Developing an objective measure of mindfulness in daily life

Research on mindfulness has increased in recent years necessitating the development of subjective and objective methods of measuring this construct. We aim to develop a theoretically based, objective measure of daily mindfulness by examining peoples’ behavior and language use in their daily lives. Specifically, we will use the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) to collect audio recordings of peoples’ daily behavior and the stream of consciousness (SOC) task to collect information on peoples’ thoughts and feelings. In Study 1 we aim to develop behavioral coding schemes based on the five dimensions of mindfulness in the Five-Faceted Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Observe, Describe, Act with Awareness, Nonjudgment , Nonreactivity) and then combine these coding schemes with previously established language analysis methods to create composite measures for each dimension (i.e., create a multi-dimensional measure of daily mindfulness). Our aim in Study 2 is to demonstrate this multi-dimensional measure’s ability to detect specific changes in behavior and language that reflects increased mindfulness following a mindfulness induction (compared to a mind-wandering induction). Development of this measure will further our conceptual understanding of mindfulness and allow for its objective assessment in everyday life.