Who Wants to be Mindful? Personality Predictors of Meditation Practice

Abstract Objectives Meditation has received increasing interest from scientists and the public for potential benefits to mental health and well-being. We examined personality predictors and expectancies of meditation to understand who engages with meditation. We also investigated whether personality traits predict interest in information relating to meditation and well-being activities, and self-selection into meditation research.

Method: Across two studies ( n = 377 and n = 667), participants completed a range of personality and meditation-related questionnaires. To examine selection effects, two versions of the study advertisement were used: The first described the study as focused on meditation whereas the second omitted this wording. Data were analysed using Pearson’s correlations, logistic and linear regression models.

Results: We found that increased openness and agreeableness were associated with increased likelihood of having tried meditation. Whereas openness, agreeableness, and curiosity predicted positive expectancies of meditation, neuroticism predicted higher perceived barriers. Finally, we found little evidence that personality predicts self-selection into studies advertised as focussing on meditation.

Conclusions: Overall, these findings shed new light on personality traits that predict engagement in meditation practice and may help explain why different people seek out meditation. This knowledge may inform the development of tailored (and thereby more effective) meditation programs. Preregistration Both studies were preregistered on the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/y32tk (Study 1), and https://osf.io/2qk64 (Study 2).