Mindfulness is an attribute of consciousness long believed to promote well-being. This research provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the role of mindfulness in psychological well-being. The development and psychometric properties of the dispositional Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) are described. Correlational, quasi-experimental, and laboratory studies then show that the MAAS measures a unique quality of consciousness that is related to a variety of well-being constructs, that differentiates mindfulness practitioners from others, and that is associated with enhanced selfawareness. An experience-sampling study shows that both dispositional and state mindfulness predict self-regulated behavior and positive emotional states. Finally, a clinical intervention study with cancer patients demonstrates that increases in mindfulness over time relate to declines in mood disturbance and stress. Many philosophical, spiritual, and psychological traditions emphasize the importance of the quality of consciousness for the maintenance and enhancement of well-being (Wilber, 2000). Despite this, it is easy to overlook the importance of consciousness in human well-being because almost everyone exercises its primary capacities, that is, attention and awareness. Indeed, the relation between qualities of consciousness and well-being has received little empirical attention. One attribute of consciousness that has been much-discussed in relation to well-being is mindfulness. The concept of mindfulness has roots in Buddhist and other contemplative traditions where conscious attention and awareness are actively cultivated. It is most commonly defined as the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present. For example, Nyanaponika Thera (1972) called mindfulness “the clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us at the successive moments of perception” (p. 5). Hanh (1976) similarly defined mindfulness as “keeping one’s consciousness alive to the present reality” (p. 11). Recent research has shown that the enhancement of mindfulness through training facilitates a variety of well-being outcomes (e.g., Kabat-Zinn, 1990). To date, however, there has been little work examining this attribute as a naturally occurring characteristic. Recognizing that most everyone has the capacity to attend and to be aware, we nonetheless assume (a) that individuals differ in their propensity or willingness to be aware and to sustain attention to what is occurring in the present and (b) that this mindful capacity varies within persons, because it can be sharpened or dulled by a variety of factors. The intent of the present research is to reliably identify these inter- and intrapersonal variations in mindfulness, establish their relations to other relevant psychological constructs, and demonstrate their importance to a variety of forms of psychological well-being.

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The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being

Assessment in clinical psychology typically relies on global retrospective self-reports collected at research or clinic visits, which are limited by recall bias and are not well suited to address how behavior changes over time and across contexts. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) involves repeated sampling of subjects’ current behaviors and experiences in real time, in subjects’ natural environments. EMA aims to minimize recall bias, maximize ecological validity, and allow study of microprocesses that influence behavior in real-world contexts. EMA studies assess particular events in subjects’ lives or assess subjects at periodic intervals, often by random time sampling, using technologies ranging from written diaries and telephones to electronic diaries and physiological sensors. We discuss the rationale for EMA, EMA designs, methodological and practical issues, and comparisons of EMA and recall data. EMA holds unique promise to advance the science and practice of clinical psychology by shedding ligh...

Ecological Momentary Assessment

Psychologists have worried about the distortions introduced into standardized personality measures by social desirability bias. Survey researchers have had similar concerns about the accuracy of survey reports about such topics as illicit drug use, abortion, and sexual behavior. The article reviews the research done by survey methodologists on reporting errors in surveys on sensitive topics, noting parallels and differences from the psychological literature on social desirability. The findings from the survey studies suggest that misreporting about sensitive topics is quite common and that it is largely situational. The extent of misreporting depends on whether the respondent has anything embarrassing to report and on design features of the survey. The survey evidence also indicates that misreporting on sensitive topics is a more or less motivated process in which respondents edit the information they report to avoid embarrassing themselves in the presence of an interviewer or to avoid repercussions from third parties.

https://www.learnlab.org/research/wiki/images/a/a8/Tourangeau_SensitiveQuestions.pdf

Sensitive questions in surveys.

This article reviews the hypothesis that mind wandering can be integrated into executive models of attention. Evidence suggests that mind wandering shares many similarities with traditional notions of executive control. When mind wandering occurs, the executive components of attention appear to shift away from the primary task, leading to failures in task performance and superficial representations of the external environment. One challenge for incorporating mind wandering into standard executive models is that it often occurs in the absence of explicit intention--a hallmark of controlled processing. However, mind wandering, like other goal-related processes, can be engaged without explicit awareness; thus, mind wandering can be seen as a goal-driven process, albeit one that is not directed toward the primary task.

The restless mind

Survey questions asking about taboo topics such as sexual activities, illegal behaviour such as social fraud, or unsocial attitudes such as racism, often generate inaccurate survey estimates which are distorted by social desirability bias. Due to self-presentation concerns, survey respondents underreport socially undesirable activities and overreport socially desirable ones. This article reviews theoretical explanations of socially motivated misreporting in sensitive surveys and provides an overview of the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of specific survey methods designed to encourage the respondents to answer more honestly. Besides psychological aspects, like a stable need for social approval and the preference for not getting involved into embarrassing social interactions, aspects of the survey design, the interviewer’s characteristics and the survey situation determine the occurrence and the degree of social desirability bias. The review shows that survey designers could generate more valid data by selecting appropriate data collection strategies that reduce respondents’ discomfort when answering to a sensitive question.

Determinants of social desirability bias in sensitive surveys: a literature review

Contents: Preface. Part I: J.S. Turkkan, General Issues in Self-Report. W. Baldwin, Information No One Else Knows: The Value of Self-Report. D.M. Bersoff, D.N. Bersoff, Ethical Issues in the Collection of Self-Report Data. Part II: J.B. Jobe, Cognitive Processes in Self-Report. R. Tourangeau, Remembering What Happened: Memory Errors and Survey Reports. N.M. Bradburn, Temporal Representation and Event Dating. G. Menon, E.A. Yorkston, The Use of Memory and Contextual Cues in the Formation of Behavioral Frequency Judgments. J.F. Kihlstrom, E. Eich, D. Sandbrand, B.A. Tobias, Emotion and Memory: Implications for Self-Report. Part III: C.A. Bachrach, Self-Reporting Sensitive Events and Characteristics. N.C. Schaeffer, Asking Questions About Threatening Topics: A Selective Overview. H.G. Miller, J.N. Gribble, L.C. Mazade, S.M. Rogers, C.F. Turner, The Association Between Self-Reports of Abortion and Breast Cancer Risk: Fact or Artifact. Part IV: V.S. Cain, Special Issues on Self-Report. D.S. Massey, When Surveys Fail: An Alternative for Data Collection. J. Blair, Assessing Protocols for Child Interviews. J.C. Anthony, Y.D. Neumark, M.L. Van Etten, Do I Do What I Say? A Perspective on Self-Report Methods in Drug Dependence Epidemiology. Part V: J.S. Turkkan, Self-Report of Distant Memories. E.F. Loftus, Suggestion, Imagination, and the Transformation of Reality. L.M. Williams, J.A. Siegel, J.J. Pomeroy, Validity of Women's Self-Reports of Documented Child Sexual Abuse. Part VI: H.S. Kurtzman, Self-Reporting of Health Behaviors and Psychiatric Symptoms. R.C. Kessler, H-U. Wittchen, J. Abelson, S. Zhao, Methodological Issues in Assessing Psychiatric Disorders With Self-Reports. C.S. Rand, "I Took the Medicine Like You Told Me, Doctor": Self-Report of Adherence With Medical Regimes. S. Shiffman, Real-Time Self-Report of Momentary States in the Natural Environment: Computerized Ecological Momentary Assessment. Part VII: A.A. Stone, Self-Reporting of Physical Symptoms. J.W. Pennebaker, Psychological Factors Influencing the Reporting of Physical Symptoms. F.J. Keefe, Self-Report of Pain: Issues and Opportunities. A.J. Barsky, The Validity of Bodily Symptoms in Medical Outpatients.

Jared B. Jobe

Papers

The Science of Self-report : Implications for Research and Practice