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.