Presence and personality: A factoral exploration of the relationship between facets of dispositional mindfulness and personality

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the discrete facets of personality and dispositional, or trait-like, mindfulness.The study employed a factoral quantitative design and 229 participants completed two online measures, the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and the NEO-PI-R Personality Questionnaire. The latter measured the ‘Big Five’ factors of personality (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness) and their 30 associated facets. Participant data was analysed via factor analysis utilising scores across all 35 variables, that is, the five dispositional mindfulness domains plus the 30 personality facets.Analysis resulted in the emergence of a five-factor model. These five ‘new’ factors aligned closely with the ‘Big Five’ personality factors. Hence, dispositional mindfulness domains were statistically indistinct from established factors of personality. Notably, three out of the five FFMQ dispositional mindfulness domains (namely, Non-Judging of Inner Experience, Non-Reactivity to Inner Experience, and Acting with Awareness) loaded inversely on to the ‘Neuroticism’ factor. Additionally, two FFMQ domains (Acting with Awareness and Describing) loaded positively on to ‘Conscientiousness’, while one FFMQ domain (Observe) loaded positively on to ‘Openness’. These results align with previous studies conducted at factor level and deepen understanding of facet- level relationships.Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention is now utilised extensively, often within the context of a broader counselling approach. The results of this study suggest that tailoring such clinical mindfulness interventions more to the client’s particular personality and needs may maximise benefit and negate the possibility of harmful consequences. For example, accentuating self-compassion, perhaps by setting the work in the context of a richer compassion-based approach, could be beneficial for a deeply self-critical client scoring highly on Neuroticism.