ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to facilitate the development of research on mindfulness in the field of social psychology by providing a comprehensive overview of the different methods for studying mindfulness. It distinguishes between long-term interventions, low-dose interventions and experimentally induced mindfulness. The chapter discusses different tools for assessing both state and trait mindfulness, and describes their strengths and weaknesses. A wide variety of mindfulness self-report measures have been developed, varying in scope and targeting different sets of mindfulness elements. Irrespective of formal meditation experience, dispositional mindfulness levels appear to vary among the population and mindfulness can be practiced in many different ways other than meditation. N. J. Van Doesum and colleagues coined the term “social mindfulness” to describe the human ability to “safeguard other people’s control over their own behavioural options in situations of interdependence. One way to increase adherence to instructions in lab settings is by facilitating mindfulness practice.
