Ethical decision-making under stress: the role of the nonreactive facet of mindfulness.
Sheila K Hanson, David Hollingworth, Sean R Valentine
Frontiers in Psychology August 12, 2026 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1879880 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study using structural equation modeling and mediation analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 261 |
| Population | Midwestern USA university business students |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Perceived stress Ethical decision-making Business ethics Nonreactive mindfulness |
| Key findings | The authors argue that perceived stress undermines ethical decision-making by shifting processing from controlled, deliberative cognition toward automatic, intuitive responses, and that the nonreactive facet of mindfulness mediates this relationship. Structural equation modeling and mediation analysis in 261 business students supported a fully mediated model, suggesting nonreactive mindfulness mediates the link between stress and the ethical decision-making process. |
Abstract
Business students commonly experience high levels of stress, often facing a variety of ethical challenges throughout their education experiences and well into their professional lives. Complicating matters, past research shows that such stress may compromise the processes associated with individual ethical decision-making (EDM). Some research indicates that individual differences, namely mindfulness, can benefit EDM. However, few if any studies have considered how mindfulness may mitigate adverse effects of stress on EDM. Many models of the EDM process have assumed a primary role for cognitive reasoning, while many models of moral decision-making explicitly consider intuitive responses as a dominant factor. Drawing on dual-process theory, we propose that perceived stress undermines the EDM process by shifting processing away from controlled, deliberative cognition toward more automatic, intuitive responses. Critically, the nonreactive facet of mindfulness serves as a mediating mechanism that enables individuals to pause these automatic reactions and engage in more reflective evaluation. Mindfulness is a multi-faceted construct, and its nonreactive facet is of particular interest because it may delay automatic intuitive responses, thereby facilitating cognitive evaluations, prior to response. We empirically evaluated competing hypotheses that the nonreactive facet of mindfulness would either partially or fully mediate the effect of stress on the EDM process in a sample of 261 Midwestern USA university business students. Structural equation modeling and mediation analysis supported a fully mediated model, suggesting that nonreactive mindfulness mediates the relationship between stress and the EDM process among business management students. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as are the study's limitations and suggestions for future research.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- 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
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Contemplating Mindfulness at Work Journal of Management November 19, 2015
- How Does Mindfulness Training Affect Health? A Mindfulness Stress Buffering Account Current Directions in Psychological Science December 1, 2014
and 2 more in the library