Defining Mindfulness: A Review of Existing Definitions and Suggested Refinements
Ryad Chems-Maarif, Kate Cavanagh, Ruth A. Baer, Jenny Gu, Clara Strauss
Mindfulness 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-024-02507-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Narrative review Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Buddhist and psychological definitions of mindfulness lack conceptual commonality; a refined definition for psychological science is proposed that emphasizes four scopes of awareness and an allowing, equanimous attitude. |
Abstract
Mindfulness research is hampered by the multiplicity of definitions of mindfulness. This heterogeneity, as reflected in the variability of mindfulness scales, limits the ability to generalize findings and hinders attempts to synthesize available studies. This paper explores traditional and contemporary definitions of mindfulness, aiming to extract core components and provide a refined and clearly specified definition suitable for underpinning measurement in psychological science. This narrative review broadly analyzes and synthesizes the conceptual frameworks across various definitions of mindfulness to identify core components of mindfulness within Buddhist and psychological science literature. Traditional Buddhist definitions of mindfulness focus on (a) memory and remembrance, (b) present-centered awareness, and (c) ethicality, but lack conceptual commonality due to the diversity of Buddhist schools and to the intricate context in which mindfulness is embedded. Definitions in psychological science show greater conceptual agreement and emphasize (a) present-centered awareness and bare attention, and (b) attitudes of acceptance and non-judgment. Taken together, there is a lack of conceptual commonality and clarity on mindfulness definitions, to the extent that it may be challenging to propose a single definition that fully encapsulates both Buddhist and psychological science perspectives. For the purposes of psychological science, refinements are suggested by (a) including four scopes of mindfulness that clarify present-centeredness as awareness of and attention to body sensations, affective valence (i.e., pleasant, unpleasant, neutral), cognition and emotional states (including impulses and action tendencies), and the external environment (i.e., external sensory experience and interpersonal interactions); and (b) emphasizing the allowing and equanimous attitudes as the key qualities of mindfulness. Mindfulness is therefore defined as: “present-centered awareness of and bare attention to body sensations, affective valence, cognitive and emotional phenomena, and the external environment with an allowing and equanimous attitude.” The study is not preregistered.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 36
- Development and Evaluation of an Immersive Metaverse-Based Meditation System for Psychological Well-Being Using LLM-Driven Scenario Generation Systems September 11, 2025
- Mindfulness in Psychosocial Research: An Integrative Literature Review of What is Studied and How International Review of Social Psychology 2025
- Intervention-induced changes in state mindfulness do not predict trait changes in mindfulness, self-compassion, or perceived stress. Scientific Reports November 21, 2025
- Measuring mindfulness in children: breath counting is unrelated to self-reported mindfulness but improves after mindfulness practice in 9–13 year-olds Frontiers in Psychology September 30, 2025
- Mindfulness and Spiritual Intelligence: A Systematic Review Behavioral Psychology/Psicología Conductual July 28, 2026
and 31 more in the library
Cites 34
- 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 training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
and 29 more in the library