Positive-Negative Affectivity and Decision Making Among Mindfulness Meditators and Non-Meditators

Abstract

Mindfulness has gained significant attention in recent years due to its potential benefits for cognitive and emotional processes. However, how mindfulness interplays with affect to exert its effect on decision-making remains relatively less explored. The present study examined and compared the performance of both mindfulness meditators and non-meditators on decisionmaking tasks under different affective states. A total of 100 participants (50 mindfulness meditators and 50 non-meditators) responded to the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and performed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Both groups were further divided into positive affect and negative affect conditions. The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) was used to induce positive and negative affective states among the participants. The baseline affective state of the participants was assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Independent sample t-tests and a univariate ANOVA were computed to analyze the obtained data. Results showed that mindfulness meditators scored significantly higher on the total FFMQ as well as on its different facets. Furthermore, the results revealed a significant main effect of mindfulness and the affect group on IGT performance. The interaction between mindfulness and affective conditions was also found to be significant. Mindfulness meditators performed equally well on IGT under both positive and negative affect conditions, whereas non-meditators performed better only under positive affect conditions. The findings have practical implications, as they suggest that mindfulness meditation enhances decision-making by promoting effective emotion regulation and suppressing impulsive responses during decision-making in different domains of life.