Does mindfulness attenuate thoughts emphasizing negativity, but not positivity?

Mindfulness is linked to fewer negative thoughts but does not affect positive thoughts. Two studies examined this relationship. In the first, people with higher trait mindfulness reported less negative rumination, but no difference in positive rumination. In the second, participants who practiced mindful breathing listed fewer negative thoughts when viewing emotional images compared to a control group, especially in response to negative images, and listed more neutral thoughts. The groups did not differ in positive thoughts. The findings suggest mindfulness may reduce negativity-focused thinking without altering positivity-focused thinking.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The current research investigated whether mindfulness is differentially associated with thoughts that emphasize positive or negative valence. In Study 1, trait mindfulness was inversely associated with negative rumination but unassociated with positive rumination, controlling for state affect. In Study 2, participants completed either a mindful breathing meditation or a comparable control exercise, followed by a thought listing while viewing affective images. Compared to the control condition, the mindfulness condition listed proportionately fewer negative thoughts, particularly in response to negative images, and more non-valenced thoughts. The conditions did not differ in their proportions of positive thoughts. These results suggest that mindfulness may attenuate thoughts that emphasize negativity but not those that emphasize positivity.