Mechanisms of Mindfulness in Communication Training
Abstract
Mindfulness, an ancient spiritual practice, is becoming an increasingly popular component of communication courses, training individuals to reserve judgment in their dealings with others. However, the effects of mindfulness in communication courses are not well researched. We compared students taking an introductory communication course that included a mindfulness component (N=20) against a control group of students taking an equivalent course without mindfulness content (N=24). Both groups improved in their positive reappraisal tendencies following communication training; however, the groups appeared to differ in how they positively reappraised situations. Only the mindfulness group demonstrated improved mindfulness scores following training, accounting for that group's increases in positive reappraisal, and providing evidence for mindfulness training as one mechanism for reducing negative reactivity in communication.
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Mindfulness may support reappraisal.
“Evidence from a number of correlational [57], quasi-experimental [58,59], and experimental studies [11,60,61] suggests that mindfulness may support reappraisal.”
From Testing the mindfulness-to-meaning theory: Evidence for mindful positive emotion regulation from a reanalysis of longitudinal data (2017) · cites this paper as [58]
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- Authors
- Huston, D. C., Garland, E. L., & Farb, N. A. S.
- Affiliations
- NHTI - Concord's Community College (US)
- Florida State University (US)
- Rotman Research Institute (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Huston, Daniel C.
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Communication Research
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2011-11
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 406-421
- ISSN
- 0090-9882 (ISSN-L)
- 1479-5752
- OpenAlex
- W2055395545
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 1.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Communication Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Education › Social Skills and Education
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Communication in Education and Healthcare
- Keywords
- mindfulness, communication training, positive reappraisal, negative reactivity, introductory communication course, mindfulness training, communication apprehension
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