was inversely associated with negative rumination but unassociated with positive rumination, controlling for state affect. In Study 2, participants completed either a mindful breathing meditation or a comparable control exercise, followed by a thought listing while viewing affective images. Compared to the control condition, the mindfulness condition listed proportionately fewer negative thoughts, particularly in response to negative images, and more non-valenced thoughts. The conditions did not differ in their proportions of positive thoughts. These results suggest that mindfulness may attenuate thoughts that emphasize negativity but not those that emphasize positivity.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- Does Mindfulness Reduce Attentional Negativity Bias and Depressive Symptoms? 2016
- A Study of Mindfulness Intervention Program: Reducing Anxiety and Enhancing Well-being International Journal of Research & Technology September 1, 2025
- Integrating Mindfulness Into The Extended Process Model Of Emotion Regulation: The Dual-Mode Model Of Mindful Emotion Regulation March 21, 2023
- The protective influence of trait mindfulness on psychological distress: the mediating role of negative cognition. Cognition & Emotion June 12, 2026
- Spirituality Among Older Adults With Depression: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study. Journal of Nursing Scholarship May 2026
and 5 more in the library
Cites 7
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- Out of the armchair and into the streets: Measuring mindfulness advances knowledge and improves interventions: Reply to Grossman (2011). Psychological Assessment November 28, 2011
and 2 more in the library