1 - Mindfulness Scholarship and Interventions: A Review

Summary

In the past three decades, an exponential increase has occurred in the research and theorising on mindfulness, coupled with a growing demand for and application of mindfulness interventions by practitioners, in clinical and nonclinical settings (e.g., Kabat-Zinn, 2009; Langer & Ngnoumen, 2014). Mindfulness is often associated with positive psychology and considered a primary facet of psychological well-being (Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007). At the same time, the research provides consistent evidence attesting to the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in lessening several physical and psychological conditions (Baer, 2003; Grossman et al., 2004).

The literature on mindfulness has been dominated by the two leading schools of thought: one advanced by Kabat-Zinn and his associates (e.g., Kabat-Zinn, 2003), which draws on Buddhist meditative practices and is often labeled as an Eastern approach to mindfulness, and the other developed by Langer and her colleagues (e.g., Langer 1989), which is and considered a Western approach to mindfulness. We aim, in this chapter, to offer an overview of mindfulness scholarship and interventions by examining both approaches to mindfulness. The chapter discusses the definitions, mechanisms and components of mindfulness, as these are conceptualised by the two approaches. We also briefly review their measurement tools and examine their respective interventions and outcomes.

The chapter opens with a review of Kabat-Zinn's Eastern meditation–based approach, then discusses Langer's Western approach. Both of these sections begin by reviewing scholars’ conceptions of mindfulness and then presents a description of the features of mindfulness and their underlying mechanisms, the interventions that each school of thought uses to increase mindfulness, a brief review of their measurement tools, and the evidence regarding their benefits. The closing section discusses the main findings of this review.

The Eastern Meditation–Based Approach to Mindfulness

Definitions and Features

The Buddhist meditative approach to mindfulness was introduced and initially trialled in the West by Kabat-Zinn and his associates in the 1970s. It is considered therapeutic in its orientation, since it uses mindfulness meditation practice as a means to alleviate physical and mental conditions. Drawing on Buddhist philosophy, Kabat-Zinn (1994) defines mindfulness as ‘paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally’ (p. 8). Baer (2003) explains that this entails observing external events as well as internal experiences as they occur. Kabat-Zinn (2005) describes mindfulness as a ‘being’ mode and contrasts it with mindlessness, which is he describes as an automatic-pilot ‘doing’ mode.