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Exploring the Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Application of Relational Mindfulness

Individuals vary in the level of their mental presence during interactions; some individuals are mentally present with others, while others are mired in their thoughts and emotions. Scholarly work on this area is limited, and we know very little about why some individuals display mental presence better than others. In this dissertation, I explore the concept through a series of three essays. In the first essay, I define relational mindfulness as the ability to be mentally present with others. Further, I propose that relational mindfulness has three essential features: others' focus, thought-switching, and emotional acceptance. I operationalize the scale to measure relational mindfulness and investigate its nomological network by correlating it with different constructs. Data from four different samples provide support for the three-factor structure of relational mindfulness and provide support for the relationship of relational mindfulness with related constructs. In the second essay, I explore the relevance of relational mindfulness for front-line employees by investigating the two pathways through which relational mindfulness can reduce fatigue of front-line employees. In the first pathway, I posited that relational mindfulness would decrease the intensity of surface acting of employees when their customers mistreat them, and thus reduce fatigue of employees. In the second pathway, I posited that relational mindfulness would increase the frequency of positive interactions between employees and customers, and thereby decrease fatigue experienced by employees. I tested the model by conducting two different studies. Overall, the results provided support for the posited hypotheses. In the third essay, I tested whether relational mindfulness can be enhanced through a mindfulness meditation by conducting a quasi-experimental study. Two groups; experimental and comparison groups participated in the pre-test, post-test surveys, and weekly surveys during the experiment. The results suggested that participants in both groups increased their relational mindfulness over time and there was no evidence that individuals in the mindfulness group differed from the comparison group.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1404554
Date12 1900
CreatorsSigdyal, Pratigya
ContributorsDavis, Mark A., Cooper, Danielle, Pavur, Robert
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatviii, 168 pages, Text
RightsPublic, Sigdyal, Pratigya, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

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