Cultivating multiple aspects of attention through mindfulness meditation accounts for psychological well-being through decreased rumination.
Psychology Research and Behavior Management June 29, 2015 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s31458 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention Rumination Psychological well-being |
| Key points | Argues that cultivating all aspects of attention through mindfulness meditation leads to greater psychological well-being by decreasing ruminative processes. Focused and receptive attention are proposed to reduce rumination by fostering the abilities to distract and decenter. The authors contend that attention is a feasible, consistent, and parsimonious starting point for linking mindfulness practice to well-being, while noting that consensus on the underlying mechanisms remains limited. |
Abstract
In the last few decades, mindfulness meditation has gained prominence as an adjunctive psychotherapeutic technique. In fact, a vast literature of controlled studies has found that mindfulness meditation is related to improved mental health across a variety of disorders. Elucidating the components involved in mindfulness meditation's positive impact on psychological well-being is an important step in more precisely identifying the populations that would most benefit from its therapeutic utilization. Yet, a consensus regarding the particular underlying mechanisms that contribute to these outcomes is very much limited. There are many reasons for this, including the inconsistent operationalization and use of mindfulness meditation across research investigations. Despite the elusive mechanisms, many studies seem to indicate that cultivating different aspects of attention is a feasible, consistent, and parsimonious starting point bridging mindfulness practice and psychological well-being. Attention in itself is a complex construct. It comprises different networks, including alerting, orienting, and executive attention, and is also explained in terms of the way it is regulated. This paper supports a previously suggested idea that cultivating all aspects of attention through mindfulness meditation leads to greater psychological well-being through decreased ruminative processes. Ruminative processes are decreased by engaging in both focused and receptive attention, which foster the ability to distract and decenter.
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
Cited by 15
- 10-Week Trajectories of Candidate Psychological Processes Differentially Predict Mental Health Gains from Online Dyadic versus Mindfulness Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine June 3, 2024
- Effects of a Mindfulness Meditation App on Subjective Well-Being: Active Randomized Controlled Trial and Experience Sampling Study (Preprint) April 20, 2018
- How Does Brief Mindfulness Training Influence Neurophysiology During Working Memory in Musicians With Music Performance Anxiety? Psychological Reports August 28, 2026
- Mindfulness Intervention for Navigating and Decreasing Stress (MINDS-V): Effectiveness of a Tailored Trauma-Informed Mental Health Intervention for Australian Veterans. Military Medicine 2026
- Mindfulness enhances cognitive functioning: a meta-analysis of 111 randomized controlled trials. Health Psychology Review June 2024
and 10 more in the library
Cites 49
- 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
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
and 44 more in the library