Dispositional Mindfulness Predicts Adaptive Affective Responses to Health Messages and Increased Exercise Motivation.
Yoona Kang, Matthew Brook O'Donnell, Victor J Strecher, Emily B. Falk
Mindfulness September 13, 2016 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-016-0608-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 67 |
| Population | Adults reporting less than 195 weekly minutes of exercise |
| Duration | One month follow-up after message exposure; accelerometer monitoring throughout the entire study duration |
| Measures | Self-reported exercise motivation, self-reported physical activity, wrist-worn accelerometer |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Affect Physical activity Health communication Shame |
| Key findings | Higher dispositional mindfulness predicted greater increases in exercise motivation one month after exposure to threatening health messages, an effect fully mediated by lower negative affect and shame in response to the messages among highly mindful individuals. Baseline mindfulness was associated with increased self-reported vigorous activity but not with accelerometer-measured daily physical activity. |
Abstract
Feelings can shape how people respond to persuasive messages. In health communication, adaptive affective responses to potentially threating messages constitute one key to intervention success. The current study tested dispositional mindfulness, characterized by awareness of the present moment, as a predictor of adaptive affective responses to potentially threatening health messages and desirable subsequent health outcomes. Both general and discrete negative affective states (i.e., shame) were examined in relation to mindfulness and intervention success. Individuals (n=67) who reported less than 195 weekly minutes of exercise were recruited. At baseline, participants' dispositional mindfulness and exercise outcomes were assessed, including self-reported exercise motivation and physical activity. A week later, all participants were presented with potentially threatening and self-relevant health messages encouraging physical activity and discouraging sedentary lifestyle, and their subsequent affective response and exercise motivation were assessed. Approximately one month later, changes in exercise motivation and physical activity were assessed again. In addition, participants' level of daily physical activity was monitored by a wrist worn accelerometer throughout the entire duration of the study. Higher dispositional mindfulness predicted greater increases in exercise motivation one month after the intervention. Importantly, this effect was fully mediated by lower negative affect and shame specifically, in response to potentially threatening health messages among highly mindful individuals. Baseline mindfulness was also associated with increased self-reported vigorous activity, but not with daily physical activity as assessed by accelerometers. These findings suggest potential benefits of considering mindfulness as an active individual difference variable in theories of affective processing and health communication.
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 6
- Brief mindfulness meditation can lower health threat avoidance and promote intentions but not behaviors in sleep and screening: experimental evidence. Psychology, Health & Medicine February 4, 2026
- The impact of trait mindfulness on college students' exercise commitment: a chain mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology August 14, 2026
- Dispositional mindfulness and its relationship to exercise motivation and experience. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2022
- Exploring the Use of Meditation as a Valuable Tool to Counteract Sedentariness. Frontiers in Psychology February 25, 2020
- Examining interpersonal self-transcendence as a potential mechanism linking meditation and social outcomes. Current Opinion in Psychology December 13, 2018
and 1 more in the library
Cites 12
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2007
- Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
and 7 more in the library