engleski

Mindfulness and Memory Sensitivity: Opposite sides of the same coin?

Mindfulness is a state of active and open attention on the present moment. It is an intentional and self-regulated focusing of attention, whose purpose is to relax and calm the mind and body. Studies using the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ ; Baer et al., 2006) , distinguish among five facets of mindfulness (observe, acting with awareness, describe, non-judgment and non-reactivity. Men tend to score higher on the non-reactivity facet of the FFMQ, while women score higher on observe. Memory sensitivity, on the other hand, is described as a behavior dedicated to saving memories of one's life - people who often reminisce are those with higher memory sensitivity. This behavior is more strongly pronounced in women. Although contrary in definition both, mindfulness and memory sensitivity, have been found to contribute to one's satisfaction with life (SWL). We hypothesized that this contribution is of differential strength as a function of age ; while satisfaction with life of young people is better predicted by their mindfulness, in elderly satisfaction with life will be more the result of higher memory sensitivity. More specifically, we hypothesized that sensitivity to one's own memory might, in the old age, serve as a mechanism similar to mindfulness and its relation to SWL earlier in life. Furthermore, since rumination (and reflection) could change the beneficial influence of reminiscing the past and fully attending to experiences in present moment we examined potential influence of rumination as a moderator variable in predicted relations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential predictors of satisfaction with life in people of different age. A sample of N=480 participants (50% female) consisted of two subsamples of equal size: young (average age 22) and old (average age 65). The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Memory Sensitivity Questionnaire (MS ; Cornoldi et al., 2007) and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS ; Pavot & Diener, 1993) were used. Additionally, Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ ; Trapnell & Campbell, 1999) was also employed. Controlling for gender differences, the results show a differential influence of mindfulness vs. memory sensitivity as a function of age. These findings are discussed within the metacognitive view upon aging processes.

mindfulness; satisfaction with life; memory sensitivity

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