Does Mindfulness Decrease or Increase Egoic Functioning? Diverging Evidence From Different Study Designs

Abstract Objectives Mindfulness meditation has been claimed to decrease aspects of egoic functioning (EF). However, empirical evidence is largely lacking or is suggesting the reverse. Therefore, the aim was to examine the associations between mindfulness, mindfulness interventions, egoic functioning, and emotional well-being using different designs.

Method: We conducted three studies: (i) a cross-sectional study in the general population ( n = 796), (ii) an experiment in a student population ( n = 84) where we manipulated mindfulness meditation, and (iii) an intervention in self-enrolled individuals from the general population receiving a standard 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program ( n = 165).

Results: In the cross-sectional study, most mindfulness facets showed positive (mainly with self-enhancement) or nonsignificant associations with facets of EF. In the experiment, participants in the mindfulness meditation (vs. control) condition exhibited lower self-enhancement of positive characteristics. In the intervention, some aspects of EF decreased (e.g. demanding control), whereas some increased (e.g. refusal to comply) after MBSR, and these changes correlated meaningfully with changes in self-reported mindfulness and well-being.

Conclusions: The results suggest that aspects of EF are differentially associated with aspects of self-reported mindfulness and differentially respond to a brief mindfulness manipulation and an 8-week MBSR intervention. We formulated two dimensions on which various relevant self-concept constructs may be positioned: competition-based versus compassion-based. Preregistration The studies are not preregistered.