What Is Mindfulness?
Oxford University Press eBooks March 23, 2017 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199395606.003.0001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that mindfulness can be trained through focused attention meditation, open awareness meditation, heart practices such as loving-kindness meditation, and formal training programs, and that its effects are best investigated by aggregating effect sizes across collections of studies rather than relying on individual studies. Contends that research should ask not only whether mindfulness works but also how and why it works. |
Abstract
This chapter defines mindfulness, describes reasons to be mindful, and looks at how mindfulness can be trained through meditation (viz., focused attention meditation, open awareness meditation, and heart practices such as loving-kindness meditation) and through formal mindfulness training programs. It also describes the methodology for investigating the effects of mindfulness, putting an emphasis on gathering effect sizes from collections of studies rather than looking just at the results of individual studies. It outlines the contents of the subsequent chapters and discusses the importance of the question regarding not only whether mindfulness works as well as the questions of how or why it works.
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 |