Mindfulness or expectancy? The label of mindfulness leads to expectancy effects
Mona Ghanbari Noshari, Heather Mary Kempton, Ute Kreplin
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research November 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1002/capr.12589 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 60 |
| Population | Participants in two studies of 60 each (Study 1 n = 60; Study 2 n = 60) |
| Measures | Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Applied Mindfulness Process Scale, Perceived Stress Scale |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key findings | Expectancy effects appeared for self-reported mindfulness simply from using the term "mindfulness," and the direction of these effects could be manipulated by placing mindfulness in a positive or negative context. The authors suggest researchers should be cautious in evaluating self-reports of mindfulness practice, especially in brief interventions without objective measures. |
Abstract
Abstract The increasing popularity of mindfulness practices has seen an accompanying growth in research that includes the development of several self‐report mindfulness measures. However, while caution has been recommended in the use of these self‐reports, there has been little direct assessment of their susceptibility to expectancy effects. This research aimed at understanding whether expectancy effects exist for self‐reported mindfulness measures (Study 1; n = 60), and how expectancy effects might manifest in relation to positive and negative expectancy (Study 2; n = 60). The first study manipulated whether (i) the task (jigsaws) was labelled as “mindfulness,” and (ii) whether “authentic” mindfulness instructions were given. Given any increases in self‐reported mindfulness might potentially occur due to engaging in the mindful and attentionally demanding task, the second study manipulated whether the introduction placed mindfulness in a positive or negative context. A pre‐/post‐test design was employed using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and Applied Mindfulness Process Scale self‐report measures for mindfulness and the Perceived Stress Scale for well‐being. The findings revealed expectancy effects for simply using the term mindfulness and that the direction of effects could be manipulated. This research suggests that researchers need to be cautious in evaluating self‐reports of mindfulness practice due to expectancy effects, especially in the context of brief interventions without objective measures.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- Neurophysiological mechanisms of focused attention meditation: A scoping systematic review Imaging Neuroscience 2025
- Pain, mindfulness, and placebo: a systematic review. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience 2024
- From Remembering to Bare Attention? Mindfulness, Cognition, and Measurement in Psychological Science. A Commentary on Chems-Maarif et al. (2025) Mindfulness July 10, 2026
- Teacher-Guided vs. Self-Guided Mindfulness in Higher Education: Comparable Effects on Emotion Regulation, Trait Mindfulness, and Adverse Effects Mindfulness March 1, 2026
- The Mindfulness Internal Attention (MIA) Framework: Looking In to Understand Attentional Mechanisms of Mindfulness Training July 31, 2023
and 4 more in the library
Cites 28
- 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
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
and 23 more in the library