Keyword

Mindfulness, well-being, creativity

Abstract

In contrast to the traditional mindset (TMS)—the conscious awareness, controlled mental processes, and analytical-logical manipulation of symbols—an alternative mindset (AMS) is viewed as the pre-conscious mental processes (i.e. associative, imaginative, intuitive) and holistic thinking. Since Plato, the West has considered TMS as the hallmark of intelligence and simply of any cognition. Yet, in recent decades various research explored complementary and/or alternative to analytical-logical cognition mental. Alternative mindsets were primarily explored for their individual benefits, while our research focuses on organisational benefits. To do this, we used a bi-weekly meditative practice to induce an AMS in organisational actors. We hypothesized that following the shift from TMS to AMS, organisational actors will benefit from enhanced creative production and well-being. Empirical experiments were conducted with 144 self-selected participants within three organisations, measuring well-being and creativity, consisting of eight 20 minute mindfulness meditation sessions, with a “placebo” relaxation technique for control groups. Statistical analysis showed significant increase in well-being and creativity for experimental compared to control groups as of six sessions. As AMS organisational benefits span from enhanced well-being and creative production, as our experiments show, to potentially higher employee engagement, health and relaxation, AMS could potentially aid i


Full Text : PDF

References
  • Amabile, T., Barsade, S., Mueller, J. & Barry M. (2005). Affect and Creativity at Work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(3), 367-403.
  • Amabile, T., Conti, R., Coon, H., Lazenby, J. & Herron, M. (1996). Assessing the work environment for creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 39(5), 1154-1184.
  • Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & L. Toney. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13, 27–45.
  • Baumeister, R., Bertrams, A., Dickhäuser, O. & Englert, C. 2013. Role of Self-Control Strength in the Relation between Anxiety and Cognitive Performance. Emotion, Online First Publication, doi: 10.1037/a003192.
  • Benson, H. (1975). The Relaxation Response. New York: William Morrow.
  • Brefczynski-Lewis, J., Lutz A., Shaefer H., Levinson D. & Davidson R. (2007). Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(27), 11483-11488.
  • Brewer, J., Worhunsky, P., Gray, J., Tang, Y., Weber, J., & Kober, H. (2011). Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(50), 20254-20259.
  • Cannon, B. (1994). Walter Bradford Cannon: Reflections on the man and his contributions. International Journal of Stress Management, 1(2), 145-158.
  • Carmody, J. & Baer, R. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31, 23-33.
  • Csíkszentmihályi, M. (2004). Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning. New York: Penguin Putnam.
  • Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety: Experiencing flow in work and play. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Csíkszentmihályi, M. & Csíkszentmihályi, I. (1988). Optimal Experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1990). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. Harper Perrenial: New York.
  • Csíkszentmihályi, M., & LeFevre, J. (1989). Optimal experience in work and leisure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(5), 815-822.
  • Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain. Harper Collins: New York.
  • Dane, E. & Pratt, M.G. (2007). Exploring Intuition and Its Role in Managerial Decision Making. Academy of Management Review, 32(1), 33-54.
  • Davidson, R., Brefczynski-Lewis, J., Lutz, A., Schaefer, H. & Levinson, D. (2007). Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104(27), 11483-11488.
  • Davidson, R., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S., Urbanowski, F., Harrington, F., Bonus, A., Sheridan, K., & John, F. (2003). Alternations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(4), 564-570.
  • Davidson, R., & W. Irwin. (1999). the Functional Neuroanatomy of Emotion and Affective Style. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(1), 11-21.
  • Davis, G., & Rimm, S. (1998). Education of the gifted and talented. Needham Heights. MA: Allyn and Bacon.
  • Davis-Floyd, R., & Arvidson, P.S. (1997). Intuition: the inside story: interdisciplinary perspectives. Academy of Consciousness Studies. Routledge, Chapman & Hall: Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory.
  • Deci, E., Ryan, R., Ryan, G.A. & Manly, R.M. (1999). Revitalization through self-regulation: The effects of autonomous and controlled motivation on happiness and vitality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 35(3), 266-284.
  • Deci, E. & Gagné, M. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 26, 331-362.
  • Deci, E. & Ryan, R. (2002). Handbook of self-determination research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
  • Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (2000). The “What” and “Why” of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268.
  • Diener, E. (2009). The science of well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. New York, NY, US: Springer Science and Business Media, 37.
  • Diener, E., Emmons, R., Larsen R. & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-76.
  • Dutton, J., Roberts, L., Spreitzer, G., Heaphy, E. & R. Quinn. (2005). composing the reflected best-self-portrait: building pathways for becoming extraordinary in work organisations. Academy of Management Review, 30(4), 712-736.
  • Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.
  • Ericson, M. (2010). Towards a sensed decision-making approach. Management Decision, 48(1), 132-155.
  • Evans, S., Ferrando, S., Carr, C., & Haglin, D. (2011). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and distress in a community-based sample. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 18 (6), 553-558.
  • Fredrickson, B. (2009). Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive. New York: Crown.
  • Gardner, H. (2004). Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People’s Minds. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
  • Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind. New York: Basic Books.
  • Getz, I. (2009). Liberating Leadership: How the initiative-freeing radical organisation form has been successfully adopted. California Management Review, 51 (4), 32-58.
  • Getz, I. & Carney, B. (2009). Freedom, Inc.: Free Your Employees and Let Them Lead Your Business to Higher Productivity, Profits, and Growth. New York: Crown Business.
  • Getz, I. & Lubbart, T. (2009). Creativity and economics: Current perspectives. Book chapter in: The Routledge companion to creativity. Rickards, Tudor (Ed.); Runco, Mark A. (Ed.); Moger, Susan (Ed.); pp. 206-221. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
  • Getz, I. & Robinson, A. (2003). Innovate or Die: Is that a Fact?  Creativity & Innovation Management, 12 (3), 130-137.
  • Goldin, P. & Gross, J. (2010). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder. Emotion, 10(1), 83-91.
  • Goleman, D. & Boyatzis, R. (2008). Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership. Harvard Business Review, 86(9), 74-81.
  • Goleman, D. (1995). Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships. Random House: New York.
  • Goleman, D. (2004). Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them?: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama. New York: Random House.
  • Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. & McKee, A. (2001). Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance.  Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 42-51.
  • Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam.
  • Goleman, D. (1988). The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience. New York: Penguin Putnam.
  • Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam.
  • Hodgkinson, G., Sadler-Smith, E., Sinclair, M. & Neal, M. (2009). More than meets the eye? Intuition and analysis revisited.  Personality and Individual Differences, 47(4), 342-346.
  • Isen, A. (2009). A role for neuropsychology in understanding the facilitating influence of positive affect on social behaviour and cognitive processes. In: Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd Ed.). Lopez, Shane J. (Ed.); Snyder, C. R. (Ed...); New York, NY, US: Oxford University Press. pp. 503-518.
  • Isen, A. (2000). Positive affect and decision making. In: M. Lewis & J. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of Emotions, 2nd Ed. New York: The Guilford Press.
  • Jain, S., Shapiro, S., Swanick S., Roesch, S., Mills P., Bell, I. & Schwartz, G. (2007). A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation versus relaxation training: effects on distress, positive states of mind, rumination, and distraction. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 33(1): 11-2.
  • James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology. New York: MacMillan.
  • Kabat-Zinn, J. & Davidson, R. (2011). Mind's Own Physician: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama on the Healing Power of Meditation. New Harbringer Publications: Oakland, CA.
  • Kabat-Zinn, J., & Santorelli, S. (2002). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Professional Training - Scientific Papers from the Stress Reduction Clinic. Boston: Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society, UMMS.
  • Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. New York: Hyperion.
  • Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness. New York: Delacorte Press.
  • Kagan, J. (1998). The Meanings of Personality Predicates. American Psychologist, 43(4), 223-225.
  • Kahneman, D. & Klein, G. (2009). Conditions for intuitive expertise: A failure to disagree. American Psychology, 64(6), 515-526.
  • Kanter, R. (2004). Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End. New York: Three Rivers Press.
  • Kedia, B., & Mukherji, A. (1999). Global Managers: Developing a Mindset for Global Competitiveness. Journal of World Business, 34(3), 230-251.
  • Klein, G. (1998). Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions. MIT, US.
  • Kok, B., Waugh, C., & Fredrickson, B. (2013). Meditation and health: The search for mechanisms of action. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(1), 27-39.
  • Lagopoulos, J., Xu, J., Ramsussen, I., Vik, A., Malhi, G., Eliassen, C., Arntsen, I., Sæther, J., Jardar, G., Hollup, S., Holen, A., Davanger, S. & Ellingson, Ø. (2009). Increased theta and alpha EEG activity during nondirective meditation. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(11), 1187-1192.
  • Lahiri, S., Perez-Nordtvedt, L. & Renn, R. (2008). Will the new competitive landscape cause your firm's decline? It depends on your mindset. Business Horizons, 51(4), 311-320.
  • Langer, E. (1989). Mindfulness. Perseus: Cambridge, MA.
  • Langer, E. (2009). Mindfulness versus positive evaluation. Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed). New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Langer, E., Russell, T. & Eisenkraft, N. (2009). Orchestral performance and the footprint of mindfulness. Psychology of Music, 37(2), 125-136.
  • Langer, E., Djikic, M., Pirson, M., Madenci, A. & Donohue, R. 2010. Believing is seeing: Using Mindlessness (Mindfully) to Improve Visual Acuity. Psychological Science, 21(5), 661-666.
  • Lazar, S., Bush G., Gollub, R.L., Fricchione, G.L., Khalsa, G., & Benson, H. (2000). Functional brain mapping of the relaxation response and meditation. Neuroreport, 11(7), 1581-5.
  • Levenson, R., Ekman, P. & Ricard, M. (2012). Meditation and the startle response: A case study. Emotion, 12(3), 650-658.
  • Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-55.
  • Luders, E., Kurth, F., Mayer, E., Toga, A., Narr, K. & Gaser, C. (2012). The unique brain anatomy of meditation practitioners: alterations in cortical gyrification. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, ArtID 34.
  • Luders, E., Toga, A., Lepore, N. & Glaser, C. (2009). The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: Larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter. NeuroImage, 45(3), 672-678.
  • Lutz, A., Davidson, R., Slagter, H. & Dunne J.D. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(4), 163-169.
  • Lutz, A., Greischar, L., Rawlings, N.B., Ricard, M., & Davidson, R. (2004). Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude synchrony during mental practice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101, 16369-16373.
  • Meneely, J. & Portillo, M. (2005). The Adaptable Mind in Design: Relating Personality, Cognitive Style, and Creative Performance. Creativity Research Journal, 17(2&3), 155-166.
  • Nisbett, R. E., Peng, K., Choi, I., & Norenzayan, A. (2001). Culture and systems of thought: Holistic versus analytic cognition. Psychological Review, 108, 291-310.
  • Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. (2003).  ‘Positive Organisational Studies: Lessons from Positive Psychology’ in K.S. Cameron, J.E. Dutton, & R.E. Quinn, eds., Positive Organisational Scholarship: Foundations of a New Discipline. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
  • Plowman, E. & Kleim, J. (2010). Motor cortex reorganisation across the lifespan. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43(4), 286-294.
  • Quinn, R. (1990). Beyond Rational Management: Mastering the Paradoxes and Competing Demands of High Performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Rausch, S., Gramling, S., & Auerbach, S. (2006). Effects of a single session of large-group meditation and progressive muscle relaxation training on stress reduction, reactivity, and recovery. International Journal of Stress Management, 13(3), 273-290.
  • Rerup, Claus. (2005). learning from past experience: Footnotes on mindfulness and habitual entrepreneurship. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 21 (4), 451-472.
  • Roberts, L., Dutton, J., Spreitzer, G., Heaphy E. & Quinn, R. (2005). Composing the reflected best-self portrait: building pathways for becoming extraordinary in work organisations. Academy of Management Review, 30(4), 712-736.
  • Robinson, A. & Stern, S. (1998). Corporate Creativity: How Innovation & Improvement Actually Happen. Berrett-Koehler: San Francisco, CA.
  • Rowley, J. (2006). What do we need to know about wisdom? Management Decisions 49(9), 1246-1257.
  • Ryan, N. (2012).Willpower: Rediscovering the greatest human strength, by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(5), 446-448.
  • Ryan, R. (1995). Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. Journal of Personality 63, 397-427.
  • Sadler-Smith, E. & Sparrow, P. (2008). Intuition in Organisational Decision Making.  In The Oxford Handbook of Organisational Decision Making. Edited by Hodgkinson, G. & W. Starbuck. Oxford University Press: Oxford, U.K.
  • Sedlmeier, P., Eberth, J., Schwarz, M., Zimmermann, D., Haarig, F., Jaeger, S. & Kunze, S. (2012). The Psychological Effects of Meditation: A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 138(6), 1139-1171.
  • Seibert, S., Wang, G. & Stephen, H. (2011). Antecedents and consequences of psychological and team empowerment in organisations: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(5), 981-1003.
  • Seligman, M., Peterson, C., Park, H, & Hall, N. (2009). Zest and work. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 30(2), 161-172.
  • Siegel, D., Feuille, M., Bergemann, E., Siegel, M., & Belzer, M. (2013). Mindful awareness, spirituality, and psychotherapy; In: APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol 2): An applied psychology of religion and spirituality. Pargament, K.; Mahoney, A., & Shafranske, E. (Eds.); Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association, 207-222.
  • Shabana, A.M. (2010). Focusing on Intrapreneurship: An Employee-Centered Approach. Advances in Management, 3 (12), 32-37.
  • Shapiro, S., Brown, K., Thoresen, C. & Plante, T. (2011). The moderation of Mindfulness-based stress reduction effects by trait mindfulness: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67(3), 267-277.
  • Shapiro, S., D. Oman, C. Thoresen, T. Plante & Flinders, T. (2008). Cultivating Mindfulness: Effects on Well-being. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64(7), 840-862.
  • Sheldon, K.M. & Houser-Marko, K. (2001). Self-concordance, goal attainment, and the pursuit of happiness: Can there be an upward spiral? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(1), 152-165.
  • Sheldon, K.M. & Kasser, T. (2001). Goals, Congruence, and positive well-being. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 41, 30-50.
  • Siegel, D. (2009). Mindful Awareness, Mindsight, and Neural Integration. Humanistic Psychologist, 37(2): 137-158.
  • Slagter, H., Davidson, R., & Lutz, A. (2011). Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, (5), ArtID 17.
  • Slagter, H., Lutz, A., & Greischar, L. (2007). Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources. Public Library of Science Biology, 5(6), e138.
  • Smith, J. (1986). Meditation, biofeedback, and the relaxation controversy. A cognitive-behavioral perspective. American Psychologist, 41(9), 1007–1009.
  • Taylor, S. & Gollwitzer, P. Effects of mindset on positive illusions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(2), 213-226.
  • Torrance, E.P. (1959). Surviving Emergencies and Extreme Conditions: A Summary of Six Years of Research (Unpublished manuscript prepared for the survival training unit of the Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center). Washington, D.C.: US Air Force: 37.
  • Valient, G. (2000). Adaptive mental mechanisms: Their role in a positive psychology. American Psychologist, 55(1), 89-98.
  • van den Hurk, P., Giommi, F., Gielen, S., Speckens, A. & Barendregt, H. (2010). Greater efficiency in attentional processing related to mindfulness meditation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63(6), 1168-1180.
  • van den Hurk, P., Wingens, T., Giommi, F., Barendregt, H., Speckens, A., & van Schie, H. (2011). On the Relationship between the Practice of Mindfulness Meditation and Personality—an Exploratory Analysis of the Mediating Role of Mindfulness Skills. Mindfulness (N Y), 2(3): 194-200.
  • Wagner, R. K., & Sternberg, R. J. 1985. Practical intelligence in real-world pursuits: The role of tacit knowledge. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 436-458.
  • Williams, J. & Mark, G. (2010). Mindfulness and psychological process. Emotion, 10(1), 1-7.
  • Weick, K. E., & Putnam, T. (2006). Organizing for Mindfulness: Eastern Wisdom and Western Knowledge. Journal of Management Inquiry, 15 (3), 275-288.
  • Wilber, K., Patten, T., Leonard, A., & Morelli, M. (2008). Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening. Boston, USA: Integral Books, of Shambala Publications.
  • Zeidan, F., Johnson, S., Diamond, B., Zhanna, D., & Goolkasian, P. (2010). Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training. Consciousness and Cognition, 19(2), 597-605.
  • Zeidan, F., Kraft, K., Gordon, R., McHaffie, N., Coghill, J., & Robert C. (2011). Brain mechanisms supporting the modulation of pain by mindfulness meditation. The Journal of Neuroscience, 31(14), 5540-5548.