Rethinking Practice in Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Developmental Theoretical Model Integrating Formal Practice, Informal Practice, Practice Quality, and Dispositional Mindfulness
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Longitudinal |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that mindfulness practice research has been constrained by a static, linear dose-response model. Proposes a developmental framework where formal practice is crucial early in training, while informal practice and practice quality become more central later, offering a parsimonious explanation for mixed findings on practice dose. |
Abstract
Research on mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) has consistently framed home practice as a central therapeutic ingredient. Nevertheless, the empirical literature remains heterogeneous with regard to the amount of practice participants complete, the strength and consistency of associations between practice time and outcomes, and the relative contribution of formal versus informal practice. At the same time, a growing body of evidence suggests that practice quality and dispositional mindfulness may help explain why equivalent amounts of practice do not yield equivalent outcomes across participants. In this theoretical article, I argue that research on MBI practice has been constrained by an overly static and linear dose–response model. I propose a developmental framework in which different dimensions of practice play distinct functional roles across phases of training. Specifically, formal practice is hypothesized to be particularly important during the early stages of training, when participants are acquiring foundational capacities such as attentional stability, meta-awareness, and nonreactivity. As these capacities consolidate and dispositional mindfulness increases, the therapeutic relevance of informal practice and the quality with which mindfulness is enacted is proposed to become progressively more central to the maintenance and generalization of benefits. This model integrates findings from meta-analyses on home practice and dispositional mindfulness, empirical studies focusing on informal practice, and emerging research on practice quality. It offers a parsimonious explanation for the mixed findings in the literature on practice dose: practice may matter, but not uniformly, not linearly, and not in the same way across phases of training. The article concludes by outlining testable hypotheses and a research agenda for longitudinal and mechanism-focused studies, including those conducted in contextualized programs such as Mindfulness-Based Health Promotion.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 14
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review British Medical Bulletin April 21, 2021
- Home practice in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of participants' mindfulness practice and its association with outcomes Behaviour Research and Therapy May 10, 2017
- Meta-analytic evidence for effects of mindfulness training on dimensions of self-reported dispositional mindfulness. Psychological Assessment 2016
and 9 more in the library