Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

The study aimed to examine the relationship between mindfulness and affective thought dynamics. We hypothesized two principle components that are associated with trait mindfulness. Twenty-three participants wrote ten successive words from six seed words, rated affective dimensions on these words, and completed the five-facet mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ; act-aware, describing, non-judgment, non-reactivity, and observing). Principle Components Analysis (PCA) was used reduce the affective dimensions and Markov-Chain to analyze state changes. Linear regressions were then used to examine the relationships between the PCs and FFMQ. Our results revealed one PC (valence, arousal, and importance). Linear regressions revealed that observing, act-aware, and describing predicted the probability of transitioning from negative to positive [P(N->P)] (B = 1.77, p = 0.040), P(PP) (B = 1.77, p = 0.040), and P(PP) (B = 1.77, p = 0.040), respectively. These state shifts may explain improvements in emotion regulation through mindfulness, which directs these affective shifts.