Dispositional Mindfulness and Attentional Control: The Specific Association Between the Mindfulness Facets of Non-judgment and Describing With Flexibility of Early Operating Orienting in Conflict Detection

Sørensen, Lin; Osnes, Berge; Visted, Endre; Svendsen, Julie Lillebostad; Adolfsdottir, Steinunn; Binder, Per-Einar; Schanche, Elisabeth · 2018 · Crossref

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02359

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This study investigates the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and attentional control, specifically examining how individual differences in mindfulness traits influence the interaction between early attentional orienting and conflict detection. While previous research has predominantly focused on the effects of intentional mindfulness training, this work addresses a gap in understanding how pre-existing tendencies toward mindfulness relate to attentional networks. The authors hypothesized that higher dispositional mindfulness would be associated with more flexible and efficient attentional control, particularly in the ability to disengage from irrelevant stimuli to pursue goal-directed behavior. The study utilized a sample of 50 university students aged 19 to 29 who were naïve to formal mindfulness training. Participants completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) to assess five specific mindfulness facets: Observing, Describing, Acting with Awareness, Non-Judgment, and Non-Reactivity. They also performed the Revised Attention Network Test (ANT-R), which measures three attentional networks (alerting, orienting, and conflict detection) and their interactions. The ANT-R allows for the calculation of an interaction score for orienting by conflict detection, reflecting how spatial cuing affects the processing of conflicting stimuli. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine if the FFMQ facets predicted the ANT-R scores, with a Bonferroni-corrected significance level applied to account for multiple comparisons. The results indicated that higher dispositional mindfulness, as measured by the aggregate FFMQ facets, significantly predicted lower interaction scores for orienting by conflict detection, indicating faster and more efficient reaction times. Specifically, the facets of Describing and Non-Judgment were the significant predictors of this improved interaction score. In contrast, the mindfulness facets did not predict the main effects of alerting, orienting, or conflict detection, nor did they predict the interaction between alerting and conflict detection. Preliminary analyses revealed no significant correlations between age and the mindfulness or attention scores, though females reported higher scores on the Non-Reactivity facet. The findings suggest that dispositional mindfulness is associated with a more flexible and efficient orienting attention mechanism. Specifically, the ability to describe inner experiences and observe them without judgment correlates with a greater capacity to disengage from salient but irrelevant stimuli, thereby facilitating conflict detection. This implies that the benefits of mindfulness on attentional control may stem from enhanced flexibility in early perceptual discrimination rather than general improvements in alertness or executive control alone. These results contribute to the understanding of how trait mindfulness supports adaptive self-regulation and goal-directed behavior, offering insights into the specific cognitive mechanisms underlying mindfulness-related benefits.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• executive function