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Enabling a Socio-cognitive Perspective of Mindfulness: The Development and Validation of the Langer Mindfulness Scale

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Abstract

This article outlines the development of a 14-item measure of socio-cognitive mindfulness. Using eight samples (including multisource and multi-wave data) with a total of 4139 responses the authors developed a reliable scale with a tri-dimensional factor structure that replicated across five separate samples. The scale possessed both convergent and discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity was demonstrated through the scale’s relation with development-related categories of psychological well-being, such as life satisfaction and humor, dimensions of physical well-being, e.g., strength, flexibility, and reaction time, as well as aspects of social and organizational well-being including job satisfaction, creativity. Overall, the present study suggests that the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS14) is a reliable and valid measure and that the LMS has important implications for individual development within social contexts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Michael A. Pirson

  2. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Michael A. Pirson & Ellen Langer

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Sigal Zilcha

Authors
  1. Michael A. Pirson
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  2. Ellen Langer
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  3. Sigal Zilcha
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ellen Langer.

Appendix [LMS 21 with LMS14 Information in ()]

Appendix [LMS 21 with LMS14 Information in ()]

  1. 1.

    I like to investigate things. (1/NS)

  2. 2.

    I generate few novel ideas. (2/NP)

  3. 3.

    I am always open to new ways of doing things.

  4. 4.

    I “get involved” in almost everything I do.

  5. 5.

    I do not actively seek to learn new things.

  6. 6.

    I make many novel contributions. (3/NP)

  7. 7.

    I stay with the old tried and true ways of doing things.

  8. 8.

    I seldom notice what other people are up to. (4/E)

  9. 9.

    I avoid thought-provoking conversations. (5/E)

  10. 10.

    I am very creative. (6/NP)

  11. 11.

    I can behave in many different ways for a given situation.

  12. 12.

    I attend to the “big picture.”

  13. 13.

    I am very curious. (7/NS)

  14. 14.

    I try to think of new ways of doing things. (8/NS)

  15. 15.

    I am rarely aware of changes. (9/E)

  16. 16.

    I have an open-mind about everything, even things that challenge my core beliefs.

  17. 17.

    I like to be challenged intellectually. (10/NS)

  18. 18.

    I find it easy to create new and effective ideas. (11/NP)

  19. 19.

    I am rarely alert to new developments. (12/E)

  20. 20.

    I like to figure out how things work. (13/NS)

  21. 21.

    I am not an original thinker. (14/NP)

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Pirson, M.A., Langer, E. & Zilcha, S. Enabling a Socio-cognitive Perspective of Mindfulness: The Development and Validation of the Langer Mindfulness Scale. J Adult Dev 25, 168–185 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-018-9282-4

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