Eastern and Western mindfulness: investigating a potential mediating role of self-regulation

Abstract

The present study examined the hypothesis that self-regulation of attention would be the core mechanism that ties together two dominant conceptualizations of mindfulness: (1) an eastern style more associated with influential figures such as Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, and (2) a western style pioneered by Dr. Ellen Langer. Dispositional mindfulness (defined as a trait rather than a momentary state of being) of eastern and western styles as well as self-regulation were measured using self-reported questionnaires: FFMQ, LMS and SRS. A large sample of participants (N=208), mostly female university non-meditator students, completed the respective scales online. Selfregulation of attention was correlated with both kinds of dispositional mindfulness. A partial mediation effect of self-regulation of attention on eastern and western mindfulness mode was revealed using the regression- based methods described by Baron and Kenny (1986) and the Sobel-Goodman analyses. Implications and areas of future research are discussed.