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On Being Mindful: What Do People Think They're Doing?
Author(s) -
Parkin Steven S.,
Jarman Matthew S.,
Vallacher Robin R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
social and personality psychology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.699
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 1751-9004
DOI - 10.1111/spc3.12156
Subject(s) - mindfulness , psychology , distraction , identification (biology) , action (physics) , perspective (graphical) , function (biology) , focus (optics) , epistemology , psychotherapist , cognitive science , social psychology , cognitive psychology , biology , philosophy , botany , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , evolutionary biology , computer science , optics
Abstract Thoughts are typically dismissed as sources of distraction that hinder a mindful awareness of ongoing experience. Although this may be said of some thoughts, we focus on the undervalued role that regulatory thoughts play in the development and maintenance of mindful action. To do so, we explore the function of thoughts from the perspective of action identification theory. The application of action identification principles to mindfulness yields a new understanding of how the mind coordinates mindful action, with implications for mindfulness instruction, practice, and future research.