Dispositional mindfulness in daily life: A naturalistic observation study.
Deanna M Kaplan, Charles L. Raison, Anne Milek, Allison M Tackman, Thaddeus W W Pace, Matthias R Mehl
PLoS One 2018 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206029 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 185 |
| Population | Adults in daily life; Study 1 surveyed 427 participants, Study 2 observed 185 participants |
| Measures | Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Trait mindfulness was robustly related to heightened perceptual focus in conversations but was not related to behavioral or speech markers of emotional positivity, quality social interactions, or prosocial orientation. The authors argue that self-reported mindfulness in daily life is expressed primarily through sharpened perceptual attention rather than other behavioral or social differences. |
Abstract
Mindfulness has seen an extraordinary rise as a scientific construct, yet surprisingly little is known about how it manifests behaviorally in daily life. The present study identifies assumptions regarding how mindfulness relates to behavior and contrasts them against actual behavioral manifestations of trait mindfulness in daily life. Study 1 (N = 427) shows that mindfulness is assumed to relate to emotional positivity, quality social interactions, prosocial orientation and attention to sensory perceptions. In Study 2, 185 participants completed a gold-standard, self-reported mindfulness measure (the FFMQ) and underwent naturalistic observation sampling to assess their daily behaviors. Trait mindfulness was robustly related to a heightened perceptual focus in conversations. However, it was not related to behavioral and speech markers of emotional positivity, quality social interactions, or prosocial orientation. These findings suggest that the subjective and self-reported experience of being mindful in daily life is expressed primarily through sharpened perceptual attention, rather than through other behavioral or social differences. This highlights the need for ecological models of how dispositional mindfulness "works" in daily life, and raises questions about the measurement of mindfulness.
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
Cited by 4
- Believing in the Powers of Mindfulness: A Thematic Narrative Approach and the Development of a New Scale Mindfulness June 21, 2023
- How an Interest in Mindfulness Influences Linguistic Markers in Online Microblogging Discourse Mindfulness March 17, 2023
- A Self-Guided Mobile Mindfulness Intervention Embedded in Daily Routines for Adults With Mild to Moderate Psychological Distress: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mental Health July 15, 2026
- Trait mindful awareness predicts inter-brain coupling but not individual brain responses during naturalistic face-to-face interactions. Frontiers in Psychology 2022
Cites 21
- 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
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
and 16 more in the library