Implicitly Activating Mindfulness: Does Trait Self-Control Moderate Its Effect on Aggressive Behaviour?

Implicitly Activating Mindfulness: Does Trait Self-Control Moderate Its Effect on Aggressive Behaviour? | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Implicitly Activating Mindfulness: Does Trait Self-Control Moderate Its Effect on Aggressive Behaviour? Rémi Thériault, Stéphane Dandeneau This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3161372/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 16 Nov, 2023 Read the published version in Mindfulness → Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Objectives. Previous research shows that a novel experimental paradigm consisting of implicitly activating (“priming”) concepts associated with mindfulness through a scrambled sentence task yields positive social effects on cognition and affect. Yet, its effects on social behaviour warrant further investigation. As several studies link mindfulness to lower aggression, the latter represents a promising candidate to investigate within the current paradigm. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that personality traits—such as trait mindfulness—moderate the effect of the mindfulness prime, highlighting the importance of identifying potential moderators. Methods. In a first hypothesis-generating (exploratory, non-preregistered) study, we investigated which of several personality variables most meaningfully related to the priming mindfulness procedure. Results. Self-control emerged as the only meaningful moderator. Accordingly, we specifically tested the interaction between self-control and the mindfulness priming procedure in two additional hypothesis-testing (confirmatory, preregistered) studies using larger samples. The results from the first study did not replicate: the critical interaction of interest was not significant in both studies. Conclusions. We discuss the implications of these conflicting results and highlight the importance of preregistered replication studies in mindfulness research. Preregistration. The last two studies were preregistered on the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/582wx/?view_only=147b4bcee2de46f8aea34258d5e08122 and https://osf.io/w46r9/?view_only=b71b93ac96814967af034fb1fb6fda7f ). Psychology implicit mindfulness aggression self-control priming open science Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 16 Nov, 2023 Read the published version in Mindfulness → Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3161372","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":218029374,"identity":"6b4319fb-8241-4949-94c3-7641d668eb00","order_by":0,"name":"Rémi Thériault","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4315-6788","institution":"Université du Québec à Montréal","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rémi","middleName":"","lastName":"Thériault","suffix":""},{"id":218029375,"identity":"0ad5918d-983d-4066-83fd-0873a10f1b5b","order_by":1,"name":"Stéphane Dandeneau","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3466-8079","institution":"Memorial University of Newfoundland","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Stéphane","middleName":"","lastName":"Dandeneau","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-07-11 18:57:06","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":true,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":true,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"coiExplicitlySet":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3161372/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3161372/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02246-w","type":"published","date":"2023-11-17T00:00:00+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":48274464,"identity":"88c2ff36-515d-4ed7-9eb9-098f810a37a5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-12-15 13:13:13","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":513058,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ThriaultDandeneau20230927PREPRINT.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3161372/v2_covered_68558078-2d2f-4edf-b755-87eef9214659.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eImplicitly Activating Mindfulness: Does Trait Self-Control Moderate Its Effect on Aggressive Behaviour?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"Université du Québec à Montréal","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"implicit mindfulness, aggression, self-control, priming, open science","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3161372/v2","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3161372/v2","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObjectives.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrevious research shows that a novel experimental paradigm consisting of implicitly activating (“priming”) concepts associated with mindfulness through a scrambled sentence task yields positive social effects on cognition and affect. Yet, its effects on \u003cem\u003esocial\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003ebehaviour\u003c/em\u003e warrant further investigation. As several studies link mindfulness to lower aggression, the latter represents a promising candidate to investigate within the current paradigm. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that personality traits—such as trait mindfulness—moderate the effect of the mindfulness prime, highlighting the importance of identifying potential moderators.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods.\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a first hypothesis-generating (exploratory, non-preregistered) study, we investigated which of several personality variables most meaningfully related to the priming mindfulness procedure.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults.\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSelf-control emerged as the only meaningful moderator. Accordingly, we specifically tested the interaction between self-control and the mindfulness priming procedure in two additional hypothesis-testing (confirmatory, preregistered) studies using larger samples. The results from the first study did not replicate: the critical interaction of interest was not significant in both studies.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions.\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe discuss the implications of these conflicting results and highlight the importance of preregistered replication studies in mindfulness research.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePreregistration.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe last two studies\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003ewere preregistered on the Open Science Framework (\u003ca href=\"https://osf.io/582wx/?view_only=147b4bcee2de46f8aea34258d5e08122\"\u003ehttps://osf.io/582wx/?view_only=147b4bcee2de46f8aea34258d5e08122\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://osf.io/w46r9/?view_only=b71b93ac96814967af034fb1fb6fda7f\"\u003ehttps://osf.io/w46r9/?view_only=b71b93ac96814967af034fb1fb6fda7f\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Implicitly Activating Mindfulness: Does Trait Self-Control Moderate Its Effect on Aggressive Behaviour?","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":2,"date":"2023-10-04 16:30:13","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3161372/v2","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}},{"code":1,"date":"2023-07-12 14:35:21","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3161372/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"fba106c5-c22c-499c-8b1e-d083787550a5","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 4th, 2023","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":23201387,"name":"Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2023-12-15T13:12:57+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-3161372","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02246-w","journal":{"identity":"mindfulness","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Mindfulness"},"publishedOn":"2023-11-17 00:00:00","publishedOnDateReadable":"November 17th, 2023"},"versionCreatedAt":"2023-10-04 16:30:13","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s12671-023-02246-w","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02246-w","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v2","identity":"rs-3161372","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3161372","identity":"rs-3161372","version":["v2"]},"buildId":"J0_U0BvcaRcwD8yVFaRlm","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}