Stepping out of history: Mindfulness improves insight problem solving
Open accessAbstract
Insight problem solving is hindered by automated verbal-conceptual processes. Because mindfulness meditation training aims at "nonconceptual awareness" which involves a reduced influence of habitual verbal-conceptual processes on the interpretation of ongoing experience, mindfulness may facilitate insight problem solving. This hypothesis was examined across two studies (total N=157). Participants in both studies completed a measure of trait mindfulness and a series of insight and noninsight problems. Further, participants in Study 2 completed measures of positive affect and a mindfulness or control training. The results indicated that (a) trait mindfulness predicts better insight but not noninsight problem solving (both studies), (b) this relation is maintained when controlling for positive affect (Study 2), (c) mindfulness training improves insight but not noninsight problem solving (Study 2) and (d) this improvement is partially mediated by state mindfulness (Study 2). These findings are the first to document a direct relation between mindfulness and creativity.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so the self-check wasn’t run.
Cites
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.51.6.1173 · Cited by 91,542 · see citing works
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173 · Cited by 91,532 · see citing works
Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 · Cited by 32,433 · see citing works
James, W. (1891) · Henry Holt and Company eBooks · doi:10.1037/11059-000 · Cited by 25,799 · see citing works
The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822 · Cited by 13,448 · see citing works
Measuring emotion: The self-assessment manikin and the semantic differential
Bradley, M. M., & Lang, P. J. (1994) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/0005-7916(94)90063-9 · Cited by 9,538 · see citing works
Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving.
Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., & Nowicki, G. P. (1987) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.6.1122 · Cited by 2,986 · see citing works
Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving.
Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., & Nowicki, G. P. (1987) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.52.6.1122 · Cited by 2,985 · see citing works
Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence.
Teasdale, J. D., Moore, R. G., Hayhurst, H., Pope, M., Williams, S., & Segal, Z. V. (2002) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-006x.70.2.275 · Cited by 1,221 · see citing works
Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence
Teasdale, J. D., Moore, R. G., Hayhurst, H., Pope, M., Williams, S., & Segal, Z. V. (2002) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.70.2.275 · Cited by 1,221 · see citing works
Embree, L., & James, W. (1983) · Philosophy and Phenomenological Research · doi:10.2307/2107586 · Cited by 1,118 · see citing works
Gunaratana, H. (1992) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 713 · see citing works
Thoughts beyond words: When language overshadows insight.
Schooler, J. W., Ohlsson, S., & Brooks, K. (1993) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.122.2.166 · Cited by 694 · see citing works
The Comparison of Regression Variables
Williams, E. J. (1959) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B (Statistical Methodology) · doi:10.1111/j.2517-6161.1959.tb00346.x · Cited by 539 · see citing works
Information-processing explanations of insight and related phenomena
Ohlsson, S. (1992) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 446 · see citing works
RULE‐GOVERNED BEHAVIOR AND SENSITIVITY TO CHANGING CONSEQUENCES OF RESPONDING
Hayes, S. C., Brownstein, A. J., Zettle, R. D., Rosenfarb, I. F., & Korn, Z. (1986) · Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior · doi:10.1901/jeab.1986.45-237 · Cited by 410 · see citing works
Feeling of knowing in memory and problem solving.
Metcalfe, J. (1986) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.12.2.288 · Cited by 349 · see citing works
AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN)
Kasamatsu, A., & Hirai, T. (1966) · Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1819.1966.tb02646.x · Cited by 326 · see citing works
Twohig, M. P., Hayes, S. C., & Masuda, A. (2006) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2005.02.001 · Cited by 290 · see citing works
Decreasing prejudice by increasing discrimination.
Langer, E. J., Bashner, R. S., & Chanowitz, B. (1985) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.49.1.113 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Cropley, M., Ussher, M., & Charitou, E. (2007) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2007.01832.x · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Decreasing prejudice by increasing discrimination.
Langer, E. J., Bashner, R. S., & Chanowitz, B. (1985) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.49.1.113 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
On the use and abuse of history for life
Nietzsche, F., & Johnston, I. (2010) · VIUSpace (Vancouver Island University Library) · doi:10.25316/ir-19867 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Electroencephalographic study on the Zen meditation
Hirai, T. (1960) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Creswell, J. D. (2017) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-042716-051139 · Cited by 1,702 · see citing works
Contemplating Mindfulness at Work: An Integrative Review
Good, D. J., Lyddy, C. J., Glomb, T. M., Bono, J. E., Brown, K. W., Duffy, M. K., Baer, R. A., Brewer, J. A., & Lazar, S. W. (2016) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/0149206315617003 · Cited by 1,043 · see citing works
“Meditation experience has been linked to creativity and divergent and convergent thinking (Colzato, Ozturk, & Hommel, 2012), and both trait mindfulness and mindfulness training have predicted better insight problem solving (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012).”
BackgroundFox, K. C. R., Nijeboer, S., Dixon, M. L., Floman, J. L., Ellamil, M., Rumak, S. P., Sedlmeier, P., & Christoff, K. (2014) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.03.016 · Cited by 804 · see citing works
Examining workplace mindfulness and its relations to job performance and turnover intention
Dane, E., & Brummel, B. J. (2014) · Human Relations · doi:10.1177/0018726713487753 · Cited by 568 · see citing works
“Nevertheless, an emerging body of research has demonstrated linkages between mindfulness and performance across a number of tasks (e.g. Ostafin and Kassman, 2012; Ruedy and Schweitzer, 2010; Shao and Skarlicki, 2009).”
BackgroundInfluentialMindfulness in organizations: a cross-level review
Sutcliffe, K. M., Vogus, T. J., & Dane, E. (2016) · Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-041015-062531 · Cited by 428 · see citing works
Mindfulness-Based Programs in the Workplace: a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Vonderlin, R., Biermann, M., Bohus, M., & Lyssenko, L. (2020) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-020-01328-3 · Cited by 259 · see citing works
Lueke, A., & Gibson, B. (2015) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550614559651 · Cited by 265 · see citing works
“…reduced dieters’ automatic responses to attractive food (Papies, Barsalou, & Custers, 2012), reduced problem solvers’ reliance on automatic solutions (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012), and reduced the correlation between implicit alcohol attitudes and drinking behavior (Ostafin, Bauer, & Myxter, 2012;…”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialMind full of ideas: A meta-analysis of the mindfulness–creativity link
Lebuda, I., Zabelina, D. L., & Karwowski, M. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.09.040 · Cited by 252 · see citing works
“…performance as well as improves the ability to solve insight problems (Colzato et al., 2012; Ding, Tang, Deng, Tang, & Posner, 2015; Ding, Tang, Tang, & Posner, 2014; Ostafin & Kassman, 2012; Ren et al., 2011) and facilitates creative elaboration (Zabelina, Robinson, Ostafin, & Council, 2011).”
Conversano, C., Ciacchini, R., Orrù, G., Di Giuseppe, M., Gemignani, A., & Poli, A. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01683 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
Mindful eating: Trait and state mindfulness predict healthier eating behavior
Jordan, C. H., Wang, W., Donatoni, L., & Meier, B. P. (2014) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2014.04.013 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
Mindfulness and creativity: Implications for thinking and learning
Henriksen, D., Richardson, C., & Shack, K. (2020) · Thinking Skills and Creativity · doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100689 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
“Ostafin and Kassman (2012) found that certain types of open-monitoring meditation improved insight problem solving.”
Exploring the Link Between Mind Wandering, Mindfulness, and Creativity: A Multidimensional Approach
Agnoli, S., Vannucci, M., Pelagatti, C., & Corazza, G. E. (2018) · Creativity Research Journal · doi:10.1080/10400419.2018.1411423 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
“For example, the results of the studies by Ostafin and Kassman (2012) indicate that mindfulness benefits the ability to solve insight problems.”
Dispositional mindfulness and perceived stress: The role of emotional intelligence
Bao, X., Xue, S., & Kong, F. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.01.007 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
Khoury, B., Knaüper, B., Pagnini, F., Trent, N. L., Chiesa, A., & Carrière, K. (2017) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-017-0700-7 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
“2009), problem solving (Ostafin and Kassman 2012), attention, and cognitive flexibility (Levy et al.”
BackgroundNoone, C., & Hogan, M. (2018) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-018-0226-3 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
“Second, studies showing improvements in certain aspects of higherorder thinking generally explain their results by claiming that mindfulness practice has trained participants to inhibit automatic, or type-1, processing [27, 29, 47, 48].”
BackgroundMind wandering “Ahas” versus mindful reasoning: alternative routes to creative solutions
Zedelius, C. M., & Schooler, J. W. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00834 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Mindful creativity: the influence of mindfulness meditation on creative thinking
Capurso, V., Fabbro, F., & Crescentini, C. (2014) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.01020 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
“Moreover, given other studies on MM and creativity have compared creative thinking with logic thinking (Ren et al., 2011; Ostafin and Kassman, 2012), it would be important to test whether training in FA (or OM) meditation influences insight problemsolving as well as logic thinking.”
Donald, J. N., Atkins, P. W. B., Parker, P. D., Christie, A. M., & Ryan, R. M. (2016) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2016.09.002 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
“…of the state Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS); Brown & Ryan, 2003) has been found to predict greater post-conflict commitment, respect and support of a romantic partner (Barnes, Brown, Krusemark, Campbell, & Rogge, 2007) and improved insight problem solving (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012).”
BackgroundFrom conceptualization to operationalization of mindfulness.
Quaglia, J. T., Brown, K. W., Lindsay, E. K., Creswell, J. D., & Goodman, R. J. (2015) · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Brief mindfulness meditation reduces discrimination.
Lueke, A. K., & Gibson, B. D. (2016) · Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice · doi:10.1037/cns0000081 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
“Furthermore, due to other factors, such as the normalcy of the association of being Black with violence (Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996; Payne, 2005; Payne, Lambert, & Jacoby, 2002), even people who believe in these values often behave in subtly prejudiced ways.”
BackgroundMindfulness and Social Sustainability: An Integrative Review
Sajjad, A., & Shahbaz, W. (2020) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-020-02297-9 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
The sweet life: The effect of mindful chocolate consumption on mood
Meier, B. P., Noll, S. W., & Molokwu, O. J. (2016) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2016.09.018 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
“…studies reveal that state mindfulness can be briefly manipulated in a laboratory setting in a variety of ways (e.g., Hopthrow, Hooper, Mahmood, Meier, & Weger, in press; Weger, Hooper, Meier, & Hopthrow, 2012; Jordan, Wang, Donatoni, & Meier, 2014; Ostafin & Kassman, 2012; Heppner et al., 2008).”
Mindfulness, remote engagement and employee morale: conceptual analysis to address the “new normal”
Pattnaik, L., & Jena, L. K. (2020) · International journal of organizational analysis · doi:10.1108/ijoa-06-2020-2267 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
de Sousa, G. M., de Lima-Araujo, G. L., de Araújo, D. B., & de Sousa, M. B. C. (2021) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-021-00520-x · Cited by 92 · see citing works
“It is known that state mindfulness progressively predicts higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect [67, 68], but its reported mediation effect is often related to cognitive reappraisal and insight problem-solving [69, 70].”
BackgroundCheung, S. Y., Huang, E. G., Chang, S., & Wei, L. (2020) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.12.003 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Noone, C., Bunting, B. P., & Hogan, M. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02043 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
“Furthermore, though mindfulness has been shown to facilitate certain types of higher-order cognition, including insight problem-solving (Ostafin and Kassman, 2012; Wen et al., 2013), moral reasoning and ethical decision-making (Cottone and Javier, 2007; Ruedy and Schweitzer, 2011; Shapiro et al.,…”
BackgroundNadler, R., Carswell, J. J., & Minda, J. P. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00255 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Noone, C., & Hogan, M. (2016) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-016-0122-7 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
“ing insight problem-solving [12, 13], moral reasoning and”
Sustainability-oriented innovations: Can mindfulness make a difference?
Siqueira, R. P., & Pitassi, C. (2016) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.08.056 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Short-term meditation modulates brain activity of insight evoked with solution cue
Ding, X., Tang, Y., Cao, C., Deng, Y., Wang, Y., Xin, X., & Posner, M. I. (2014) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsu032 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
“, 2007) that hinders the search for new representation during problem solving (Ostafin and Kassman, 2012).”
BackgroundMethodA Moment of Mindfulness: Computer-Mediated Mindfulness Practice Increases State Mindfulness
Mahmood, L., Hopthrow, T., & Randsley de Moura, G. (2016) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0153923 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Neural correlates of Eureka moment
Sprugnoli, G., Rossi, S., Emmendorfer, A. K., Rossi, A., Liew, S., Tatti, E., Lorenzo, G. D., Pascual‐Leone, Á., & Santarnecchi, E. (2017) · Intelligence · doi:10.1016/j.intell.2017.03.004 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Olafsen, A. H. (2016) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-016-9592-4 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
“Moreover, research has also showed positive implications of mindfulness on performance, such as judgment accuracy (Kiken and Shook 2011), insight-related problem solving (Ostafin and Kassman 2012), and academic performance (Shao and Skarlicki 2009).”
BackgroundTulver, K., Kaup, K., Laukkonen, R., & Aru, J. (2023) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2023.103494 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Hogan, M., Dwyer, C. P., Harney, O., Noone, C., & Conway, R. J. (2014) · Intelligent systems reference library · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-11062-2_4 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Meditation and the Wandering Mind: A Theoretical Framework of Underlying Neurocognitive Mechanisms
Brandmeyer, T., & Arnaud Delorme, A. (2020) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691620917340 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
“Ostafin and Kassman (2012) also showed that a greater tendency toward mindfulness (which is generally taught as a style of OM meditation), as assessed through the MAAS, was associated with an increased chance of solving the puzzles and that a brief session of mindfulness meditation improved both…”
BackgroundMindfulness Reduces the Correspondence Bias
Hopthrow, T., Hooper, N., Mahmood, L., Meier, B. P., & Weger, U. (2016) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17470218.2016.1149498 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
“The raisin task and other short-term mindfulness inductions have been used successfully in past work to induce a state of mindfulness (e.g., Jordan et al., 2014; Heppner et al., 2008; Ostafin & Kassman, 2012; Weger et al., 2012).”
Mindfulness and cognitive functions: Toward a unifying neurocognitive framework
Raffone, A., & Srinivasan, N. (2017) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0654-1 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
“Mindfulness meditation training has also been linked to the enhancement of creative thinking, such as in insight problem solving (Capurso et al. 2014; Greenberg et al. 2012; Ostafin and Kassman 2012).”
BackgroundMindfulness and False-Memories: The Impact of Mindfulness Practice on the DRM Paradigm
Rosenstreich, E. (2015) · The Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00223980.2015.1004298 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
“Along with this definition, Ostafin and Kassman (2012) found that mindfulness improved insight problem solving, that is, promoted a better ability to adopt a different perspective of the problem to be solved.”
BackgroundYeh, Y., Chang, H.-L., & Chen, S. (2019) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2019.01.001 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
“…to a flexible state of mind in which people are actively engaged in the present, aware of new things, and sensitive to context (Langer, 2000); it helps improve attention, cognitive flexibility, problem solving, emotion, and working memory (Levy, Jennings, & Langer, 2001; Ostafin & Kassman, 2012).”
BackgroundLysova, E. I., Fletcher, L., & Baroudi, S. E. (2022) · Human Relations · doi:10.1177/00187267221094243 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
“Prior research also provides empirical support that awareness contributes to better performance (Dane and Brummel, 2014; Shao and Skarlicki, 2009) because it guards against distractions and performance blunders (Herndon, 2008), and improves problem-solving (Ostafin and Kassman, 2012).”
BackgroundThe Richness of Inner Experience: Relating Styles of Daydreaming to Creative Processes
Zedelius, C. M., & Schooler, J. W. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02063 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
“Researchers have sometimes studied insight and analytic thought by comparing the processes involved in solving socalled “insight problems” to those involved in non-creative tasks (e.g., Ansburg and Hill, 2003; Ostafin and Kassman, 2012).”
BackgroundInfluentialStress and Quality of Life of Patients with Cancer: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness
Dehghan, M., Jazinizade, M., Malakoutikhah, A., Mahani, A. M., Iranmanesh, M. H., Oghabian, S., Mohammadshahi, F., Janfaza, F., & Zakeri, M. A. (2020) · Journal of Oncology · doi:10.1155/2020/3289521 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
“Past studies have shown that mindfulness training is closely correlated with the development of attentional functions [44], cognitive flexibility [45], and problem solving [46], and such factors can affect and improve patients’ condition.”
BackgroundThe contemplative exercise through the lenses of predictive processing: A promising approach
Pagnoni, G. (2019) · Progress in brain research · doi:10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.10.022 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Mind wandering in creative problem-solving: Relationships with divergent thinking and mental health
Yamaoka, A., & Yukawa, S. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0231946 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
The impact of mindfulness on leadership effectiveness in a health care setting: a pilot study
Wasylkiw, L., Holton, J. A., Azar, R., & Cook, W. (2015) · Journal of Health Organization and Management · doi:10.1108/jhom-06-2014-0099 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Barkan, T., Hoerger, M. P., Gallegos, A. M., Turiano, N. A., Duberstein, P. R., & Moynihan, J. A. (2016) · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/acm.2015.0177 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“Future investigations may wish to explore narrow facets of personality, particularly facets of openness and agreeableness, and other constructs, such as creativity, 36 trait mindfulness, 37 or spirituality.”
It’s my secret space’: The benefits of mindfulness for social workers
Kinman, G., Grant, L., & Kelly, S. (2020) · The British Journal of Social Work · doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcz073 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Wimmer, L., Bellingrath, S., & von Stockhausen, L. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01037 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
“The adolescent brain is characterized by profoundmaturational changes especially in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which is responsible for higher cognitive functions as well as the cognitive control of emotions andmotivation (Paus et al., 2008).”
BackgroundMindfulness and Job Performance: Does Creativity Matter?
Ngo, L. V., Nguyen, N. P., Lee, J., & Andonopoulos, V. (2020) · Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ) · doi:10.1016/j.ausmj.2019.12.003 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Khan, J., Jaafar, M., Mubarak, N., & Khan, A. K. (2022) · Information Technology and Management · doi:10.1007/s10799-022-00369-5 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Percolating ideas: The effects of caffeine on creative thinking and problem solving
Zabelina, D. L., & Silvia, P. J. (2020) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2020.102899 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Mindfulness, Money Attitudes, and Credit
Pereira, M. C., & Coelho, F. (2019) · Journal of Consumer Affairs · doi:10.1111/joca.12197 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Mindfulness improves verbal learning and memory through enhanced encoding
Lueke, A. K., & Lueke, N. A. (2019) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/s13421-019-00947-z · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Majeed, M., Irshad, M., Khan, I., & Saeed, I. (2023) · Project Management Journal · doi:10.1177/87569728221140807 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“The existing literature has also highlighted the positive outcomes of team mindfulness (Kiken & Shook, 2011; Ostafin & Kassman, 2012; Shao & Skarlicki, 2009).”
BackgroundDo People Really Have Insights in the Shower? The When, Where and Who of the Aha! Moment
Ovington, L. A., Saliba, A. J., Moran, C. C., Goldring, J., & MacDonald, J. B. (2015) · The Journal of Creative Behavior · doi:10.1002/jocb.126 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Dust, S. B., Liu, H., Wang, S., & Reina, C. S. (2021) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/apl0000887 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“A few studies to date evaluate the direct effect of mindfulness on performance outcomes, such as task performance (Dane & Brummel, 2014), problem-solving tasks (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012), and academic performance (Shao & Skarlicki, 2009).”
BackgroundThe Influence of a Brief Mindfulness Exercise on Encoding of Novel Words in Female College Students
Bonamo, K. K., Legerski, J., & Thomas, K. B. (2014) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-014-0285-3 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Cheng, X., Ma, Y., Li, J., Cai, Y., Li, L., & Zhang, J. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17218212 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“UOEwas closely connected with the amelioration of attention functions, cognitive flexibility, self-efficacy and problem-solving features [32,49], which helped to enhance their performance and then indirectly relieved ones’ psychological distress.”
BackgroundChen, H., Liu, C., Zhou, F., Chiang, C.-H., Chen, Y., Wu, K., Huang, D., Liu, C.-Y., & Chiou, W. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894337 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Mindfulness and creativity in the workplace
Kudesia, R. S. (2015) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781107587793.010 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Bóo, S. J. M., Childs‐Fegredo, J., Cooney, S., Datta, B., Dufour, G., Jones, P. B., & Galante, J. (2019) · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1002/capr.12282 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Mulligan, R., Ramos, J., Martín, P., & Zornoza, A. M. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13105409 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Evidence for Mindfulness: Impacts on the Wellbeing and Performance of School Staff
Weare, K. (2014) · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Reviewing Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Suicidal Behavior
Chesin, M., Interian, A., Kline, A., Benjamin-Phillips, C., Latorre, M., & Stanley, B. (2016) · Archives of Suicide Research · doi:10.1080/13811118.2016.1162244 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“Furthermore, findings from two experiments show improved problem solving after brief mindfulness practice, but not subsequent to a listening task, among community members (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012; Ren et al., 2011).”
BackgroundCultivating creative workplaces through mindfulness
Byrne, E., & Thatchenkery, T. (2019) · Journal of Organizational Change Management · doi:10.1108/jocm-10-2017-0387 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
The embodied transcendental: a Kantian perspective on neurophenomenology
Khachouf, O. T., Poletti, S., & Pagnoni, G. (2013) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00611 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
“…creativity—claims that have found some supporting evidence from recent psychological and neuroimaging research on semantic processing, mental flexibility, and creativity (Pagnoni et al., 2008; Moore and Malinowski, 2009; Colzato et al., 2012; Greenberg et al., 2012; Ostafin and Kassman, 2012).”
BackgroundThe Effect of Virtual-Reality-Based Restorative Environments on Creativity
Li, H., Du, X., Ma, H., Wang, Z., Li, Y., & Wu, J. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph191912083 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
An Integrative Review on the Research Progress of Mindfulness and Its Implications at the Workplace
Panditharathne, P. N. K. W., & Chen, Z. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su132413852 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Forjan, D. N., Tuckey, M. R., & Li, Y. (2020) · Stress and Health · doi:10.1002/smi.2931 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Ch, N. A. N., Ansah, A. A., Katrahmani, A., Burmeister, J., Kun, A. L., Mills, C., Shaer, O., & Lee, J. D. (2022) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102982 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Creativity enhancement methods for adults: A meta-analysis.
Haase, J., Hanel, P. H. P., & Gronau, N. (2023) · Psychology of Aesthetics Creativity and the Arts · doi:10.1037/aca0000557 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Hur, W., Shin, Y., & Kim, J. Y. (2023) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-023-04714-x · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“Second, mindfulness facilitates employees’ problem-solving and ability to cope with stress (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012) through increased cognitive flexibility.”
Noone, C., & Hogan, M. (2017) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-017-0789-8 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-compassion and social anxiety in late adolescence: Contributions of self-reflection and insight
Ștefan, C. A., & Cheie, L. (2020) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298868.2020.1861082 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
den Kamp, E. M. O., Tims, M., Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2022) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12399 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“Consequently, a mindful state may help one to overcome dominant, but uncreative, responses and open up possibilities for fresh, creative ones (cf. Bishop et al., 2004; Brown et al., 2007; Ostafin & Kassman, 2012).”
Khoury, B., Dionne, F., & Grégoire, S. (2018) · Annales Médico-psychologiques revue psychiatrique · doi:10.1016/j.amp.2018.04.010 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Selart, M., Schei, V., Lines, R., & Nesse, S. (2020) · European Management Review · doi:10.1111/emre.12415 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
More Dynamic Than You Think: Hidden Aspects of Decision-Making
Robinson, J., Sinclair, M., Mortlock, J. M. T., & Choi, E. (2017) · Administrative Sciences · doi:10.3390/admsci7030023 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“…processes, mindfulness training has been linked reliably with increased cognitive skills, for example increased working memory (Mrazek et al. 2013), insight problem solving (Ostafin and Kassman 2012), creative performance (Baas et al. 2014) and several other different measures of intelligence.”
The role of mindfulness in response to abusive supervision
Burton, J. P., & Barber, L. K. (2019) · Journal of Managerial Psychology · doi:10.1108/jmp-11-2018-0505 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Pruessner, L., Timm, C., Kalmar, J., Bents, H., Barnow, S., & Mander, J. (2024) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1155/2024/9081139 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Mori, M., & Tanno, Y. (2015) · Psychology · doi:10.4236/psych.2015.65059 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Workplace Mindfulness and its Effect on Staff Auditors' Audit Quality-Threatening Behavior
Herda, D. N., Cannon, N., & Young, R. (2018) · Behavioral Research in Accounting · doi:10.2308/bria-52215 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Quantum empathy: an alternative narrative for global transcendence
Pavlovich, K. (2019) · Journal of Management Spirituality & Religion · doi:10.1080/14766086.2019.1706626 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“Cognitive (Ostafin and Kassman 2012), emotional (Vago and Silbersweig 2012; Brown, Goodman, and Inzlicht 2013) behavioral (Glomb et al. 2011) and physiological benefits (Hölzel et al. 2011; Jack et al. 2013; Kang et al. 2013; Lazar et al. 2005) have all been confirmed, which Good et al. (2016)…”
BackgroundBuilding Sustainability on Deep Values Through Mindfulness Nurturing
Bernal, E., Edgar, D. A., & Burnes, B. (2017) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.12.003 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“According to Ostafin and Kassman(2012) this gives the participants access to their deep creative level, which contributes in a much more powerful way than traditional NGT to the generation of ideas.”
Mindfulness, Eating Disorders, and Food Intake Regulation
Kristeller, J. L. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-2263-5_15 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Haun, V. C., Nübold, A., & Rigotti, T. (2020) · Journal of Occupational Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/ocp0000263 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Strick, M., & Papies, E. K. (2017) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167217693611 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“Indeed, recent studies suggest that mindfulness can facilitate creative insight problem solving (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012), and that it is particularly the tendency to closely observe one’s thoughts and sensations that predicts creative performance (Baas, Nevicka, & Ten Velden, 2014).”
BackgroundSharma, P. K., & Kumra, R. (2020) · South Asian Journal of Business Studies · doi:10.1108/sajbs-10-2019-0184 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Mindfulness and decision making: sunk costs or escalation of commitment?
Schmitzer-Torbert, N. C. (2020) · Cognitive Processing · doi:10.1007/s10339-020-00978-4 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Lee, Y., & Kim, I. (2018) · Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing · doi:10.1080/10548408.2017.1421496 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“The positive impacts of mindfulness on individuals include well-being (Brown & Ryan, 2003), creativity (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012), emotional regulation (Feldman, Hayes, Kumar, Greeson, & Laurenceau, 2007), and self-transcendence (Vago & Silbersweig, 2012).”
Mindfulness and stress appraisals mediate the effect of neuroticism on physical health
O’Loughlin, R. E., Fryer, J. W., & Zuckerman, M. (2019) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2019.01.044 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Psychedelics as potential catalysts of scientific creativity and insight
Gandy, S., Bonnelle, V., Jacobs, E., & Luke, D. P. (2022) · Drug Science Policy and Law · doi:10.1177/20503245221097649 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“…has been demonstrated to reduce cognitive rigidity, reducing likelihood of being creatively blinded by prior preconceptions and experiences (Greenberg et al., 2012), while promoting divergent (Berkovich-Ohana et al., 2017; Colzato et al., 2012) and insight (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012) thinking.”
BackgroundCritical Thinking : Conceptual Perspectives and Practical Guidelines
Dwyer, C. P. (2017) · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Buitron, V., Hill, R. M., & Pettit, J. W. (2016) · Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior · doi:10.1111/sltb.12314 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
“Consistent with this notion, mindfulness has been found to be associated with better problem solving, specifically problem solving that invokes previous personal experience (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012).”
BackgroundChen, L., Li, X., & Lü, X. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.997638 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Kline, A., Chesin, M. S., Latorre, M., Miller, R. B., Hill, L. S., Shcherbakov, A., King, A. R., Stanley, B., Weiner, M. D., & Interian, A. (2016) · Contemporary Clinical Trials · doi:10.1016/j.cct.2016.08.015 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Nübold, A., & Hulsheger, U. R. (2021) · European Journal of Personality · doi:10.1177/08902070211012915 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“…shown that mindfulness supports the generation of and search for novel perspectives (Ding et al., 2015; Walsh, 1995), promotes better insight problem solving (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012), and encourages cre- ativity and divergent and convergent thinking (Colzato et al., 2012; Lebuda et al., 2016).”
BackgroundShort-term mindfulness meditation training improves antecedents of opportunity recognition
Moder, S., Jehle, E., Furtner, M. R., & Kraus, S. (2023) · Journal of Business Venturing Insights · doi:10.1016/j.jbvi.2023.e00381 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Kaltwasser, V., Sauer, S., & Kohls, N. (2013) · Studies in neuroscience, consciousness and spirituality · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-01634-4_20 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
- Authors
- Ostafin, B. D., & Kassman, K. T.
- Affiliations
- University of Groningen (NL)
- North Dakota State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ostafin, Brian D.
- ORCID
- Ostafin, Brian D.
- Venue
- Consciousness and Cognition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-06
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 1031-1036
- ISSN
- 1053-8100 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2038759243
- Cited by
- 312
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 7
- FWCI
- 16.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.rug.nl
- Licence
- Locations
- Consciousness and Cognition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
- Keywords
- mindfulness, insight problem solving, trait mindfulness, mindfulness training, state mindfulness, positive affect, creativity
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Awareness, Creativity, Female, Humans, Male, Problem Solving, Meditation, Comprehension
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
