The key role of cognitive fusion linking mindfulness and personality: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract The present article explores the relationship between mindfulness meditation and personality. Based on a substantial body of research, mindfulness has been shown to have significant associations with personality. Recent research suggests that mindfulness meditation may influence personality traits in accordance with the Five Factor Personality Model. To examine this, we investigated whether mindfulness mediates the relationship between meditation experience and personality in an international, cross-sectional sample of N = 779 meditators (mean meditation experience = 6.4 years, 69.8% female). Additionally, the mechanism of how mindfulness and personality are associated remains largely unclear. We therefore assessed whether cognitive fusion, a measure of psychological flexibility, functions as a mediator between both constructs. Our analyses indicate that mindfulness serves as a significant mediator for all five personality traits, supporting the hypothesis that mindfulness meditation may contribute to changes in personality traits, particularly by reducing neuroticism. As the mediated effect was strongest for neuroticism, this underscores the potential of mindfulness meditation to possibly have an influence on mental wellbeing. Cognitive fusion significantly mediated the effect of mindfulness on neuroticism (β = − 0.40, 95% CI [–.45, –.34]) and agreeableness (β = 0.17, 95% CI [0.10, 0.24]), while fully mediating the association with conscientiousness (β = 0.17, 95% CI [0.10, 0.25]). These results suggest that enhanced cognitive flexibility accounts for a significant proportion of mindfulness’s impact on personality. Our results further revealed a previously unidentified pathway wherein cognitive fusion fully mediated the relationship between mindfulness and extraversion (β = 0.19, 95% CI [0.11, 0.27]), a trait typically displaying a weak association with mindfulness. These findings suggest cognitive fusion’s central role in linking mindfulness and personality and offer a promising foundation for future explorations in this field.