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Mindful Experiential Learning
by
Bauback Yeganeh
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Advisor: Dr. David A. Kolb
Department of Organizational Behavior
CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
December, 2006
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CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of
Bauback Yeganeh
candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree *.
(signed) David A. Kolb(chair of the committee)
Ronald E. Fry
Eric H. Neilsen
James E. Zull
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
(date) 10/31/06
*We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary
material contained therein.
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Copyright © by Bauback Yeganeh
All rights reserved
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Dedicated with love to my maternal Grandmother Fasiheh Manoochehri,
who taught me that peace and unconditional love are the wisest life values.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………..…………..xi
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………..xii
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………….xiii
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………..xxiiIntroduction……………………………………………………………………………............1
1. Experiential Learning and Mindfulness..…………………………………………...............4
1.1 Research Focus………………………….……………………………………....................4
1.2 Research Objective………………………………………………………………….……..7
2. Mindfulness ………………………………………………………………...........................8
2.1 Meditative Mindfulness…………………………………………………………...............8
2.2 Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale………………………………………………...12
2.3. Social Psychological Mindfulness……………………………………………................17
2.4 Langer Mindfulness Scale…………………………………………………………..........21
2.5 Convergence and Divergence of Mindfulness Theories………………………..…..........23
2.6 A Definition of Mindfulness for Organizations……………………………….…………26
2.7 Hypothesized Points of Convergence on the LMS & MAAS……………………………293. Mindful Experiential Learning…...……………………………………………….……….31
3.1 Mindful Learning…………………………..………………………………….…............31
3.2 Experiential Learning Theory ……………………………………………….……..........33
3.3 Kolb Learning Style Inventory ……….………...………………………………..............39
3.4 Adaptive Style Inventory.………………………………………………..………............41
3.5 Mindful Experiential Learning…………………………………………………...............43
3.6 Hypothesized Relationship Between Mindfulness and Experiential Learning……….….47
4. Research Method………………………………………………………………..…...….....50
4.1 Research Questions and Hypotheses…..……………………………………...…….........50
4.2 Procedures……..……………………….………………………………………...............50
4.3 Demographics………………………..…...……………………………………………...51
4.4 Assessment Instruments…………………………………………………………….........52
5. Mindfulness Results…………………………………………………………….................57
5.1 Testing Hypotheses……………………………………………………………………....57
5.2 Langer Mindfulness Scale – Internal Consistency………………………………….........57
5.3 LMS and MAAS Dissertation Results……………………………………………...........60
5.4 LMS and MAAS Factor Analysis………………………………………………………..62
6. Mindfulness and Experiential Learning Results…………………………………….….....68
6.1 Testing Hypotheses……………………………………………………………………....68
6.2 Additional Findings……………………………………………………………………....70
6.3 Retesting for Gender Differences…………………………………………………...........71
7 Discussion & Conclusion.…………………………………………………………………74
7.1 Mindfulness and Experiential Learning……………………………………………….....807.2 Study Limitations and Future Research Implications…………………………………....91
7.3 A Revised Mindfulness Definition………………………………………………….........93
7.4 A Revised Experiential Learning Definition………………………………………..........94
Appendix………………………………………………………………………………..........95
References………………………………………………………………………….….........104
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List of Tables
Table 1: Brown & Ryan (2003) MAAS Means, Standard Deviations, Factor
Loadings, and Item-Total Correlations
Table 2: Learning Flexibility Descriptive Statistics
Table 3: LMS and MAAS Descriptive Statistics
Table 4: LSI Variable Descriptive Statistics
Table 5: Correlations between EM7 items and the LMS Score Averaged over
Five Studies (Bodner, 2000)
Table 6: LMS Factor Analysis Pattern Matrix
Table 7: LMS Factor Correlation Matrix
Table 8: Mindfulness Pattern Matrix
Table 9: Mindfulness Factor Correlation Matrix
Table 10: LMS/MAAS Correlations
Table 11: Mindfulness as a Metacognitive Process
Table 12: Mindful Experiential Learning and a Sensory/Contextual Process
Table 13: LMS, MAAS, LSI Correlations Male
Table 14: LMS, MAAS, LSI Correlations Female
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List of Figures
Figure 1: Mindfulness Convergence Chart
Figure 2: Brain Functioning and ELT (Zull, 2002)
Figure 3: Mindfulness Convergence Chart Revisited
Figure 4: Revised Mindfulness Convergence Chart
Figure 5: Brain Functioning and ELT (Zull, 2002) Revisited
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The past four years have been rich with transition. As is the nature of transition,
especially when focused on a transformational program that so heavily impacts one’s
identity, I’ve had experiences that I’ve categorized with many labels; ranging from words
like “exhilaration” to “frustration”. However throughout my experiences in the Case
Western Reserve University Organizational Behavior Ph.D. program I was always sure I
was in the “right” place for me at the time. I feel truly fortunate to have been able to learn
in a variety of ways throughout the duration of my program. One of the things I have
learned most about is the power of relationships. My life has been exceptional over the
past several years because of the people who I have had the pleasure of calling friends,
mentors, colleagues, and family members. There are many people to thank and I would
like to take a moment to at least briefly acknowledge them.
Given that this is a dissertation, I will mention faculty first, followed by family
and friends. I first thank my dissertation advisor Professor David Kolb. His patience,
kindness, thoroughness, dedication of time, and sharp intelligence has been a gift. I have
always felt unconditional positive regard between us and his authenticity has been
precious not just through the dissertation process, but throughout my time as a Doctoral
student in the OB department. To build on Dave’s seminal work on Experiential
Learning Theory has been an honor and I will use mindful experiential learning as a
model to aspire to in life. I thank him for taking me on as his pupil and working with him
has been a perfect closing chapter to my Ph.D. experience.
I am also grateful to my dissertation committee members. To Professor Ron Fry
for signing on as my advisor when I first came to Case, serving graciously as my
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qualifying research advisor/chair, and being in my corner ever since. Our work in
Thailand will never be forgotten and watching Appreciative Inquiry in action from a
master facilitator helped my growth tremendously. To dissertation committee member
Professor Eric Neilson, for a rigorous dedication to the field of Organizational Behavior
that transcends trends and popularity, and for offering helpful perspectives that I had not
considered. Thanks to dissertation committee member Professor Jim Zull, for sharing his
brilliance with me. Jim’s extensive knowledge of brain research contributed to a unique
Ph.D. experience and cannot go unnoticed.
I am very grateful to Professor David Cooperrider for connecting me to a world of
people interested in generative discourse, allowing me to dive head first into our Brazil
work, and for bringing me on board with the United Nations Global Compact Leaders
Summit. He mentored me into practicing Appreciative Inquiry rigorously, mindfully
even, and now I can distinguish high quality AI to my students and workshop
participants. As it is an honor to learn appreciative inquiry from David, it is equally an
honor to learn Emotional Intelligence from Professor Richard Boyatzis. I thank Richard
for always inviting me into learning conversations inside and out of class. Despite how
in demand his time is, he truly maintains an ethic of being available to students who want
to learn. I cannot thank Richard enough for supporting my personal and professional
development.
This next person is special indeed and his tutelage played a central role in the
completion of this thesis. Thank you to IS Ph.D. Candidate and friend Danail Ivanov for
being supremely generous with his time. I can’t think of another friend who would sit
with me through data pooling, factor analyses and correlations, all with the energy and
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fascination of an a young superstar waiting to burst on the scene. I am forever grateful
and hope I can return the favor someday. Thank you to Teresa Kabat for working so hard
with me on the online survey at no charge. She went above and beyond her job to help
me.
I would like to make a special remark about our Organizational Behavior
Department Manager, Patricia Petty. Pat’s unparalleled kindness and management skills
are both admirable and touching. Whenever I felt cold and alone, a conversation with Pat
would shift my mindset and I cannot thank her enough for that. I have been consistently
baffled at how she manages to create a perceived seamless environment out of
turbulence.
Thank you to Professor Melvin Smith for always being in my corner. Despite his
intense workload and dedication, he always made time for me to have supportive
conversations. In a Ph.D. program, faculty like Melvin provide the kind of emotional
support that can make or break a student’s experience.
Thank you to other faculty: Professors Diana Billamoria, Sandy Piderit, Poppy
McLeod, and Suresh Srivastva. I have had the good fortune of working with these
Professors either as a student, a co-selection committee team member for incoming
students, or both and it has added to the richness of my experience here.
Thank you to Dr. Ilma Barros for some amazing learning opportunities in Brasil
and for a genuine friendship. Over the last four years I have also had the great fortune of
gaining wonderful Brasilian friends and colleagues in Enrique Santos, Vinicius and
Monica Gasparetto, and the whole BAWB Brasil team. In addition I am grateful to FIEP
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President Rodrigo Loures for his dedication to social change and the opportunities he has
provided to apply what I have been learning about change and learning in Brasil.
I would also like to thank Dr. Peter Senge for providing me with opportunities to
learn with him through the Society for Organizational Learning, namely on what was at
the time called the Intelligent Materials Pooling project. A high point moment for me was
our trip to Harley Davidson’s corporate university in Milwaukee where various private
sector leaders worked as part of a learning community that focused on environmentally
healthy business practices. It was great to watch Peter in action and there were all sorts
of rich learning opportunities throughout.
When it comes to family there is an easy first on my list. She represents an eternal
archetype of love in my life, my late maternal Grandmother Fassi Manoochehri. Though
I miss her dearly, I am very thankful to have had someone like her in my life to show me
what flourishing relationships feel like. It is truly a gift to understand the limitations of
the word “love”, where abstract labels no longer adequately represent the complexity of
what one feels for another. Such was the case between us. If in my life I can display a
small fraction of the loving acts that my Grandmother did in hers, I will consider myself
successful.
Next my thanks and love go to my maternal Grandmother’s immediate family, my
Great-Uncle Reza the wise and deep teacher, Great-Aunt Mahin-Joon the artist, and
loving caregiver, and Great-Aunt Aghdas Joon the sweet and dear angel. Man shoma rah
khaili dooset daram (I love you all very much). Next, although I never met my maternal
Grandfather before he passed, I am told that some of his traits have passed on to me (both
the “good” and the “bad”) and I feel gratitude towards him.
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Special thanks and love to June Caldwell, a pioneer in social justice and
Organization Development consulting. June is to me as Godmothers are to theists
(clearly words do not explain everything clearly). She has been there for me since
toddler-hood and I am happy that I can continue to build on a field she helped start. As a
child I would listen in on intense conversations between June and my mom and from that
early socialization into learning conversations, critical predispositions were formed that
have since influenced many of the events culminating into this dissertation.
To the next generation: I thank my Mother, Shala Alavi for raising me and always
being there during times of need. Of course thanking my primary caregiver in a
Microsoft word file doesn’t do her justice because my life would be so different had she
not been a part of it. I hope to honor the work she did to open the initial doors of
opportunity for me. Also, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank my
Mom for all those stocking stuffers every Christmas (we used these 4 foot giant stockings
with our names on them). Thanks to my Uncle Siam for always being both a mentor and
one of the closest family members I have. When I think of him I think of sound life
advice and I also try to keep in mind what he teaches me about not taking life too
seriously/how illusory life can be. As long as he is willing to teach, I will be there to
soak in the lessons. Thank you to my Uncle Shayan and Uncle Sharam for their love,
support, and for being ever so interesting.
Immense thanks to Dr. Robin Yeganeh, talented clinical psychologist,
mindfulness therapy practitioner, and my twin brother, for helping with conversations,
revisions and being my best friend. His rigorous research and writing skills and sharp
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eye helped the organization of my thesis tremendously. Regarding the topic, we have the
rest of our lives to try to master this stuff!
Next, in my experience at the American University, Masters of Science in
Organization Development program I found two mentors who changed my life. First I
must address one of the busiest and most talented people I know, Dr. Lennox Joseph.
Though I may not be the wide-eyed Masters student who first met him, I will always seek
his wise and exceptional mentorship. I am forever grateful to him for taking me under his
wing and teaching me the consulting ropes. I also thank Dr. Bob Marshak, who modeled
how to be powerful on the outside of the system, leverage intellect, have voice, publish
papers, and use it all for change. He has always kept time for me in his hectic schedule
and I will forever appreciate this.
I would like to express gratitude to University of Maryland
Industrial/Organizational Psychology Professor and brilliant researcher, Dr. Michele
Gelfand for always supporting me and having my best interests in mind. As a young
undergraduate student research assistant, her support enabled me to embrace a field of
study and relate it to a warm smiling face. These kinds of enablers are the ones that
gently guide us during life’s bifurcation points. I also thank University of Maryland
Industrial/Organizational Psychology Professor and GLOBE studies co-author Dr. Paul
Hanges for his consistent kindness and support during my undergrad research experience.
Also during my undergraduate experience I met my first mentor in organization
development, accomplished principal consultant, Michael Roblee. Michael guided me
with his expertise and has always been inviting, supportive, and affirming in my life. I
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thank him for the life-long supportive dialogue he offers me and I look forward to
engaging with him as our paths continue to cross.
Eternal thanks to Dr. Bill Hale the healer. Bill has helped me learn about
transition, continuous change, letting go of illusion, the default patterns ingrained in our
minds, and how to change them. Learning from Bill may well have been the most life-
changing thing I have done during this journey in Cleveland and I am confident it is
where my most important and life-impacting growth has occurred.
I thank Dr. Jacquie McLemore and Jay Brinegar for being the best principal
consultants a guy could ever ask for. I experientially learn from them continuously as
they teach me how to grow both professionally and personally. It has been a pleasure
having them in my life and I look forward to our continued work together. I also thank
my colleague Rose Jonovich and her husband Greg for their unlimited generosity and
hospitality, and Liz Hutton for being such a great co-worker and friend.
To continue on the topic of colleagues whom I also consider friends, I would like
to mention my appreciation for OB Doctoral Candidate, colleague, and close friend
Darren Good for being a trusted partner in thinking, writing, and personal development. I
will remember our time spent together as one of the high points of my Ph.D. experience.
Our mindfulness qualifying (pre-dissertation) research together provided a rich
foundation that sparked much of my dissertation. Thanks to Darren’s wife Rachel for
creating such great environments to learn, have fun, and play with adorable baby Gracie
in.
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Thank you to OB Doctoral Candidate Ante Glavas for a deep friendship that will
last a lifetime. We have come very far since our synchronistic workshop meeting years
ago. I look forward to visiting Ante and Sandra – especially on the Croatian coast.
I appreciate OB Doctoral Candidate Claudy Jules for being a friend and my “OD
confidant”. Thanks to Jules for suggestions with my data gathering process and I hope
we continue to teach and learn together.
Good luck and best wishes to Ph.D. student colleagues Uri Gal, Meredith Myers,
Simy Joy, Ellen Van Oosten, Linda Ghazal, Lindsey Godwin, Duncan Coombe, Linda
Robson, Tim Ewing, Nurette Brenner and Allison Gunderson. In addition, I wish
happiness to all the other current organizational behavior doctoral students as well as
those to come!
Last but certainly not least, I would like to mention my “non-OB friends”.
Thanks to my best friend, Andrei McQuillan, for showing unconditional love since 1st
grade (except when you hit me with that wooden mixing spoon when I was 12, which I
still feel the psychological sting from) and being like our third twin (I guess his little
sister Lisa is alright too). Thank you to Dr. Omid Kiarash for being like family here in
Cleveland. Our meeting and subsequent friendship is a prime example of synchronicity in
the universe. I will always miss having a brother and one of my best friends just down
the hall from me. And most importantly, I thank Omid for providing me with a reason to
frequent Montreal in the years to come. Thank you to my cousin and one of my closest
friends Reza Zhargamee, Esquire who continues to impress us all. Deep thanks to
another one of my best friends Viq Hussain (you are one of the strongest people I know)
who I have enjoyed a growing friendship with over the last decade. Thank you to my
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younger cousins Fardaud and Farshin Yeganeh for allowing me to try my hand at
mentoring.
Finally, as this is a piece of work that reflects my values, I would like to express my
sorrow for all victims of organized violence across the world. Unfortunately in practice,
murder is only a relatively illegal crime. I refuse to contextualize and rationalize the
world’s differences to the degree that ruthless destruction of people makes sense. Doing
so is the ultimate mark of intellectual laziness. In mindlessness, one of the problems with
relying too heavily on preconceived categories is that we become less engaged in the
world around us and some would argue less human. If we try to 1) open our minds by
mindfully attending to the interconnectedness of life and 2) resist reifying socially
constructed labels that we identify with, perhaps the world will begin to heal. In his
book, The Coming Crisis of Western Sociology, Gouldner (1970) writes:
“I think it is in the essential nature of background assumptions that they are not
originally adopted for instrumental reasons, the way, for example, one might select a
statistical test of significance or pick a screwdriver out of a tool kit. In short, they are
not selected with a calculated view to their utility. This is so because they are often
internalized in us long before the intellectual age of consent. They are affectively-
laden cognitive tools that are developed early in the course of our socialization into a
particular culture and are built deeply into our character structure.” (p. 32)
So long as people refuse to transcend ego-based claims, selective memory of past events
and over identification with a cause, they will have sustained cognitive filters to
rationalize war with. This goes for anyone and everyone, regardless of which "side" you
are on.
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Mindful Experiential Learning
Abstract
By
Bauback Yeganeh
Although there is substantial research on mindfulness and experiential learning there has
been no effort to study how the two constructs relate to one another. This study explores
the relationship between mindfulness and experiential learning to develop a construct
called mindful experiential learning. It details two types of mindfulness research streams
and administers the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Langer
Mindfulness Scale (LMS) to measure the two approaches respectively as they relate to
experiential learning measured by the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI) and
adaptability of learning style as measured by Adaptive Styles Inventory (ASI). An
integration of the two mindfulness streams was hypothesized to load into three factors
and resulted in four factors of novelty seeking, novelty producing, engaging, and
attention/awareness. An integrated definition of mindfulness is proposed and a scale is
suggested. As it relates to experiential learning, the thesis aimed to clarify whether or not
mindful experiential learning is a metacognitive or sensory/contextual process. Data
revealed positive correlations between mindfulness as measured by the LMS and
concrete experience on the LSI and negative correlations between the LMS and reflective
observation on the LSI. There were no significant relationships found between learning
styles and mindfulness as measured by the MAAS, and no relationships found between
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the ASI and either mindfulness scale. The data suggests that a mindful experiential
learning is a sensory/contextual process. Mindful experiential learning involves the
concrete experience of knowledge acquisition in order to seek and produce novelty that
allows one to learn in a way that best fits the context of the learning environment. From
this starting point, the learner may navigate a range of experiential learning styles to
improvise with the demands of the environment. Mindful experiential learning is
proposed as an engaged process of seeking and producing novel learning opportunities
while being attentive and aware of momentary concrete experience.
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MINDFUL EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
“You must take care not to make mistakes. But when they happen, learn from them. Use your
mistakes as a springboard into new areas of discovery; accidents can hold the key to innovation.
When things fall apart, make art. Carry this spirit through to every area of your life. ”
– Philip Toshio Sudo, Zen Guitar
Introduction
In Mindful Learning (1997), Ellen Langer uses her theory of mindfulness (Langer, 1989)
to examine seven myths that surround traditional educational ideas about learning. Similarly,
experiential learning theory (ELT) (Kolb, 1984, Kolb and Kolb, 2005) has offered a critique of
traditional learning theories, based on the central role that ELT gives to immediate direct
experiencing in the learning process. For decades, learners have developed themselves by
understanding the strengths and limitations of their learning styles and how to increase their
experiential learning skills. When learners are rigid, on autopilot, with predetermined rules that
limit their approach to learning across various contexts, they are acting mindlessly (Langer,
1977).
This thesis explores two contrasting ideas about the relationship between experiential
learning and mindfulness, the metacognitive view and the sensory contextual view. The first idea
is that mindful experiential learning is a metacognitive ability in which learners are aware of
their learning style and flexible with it depending on the learning situation they are in. Here
learners are able to create new cognitive categories by being aware of how they are thinking
during learning. The sensory/contextual idea is that mindful experiential learning is related to the
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senses and immediate experience. Along this line of thought, direct sensing of the immediate
learning context is of primary importance.
This dissertation seeks to understand and define mindfulness and the relationship
between mindfulness and experiential learning to further learning research and organizational
practices. It explores the relationship between mindfulness and experiential learning and
introduces the concept of mindful experiential learning, using the Langer Mindfulness scale
(LMS) (Bodner, 2000) and the Brown and Ryan (2003) Mindful Attention /Awareness Scale
(MAAS) to collect mindfulness data, and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (KLSI) (Kayes,
2000; Kolb & Kolb, 2005; Kolb, 2005) and a new short form of the Adaptive Style Inventory
(ASI) (Boyatzis & Kolb, 1999a, 1999b, 1999c) to collect data on individual differences in
experiential learning style. 314 participants submitted data on mindfulness scales and 276
participants submitted data on both mindfulness and learning scales. The three research
questions of this thesis are:
1) What are the common factors among meditative and social psychological forms of
mindfulness that will inform an integrated definition of mindfulness?
2) Is mindful experiential learning a metacognitive process?
3) Is mindful experiential learning a sensory/contextual process?
A factor analysis of the combined LMS and MAAS scales was predicted to yield three
common factors,--present centered awareness, cognitive flexibility, and purposefulness. While
these were not found, three significantly correlated mindfulness factors between the LMS and
MAAS were awareness, novelty, and engagement. Findings suggest that attention/awareness as
measured by the MAAS may be a fourth factor to be added to the novelty producing, novelty
seeking, and engagement LMS factors, in place of an LMS flexibility factor which did not load
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cleanly as a separate factor. It was predicted that mindfulness as assessed by the MAAS would
be positively related to LSI Concrete Experience and that mindfulness as assessed by the LMS
and the MAAS would be positively related to learning styles that balance Concrete Experience
and Abstract conceptualization. While these hypotheses were rejected, it was found that concrete
experience significantly relates to three factors on the LMS, novelty producing, novelty seeking,
and engagement, and no relationship was found between learning style and mindfulness on the
MAAS. The findings indicate that engaging concrete experience creates a doorway to mindful
experiential learning through novelty seeking and novelty production, which enables a learner to
create new categories to suit the learning context of a specific learning situation.
The remainder of this dissertation is organized into seven chapters. Chapter 1 is an
introduction of experiential learning theory and mindfulness theories. Chapter 2 presents a
systematic literature review of the two main streams of secular mindfulness research resulting in
an analysis of similarities, differences, and a synthesized definition of mindfulness and discusses
the two mindfulness measures being used. Chapter 3 develops the concept of mindful
experiential learning, grounds the reader in experiential learning literature, and discusses
experiential learning style and adaptive style inventory measures. Chapter 4 describes the
research questions, methods, and hypotheses. Chapter 5 consists of results of the mindfulness
data analysis. Chapter 6 reports results of the mindfulness and experiential learning data analysis.
Chapter 7 concludes the thesis with a discussion of findings and an elaboration on a theory of
mindful experiential learning.
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Chapter 1 – Experiential Learning and Mindfulness
1.1 Research Focus
Experiential Learning Theory
Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) builds on the work of learning and development
theorists such as John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, Jean Piaget, William James, Carl Jung, Paulo Freire,
Carl Rogers and others (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). All of these prominent 20th century scholars
shared in a belief that experience is central to learning and thus their work naturally provided a
foundational structure upon which Kolb (1984) has contributed ELT to the scholar/practitioner
world. ELT is both a holistic model of the experiential learning process and a multilinear model
of adult development (Kolb & Kolb, 2005; Kolb, 1984). The theory provides a framework for
understanding both the cyclical nature of experiential learning and individual learning
tendencies, the latter being referred to as learning style. Kolb (1984) clearly conceptualizes
learning styles as dynamic states resulting from a learner’s preference to resolve dual dialectics
of experiencing/conceptualizing and acting/reflecting. These four learning modes anchor the
cycle of experiential learning. When learners touch on all four learning modes, they are
experiencing the full cycle of learning and are more likely to be responsive to contextual
demands. ELT suggests that learning is a complex and adaptive process integrating a range of
mental processes.
ELT is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of
experience (Kolb, 1984, p.41). Six characteristics of experiential learning are that it: a) is a
process, not an outcome, b) derives from experience, c) requires an individual to resolve
dialectically opposed modes of adaptation, d) is a holistic integrative process, e) requires the
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interplay between a person and the environment, and f) results in knowledge creation (Kolb,
1984; Kayes, 2001; Kayes, 2002). Heavily influenced by the humanistic psychology movement
(Kolb, 1984), ELT has since been updated through an understanding of the biology of the brain
(Zull, 2002). Furthermore, 1004 entries in the 1999 ELT bibliography demonstrate the vast
multidisciplinary range of ELT’s integration into research, with 207 studies in management, 430
in education, 104 in information science, 101 in psychology, 72 in medicine, 63 in nursing, 22 in
accounting and 5 in law (Kolb, Boyatzis, and Mainemelis, 2001). In addition, organization
development scholar/practitioner oriented organizations such as National Training Laboratories
(NTL) have used experiential learning theory as the backdrop for their research, training, and
consultation practices. The concept of learning through experiencing is a fundamental part of
almost any organization development training and/or academic program.
This thesis explores the process of experiential learning theory by understanding its
relationship to mindfulness. In so doing, it aims to illuminate more about the process of
experiential learning. ELT will be explored further in Chapter 3.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness theories have grown increasingly popular in the social sciences.
Researchers in social psychology have found benefits in a range of areas including increased
creativity and decreased burnout in the workplace (Langer et al., 1988), increased productivity in
the workplace (Park, 1990), increased attention (Langer & Bodner, 1995), greater liking of a task
(Langer et al., in press), and a host of effective learning methods (Langer, 1997; Langer et al,
1989; Langer & Piper, 1987). Additionally, in the field of psychology, behavior therapy,
referring to the entire range of behavioral and cognitive therapies (Hayes et al., 2004), is
experiencing a shift toward therapies inspired by mindfulness, such as dialectical behavior
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therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction (which will be discussed later), mindfulness based
cognitive therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy (Germer, 2005). Furthermore,
mindfulness has been studied in medical settings as an intervention to improve on a range of
issues including pain, mood disturbance, functional impairment and overall psychiatric
symptomatology (Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth & Burney,1985), anxiety (Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992;
Miller, Fletcher, Kabat-Zinn, 1995), fibromyalgia symptoms (Kaplan, Goldenberg, Galvin-
Nadeau, 1993), and increases in specific antigens (Saxe et al., 2001).
Mindfulness research has been predominantly developed under two umbrellas which will
be referred to as meditative mindfulness and social psychological mindfulness. The operational
definition of mindfulness initially used for this study builds on my previous research with Darren
Good (Good & Yeganeh, 2006) and integrates the two leading streams of research on
mindfulness into a definition of mindfulness to be applied in organizations. We define
mindfulness as a state in which an individual is: 1) aware and accepting of changes in
momentary experiences based on present centered awareness, 2) aware of and flexible with
cognitive patterns/categories, and 3) in control of attention in the moment to scan for new
information; resulting in more available resources for a wider variety of cognitions and
behaviors. Mindfulness is both a state, and a process. In order to maintain conceptual clarity
mindfulness refers to the state, but there are differences in people’s propensity to experience this
state. Additionally one can develop a mindful practice to enhance this propensity.
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1.2 Research Objective
This research seeks to help us understand mindful experiential learning. It examines the
relationship between validated meditative and social psychological mindfulness scales, seeking
points of convergence between the two measures and their respective theoretical formulations.
The relationship between experiential learning style and mindfulness scale scores are then
explored. Predicted behaviors of mindful experiential learners will be tested. Contributions
from this study benefit the field of organizational behavior by contributing to our knowledge of
the experiential learning process. It advances our knowledge of ELT and mindfulness by helping
us better understand how they relate to one another.
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Chapter 2 - Mindfulness
This chapter reviews two leading mindfulness theories, which will be referred to as
meditative mindfulness and social psychological mindfulness. Much of this mindfulness
literature review started during my previous research with Darren Good (Good & Yeganeh,
2006). Points of convergence and divergence between the two mindfulness theories are
presented and a definition is developed which synthesizes the construct.
Imagine any part of your day in which you were unaware of what you were doing, but
you were doing it nevertheless. Our morning shower experience is a popular example used by
both Buddhist author Thich Nhat Hanh and mindfulness scholar John Kabat-Zinn. They
question how often our minds are actually present-focused in the shower versus focusing on
something else automatically. We have all experienced similar automatic and mindless states.
This state can block us from experiencing a richness of cognitions, feelings and insights as they
relate to the present.
2.1 Meditative Mindfulness
Mindfulness has been referred to as the heart of Buddhist meditation (Thera, 1962; Kabat
Zinn, 1994). From the Buddhist perspective mindfulness is an awareness of being aware (Hirst,
2003). Kabat-Zinn and other authors use the concept, and meditation technique originated in the
Eastern traditions to help people heal themselves and live enhanced lives. This secular
meditative approach to mindfulness will be referred to as meditative mindfulness.
Mindfulness emerged from Buddhism but has since been used and refined as a secular
technology to aid mental well being. From the meditative perspective, it can be defined as
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paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally
(Kabat-Zinn, 1994). This type of paying attention nurtures greater awareness, clarity and
acceptance of present moment reality (Kabat-Zinn, 1994; Hayes, 2004; Germer, 2005).
Advocates of meditative mindfulness remind us of the many moments when we are not in
“acceptance” of present moment reality. This state is often called automaticity, or mindlessness.
Mindfulness from the meditative perspective helps unlock what we have over-learned as critical
thinkers, which is that we should think harder in order to generate truth. A by-product of this
critical way of being is that we suffer from fatigue by rehearsing future and past events and
clutter our minds, which increases stress (Kabat-Zinn, 1994).
Marlatt & Kristeller (1999) write that mindfulness is “bringing one’s complete attention
to the present experience on a moment to moment basis” (p. 68). From the meditative
mindfulness literature, mindfulness means being completely aware of each moment and what
you are doing in that moment, while mindlessness is when you allow the mind to get “hooked”
or attached to the many thoughts that arise randomly (Braza, 1997). When being mindless one is
operating with habitual reactions and is not examining or watching the processes of thought and
their effects on behavior. This reduction in examined behavior, can contribute to one’s own
human suffering, and that of others (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). “If we don’t really know where we are
standing – a knowing that comes directly from the cultivation of mindfulness – we may only go
in circles…” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 15).
Through a mindful practice, one learns to self observe non-judgmentally. Meditative
mindfulness practitioners achieve this through a form of meditation called mindfulness
meditation or more commonly known as insight meditation, in which one focuses on the moment
while letting thoughts enter and exit the mind in real time. During insight meditation the
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individual focuses on breathing and awareness of the present moment. Sounds and feelings are
registered but not clung to. Thoughts are momentary and non-judgmental. When thoughts of
future or past emerge, one gently brings his/her attention back to the breath, and the moment,
allowing one to be mindful and develop a discipline of the mind. Kabat-Zinn’s particular
program called mindfulness based stress reduction will be discussed below.
Present moment awareness is constantly clouded by our attempts to judge and evaluate
our circumstance based on perceived needs and biases. In addition, our experience of the present
moment is ‘severely edited’ by the habitual and unexamined activity of our thoughts and
emotions (Kabat-Zinn, 2003, p. 148). We all have lenses that we “slip unconsciously between
observer and observed that filter and color, bend and shape our view” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 54).
This notion of a lens is similar to mental representations, such as schemas (Ormrod, 1995; Goetz,
SchaIlert, Reynolds, & Radin, 1983; Martin & Halverson, 1981), scripts (Abelson, 1981;
Sawyer, 2001; Lord, 1987; Pinder, 1998) and mental models (Kenneth Craik, 1943; Senge,
1991). In the practice of meditative mindfulness, it is accepted that our biases and judgments are
unavoidable and are limiting our experience.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Mindfulness meditation requires intentional practice and discipline. It is insufficient to
“just let go” considering one may not be aware of how “attached” he really is or how much he is
caught up in his habitual patterns of thinking (Kabat-Zinn, 2003, p. 148). In Pali (the original
language of Buddha), the word Bhavana translates to “development through mental training”
(Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 81). Kabat-Zinn contends that over time, a regular disciplined practice will
cultivate a true inner orientation that is akin to an art form (1994).
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Kabat-Zinn and colleagues have published many empirical studies showing that
meditation can positively impact a range of medical conditions. Through the use of mindfulness
meditation, he has pioneered a program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).
The MBSR program is conducted over an 8 to10 week period of time and is offered in a group
setting. Groups engaged in the program can be as large as 30 individuals who participate in
weekly sessions that are 2-2.5 hours in length. The purpose of these weekly sessions is to
develop a mindfulness meditation practice and establish a safe setting to discuss stress and ways
to cope with it. An all day (7-8 hr) intensive session on mindfulness is held around the sixth
week of the program. The program uses an array of meditative techniques to enhance
mindfulness, which includes a 45 minute body scan, seated meditation with directed attention to
the breath, walking mediations, eating meditations and various Hatha yoga postures (Baer,
2003). “In each type of exercise, individuals are instructed to be attentive to their emotions,
sensations, or cognitions as they arrive in the moment and to observe them non-judgmentally”
(Baer, 2003, p. 126). Participants use these skills outside the group setting by engaging in 45
minutes of mindfulness meditative practice six times per week.
The purpose of MBSR is to “challenge and encourage people to become their own
authorities” of personal well-being (Kabat-Zinn, 1994: p. 191). In essence individuals can learn
to contain their stress through the process of taking more responsibility for their own lives and
their own health (Kabat-Zinn, 1994).
To reiterate, studies have illustrated the benefits of MBSR interventions on a range of
issues including pain, mood disturbance, functional impairment and overall psychiatric
symptomatology (Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth & Burney,1985), anxiety (Kabat-Zinn et al., 1992;
Miller, Fletcher, Kabat-Zinn, 1995), fibromyalgia symptoms (Kaplan, Goldenberg, Galvin-
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Nadeau, 1993), and increases in specific antigens (Saxe et al., 2001). Research on MBSR largely
legitimized the use of meditative mindfulness practices in health services. A range of other
techniques utilizing mindfulness meditation have had positive results as well, including
mindfulness based cognitive therapy (Teasdale et al., 2000) and dialectical behavior therapy
(Linehan et al., 1999). Meditative mindfulness continues to grow in popularity and should be
examined carefully when conceptualizing mindful experiential learning so that its benefit is
understood and realistically applied.
2.2 Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)
To measure mindfulness as defined above, Brown and Ryan (2003) have developed and
validated a scale that continues to grow in popularity. The Mindfulness Attention Awareness
Scale (MAAS) was created, to measure individual differences in the frequency of mindful states
over time. “The MAAS is focused on the presence or absence of attention to and awareness of
what is occurring in the present rather than on attributes such as acceptance, trust, empathy,
gratitude, or the various others that have been associated with mindfulness (e.g. Shapiro &
Schwarz, 1999).” (Brown & Ryan, 2003, p. 824). The focus coincides with a meditative
approach to mindfulness, though they do not limit their exploration to measuring the effects of a
mindful practice. Brown & Ryan (2003) define awareness as “the background radar of
consciousness, continually monitoring the inner and outer environment” (p. 822). Attention is
understood as “a process of focusing conscious awareness, providing heightened sensitivity to a
limited range of experience” (Brown & Ryan, 2003, p.822).
Overall, high scorers on the MAAS “tend to be more aware of and receptive to inner
experiences and more mindful of their overt behavior” (Brown & Ryan, 2003, p.832). They are
more in touch with their emotional states, able to alter them, more likely to fulfill basic
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psychological needs, and less likely to be self-conscious, socially anxious, and ruminative than
low scorers are. MAAS scores were also positively correlated with higher pleasant affect,
positive affectivity, vitality, life satisfaction, self-esteem, optimism, and self-actualization. The
MAAS was shown to be reliable and valid for both college students, n = 327, internal
consistency (alpha) = .82 and general adult populations, n = 239, internal consistency (alpha) =
.87 (Brown & Ryan, 2003).
One way mindfulness measured by the MAAS can enhance well being is its association
with higher quality or optimal moment-to-moment experiences. “A recent experiment by LeBel
and Dubé (2001) found that individuals whose attention was focused on the sensory experience
of eating chocolate reported more pleasure than individuals engaged in a distraction task while
eating chocolate. More broadly, research has found that intrinsically motivated and flow
activities, which are characterized by engagement with, and attention to, what is occurring, yield
considerable enjoyment and a felt sense of vitality (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, Deci & Ryan,
1985)” (Brown & Ryan, 2003, p.824).
While mindfulness is clearly a state of being, Brown and Ryan, assume a) that individuals
differ in their propensity or willingness to be aware and to sustain attention to what is occurring
in the present and b) that this mindful capacity varies within persons, because it can be sharpened
or dulled by a variety of factors (2003). Participants completing the MAAS are asked to answer
according to what “really reflects” their experience rather than what they think their experience
should be, in an attempt to avoid socially desirable response biases. Upon examination of the
MAAS, one will notice that the items are worded negatively, measuring mindlessness rather than
mindfulness. This was because statements reflecting high levels of attention and awareness had
very low loadings in the factor analysis. Furthermore, Brown and Ryan explain that it is
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relatively easy, if incorrect, to endorse being attentive and aware, and that the means and
distributions of these items had low values on the Likert scale and marked skewness. They also
point out that “statements reflecting less mindlessness are likely more accessible to most
individuals, given that mindless states are much more common than mindful states” (Brown and
Ryan, 2003, p. 826). Indirect claims, as the authors argue, may be more “diagnostic” than direct
claims to mindfulness. Upon empirical investigation, Brown and Ryan found that the correlation
between a directly framed MAAS version and the MAAS had a .70 correlation (n = 145), and an
exploratory factor analysis uncovered a single factor structure in the direct version, similar to the
MAAS. Cronbach’s alpha was .81. When comparing the two MAAS versions in terms of their
correlations with other psychological scales the two had similar relations, the correlations were
as follows, with MAAS correlations given first and the direct MAAS correlations given second:
NEO-FFI Openness (.19, .21), Trait Meta-Mood Scale emotional intelligence (.37, .34), MMS
(LMS) mindfulness (.33, .44), SCS Private Self-Consciousness (.05, .06), SCS Public Self-
Consciousness (.01, .07), SCS Social Anxiety (-.33, -.26), RRQ Reflection (.20, .20), RRQ
Rumination (-.39, -.25), NEO-FFI Neuroticism (-.56, -.45), BDI depression (-.42, -.32), POMS
Anxiety (-.42, -.32), pleasant affect (.40, .33), unpleasant affect (-.42, -.26), PANAS Positive
Affect (.39, .36), PANAS Negative Affect (-.37, -.27), Rosenberg self-esteem (.43, .41), Life
Orientation Test optimism (.34, .23), Marlowe–Crowne desirability (.28, .32), and MMPI Lie
(.03, .02).
Interestingly the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS) (a scale used to measure social
psychological mindfulness that will be reviewed later), correlated with the original MAAS at .33
while the direct MAAS version correlated at .44. Otherwise, the original MAAS often showed
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stronger relations in expected directions with a variety of constructs including well being (Brown
& Ryan, 2003), and was subsequently retained.
Brown & Ryan (2003) define mindfulness as attending to and being aware of the
moment. Contrasting Langer’s definition, Brown and Ryan (2003) do not focus on particular
cognitive approaches to external stimuli, rather their “definition emphasizes an open, undivided
observation of what is occurring both internally and externally” (p.823). Mindfulness from their
perspective is an inherent state of consciousness that differs among individuals for a variety of
reasons and that can be changed by individual. They conducted an exploratory factor analysis
with 55 items on a sample of 313 participants. The first factor accounted for 95% of the total
variance across factors. 15 of the strongest items that loaded on the first factor were retained
(see Table 1).
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Table 1: Brown & Ryan (2003) MAAS Means, Standard Deviations, Factor Loadings, and
Item-Total Correlations
Scale item M SD F I-T
1. I could be experiencing some emotion and not beconscious of it until 4.02 1.12 .46 .45
some time later.2. I break or spill things because of carelessness, not payingattention, or
4.13 1.47 .45 .42
thinking of something else.
3. I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in thepresent.
3.80 1.23 .51 .49
4. I tend to walk quickly to get where I’m going withoutpaying attention
3.41 1.27 .45 .39
to what I experience along the way.5. I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension ordiscomfort until they
3.83 1.22 .27 .25
really grab my attention.
6. I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve been toldit for the first
3.40 1.54 .33 .31
time.7. It seems I am “running on automatic” without muchawareness of what
3.72 1.24 .78 .72
I’m doing.
8. I rush through activities without being really attentive tothem.
3.81 1.11 .74 .67
9. I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I losetouch with
3.74 1.15 .38 .38
what I am doing right now to get there.
10. I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware ofwhat I’m doing.
3.70 1.20 .69 .61
11. I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doingsomething else at
3.52 1.16 .55 .49
the same time.
12. I drive places on “automatic pilot” and then wonder why Iwent there. 4.36 1.42 .62 .57
13. I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past. 2.66 1.03 .28 .26
14. I find myself doing things without paying attention. 3.66 1.14 .77 .69
15. I snack without being aware that I’m eating. 4.11 1.42 .47 .41
Note. All scores are based on Sample A data (N 313). Items were introduced by the following: “Below is a collection of statements about your everyday experience. Usingthe 1– 6 scale below, please indicate how frequently or infrequently you currently haveeach experience. Please answer according to what really reflects your experiencerather than what you think your experience should be.” The accompanying 6-point scalewas1 almost always, 2 very frequently, 3 somewhat frequently, 4 somewhatinfrequently, 5 very infrequently, and 6 almost never. F factor loadings; I-T item-total correlations.
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2.3 Social Psychological Mindfulness
Another approach to mindfulness comes from social psychology research. To avoid
confusion, the mindfulness definition supported by this line of research will be referred to as
social psychological mindfulness. As with meditative mindfulness, Langer contrasts
mindfulness with mindlessness which she describes as automatic behavior and an entrapment in
old cognitive categories. Social psychological mindfulness emphasizes context and awareness of
situationality (Langer, 2000; Langer 1997). Langer defines mindfulness as follows:
“When we are mindful, we implicitly or explicitly (1) view a situation from several
perspectives, (2) see information presented in the situation as novel, (3) attend to the
context in which we are perceiving the information, and eventually (4) create new
categories through which this information may be understood.” (Langer,1997, p.111)
Langer and colleagues began researching mindfulness over 30 years ago in an attempt to
decipher the differences between mindful behavior and mindless behavior (Langer &
Moldoveau, 2000). Specifically, mindfulness research emerged from early work which attempted
to contrast mindlessness with views of the individual as an active information processor or
intuitive scientist. Later mindfulness studies in the workplace showed increases in creativity,
decreased burnout and greater enjoyment of tasks (Langer, Hefferman, & Keiester, 1988). More
recent studies in education have revealed a sharp increase in memory and creativity for mindful
treatment groups (Langer, 1997).
During a study on creativity, Dror and Langer (in press) conducted an experiment in
which undergraduate participants were asked to build a bridge over an imaginary river using
small wooden blocks. It was explained that the height of the bridge would determine the size of
the boats that could use the river, so the highest bridge attainable was the desirable outcome.
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Half the participants were briefly shown examples of how the blocks could be used in a different
building task (building the longest bridge possible or building a tower) while the other half had
no prior exposure to the blocks. In the first experiment, 92 percent of the group that was primed
with block building examples used the blocks in formations identical to the ones they had been
shown, where only 8 percent of the group that did not see the examples used such formations.
Even more interestingly, the prepped group came up with two solutions while the other group
came up with ten. Their hypothesis that groups shown examples would have difficulty forgetting
those examples was confirmed (Langer, 1997). The study also demonstrated automatic
processes that occur when people mindlessly acquire information.
Langer (1989) details mindfulness by breaking it down into five parts: creating new
categories, welcoming new information, taking multiple perspectives, being context sensitive,
and being process orientated.
Creating new categories. When mindful, an individual seeks to create new categories
rather than rely on old ones. Unfortunately, we tend not to re-conceptualize our knowledge of
facts or the past unless there is some sort of crisis that motivates us. However, Langer suggests it
is valuable to pay attention to context and situations as we make categories in new ways. Re-
focusing in this way helps us understand that the world is much more detailed than the way we
usually think about it. “If we describe someone we dislike intensely, a single statement usually
does it. But if, instead, we are forced to describe the person in great detail, eventually there will
be some quality we appreciate” (Langer, 1989, p.66).
Welcoming New Information. When we are mindful, we are open to new information.
“Our minds have a tendency to block out, small inconsistent signals. For example if a familiar
quotation is altered so that it is made nonsensical (but retains sufficient structural familiarity),
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someone reading it out loud is likely to read the original quote. Even though what she was
reading was not on the page in front of her, she is likely to express great confidence that the the
quote was indeed read accurately. (Reread the last sentence, and note the double the.)” (p.67).
Multiple Perspectives. When we are mindful of other people’s perspectives we become
aware that there are as many different views as there are different observers. It becomes easier to
realize that two people can be right about the same thing from their perspectives without
automatically making the other wrong. “A steer is steak to a rancher, a sacred object to a Hindu,
and a collection of genes and proteins to a molecular biologist” (p.69).
Sensitivity to Context. This aspect of mindfulness is about drawing distinctions (Langer,
1997). Distinctions reveal that everything happens in a context and hence many different
contexts may be considered. “To view an answer as right or wrong, we must freeze the context
in which the answer is being evaluated” (Langer, 1997, p.135)
Process Orientation. Preoccupations with outcomes make us mindless. Being process
oriented reduces the probability of engaging in faulty comparisons. Furthermore being engaged
in process enables us to think of a broader range of choices for behaviors rather than thinking of
an outcome and automatically behaving in a way that we think will generate it.
Connecting these five parts, mindfulness is an integrated state in which its various aspects
reinforce one another. For example, “by viewing the same information through several
perspectives, we actually become more open to that information.”(Langer, 1997, p.133). Hence
being sensitive to context is connected to welcoming new information and seeing multiple
perspectives.
In contrast to a mindful state Langer also writes of its antithesis, mindlessness. When we
are engaged in a mindless (automatic) practice or in a mindless state we are no longer actively
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creating distinctions in the world around us. “We act like automatons who have been
programmed to act according to the sense our behavior made in the past, rather than the
present.”(Langer & Moldoveanu, 2000). This automatic functioning leaves us following
predetermined rules, routinized behaviors and reliant on rigid perspectives without capacity for
much variation.
Mindless behavior can emerge from repetition or single exposure of material that is
presented unconditionally (Langer, 2000b). Mindlessness can occur through repetition as one
becomes so expert at a certain task that one no longer needs to think about how to perform it, or
in some cases can no longer recall the process of how to perform it (Langer, 1989). Single
exposure induced mindlessness happens when information is given to us as fact without any
alternative consideration. This will often result in something (i.e. an idea) understood just one
way and held that way when presented in the future (Langer, 2000b). However, if we attend to
our natural capacity to vary the target of our attention, whether visual or an idea, we can literally
improve our appreciation and our memory of it (Langer, 1989). Mindfulness can help us to be
intentional when we vary our attention to scan more of the environment. This is important
because “the idea that to pay attention means to act like a motionless camera is so ingrained in us
that when we do pay attention successfully we are usually unintentionally changing the context
or finding novel features in our subject” (Langer, 1997, p. 40).
Mindfulness is a state in which a person is both aware that his understanding of a
situation is always subject to alternative interpretations and is willing to direct his attention
toward creating those other interpretations (Bodner, 2000). The individual is able to notice
differences between the past and the present and therefore can override preprogrammed routines
when encountering cues. “The same behaviors resulting from habits, mindsets and other routines
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may be enacted when in a mindful state; however, these routines are now available for revision if
the situation warrants.” (Bodner, 2000, p. 3)
As stated earlier, social psychological approaches to mindfulness have led to increased
creativity and decreased burnout in the workplace (Langer et al., 1988), increased productivity in
the workplace (Park, 1990), increased attention (Langer & Bodner, 1995), greater liking of a task
(Langer et al., in press), and a host of effective learning methods (Langer, 1997; Langer et al,
1989; Langer & Piper, 1987).
2.4 Langer Mindfulness Scale
The Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS), also known as the Mindfulness/Mindlessness
Scale (MMS), is a 21-item questionnaire used for training, self-discovery, and research. The
LMS provides a snapshot of a dynamic process, and similar to the MAAS it assesses an
individual’s propensity to be mindful. Unlike the MAAS which focuses on a single construct of
attention and awareness however, the LMS focuses on four factors: Engagement, Novelty
Seeking, Flexibility, and Novelty Producing (Bodner, 2000). These factors derive from Langer’s
(1997) definition of mindfulness: an openness to novelty, an alertness to distinction, a sensitivity
to different contexts, an awareness of multiple perspectives, and an orientation to the present.
The first section, an openness to novelty corresponds with Novelty Seeking and Producing
factors. Alertness to distinction and sensitivity to different contexts correspond with all four
factors. An awareness of multiple perspectives corresponds to the Engagement and Flexibility
factors. Finally, an orientation to the present corresponds to the Engagement factor. According
to Bodner & Langer, flexibility and novelty producing factors refer to how one operates on one’s
environment while novelty seeking and engagement refer to one’s orientation to the
environment. Descriptions of the four LMS factors will be discussed below.
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Engagement and Novelty Seeking:
These two factors represent individual differences in the degree and manner of
engagement with the environment . This involves the awareness component of mindfulness.
People who approach the environment seeking novelty search out learning opportunities.
Flexibility and Novelty Producing:
The last two factors consist of individual differences in how information about the
environment is processed . Flexible people can see a situation from multiple perspectives and can
easily change them. “A mindfully flexible person is implicitly aware of the social construction
of reality and believes that all knowledge is bounded by a social context” (Bodner, 2000, p. 15).
Truth changes in differing contexts. Furthermore, a novelty-producing person creates new and
useful information. This can be done by making associations where previously none existed and
it differs from flexibility in that it does not necessarily require adding new information to make
novel associations.
The internal structure of the LMS shows with relative confidence that the instrument
corresponds fairly well with the theoretical structure underlying it. A confirmatory factor
analysis provided evidence to support its first claim, that mindfulness is a latent variable
underlying the four related latent domains of Flexibility, Novelty Producing, Novelty Seeking,
and Engagement. Of 8 studies by Bodner (2000), the average coefficient alpha internal
consistency of the LMS was 0.88 (SD = 0.02). In terms of temporal stability, the correlation
between scores on the LMS over a four week period was estimated to be r = 0.80, and r = 0.76
over six months. As related to construct validity, the LMS was positively correlated with the
tendency to entertain multiple perspectives (r =.57), the need for cognition (r =.41), the liberal
thinking style (r =.44), openness to experience (r = .50), the general cognitive ability (r = .32)
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and was negatively correlated with the need for cognitive closure (r = -.19) and the need for
structure (r = -.27) (Bodner & Langer, 2001).
Bodner (2000) concludes that the LMS should be further examined in terms of its
correlation with other psychological scales. This thesis examines it in relation to the Kolb
Learning Styles Inventory.
2.5 Convergence and Divergence of Mindfulness Theories
The following section examines differences and points of convergence that inform a
definition of mindfulness, as a state and practice for people in organizations. The intention of the
definition is to re-conceptualize mindfulness utilizing the strengths of both meditative and social
psychological streams discussed in this paper. The proposed definition is more applicable to
organizational life than the meditative mindfulness definition alone, because it suggests that a
mindfulness practice no longer requires a meditation or some version of MBSR. However, it is
also more beneficial to organization members than the social psychological definition alone
because it embraces the momentary acceptance which is at the heart of meditative mindfulness.
In fact, the acceptance of momentary reality emphasized by Kabat-Zinn in meditative
mindfulness may be the very way to practice flexibility with precognitive commitments
emphasized by Langer and colleagues. However, this is a provocative concept that has yet to be
explored in mindfulness research and goes beyond the purposes of this thesis. Furthermore, the
benefits of applying social psychological mindfulness to learning are built upon in the new
definition as it is applied to mindful experiential learning theory and this is discussed with
greater detail in the next chapter. The proposed definition opens up the ways mindfulness can be
practiced across multiple contexts and in demanding work environments.
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Divergence
The social psychological approach to mindfulness should not be confused with
meditative approaches. While there are similarities between the two approaches, distinct
differences exist as well. Social psychological interventions usually include the treatment of
material external to the individual participants (Baer, 2003; Langer, 1989). It pursues a learning
agenda, can be very goal-oriented and involves the use of mindfulness in enhancing problem
solving and other cognitive exercises, which often involves the world outside of the individual
(Baer, 2003; Langer 1989). The meditative approaches and traditions are usually aimed at the
inner experience of the participant and involve non-judgmental observation.
Traditional spiritual orientations of mindfulness maintain that clearing the mind and
living in the moment enables an individual to access objective truth in the world, a concept
called veridical perception, or seeing the world as it is. Neither meditative mindfulness nor
social psychological mindfulness claim that mindful practices lead to veridical perception.
However, a difference between the two is that meditative mindfulness assumes that without
momentary experience, we become over engaged in subjective thoughts of past and future and
hence stray from the reality of our present experience. Langer and colleagues place less of an
emphasis on momentary experience and emphasize continually acquiring many perspectives
which can reflect the complex world around us and then being flexible with them in various
contexts. An aspect of this may entail living in the moment, but it is not stressed in the same
way as in meditative mindfulness literature. Furthermore, a meditative mindful practice aims at
reducing the clutter of our thoughts, something that social psychological mindfulness does not
discuss. Also, while social psychological mindfulness research helps us understand the
multidimensional nature of mindfulness, the studies that support it tend to focus on aspects of the
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definition in isolation (i.e. thinking contextually), rather than researching what its authors
conceptualize as a holistic mindful practice. Both distinct and shared strengths exist within both
streams of mindfulness literature.
Convergence
Both approaches to mindfulness stress cognitive flexibility and awareness. Meditative
mindfulness stresses being present centered in order to direct attention away from rumination of
the past and anxious thoughts of the future. Its approach to flexibility consists of “letting go” of
unwanted thoughts through acceptance rather than resistance to them. From the social
psychological perspective, one must be aware of biases in order to create novel distinctions and
new biases with a value on uncertainty and conditionality in order to be flexible in a changing
environment. Furthermore, both suggest that being purposeful and intentional is part of
mindfulness. Finally, both approaches to mindlessness describe an automatic state where one is
on autopilot, with rigid biases, and predetermined rules.
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Figure 1: Mindfulness Convergence Chart
Mindfulness Convergence Chart
Social Psychological Mindfulness Meditative Mindfulness
ConstructSimilarities
Mindfulness1. Sensitivity to context 1. Awareness 1.Present centered awareness
awareness 2. Cognitive Flexibility 2. Nonjudgme taln2. Openness to new information 3. Purposefulness 3. Purposeful 3. Novel distinction/ New
categories4. Multiple perspectives5. Situated in present
Mindlessness 1. Autopilot 1. Autopilot 1. Habitual reactions
2. Following predetermined rules 2. Rigid Biases 2. Living in past/future3. Engaged in routinized 3. Predetermined Rules 3. Judgment/Evaluation
behaviors 4. Autopilot4. Rigid perspectives5. Without capacity for much
Variation
2.6 A Definition of Mindfulness for Organizations
The following definition of mindfulness integrates useful aspects of both streams of literature. It
will be used to hypothesize three factors that should emerge from an exploratory factor analysis
using the MAAS and LMS:
Mindfulness is a state in which an individual is:
1) Aware and accepting of changes in momentary experiences based on present centeredawareness
2) Flexible with cognitive patterns/categories
3) Purposefully attentive to scan for new information;
resulting in more available resources for a wider variety of cognitions and behaviors.
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Aware and accepting of changes in momentary experiences based on present centered
awareness
When mindful, a person is purposeful about being anchored in the awareness of present
moment reality, even when thinking about past or future events. Awareness of momentary
experiences anchor us in process over outcome, which in terms of learning can help us achieve
desired outcomes. Although it may seem counterintuitive, having too rigid a focus on outcomes
may hinder achieving them. Acceptance of changes in the moment happen when we realize that
there are things beyond our control, and rather than expending energy through either emotional
distress or pointless action, we manage self cognitions and behaviors by better accepting life as it
is, in the ever-changing present. This creates opportunities to shift focus to the things that we do
have the capacity to control in a given moment. It does not imply we should engage in a form of
forced complacency, rather, it provides insight into the limitations of our control over past and
future events, and the ways we choose to manage ourselves in the present moment.
Flexible with cognitive patterns/categories
Cognitive patterns and categories, such as schemas, scripts, mental models, and any other
biases that direct our attention automatically can be observed throughout the day, and can be
problematic when people are automatic to the degree that they are inaccurate or erroneous in
their calculations. This happens by mindlessly engaging mental categories. Chanowitz &
Langer’s (1981) study suggests that individuals can overcome premature cognitive commitments
if they think to do so. When an individual is presented with information that is not viewed as
personally relevant he is not likely to consider the information critically. Therefore the
information that was experienced will be encoded in one way and will likely be recalled in a
similar way without critical reflection. Being aware of the way we acquire information is the first
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part of this aspect of mindfulness. The next part is being flexible with our cognitive
precommitments, which can happen multiple ways. Through social psychological mindful
approaches we do this when we understand that multiple contexts exist, and we are openly
uncertain of the universality of our truths. The resulting openness to doubt gives way to
flexibility and a wider variety of cognitions. The meditative mindfulness approach achieves this
when we are aware and accepting of momentary reality while letting go of inclinations to cling to
past cognitions and/or rehearsals of the future. This cognitive flexibility results in a wider
variety of behaviors.
Purposefully attentive to scan for new information.
When we are intentionally attentive, we are being purposeful. We are purposely open to
new information. Attention is a resource and a potential way to generate value to ourselves and
others. As with all resources, attention is limited individually and collectively within
organizations. Mindfulness creates a way to leverage attention in an efficient manner,
overcoming the state of mindlessness that disrupts us from purposefully directing our minds to
things that may be overlooked in a mindless state.
Individuals fluctuate in their experiences of mindfulness. All states are experienced
subjectively and vary, and mindfulness is no different. Accordingly, an individual need not be
engaged in all three elements of the definition in order to be mindful. A mindful individual can
acknowledge being mindless and switch modes toward awareness and acceptance of the
moment. This cognitive redirection toward the present does not guarantee that becoming more
flexible to precognitive commitments and scanning for new information will follow, yet it does
signal a shift that is represented by the first part of the definition.
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When all three parts of the definition are engaged simultaneously, controlled attention
that was needed to enter the state relaxes, thus freeing up additional resources to operate toward
novel distinctions. There is value in the experience of mindfulness as an initial engagement and
as a deeper cognitive experience.
2.7 Hypothesized Points of Convergence on the LMS & MAAS
The mindfulness literature review conducted led to three points of commonality between
meditative and social psychological mindfulness theories: present centeredness, purposefulness,
and cognitive flexibility. Theoretically, these three factors are common among the two
approaches to mindfulness that were identified. This was the result of a theoretical analysis. If
the two scales measure the two theories adequately, then we should see these three
commonalities representing the three factors. Only one study has looked at the relationship
between the MAAS and LMS. While a factor analysis was not conducted between the scales, in
their exploration of correlations between the MAAS and the LSM, Brown and Ryan (2003)
found as they had expected, that MAAS was most strongly associated with the mindful
engagement section of the LMS, r = .39, p < .0001. It was less correlated with novelty seeking (r
= .30, p < .001) and producing (r = .23, p < .01), with no relation to cognitive flexibility. The
lack of relationship in flexibility raises flags regarding the theoretical emphasis between the two
theoretical approaches to mindfulness on flexibility (social psychological mindfulness directly
referencing flexibility, and meditative mindfulness emphasizing acceptance approaches to
change which may indirectly involve flexibility). This thesis will empirically test the three
theoretically related areas of the two mindfulness approaches. The first research question of the
present study seeks to further explore the relationship between the two scales using factor
analysis.
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A reading of the scale items would suggest that they fit into the three factors as indicated
below:
Awareness: the degree to which an item is likely to measure how often one is aware of his own
actions and thoughts
Purposefulness: the degree to which an item is likely to measure how often an individualintentionally engages in information scanning.
Cognitive Flexibility: the degree to which an item determines how flexible (or rigid on thereverse score) an individual is with his thoughts.
Research Question #1:
What factors converge between meditative mindfulness and social psychological mindfulness
measures?
H1: Factor analysis of the combined LMS and MAAS scales are predicted to yield three
common factors: present centered awareness, purposefulness and cognitive flexibility.
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Chapter 3 - Mindful Experiential Learning
3. 1 Mindful Learning
In her work on Mindful Learning, Langer (1997) asserts that unhelpful habits and
routines are a result of the way we are taught to learn. Langer states that myths pervade cultures
and teach us lessons. Some of these lessons advance our culture and some should be questioned.
Langer (1997) identifies and challenges 7 myths about learning that encourage mindlessness:
1. The basics must be learned so well that they become second nature
2. Paying attention means staying focused on one thing at a time
3. Delaying gratification is important
4. Rote memorization is necessary in education
5. Forgetting is a problem
6. Intelligence is knowing “what’s out there”
7. There are right and wrong answers.
Langer exaggerates these 7 myths to illustrate the traps learners can fall into as a result of
universally believing in them and ignoring context.
Mindfully, we can choose to be flexible with our decisions to act in the environment. The
environment either confirms or disconfirms our assumptions, so rather than over-committing to
our original decisions and creating blindspots, being flexible and understanding that there are
many ways to view reality, empowers us to have a wider range of cognitions and behaviors.
Learning can be done mindfully when the learner places a value on doubt. Langer (1997)
refers to this concept as mindful learning. This suggests new modes of teaching should not only
be based on an appreciation of both the conditional nature of the world, but also on the value of
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uncertainty. For example, in an appreciative experiment in a hospital Langer and colleagues
asked a group of patients about to undergo major surgery “to view the experience from a more
adaptive perspective; to attempt to notice the advantages of being in the hospital… Patients in
this group felt less stress, took fewer pain relievers and sedatives, and left the hospital sooner
than did patients who were not given this preparation. The desire to be distracted was the desire
to be otherwise attracted.” (p.36). Langer refers to this technique as “creative distraction” which
she defines as “a deliberate attending to something other than what we think is important” (p.37).
This technique involves learning from the attraction of various distractions, and how one may be
able to add the attractive elements to stimuli we wish to attend to.
With its emphasis on purposefulness, cognitive flexibility, and present centeredness,
mindfulness provides the framework for an individual to manage the conflicting dialects in any
given moment of experiential learning. This is done through an individual’s awareness of
productive ways to engage in learning and working. It also entails flexibility of approaches to
learning and momentary concentration in learning that deters unnecessary distractions that can
stimulate unbalanced learning style tendencies. As we will discuss later, those with balanced
learning styles then, theoretically, should have access to a greater range of cognitions and
behaviors to address the contextual demands of complex and varying environmental situations.
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3.2 Experiential Learning Theory
ELT is grounded in the assumption that people have a natural capacity to learn and that
learning involves an interplay between knowledge acquisition and knowledge transformation.
Both of these dimensions require one to resolve a dialectic, or a set of competing learning
tensions (Kayes, 2002; Kolb, 1984).
Knowledge Acquisition
Acquisition of knowledge requires a person to resolve tension between apprehension
(concrete experience) and comprehension (abstract conceptualization). Apprehension involves
accepting new knowledge through sensory perception and direct experience with the world (i.e.
feelings or emotions) (Kayes, 2002). Comprehension, on the other hand, occurs as a result of
gathering knowledge through abstract concepts and symbolic representations. “Comprehension
occurs when a person breaks down experience into meaningful events and places them within a
symbolic system of culture and society” (Kayes, 2002, p. 140).
Knowledge Transformation
Acquired knowledge readily interacts with knowledge transformation. The dialectic
involved in knowledge transformation is knowledge intention (reflective observation) versus
knowledge extension (active experimentation). “Learning, the creation of knowledge and
meaning, occurs though the active extension and grounding of ideas and experiences in the
external world and through internal reflection about the attributes of these experiences and ideas”
(Kolb, 1984, p. 52). This dialectic describes the tendency one has to reflect to himself, versus
actively engaging with the environment.
Biologist James Zull presents evidence showing that the process of experiential learning
is related to the process of brain functioning, as shown in Figure 2. “Put into words, the figure
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illustrates that concrete experiences come through the sensory cortex, reflective observation
involves the integrative cortex at the back, creating new abstract concepts occurs in the frontal
integrative cortex, and active testing involves the motor brain. In other words, the learning cycle
arises from the structure of the brain.” (Zull, 2002 p. 18-19).
Figure 2 : Brain Functioning and ELT (Zull, 2002)
Together, the four processes of concrete experience, abstract conceptualization, reflective
observation, and active experimentation constitute an experiential learning cycle. A learning
style can be thought of the tendency to resolve dialectical tensions a particular way. “Learning
styles represent preferences for one mode of adaptation over the others; but these preferences do
not operate to the exclusion of other adaptive modes and will vary from time to time and
situation to situation” (Kolb, 1981, p.290). Thus a concrete person might become more abstract
when theorizing about life’s lessons, but still not experience it as abstractly as someone who has
a more abstract learning style.
Much research on ELT has focused on learning styles using the Learning Style Inventory
(LSI) to assess individual learning styles. Individuals tested on the LSI show many different
patterns of scores, however research on the instrument has identified four statistically prevalent
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learning styles – Diverging, Assimilating, Converging, and Accommodating (Kolb, 1971; Kolb,
1999, Kolb & Kolb, 2005). Hickcox (1991) conducted an extensive review of ELT’s theoretical
origins and qualitatively analyzed 81 studies in accounting and business education, helping
professions, medical professions, post-secondary education and teacher education. The review
found that overall 61.7% of the studies supported ELT, 16.1% showed mixed support, and 22.2%
did not support ELT (Kolb & Kolb, 2005).
The following summarizes the four phases of the learning cycle, the four basic learning
styles, and the extended 9 learning styles (Kolb, 1984, Kolb & Kolb, 2005).
Phases of the Learning Cycle:
Concrete Experience (CE)
Learning by experiencing specific events, relating to people, and being sensitive to feelings and
people, through the senses.
Abstract Conceptualization (AC)
Learning by thinking, logically analyzing ideas, planning systematically, acting on an intellectual
understanding of the situation.
Reflective Observation (RO)
Learning by reflecting, carefully observing before making judgments, viewing issues from
different perspectives, looking for the meanings of things.
Active Experimentation (AE)
Learning by doing, showing ability to get things done, taking risks, influencing people and
events through action.
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Basic Learning Styles:
Diverging
With dominant learning abilities in CE and RO, people with this learning style are
strongest at viewing concrete perspectives from many points of view. The term “Diverging”
describes people who perform better in situations that involve generation of ideas, such as
brainstorming sessions. Other qualities that tend to describe people with this learning style
include having broad culture interests, enjoying gathering information, high interest in people,
imaginative and emotional, tending to specialize in the arts, and preferring to work in groups.
Assimilating
Dominant abilities in AC and RO enable people with this learning style to best
understand a wide range of information, and then put it into concise, logical form. Assimilators
are less focused on people and more interested in abstract concepts. They prefer theories having
logical soundness over practical value. These types of learners migrate toward information and
science careers, and in learning situations prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models,
and having time to think things through.
Converging
Dominant learning abilities of Convergers are AC and AE. Their strength lies in finding
practical uses for ideas and theories and they have the ability to solve problems and make
decisions based on finding solutions to questions or problems. Those with the Converging
learning style like to deal with technical tasks and problems rather than with social issues and
interpersonal issues. They have skills that work well with specialist and technology careers. In
formal learning environments they tend to prefer experimenting with new ideas, simulations,
laboratory assignments, and practical applications.
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Accommodating
Tending to use abilities of CE and AE, Accommodating style learners learn well from
“hands-on” experiences. They act on gut feelings more often than on logical analysis. When
solving problems they rely more heavily on people for information than their own technical
analysis. Accommodators tend to be effective in action-oriented careers like marketing and
sales. In learning situations they prefer to work with others, set goals, do field work, and test out
different approaches to completing a project.
Nine ELT Styles:
Recent research has shown that the original four learning styles can be refined to show
nine distinct styles. Abbey et al. (1985) and Hunt (1987) identified four added learning styles
which they labeled as Northerner (emphasizing CE while balancing AE and RO) Easterner
(emphasizing RO while balancing CE and AC), Southerner (emphasizing AC while balancing
AE and RO), and Westerner (emphasizing AE while balancing CE and AC). They describe
these additional four styles as follows:
“Northerner: This person has difficulty in conceptualizing or making meaning of
experience; consequently, the cycle runs from feelings to reflection (which remains
unconsolidated) to action. The consequence of this Northerly pattern is that the flow is
discontinuous and the actions are poorly organized since they are not informed by the foundation
of AC meaning…
Easterner: Persons with an Easterly pattern have trouble putting plans into action. (AE)
Consequently, they spend much time buried in thought. Because the AE mode is short circuited,
their thoughts (AC) are about their feelings (CE) rather than about their direct actions; this
imbalanced cycle lacks the rejuvenation provided by actions…
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Southerner: Persons with a Southerly pattern are not in touch with their feelings. They
reflect on the mechanics of their actions (AE) without benefit of emotional feedback. The
reflection may lead to reformulation of concepts (AC) but the revision is mechanical and
sterile…
Westerner: In this pattern, the Westerner goes directly from feelings to conceptualizing
without sorting out the concrete experience. Consequently the, the initial conceptual framework
is likely to be unclear, with little possibility to correct it through reflection.” (Hunt 1987, p. 155)
Furthermore, Mainemelis, Boyatzis and Kolb (2002) identified a balanced style that
integrates AC and CE and AE and RO. The researchers tested and found support for an ELT
hypothesis that the more balanced people are in their learning orientation on the LSI, the greater
their adaptive flexibility as measured by the Adaptive Style Inventory (ASI) (see ASI review in
Chapter 4). The correlations were stronger for the balanced profile on the Abstract/Concrete
dimension, which called for further investigation (Mainemelis, Boyatzis and Kolb, 2002; Kolb &
Kolb, 2005).
A note of importance on learning styles is that they are dynamic states rather than fixed
styles. Learning is influenced by context, which will be discussed soon. Kolb writes:
“The stability and endurance of these states in individuals comes not solely from
fixed genetic qualities or characteristics of human beings: nor, for that matter,
does it come from the stable fixed demands of environmental circumstances.
Rather, stable and enduring patterns of human individuality arise from consistent
patterns of transaction between the individual and his or her environment…The
way we process the possibilities of each new emerging event determines the range
of choices and decisions we see. The choices and decisions we make to some
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extent determine the events we live through, and these events influence our future
choices. Thus, people create themselves through the choice of actual occasions
they live through.” (Kolb 1984 p. 63-64)
3.3 Kolb Learning Style Inventory
The LSI is a self-report instrument designed as a self-diagnostic tool to assess learning
along the four dimensions of experiential learning (Kayes, 2000; Kolb & Kolb, 2005; Kolb,
2005). Similar to mindfulness as measured by the MAAS and the LMS, experiential learning
style is dynamic and consists of an interplay between the individual and environment. The LSI
is designed to assess an individual’s propensity or willingness to learn a particular way from his
experiences. It consists of 12 items, each of which offers four options that are ranked according
to the degree to which the participant believes it describes the way he learned in a recent learning
situation of his choice. The data is then summed and a learning style is indicated.
In response to critique (Freedman and Stumpf, 1980), Kolb redesigned the LSI in 1985
and again in 1999 (Kayes, 2000). The revisions largely address previous concerns (Greer &
Dunlap, 1997; Yahya, 1988). The major issue raised with the LSI is that it uses ipsative
measures for cross-subject comparison. This means that when a high score on one dimension
results, a correspondingly low score on another dimension must also result. While this causes
problems using factor analysis to determine internal construct validity and inflates internal
reliability (Kayes, 2000), recent research indicates that the problems resulting from ipsative
measures are minor empirical deviations that can be corrected using simple statistical procedures
(Greer & Dunlap, 1997).
“When it is used in the simple, straightforward, and open way intended, the LSI usually
provokes an interesting self-examination and discussion that recognizes the uniqueness,
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complexity, and variability in individual approaches to learning. The danger lies in the
reification of learning styles into fixed traits, such that learning style types become stereotypes
used to pigeon hole individuals and their behavior” (Kolb, 1981, p.291). Being aware of
situationality should sound familiar based on the previous review of Langer’s definition of
mindfulness. Kolb similarly emphasizes the complexity of learning in an ever changing
environment, where particular aspects of learning styles can dominate and change. “The basic
learning modes assessed by the LSI, however, are theoretically interdependent (i.e any action,
including responding to the test, is determined in varying degrees by all four learning modes) and
variable (i.e., the person’s interpretation of the situation should to some degree influence which
modes are used).” (Kolb, 1981, p. 291). Furthermore, test-retest reliability on the LSI is highest
when the test-retest time period is short and experience in the test-retest period is highly similar
to previous experience, i.e. no major situational changes. Responses to the LSI are determined
by variably situational factors in addition to more stable personal disposition (Geller, 1979).
Furthermore, in 1994 Iliff conducted a meta-analysis of 101 quantitative studies gathered
from 275 dissertations and 624 articles that were qualitative, theoretical, and quantitative studies
of ELT and the LSI (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). Using Hickox's evaluation format he found that 49
studies showed strong support for the LSI, 40 showed mixed support and 12 studies showed no
support. Nearly half of the 101 studies reported sufficient data on the LSI scales to compute
effect sizes via meta-analysis. Most studies reported correlations classified as low (<.5) with
effect sizes falling into the weak (.2) to medium (.5) range for the LSI scales. Iliff suggests that
the strength of these statistics is insufficient to meet standards of predictive validity. The author
also correctly notes that the LSI was not intended to be a predictive psychological test like IQ,
GRE or GMAT. The LSI was originally developed as a self-assessment exercise and later used
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as a means of construct validation for ELT (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). Construct validation is focused
on the theory or construct the test measures, not the outcome criterion. Judged by the standards
of construct validity, ELT has been widely accepted as a useful framework for learning centered
educational innovation, including instructional design, curriculum development, and life-long
learning (Kolb & Kolb, 2005).
3.4 Adaptive Style Inventory (Abbreviated Version)
The ASI is a self-report of individuals’ perceptions of the extent to which they prefer to
the four learning processes (CE, RO, AC, and AE) under four situational press conditions
(Valuing, Thinking, Deciding, and Acting) (Bell, 2005).
1.Valuing situations, this condition "presses" for CE and RO. To illustrate, imagine a job
counseling session in which the situation presses helpers to pay attention to momentary
experiences of the client while simultaneously reflecting on the possible career paths he or she
may flourish in.
2. Thinking situations press for AC and RO. This kind of situational press is common in training
programs that emphasize students’ development of analytical skills, and is typified by case
analysis activities (Mainemelis, Boyatzis, & Kolb, 2002). Thinking situations press for mastery
and manipulation of abstract concepts, theory building, and reflective consideration of
relationships among concepts.
3. Deciding situations press for AE and AC. Troubleshooting environments are often deciding
situations that press people into decisions based on abstract concepts and active experimentation
in the application of those concepts.
4. Acting situations involve dominant characteristics of CE and AE. An example is a first week
on the job where the employee is schooled in the daily operations of an organization. These
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situations press attunement to human conditions and other contextual factors, active involvement
with others, and pragmatism in one’s efforts.
“Theoretically, individuals who systematically prefer learning modes that are in contrast
to those featured in the press of a situation are more likely to possess higher levels of integrative
development and to develop creative responses to situational demands.” (Bell, 2005, p.6)
The most salient findings regarding dimensional adaptive flexibility were found by Mainemelis
et al. (2002) where individuals with a nearly equal, or “balanced,” preference for AC and CE
learning processes in the LSI tended to have adaptive flexibility in the AC/CE dimension in the
ASI ( ß = .25, R
2
= .08, F (2, 195) = 8.08, p < .001, N = 198). “This outcome lent support to the
authors’ hypothesis that lack of a strong preference for either opposing learning mode afforded
more opportunities to flex or change preferences in different situations” (Bell, 2005, p. 11).
Only three studies (Bell, 1994; Boyatzis & Mainemelis, 2000; Kolb & Wolfe, 1981)
reported internal reliability coefficients for ASI first-level (i.e., total mode) scores, and
values ranged from very low (e.g., .21) to high (e.g., .89) (Bell, 2005).
Furthermore, using a subsample (n = 109) of engineers, social workers, and mid-life men
and women in the original instrument development study, Kolb and Wolfe (1981) found total
adaptive flexibility to be positively correlated with level of ego development (r = .26) and
negatively correlated with concern for coping with stress (r = -.13). Among the sample of mid-
life adults (n = 39), individuals with higher levels of total adaptive flexibility perceived
themselves to be more self-directed in current life situations (r = .26), to have greater flexibility
(r = .36) and higher levels of differentiation (r = .35) in their personal relationships, and used
more constructs to describe their life structures (r = .25). Additionally they perceive themselves
having lower levels of conflict in their lives (r = -.34). The results suggested that despite
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perceiving their lives as more complex, persons with higher levels of adaptive flexibility
considered their lives to be less stressful and more self-directed.
This study employs an abbreviated 8 item ASI survey designed by Professor David Kolb,
which like the LSI uses an ipsative, ranking format.
3.5 Mindful Experiential Learning
The proposed research enables us to gain insight into the process of experiential learning.
Since experiential learning is a cycle, it is important to address the four aspects that it involves,
otherwise a learning imbalance occurs. In its idealized state, integrated experiential learning is a
process involving creative tension among four learning modes that are responsive to contextual
demands (Mainemelis, et al., 2002). It is a process that results in a state of engagement that
feeds back into the process as well. Similarly, mindfulness is a state and a process that leads to
its own state. Hence when practicing mindfulness one attempts to reach a mindful state and is
being mindful to varying degrees from focusing on the process of practicing mindfulness. With
its focus on process over outcome, mindfulness may be a construct that helps us uniquely
understand the process of experiential learning. Its emphasis on moment to moment awareness
of experience reveals an opportunity in terms of lessening the automatic tendencies that
unbalanced experiential learners may activate when learning. In addition as previously
discussed, a by-product of this is that we can lessen the stressful clutter in our minds (Kabat-
Zinn, 1994).
The proposed definition of mindful experiential learning is: a process of being aware of
dominant modes of experiential learning and being flexible and purposeful with the way one
engages in a learning situation so that it is appropriate to the environment. This will be tested for
and potentially edited based on a data analysis. An alternative to being mindful of one’s learning
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process is being mindless of it. When people mindlessly learn it is either due to repetition of
processing information a particular way, or because no reason is found to critically consider
information during a single exposure to it (Chanowitz & Langer, 1981). Mindless experiential
learning occurs when learners are automatically enacting learning routines without awareness of
the dialectics they are engaged in. Without awareness of our learning modes, our opportunities
to changing learning styles as appropriate to context become reduced.
For several decades ELT has suggested learning is a process and not an outcome, an
assumption shared later in Langer’s (2000) notion of mindful learning. Traditional learning
theories engaged behaviorist doctrines that focus on learning in terms of behavioral outcomes
(Skinner, 1948). Successful learning in the behaviorist approach means an accumulation of the
“right” habits and fixed ideas in a given person. The early popularity of this orientation toward
outcomes rather than adaptation, in the eyes of many, led to a negative effect on the educational
system (Kolb, 1984). While teaching particular behaviors and habits can be a powerful treatment
for medium to extreme psychological disorders, the approach is incomplete in terms of its
contribution to how the average person learns. ELT however has shifted the epistemology as it
assumes that “ideas are not fixed and immutable elements of thought but are formed and re-
formed through experience” (Kolb, 1984, p. 26). This awareness opens up a whole new way of
thinking about learning. Part of the reason for this is the emphasis and importance of context in
learning (Langer, 1997). An individual has the option of engaging in concrete awareness,
focusing on internal sensations as well as sight, sounds, smell, and touch; or thinking abstractly
in symbolic form which involves contemplating the multiple relationships that exist in one’s
world. On another dimension one has the option of reflecting internally or acting out in the
world. These four options are not always clear cut states, rather they describe the dynamics of
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cognitive processes that take place when an individual is engaged in the complex task of
learning. The process of experiential learning refers to the way in which the conflicts among the
dialectically opposed modes of adaptation get resolved (Kolb, 198). This is important because
“if conflicts are resolved by suppression of one mode and/or dominance by another, learning
tends to be specialized around the dominant mode and limited in areas controlled by the
dominated mode” (Kolb, 1984, 31). Integrated learning may result from a balance in these
dialects rather than being locked in the extremes.
Mainemelis et al. (2002) found that balance of the experiential learning dialectics is
related to flexibility while specialization is related to skill development. In research, they
learned that individuals that balance concrete experience and abstract conceptualization
tendencies respond more flexibly in adapting to experiencing and conceptualizing learning
situations. Of participants with an experiencing/conceptualizing balance, males showed
significantly less developed learning skill in the analytical quadrant while females showed
significantly lower skill in the information quadrant. Flexibility in how one acquires information
is also an indicator of mindfulness and supports the idea that a balance in modes of learning
involves being mindful. Regarding knowledge transformation, mindlessness may be one
explanation for an individual who is overly engaged in reflective observation with no action, or
active experimentation of behaviors without reflection.
Furthermore, both mindfulness (Bodner, 2000) and experiential learning (Kolb, 1984),
are holistic adaptive processes, which can be practiced in all realms of life. Kolb (1984)
describes the advantage of holistic and adaptive learning processes in the following passage:
“When learning is conceived as a holistic adaptive process, it provides conceptual bridges across
life situations such as school and work, portraying learning as a continuous lifelong process.
Similarly this perspective highlights the similarities among adaptive/learning activities that are
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commonly called by specialized names—learning, creativity, problem solving, decision making,
and scientific research. Finally, learning conceived holistically includes adaptive activities that
vary in their extension through time and space. Typically, an immediate reaction to a limited
situation or problem is not thought of as learning but as performance. Similarly at the other
extreme, we do not commonly think of long-term adaptations to one’s total life situation as
learning but as development . Yet performance, learning, and development, when viewed from
perspectives of experiential learning theory, form a continuum of adaptive postures to the
environment, varying only in short degree of extension in time and space. Performance is limited
to short-term adaptations to immediate circumstance, learning encompasses somewhat longer-term
mastery of generic classes of situations, and development encompasses lifelong adaptations to
one’s total life situation” (p.34)
In support of this adaptive view to learning, mindfulness scholars Ryan & Brown (2003)
emphasize an alternative to the Western biased view of self-as-object. They describe the theory
of self-as-process:
“In contrast to the self-as-object perspective is another take on self derived from developmental
and organismic theorizing—the self-as-process (e.g., Blasi, 1988; Deci & Ryan, 1991; Loevinger,
1976). Researchers in the self-as-process tradition view the self not merely as a concept, or as an
object of self-evaluation, but as the very process of assimilation and integration. The self
represents the integrative core of the person and entails ongoing activities of extending,
assimilating, and bringing meaning and coherence to life experiences. Thus, in this view, the self
is both an inherent tendency and a dynamic, synthetic process. SDT [self determination theory]
has specifically focused on the conditions that support the integrative tendencies that characterize
the self, versus those under which these tendencies or functions are compromised (Ryan, 1995).”
(Ryan & Brown, 2003, p.27)
In order to integrate and adapt, individuals interact with the environment in a symbiotic fashion.
ELT is grounded in the assumption that learning from experience results in individual knowledge
acquired within a culture of social knowledge. Vygotsky describes the zone of proximal
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development as "the distance between the actual development level as determined by
independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through
problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky,
1978). This is the zone where learning happens. Learning becomes the vehicle for human
development through interactions between individuals with their biologic potentialities and the
society with its symbols, tools, and social other cultural artifacts (Kolb, 1984). Mindfulness as
we have reviewed also engages the participant in awareness of social influences, context, and
situationality. Perhaps when we are mindful of how situations bring forth modes of learning, we
can better balance its competing modes.
3.6 Hypothesized Relationship Between Mindfulness and Experiential Learning
In looking at the two scales, there appeared to be two possibilities as to how mindfulness
would relate to learning styles, one involved a metacognitive process and the other a
sensory/contextual process. As a metacognitive process, high scoring mindful experiential
learners would have a propensity to be more balanced or adaptive in their learning style in terms
of where they get their information from (concrete experience or abstract conceptualization). As
a sensory/contextual process high scoring mindful experiential learners would have a propensity
to be more concrete and present centered and aware. The contents of all instruments were
analyzed and it was thought that the MAAS was more oriented toward a sensory/contextual
process of mindful experiential learning while the LMS was more related to a metacognitive
process.
The second research question inquires into whether or not mindful experiential learning is
a metacognitive process. As the hypotheses below indicate, it was thought that a metacognitive
process of mindful experiential learning could be observed two ways. First, if total MAAS/LMS
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mindfulness scores were highly correlated with learners who are balanced in terms of the way
they take in information it may be an indication that mindful experiential learning is about being
aware of and choosing the appropriate method for acquiring information in a given moment. In
this scenario, flexibility as measured by the LMS and by a lack of dominance in LSI CE or AC
scores, places emphasis on cognitive flexibility. The other pattern in the data that would place an
emphasis on metacognitive processes in mindful experiential learning would be if learners high
in adaptive flexibility would score higher on MAAS/LMS total scores. This is because if a
person can adapt his or her learning style to a given situation and tends to be mindful it may be
that the core ability is awareness and flexibility, suggesting metacognitive processes.
The third research question inquired into whether or not mindful experiential learning is a
sensory/contextual process. The first way to examine this is if MAAS scores, which seem to
focus on concrete experiences, correlate with LSI concrete experience. If a strong pattern
emerged in which high scorers on the MAAS are dominant CE learners, a clear pattern would
emerge in which sensitivity to context through concrete awareness would be the connection
between mindfulness and experiential learning. Likewise, if high MAAS scorers scored lower on
abstract conceptualization then a strong argument could be made for mindful experiential
learning being a sensory/contextual “experiencing” process as opposed to a process that involves
abstract forms of thought. An analysis of the MAAS and LMS led to the belief that MAAS items
are more related to sensory/contextual processes while with the LMS this link was less clear.
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Research Question #2:
Is mindful experiential learning a metacognitive process?
H2: Participants who are balanced on LSI concrete experience and abstract conceptualization
dimensions will score higher on Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and Langer
Mindfulness Scale total scores.
H3: Participants high on adaptive flexibility in ACCE on the ASI will on average score higher
on Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and Langer Mindfulness Scale total scores.
Research Question #3:
Is mindful experiential learning a sensory/contextual process?
H4: Participants who score high on the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale will score high
on the concrete experience domain.
H5: Participants who score high on the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale will score low
on the abstract conceptualization domain.
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Chapter 4 – Research Method
4.1 Participants
Participants for this study were mostly from American organizations though some
international participants contributed. People were recruited through a snowball effect of
participants forwarding a website link and a participant invitation email letter to various
organization members who they believed fit participation criteria of working as fulltime adults.
In addition the President of National Training Laboratories (NTL) sent the link to NTL members,
and it was posted on a subscription email list hosted by the National OD Network. Through
these means, data were obtained representing a variety of fields including psychology, business,
education, social sciences, engineering, computer science and information systems, health,
humanities, science and mathematics, fine and applied arts, communications, law, literature,
social work, medicine, accounting, nursing, architecture, and languages.
4.2 Procedures
Participation was voluntarily and conducted through online assessments. Participants
were told about the study via an email description with a link to a website and instructions to
follow the link provided to fill out the required surveys. Participants were then provided with an
online consent form. In order to participate in the study it was required that they confirm consent
by clicking a checkbox. After participants agreed o the consent form, instructions were provided
followed by an administration of both the MAAS and LMS scales and the ASI. Upon
completion of these scales, participants were provided with a link to an online LSI scale. To
maintain anonymity, participants were instructed not to use their own names. Rather they were
asked to create an identification code which could be any word followed by a two digit number.
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Participants were given the option of receiving a full LSI analysis profile online to provide
insight into how they learn and how they can leverage their styles to become better learners. This
benefited the participant by providing a valuable self development instrument at no charge.
4.3 Demographics
A total of 349 participants completed at least partial online surveys. Of these,
approximately 274 (79%) submitted full demographic information, 314 completed both
mindfulness scales, and approximately 243 completed the LMS, ASI, MAAS, and LSI measures
required to proceed with the mindful experiential learning analysis. Regarding age range, 15
participants were between ages 19-24, 77 were between ages 25-34, 55 were between ages 35-
44, 66 were between ages 45-54, 52 were between ages 55-64, and 11 were age 65 and over.
Gender associations of 189 female and 85 male were indicated. Regarding education levels, 47
participants held doctoral degrees, 125 held masters degrees, 22 completed secondary school
only, 79 held university degrees only and 3 completed primary school only. In terms of job
sector, 95 participants worked in the private sector, 67 worked in non-profit settings, 63 were self
employed, and 89 participants indicated “other”. Of participants who indicated place of birth, 24
countries were represented with the majority of participants having been born in the United
States. Of the participants who indicated their country of residence, 235 lived in the United
States, 19 lived in Canada, 12 lived in India, 2 in the United Kingdom, 1 in Mozambique, 1 in
Singapore, 1 in Thailand, and 1 in Venezuela. In terms of race, 204 participants were Caucasian,
26 were Black/African American, 21 Asian, 5 Hispanic/Latino, 2 American Indian/Alaskan
Native, and 17 other. Job Industry represented a variety of fields with 71 participants indicating
other, 48 indicating psychology, 34 business, 22 education, 20 social sciences, 9 engineering, 8
computer science and information systems, 7 health, 7 humanities, 7 science and mathematics, 6
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fine and applied arts, 6 communications, 6 law, 5 literature, 3 social work, 3 medicine, 3
accounting, 2 nursing, 1 architecture, and 1 in languages. Furthermore, participants indicated a
nice representation of job levels with 78 technical/professionals, 60 managers, 49 other, 42
senior executives, 17 hourly/administrative employees, 17 students, 12 supervisors.
4.4 Assessment Instruments
This section will introduce a new learning flexibility scale, briefly restate the previously
described scales and describe the variables created for data analyses.
Learning Flexibility
A new four item scale was created in attempt measure learning flexibility in a
straightforward self assessment. Two of the questions consisted of two reverse worded items and
two positively worded items. The items were as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6AlmostAlways
VeryFrequently
SomewhatFrequently
SomewhatInfrequently
VeryInfrequently
AlmostNever
When I learn I modify my style based on what I am learning
1 2 3 4 5 6
When I learn I am very consistent in my style of learning
1 2 3 4 5 6
I am generally flexible as to how I go about learning something.
1 2 3 4 5 6
I consistently learn things a particular way
1 2 3 4 5 6
A total learning flexibility variable called LearnFlexTotal was created by reverse scoring items 2
and 4 and them summing all four items together (see Table 2).
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Table 2: Learning Flexibility Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
LearnFlexTotal 314 6.00 24.00 13.6178 2.78181
Valid N (listwise) 314
Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)
The Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale created by Brown and Ryan (2003),
measures individual differences in the frequency of mindful states over time using 15 items. The
items are negatively worded and counter balance this by using the following a likert scale: 1 =
Almost Always, 2 = Very Frequently, 3 = Somewhat Frequently, 4 = Somewhat Infrequently, 5
= Very Infrequently, to 6 = Almost Never. The variable created for this scale is called MAAS
Total and it is a sum of all the items. See Table 2 for MAAS total variable descriptive statistics.
The Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS)
The Langer Mindfulness Scale is a 21-item questionnaire used for training, self-
discovery, and research. It focuses on four factors: Engagement, Novelty Seeking, Novelty
Producing, and Flexibility (Bodner, 2000). The items are measured using the following likert
scale: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Slightly Disagree, 4 = Neutral, 5 = Slightly
Agree, 6 = Agree, 7 = Strongly Agree. After reverse items 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 15, 19, and 21 are
reverse scored, the following variables were created: Engagement by summing all flexibility
items, Novelty Seeking by summing all novelty seeking items, Novelty Producing by summing
all Novelty Producing items, Flexibility by summing all flexibility items, LMS Total which is the
total of all LMS items. In addition an LMS/MAAS total variable was created which totaled
MAAS Total and LMS Total variables. See Table 3 for LMS total variable descriptive statistics.
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Table 3: LMS and MAAS Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
LMS_NS 314 8 56 46.71 5.600
LMS_NP 314 7 28 21.21 4.443
LMS_ENG 314 4 21 17.34 2.759LMS_TOTAL 314 40 105 85.25 9.724
MAAS_TOTAL 314 29 74 54.69 9.437
LMSMAASTOTAL 314 96 181 146.03 15.537
Valid N (listwise) 314
Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI)
The LSI is a self-report instrument designed as a self-diagnostic tool to assess learning
along the four dialectics of experiential learning (Kayes, 2000; Kolb & Kolb, 2005; Kolb, 2005).
It consists of 12 items each of which offers four options that are ranked according to the degree
to which the participant believes it describes the way he learned in a recent learning situation of
his choice. The data is then summed and a learning style is indicated depending on the scoring
along the two dialectics. The following variables were created for the LSI: CE, RO, AC, and AE
variables were all calculated by summing their respective item rankings. In addition two
measures of specialization in one of the dialectical modes of the two dimensions in ELT (ACCE
= AC-CE, AERO = AE-RO) were created; and to assess a balanced profile the absolute of these
two dialectical scores was adjusted for population variation. “For example, individuals scoring
equally in AC and CE can be said to be balanced on this dimension” (Mainemelis et al., 2002,
p.14). Their absolute score reflects an inverse score of this balance, so a low score indicates a
balanced profile while a high score indicates specialization on either end of the dialectical
dimension. The absolute AC-CE score (ACCE BAL) was adjusted to center around the 50th
percentile (ABS [AC- (CE + 7)] of the LSI normative comparison group (Kolb & Kolb, 2005).
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Likewise the formula for the absolute AE-RO dimension score (AERO BAL) is ABS [AE – (RO
+ 6)]. See table 4 for LSI variable descriptive statistics.
Table 4: LSI Variable Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
CE 277 12 47 27.90 7.651
RO 278 12 47 27.36 7.375
AE 278 15 45 33.25 6.369
AC 277 15 48 31.44 8.067
AC_CE_BAL 277 0 35 11.82 7.840
AE_RO_BAL 278 0 30 9.72 6.479
AERO 278 -19 41 5.95 11.697
ACCE 278 -28 32 3.46 13.838
Valid N (listwise) 276
Adaptive Style Inventory (ASI - Abbreviated Version)
The ASI provides a self-report of individuals’ perceptions of the extent to which they use
the four experiential learning modes learning modes (CE, RO, AC, and AE) under four
situational learning conditions (Valuing, Thinking, Deciding, and Acting) (Bell, 2005). This
study used an abbreviated version of the orignal ASI (Kolb 1984, Boyatzis and Kolb 1993a,b&c)
converting the original 8 item paired comparison instrument into a 4 item ipsative ranking format
similar to the LSI. A variable measuring the extent to which individuals varied their use of the
abstract and concrete learning modes in different learning situations was created following the
work of Mainemelis, Boyatzis and Kolb (2002) where flexibility on this dimension was shown to
be related to balance on the AC-CE dimension of the LSI. The formula for ASI adaptive
flexibility in AC-CE using items 1, 2, 7 &8 from the original ASI is: ASI AC-CE Flexibility =
ABS(AC-CE) where a low score indicates high situational adaptive flexibility. The variable
along with Balance on the LSI AC-CE dimension and the Learning Flexibility items was used to
examine whether mindful experiential learning is a meta-cognitive activity. Preliminary analysis
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of the data from the 278 respondents who completed all three instruments showed that the ASI
AC-CE Flexibility variable had a mean of 6.79 and a standard deviation of 1.68. The correlation
between ASI AC-CE flexibility and AC-CE balance on the LSI was .36 (p< .000) replicating the
finding of Mainemelis, Boyatzis and Kolb. Both variables were positively related to the learning
flexibility scale: -.11 (p< .08) for the LSI and -.16 (p<.005) for the ASI.
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Chapter 5 – Mindfulness Results
5.1 Testing Hypotheses
Research Question #1: What factors converge between meditative mindfulness and social
psychological mindfulness measures?
As the reader recalls, the first research question inquired into the factors that potentially
converge between meditative mindfulness and social psychological mindfulness measures.
This section reviews previous LMS and MAAS findings related to this study, presents results
from this thesis, and revisits the integrated definition of mindfulness presented earlier to consider
implications of the present findings.
5.2 Langer Mindfulness Scale – Internal Consistency
The major validation study of the LMS comes from Bodner’s (2000) dissertation. The
analyses conducted used 46 items while the current LMS available for purchase consists of 21
items within the same four factors. As the reader may recall, the four factors that make up
mindfulness on the LMS are: novelty seeking, engagement, novelty production, and flexibility.
The first two factors, engagement and novelty seeking, make up individual differences in
the degree and manner of engagement with the environment. They contribute primarily to the
“awareness” component of mindfulness (Bodner, 2000). As the reader recalls, in Langer’s
theory, one must be aware of mental categories in order to change them. High engagement
scorers are likely to notice more details about his or her specific relationship with the
environment. An individual who seeks novelty perceives situations as opportunities to learn
something new.
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Flexibility and novelty producing, the last two LMS factors, contribute to the
reassessment and reconstruction aspects of mindfulness. Flexible people understand that
knowledge is bounded by social context, and novelty producing people generate new and useful
information.
Bodner (2000) conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to see if LMS items loaded onto
four oblique factors as Langer’s theoretical model assumed. Moderate correlation levels among
the four LMS factors were found except for flexibility and engagement which had a low
correlation (r=.12). Findings showed a small percentage of variance accounted for by the four
factors (17%). Furthermore, Bartlett’s test suggested there are more non-zero residual
correlations than one would expect if the residual correlations were all zero. Given the number
of items and the sample size (n= 586), these two concerns called the validity of the theoretical
structure into question. However, Bodner (2000) points out the possible misinterpretations of
results when factor analyzing item-level data, as it nearly always leads one to believe that the
data are more highly dimensional than a theoretical model states. The construction of the LMS
focused heavily on constructing the four scales so that they would have acceptable internal
consistency and simple internal structures. This was because “the ultimate goal of these four
scales was to explore whether and to what extent a single factor underlies them” (Bodner, 2000,
p. 70). Data suggested that a set number of items were determining mindfulness scores across
five studies that validated the scale. To explore this, 7 of the most highly loading items were
identified and made into a scale called EM7. EM7 items were drawn from novelty seeking and
novelty producing scales, suggesting that these two scales were largely determining LMS scores.
The average correlation for EM7 with the total LMS score (M = .55, SD = .02) was contrasted
with the average correlation between the 39 other items and the total LMS (M = .38, SD = .09).
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Of the five studies, total EM7 scores highly correlated with total LMS scores, ranging from .75
to .87 (M = .81, SD = .05).
Later a poster was presented at the 13th Annual American Psychological Society
Conference where Bodner and Langer (2001) presented the 21-item pencil and paper instrument
and its construct validation and referred to it as the Mindfulness/Mindlessness Scale (MMS).
The 21 item scale is still referred to at the online purchasing site as the “LMS” so for
consistency, the synonym “LMS” will continue to be used throughout the rest of this thesis. The
scale still had four subscales, with flexibility loading the most poorly (personal communication
with Bodner, 2006), but it was presented as a reliable and valid instrument to assess a relatively
stable individual difference called the propensity to be mindful. The current 21 item scale builds
off of the EM7 items (see Table 5), as well as other stronger items from the original 46 items.
Table 5: Correlations between EM7 items and the LMS Score Averaged over Five Studies(Bodner, 2000)
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An instrument qualifies as having adequate internal structure when data derived from it
correspond with the underlying theoretical structure of the instrument. The two claims of the
LMS are that 1) it is a latent variable underlying four related latent domains called Flexibility,
Novelty Producing, Novelty Seeking, and Engagement and 2) these four latent domains underlie
the responses to the items in the LMS (Bodner, 2000). The confirmatory factor analysis
provided evidence to support the first claim, but mixed evidence for the second. The item-level
data appeared to be more multidimensional than the four latent variable model predicted.
However, based on extensive validation studies reported in Bodner’s dissertation, the LMS does
appear to be relating to outcomes to which it should be theoretically related.
5.3 LMS and MAAS Dissertation Results
First the LMS was tested through an exploratory factor analysis (n=314). An exploratory
factor analysis is conducted to discover latent variables, or factors, that are behind a set of
variables or measures. Initial free loading indicated 4 factors but the variables that made up the
Flexibility factor were not salient. Though Bodner & Langer (2001) found factor loadings for
Flexibility items from .41 to .59, results for this thesis were far different, with no flexibility items
loading cleanly as a factor at all. In contrast to Flexibility, the other three factors of Novelty
Seeking, Novelty Producing, and Engagement were strongly expressed. LMS Flexibility items
were discarded because they lacked meaningful extraction of variance. Furthermore, items 5
and 9 cross loaded and were discarded to eliminate noise, as can be seen in the pattern matrix in
Table 6 below.
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Table 6: LMS Factor Analysis Pattern Matrix
Factor
NS NP E
LMS1 .647 -.135 .116
LMS5 .327 .111 .138
LMS13 .584 .103
LMS14 .603 .264 -.096
LMS17 .552 .116
LMS20 .595 -.192
LMS3 .644 -.167
LMS4 .459
LMS16 .456 -.115
LMS2 -.189 .585
LMS6 .779
LMS10 .729
LMS18 .259 .603 -.105
LMS21 -.118 .708 .201
LMS9 .165 .335
LMS8 .525
LMS15 .699
LMS19 .188 .552
Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring. Rotation Method: Promax with Kaiser Normalization.a Rotation converged in 6 iterations. Note: NS=Novelty Seeking, NP=Novelty Producing, E=Engagement
In exploring the relationship between subcomponents of the LMS, the strongest
relationship was found between novelty seeking and novelty production. Table 7 shows that
novelty seeking is also the most highly related factor to engagement within the LMS while
correlations among novelty producing and engagement were <.3.
Table 7: LMS Factor Correlation Matrix
Factor NS NP E
NS 1.000 .658 .361
NP .658 1.000 .252
E .361 .252 1.000
Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring. Rotation Method: Promax with Kaiser Normalization.
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5.4 LMS & MAAS Factor Analysis
A second exploratory factor analysis was conducted to explore whether the LMS and
MAAS loaded on similar factors (n=314). Data was pooled so that the scales (1-6 and 1-7)
would convert to a 0-30 scale. As found in the first factor analysis the three factors from the
LMS scale were most closely related among one another, while the items from the MAAS loaded
separately. The finding supports Brown & Ryan’s intentions of developing a scale that measures
a single isolated factor because the MAAS items loaded together strongly for the most part.
While items from the two scales did not load together, they were significantly correlated at a
moderate level, r=.248, p<.01. This suggests the scales may be measuring different
subcomponents of a mindfulness construct or different but related constructs that are both being
referred to as mindfulness, which is an important finding to be addressed in the discussion
section.
Additionally, as Table 8 shows, MAAS item 1 cross loaded on two factors and MAAS
item 6 showed no meaningful variance, so both were eliminated in order to proceed with
regression analysis. Engagement LMS items 8, 15, and 19 loaded cleanly, so they were retained.
LMS items 2, 6, 10, and 21 were retained because they loaded cleanly for the Novelty Producing
as measured by the LMS. Furthermore, LMS items 1, 13, 14, 17, 20, 3, 4, and 16 loaded cleanly
as Novelty Seeking and were retained.
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Table 8: Mindfulness Pattern Matrix
Factor
Attention/ Awareness
NoveltySeeking
NoveltyProducing Engagement
LMS1 -.106 .681 -.123 .158
LMS13 -.135 .590 .167
LMS14 .094 .572 .278
LMS17 .530
LMS20 .550 -.153 .101
LMS3 .563 -.112
LMS4 .421
LMS16 .370
LMS2 -.186 .612
LMS6 -.103 .142 .712
LMS10 .115 .646
LMS18 .322 .570 -.120
LMS21 .655 .131
LMS8 .557
LMS1) .109 .642
LMS19 .290 .518
MAAS1 .346 .243 -.141
MAAS2 .517 -.154 -.095
MAAS3 .684 .125 -.112
MAAS4 .519
MAAS5 .326
MAAS6 .177
MAAS7 .638 -.173 .243 .172
MAAS8 .676 .190
MAAS9 .559
MAAS10 .701 -.124 .130
MAAS11 .500
MAAS12 .609
MAAS13 .536 .214 -.114 -.212
MAAS14 .807
MAAS15 .497 .100
Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring. Rotation Method: Promax with Kaiser Normalization.a Rotation converged in 7 iterations.
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Table 9: Mindfulness Factor Correlation Matrix
FactorAttention/ Awareness
NoveltyProducing Engagement
NoveltyProduction
MAAS 1.000 .115 .255 .367
Novelty Producing .115 1.000 .555 .151Engagement .255 .555 1.000 .194
Novelty Production .367 .151 .194 1.000
Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring. Rotation Method: Promax with Kaiser Normalization.
As previously stated, Brown and Ryan (2003) found that between the MAAS and the
LMS, the total score correlation was r = .33, p < .0001, the MAAS most strongly associated with
the mindful engagement section of the LMS, r = .39, p < .0001 and that it was less correlated
with novelty seeking (r = .30, p < .001) and producing (r = .23, p < .01), with no relation to
cognitive flexibility. Similarly, the data in this thesis showed the MAAS was most strongly
correlated with mindful engagement, r=.272, p < .01, however novelty seeking (r=.153, p<.01)
was more strongly correlated than novelty producing (r=.182, p<.05) (see Table 10). Again, the
total MAAS and LMS scores positively correlated, this time at a moderate level of r=.248, p<.01.
These correlations are lower than what Brown and Ryan (2003) found, though it is unclear why.
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Table 10: LMS/MAAS Correlations
LMSNS
LMSNP
LMSENG
LMSTOTAL
MAASTOTAL
LMS_NS Correlation 1 .448(**) .275(**) .859(**) .153(**)
Sig. (2-tailed). .000 .000 .000 .007
N 314 314 314 314 314
LMS_NP Correlation .448(**) 1 .206(**) .773(**) .182(**)
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 . .000 .000 .001
N 314 314 314 314 314
LMS_ENG Correlation .275(**) .206(**) 1 .536(**) .272(**)
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 . .000 .000
N 314 314 314 314 314
LMSTOTAL
Correlation.859(**) .773(**) .536(**) 1 .248(**)
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 . .000
N 314 314 314 314 314
MAASTOTAL
Correlation .153(**) .182(**) .272(**) .248(**) 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .007 .001 .000 .000 .
N 314 314 314 314 314
LMSMAASTOTAL
Correlation.651(**) .616(**) .525(**) .806(**) .769(**)
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000
N 314 314 314 314 314
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Hypothesis 1 predicted that converging factors between measures of meditative mindfulness and
social psychological mindfulness would take the form of awareness, purposefulness, and
cognitive flexibility factors. While this has theoretical face validity, it was statistically
unsupported, hence the first hypothesis was rejected.
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Here it may be helpful to revisit the theoretical diagram that was being tested as the first
part of this dissertation:
Figure 3: Mindfulness Convergence Chart Revisited
Mindfulness Convergence Chart
Social Psychological Mindfulness Meditative Mindfulness
Construct
Similarities Mindfulness
1. Sensitivity to context 1. Awareness 1.Present centeredawareness 2. Cognitive Flexibility 2. Nonjudgme taln
2. Openness to new information 3. Purposefulness 3. Purposeful 3. Novel distinction/ New
categories
4. Multiple perspectives5. Situated in present
Mindlessness 1. Autopilot 1. Autopilot 1. Habitual reactions2. Following predetermined rules 2. Rigid Biases 2. Living in past/future3. Engaged in routinized 3. Predetermined Rules 3. Judgment/Evaluation
behaviors 4. Autopilot4. Rigid perspectives5. Without capacity for much
variation
The primary area of divergence from the chart is around number two (Cognitive
Flexibility) in the mindfulness similarities column. Because the data did not support the
flexibility component to the LMS, it was rejected as a commonality among mindfulness
approaches. Rather, the three LMS factors of engagement, novelty seeking and novelty
producing correlated among each other and with a potential new fourth factor -
attention/awareness measured by the MAAS. Based on the strong correlations between novelty
and the MAAS a revision would replace flexibility with novelty in the similarities column.
Novelty is a central component to Langer’s definition of mindfulness, and from a meditative
mindfulness perspective, present centered awareness of the here and now is a nonstop exercise in
novelty through newly birthed experiences by the millisecond. An explanation for the significant
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correlations of novelty producing and novelty seeking on the LMS with total MAAS scores is
that novelty is a major component of attention/awareness from the meditate mindfulness
perspective. Furthermore, the highest correlation between the MAAS and LMS was in the
engagement LMS factor on the LMS, so it is safe to assume that “purposefulness” should be
replaced with “engagement”. These ideas will be expanded upon as the integrated definition of
mindfulness is redefined in the discussion section.
Figure 4: Revised Mindfulness Convergence Chart
Revised Mindfulness Convergence Chart
Social Psychological Mindfulness Meditative Mindfulness
Construct
Similarities Mindfulness
1. Sensitivity to context 1. Awareness 1.Present centeredawareness 2. Novelty 2. Nonjudgm talen
2. Openness to new information 3. Engagement 3. Purposeful 3. Novel distinction/ New
categories4. Multiple perspectives
5. Situated in present
Mindlessness 1. Autopilot 1. Autopilot 1. Habitual reactions2. Following predetermined rules 2. Rigid Biases 2. Living in past/future3. Engaged in routinized 3. Predetermined Rules 3. Judgment/Evaluation
behaviors 4. Autopilot4. Rigid perspectives5. Without capacity for much
variation
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Chapter 6 - Mindfulness and Experiential Learning Results
6.1 Testing Hypotheses
Research Question #2: Is mindful experiential learning a metacognitive process?
Results indicated that the MAAS does not statistically relate to learning style as measured
by the LSI in any way but that the LMS does. The second hypothesis predicted that participants
who are balanced on the concrete experience and abstract conceptualization dimensions of the
LSI will score higher on mindfulness scale scores. As can be seen in Table 11, this was
unsupported by the data and H2 was rejected. ACCE Balance scores were not statistically
significant in relation to LMS Total scores (r = .045), or MAAS scores (r = .028). It was also
predicted that participants high on adaptive flexibility in ACCE will on average score higher on
Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and Langer Mindfulness Scale scores. After running a
correlation test there were no significant relationships between mindfulness scores and the ASI
ACCE scores so H3 was rejected (see Table 11). There was however a small significant
relationship between AERO ASI flexibility scores and total LMS scores, r=-.113, p<.05,
suggesting that the less balanced a learner is on the active experimentation/reflective observation
domain, the more likely he/she will score higher on the LMS. This is congruent with additional
findings which will be discussed in the next chapter.
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Table 11: Mindful Experiential Learning as a Metacognitive Process
ASIABSACCE ASIABSAEROACCEBAL
LMS_NS Correlation .041 -.108 -.005
Sig. (2-tailed).473 .056 .936
N 314 314 241
LMS_NP Correlation .034 -.087 .108
Sig. (2-tailed) .553 .125 .095
N 314 314 241
LMS_ENG Correlation .074 -.041 -.005
Sig. (2-tailed) .188 .469 .944
N 314 314 241
LMS_TOTAL Correlation .060 -.113(*) .045
Sig. (2-tailed) .290 .045 .483
N 314 314 241
MAAS_TOTAL Correlation .040 .036 .028
Sig. (2-tailed) .482 .522 .669
N 314 314 241
LMSMAAS TOTAL Correlation .061 -.056 .044
Sig. (2-tailed) .281 .323 .497
N 314 314 241
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Research Question #3: Is mindful experiential learning a sensory/contextual process?
Hypothesis 4 predicted that scores on the MAAS Scale would positively correlate with
scores on the concrete experience domain and the fourth hypothesis predicted that scores on the
MAAS Scale would negatively correlate with the abstract conceptualization domain of the LSI.
As Table 12 shows, H3 and H4 were rejected because no significant relationships between the
MAAS and the LSI were found. Potential reasons for this will be addressed in the discussion
chapter. While the hypotheses related to research question #3 were rejected, additional findings
may provide evidence that mindful experiential learning as it is measured with the current
instruments is a sensory/contextual process.
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Table 12: Mindful Experiential Learning and a Sensory/Contextual Process
CE RO AE AC AERO ACCE
LMS_NS Correlation .140(*) -.097 .010 -.050 .058 -.103
Sig. (2-tailed) .030 .132 .872 .437 .372 .110
N 241 243 243 243 243 243
LMS_NP Correlation .262(**) -.338(**) -.054 .092 .187(**) -.096
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .402 .151 .003 .134
N 241 243 243 243 243 243
LMS_ENG Correlation -.006 -.028 -.021 .046 .007 .029
Sig. (2-tailed) .927 .668 .743 .473 .919 .653
N 241 243 243 243 243 243
LMSTOTAL
Correlation.199(**) -.219(**) -.025 .027 .121 -.095
Sig. (2-tailed) .002 .001 .701 .680 .060 .139
N 241 243 243 243 243 243MAASTOTAL
Correlation.033 -.036 -.014 .013 .006 -.009
Sig. (2-tailed) .615 .577 .832 .843 .932 .887
N 241 243 243 243 243 243
LMSMAASTOTAL
Correlation.149(*) -.174(**) -.027 .037 .087 -.060
Sig. (2-tailed) .021 .007 .673 .564 .178 .350
N 241 243 243 243 243 243
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
6.2 Additional Findings
While the hypotheses of this study were rejected, the data revealed several interesting and
significant findings that shed light on research question #3 (see Table 12). First, concrete
experience LSI scores were positively correlated with novelty production (r=.262, p<.01),
novelty seeking (r=.14, p<.05), LMS total scores (r=.199, p<.01), and LMS/MAAS total scores
(r=.149, p<.05). In contrast, reflective observation LSI scores were significantly negatively
correlated with novelty production (r=.338, p<.01), total LMS scores (r=-.219, p<.05), and had a
smaller negative significant relationship with LMS/MAAS total scores (r=-.174, p<.01).
Additionally, AERO scores (AE – RO = AERO) positively correlated with novelty production,
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r=.187, p<.05. This may suggest that reflection is a barrier to novelty production but that action
does not necessarily influence it one way or the other.
Though small in relationships, learning flexibility negatively correlated with novelty
seeking on the LMS (r=-.133, p<.05), negatively correlated with LMS total scores (r=-.132,
p<.05), and negatively correlated with LMS/MAAS Total scores (r=-.122, p<.05). Learning
flexibility negative correlated with concrete experience on the LSI (r=-.185, p<.01) and
positively correlated with reflective observation (r=.158, p<.05). In addition correlations
between the Adaptive Styles Inventory and the four learning flexibility items revealed a negative
relationship between abstract conceptualization/concrete experience (ACCE) and learning
flexibility items (r=-.158, p<.01).
6.3 Retesting for Gender Differences
After conducting two more exploratory factor analyses on the data set controlling for
gender, it became clear that there were no significant differences among the factor loadings.
The only noticeable difference was that in the female gender sample, novelty production no
longer loaded as a clear factor that was distinct from novelty seeking. Given the difference in
participant numbers it is not possible to fairly attribute differences to gender. Interestingly, as we
have already seen, when data from both genders are analyzed together, there is a clean load on
the three LMS factors and the MAAS Attention Awareness factor while when they are separated
the load is no longer clean.
Two-tailed bivariate correlations tests revealed differences in relationships between
learning style and mindfulness scores among genders. Among males, concrete experience
correlated positively with novelty seeking (r=.24, p<.05), novelty production (r=.352, p<.01),
and total LMS scores (r=.279, p<.05) (see Table 13). Reflective observation negatively
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correlated with novelty production (r=-.327, p<.01). Furthermore LMS total scores negatively
correlated with ACCE, scores (AC – CE = ACCE), r=.187, p<.05 suggesting that concrete
experience is positively correlated with LMS scores for males but that abstract conceptualization
does not necessarily influence it one way or the other.
Table 13: LMS, MAAS, LSI Correlations Male
LMSNovelty Seeking
LMSNovelty Production
LMSEngagement
LMSTOTAL
MAASTOTAL
LMSMAASTOTAL
ACCE -.226 -.209 -.045 -.235(*) .000 -.164
.055 .076 .707 .046 .998 .167
73 73 73 73 73 73
CE .240(*) .352(**) -.042 .279(*) -.026 .187
.041 .002 .725 .017 .828 .113
73 73 73 73 73 73
RO -.123 -.327(**) .018 -.203 -.008 -.159
.298 .005 .878 .085 .949 .178
73 73 73 73 73 73
AE .055 -.023 .184 .070 .073 .089
.642 .849 .119 .556 .540 .455
73 73 73 73 73 73
AC -.162 -.025 -.118 -.140 -.024 -.104
.171 .832 .319 .239 .838 .379
73 73 73 73 73 73
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
As Table 14 illustrates, among females concrete experience correlated positively with
novelty production (r=.23, p<.01) and had a smaller positive relationship with total LMS scores
(r=.152, p<.05). Reflective observation negatively correlated with novelty production (r=-.312,
p<.01) and total LMS scores (r=-.21, p<.05) and LMS/MAAS total scores (r=-.164, p<.05).
Furthermore, AERO scores (AE – RO = AERO) positively correlated with novelty production,
r=.167, p<.05 showing that reflection may be a barrier to novelty production among women but
that action does not necessarily influence it one way or the other.
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Table 14: LMS, MAAS, LSI Correlations Female
LMSNovelty Seeking
LMSNovelty Production
LMSEngagement
LMSTOTAL
MAASTOTAL
LMSMAASTOTAL
AERO .051 .167(*) -.034 .099 .006 .070
.512 .031 .667 .202 .935 .371
167 167 167 167 167 167
ACCE -.041 -.062 .086 -.027 -.029 -.024
.600 .428 .269 .733 .707 .762
167 167 167 167 167 167
CE .080 .230(**) -.010 .152(*) .061 .129
.303 .003 .893 .049 .436 .097
167 167 167 167 167 167
RO -.084 -.312(**) -.041 -.210(**) -.038 -.164(*)
.281 .000 .601 .007 .624 .035
167 167 167 167 167 167AE -.006 -.065 -.111 -.068 -.034 -.067
.938 .405 .154 .383 .662 .388
167 167 167 167 167 167
AC .005 .123 .140 .104 .003 .083
.950 .116 .072 .182 .970 .289
166 166 166 166 166 166
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
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Chapter 7 – Discussion & Conclusion
This research began with two contrasting ideas about the relationship between
mindfulness and experiential learning. The first was a metacognitive approach in which people
are aware of their learning style and flexible with it depending on the learning situation they are
in, and able to create new cognitive categories while learning, which led to the hypothesis that
scores on both mindfulness scales would be related to adaptive flexibility. This concept assumed
that the flexibility component of social psychological mindfulness as measured by the LMS is a
core aspect of mindfulness. The second idea emphasized the sensory/contextual importance of
mindful experiential learning. This idea led to a prediction that concrete experience relates to
mindfulness as measured by the MAAS. In reading the LMS, its relationship with concrete
experience did not seem as pronounced, despite the fact that Langer’s studies have often
examined sensitivity to context (1997).
While the specific hypotheses were disconfirmed, nonetheless, the results clearly reject
the first idea and support the second. The overarching pattern suggests that mindfulness as
measured by the currently validated scales is linked to experiential learning through sensory
contextual processes that involve engaging in novel experiences through awareness of the senses,
emotions, and people around us. Thus this study provides evidence suggesting that there is a
sensory/contextual element to mindful experiential learning while evidence of the metacognitive
link to mindful experiential learning was not found.
In a factor analysis, LMS flexibility items were dropped when they did not cleanly load
onto a single factor. This led to a revised definition of mindfulness in terms of the convergence
between the two theories, with flexibility and purposefulness which are related to metacognition,
replaced by with novelty and engagement which are related to the sensory/contextual concept of
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mindful experiential learning. Looking at the correlations between the two mindfulness scales
and the LSI, while the MAAS did not correlate with concrete experience, it also didn’t correlate
with the LSI at all. This chapter will discuss potential reasons for this based in the reverse
wording of the MAAS. On the other hand, mindfulness on the LMS correlated with concrete
experience as well as mindfulness on the MAAS. Finally correlation tests between mindfulness
scales and adaptive flexibility on the ASI, and mindfulness scales and the learning flexibility
scale showed no relationship between flexibility in learning style and mindfulness, further
supporting the idea that sensory/context is at the core of mindful experiential learning and
rejecting the idea of mindful experiential learning through metacognition. Areas of convergence
between the two mindfulness approaches center around concrete experience as a means of being
context sensitive, aware, oriented towards novelty, and engaged. Furthermore mindfulness as
measured by the LMS negatively correlated with reflective observation on the LSI, suggesting
that premature reflective observation may result in a learner missing out on the benefits of
concrete experience in the experiential learning cycle. In addition the flexibility component of
the LMS is called into question in terms of its ability to measure flexibility of cognitive
categories.
Given Langer’s theoretical emphasis on learning, a connection between the Langer
Mindfulness Scale and Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory is logical. Though not predicted, results
show that high mindful scorers on the LMS tend to engage learning experiences through concrete
experience. In addition, low scorers on the LMS tend to prefer a learning style dominant in
reflective observation. From this one can begin to abstract an image of mindful experiential
learning that involves concreteness, engagement, novelty seeking, and novelty production. The
latter three components are positively correlated to mindfulness attention/awareness on the
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Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale. In retrospect, the construct validity of both mindfulness
scales as they relate to openness to experience was overlooked. Bodner and Langer (2001) state
that mindfulness relates most to the openness to experience personality dimension. Similar to
Bodner and Langer, Brown and Ryan (2003) point out that mindfulness “appears to relate to
aspects of the Openness to Experience dimension of personality, which involves receptivity to
and interest in new experiences” (p. 823). This could be potentially linked to concrete
experience and supports the concept of mindful experiential learning as a sensory/contextual
process.
Additionally no evidence was found for a metacognitive approach to mindful
experiential learning in any of the scales. It was found that LSI balance and ASI adaptive
flexibility are unrelated to either mindfulness scale. The following section discusses implications
of the results as they relate to the hypotheses followed by additional findings that can guide
future research.
This study was the first of its kind to empirically examine the construct validity of the
Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and the LMS by concurrently administering both
measures to a sample of employed adults between the ages of 19 and over. A major contribution
of this study was that it examined the MAAS and LMS through an exploratory factor analysis to
test for common factors. The first research question explored converging factors between the
MAAS and LMS. Hypothesis one predicted that the factor analysis would yield present centered
awareness, purposefulness, and cognitive flexibility as three common factors. It was rejected
because the two scales loaded four other factors: novelty seeking, novelty producing,
engagement, and attention/awareness. Though a significant positive relationship was found
between the MAAS and the LMS on engagement, novelty production, and novelty seeking,
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MAAS (attention/awareness) items loaded as an independent factor. Data supports the
contention that the MAAS and the LMS are measuring either distinct aspects of a multi-factored
mindfulness construct or two distinct but related constructs which are both being referred to by
researchers as mindfulness. Given the theoretical similarities between meditative and social
psychological mindfulness, it was concluded that the two scales likely measure a four factor
construct of mindfulness made up of engagement, novelty production, and novelty seeking, and
attention/awareness factors.
The second and third research questions focused on the relationship between measures of
mindfulness, adaptive learning, and experiential learning styles. The second research question
explored whether or not mindful experiential learning is a metacognitive process. Hypothesis 2
predicted that participants who are balanced on the concrete experience/abstract
conceptualization experiential learning dialectic would score higher on MAAS/LMS total
mindfulness scores than unbalanced learners on this dialectic. This hypothesis was rejected as it
was unsupported by the data. There was no significant relationship between LMS/MAAS scores
and balanced CE/AC scores. One explanation for the unsupported finding is that the MAAS did
not correlate with the LSI. Another explanation is that the LMS positively correlates with
concrete experience on the LSI. Thus someone scoring a balance between concrete experience
and abstract conceptualization would have a lower CE score than people high on CE, who tend
to score higher on the LMS.
Hypothesis 3 predicted that participants high on adaptive flexibility in AC/CE on the ASI
will on average score higher on Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and Langer Mindfulness
Scale total scores. This was rejected as the data did not support the prediction. Since the data
showed no significant relationships between the MAAS and the LSI, it is logical to deduce it
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would not show significant relationships between the MAAS and ASI, which is a measure of
how adaptive and flexible one is with their LSI preferences.
The third research question explored whether or not mindful experiential learning is a
sensory/contextual process. Hypotheses 4 predicting that MAAS scores would positively
correlate with concrete experience on the LSI and H5 predicting that MAAS scores would
negatively correlate with abstract conceptualization on the LSI were unsubstantiated. Both were
rejected because while MAAS items at first glance seem to link to concrete experience, they did
not statistically relate to a concrete experiential style of knowledge acquisition. Potential reasons
for the lack of significant relationships between the two scales vary. One explanation may be
that the MAAS measures such a specific form of present centered awareness that it cannot be
directly linked to experiential learning preferences. However, there are alternative explanations
that could have driven this finding. For example, an explanation may lie in the reverse wording
of the MAAS items. As noted earlier, Brown & Ryan (2003) found that their version of the
MAAS that used items directly measuring positive manifestations of mindfulness correlated
more strongly with the LMS (r=.44, p < .0001) than the standard MAAS which is worded to
assess mindlessness (r= .33, p<.0001). Given that the LMS and LSI assess positive
manifestations of mindfulness and experiential learning style, respectively, and that the strongest
mindfulness and learning correlations were found between these two scales, perhaps a positive
version of the MAAS would have significantly correlated with the LSI as well as the LMS.
Additionally, even if the MAAS and concrete experience aspect of the LSI were measuring
similar constructs, concrete experience as a means of knowledge acquisition varies in its
application compared to attention/awareness. It is possible to start the learning process through
the 5 senses and feelings (which is the focus of concrete experience as measured by the LSI) and
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still lack present centered awareness. This leads into another consideration, which is that the
MAAS includes items that do not appear to measure the acquisition of data through the 5 senses
and feelings. For instance, one item on the MAAS assesses the degree to which someone
remembers a name when it is initially shared for example. The idea driving this item is that when
we are aware and attending to the moment we will pay attention to the name being spoken to us
and hence be more likely to remember it. However, remembering a name is different than the
tendency to acquire knowledge through physiological senses and emotion. Another factor to
consider is that learning is a process by which one engages with the world of knowledge, while
mindful attentiveness may be more about the quality by which one attends to the moment. There
is a subtle difference here that future research would help clarify. Lastly, the fact that a 1-4 scale
ipsative measure (LSI) does not correlate with a 1-6 likert scale measure (MAAS) may call into
question structural scale incompatibilities and the lack of variance in range of scores on the items
on these measures. Nevertheless, the fact that the 1-7 LMS correlated so well with the LSI,
causes one to question if this is a likely reason for the lack of significance between the MAAS
and LSI. Although the hypotheses were rejected, additional findings discussed next reveal
evidence that mindful experiential learning is a sensory/contextual process.
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7.1 Mindfulness and Experiential Learning
This study revealed interesting findings regarding the relationship between mindfulness
as measured by the LMS and experiential learning styles. Mindfulness as measured by the LMS
significantly related to some parts of the experiential cycle positively, some negatively, and in
other areas not at all. Before continuing it should be made clear that this research does not
suggest mindful experiential learning is something that should be aspired to in all learning
situations. There are settings in which learning in an automatic way is appropriate, for example,
when one has an effective routine of studying for an exam, and the upcoming exam is similarly
structured to the last, or when one is enacting an effective work routine that helps expedite
administrative tasks effectively. However, as has been discussed throughout this thesis, there are
other times when engaging mindfully in a learning environment is useful, as when working in a
turbulent business environment that requires thinking in new ways. The preceding caveat is
given because this section interprets various findings including the negative relationship between
reflective observation scores and mindfulness scores, and it is important to think through such
interpretations without falling into falsely convenient dichotomies such as mindfulness = good
and mindlessness = bad. In fact, both the words “mindful” and “mindless” do not serve the
construct appropriately. In addition it is debatable whether the lack of mindfulness is by default
a state of mindlessness. An understanding of the literature seems to indicate a dynamic range of
potential ways mindfulness manifests. Such critiques and areas of exploration are very important
but beyond the scope of this thesis.
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Mindfulness and Reflective Observation
When we think about mindfulness, some imagine a sage reflecting on the world
while strolling alongside a stream. This study would suggest that secular forms of
mindfulness in action actually look quite different. Support for this notion is offered by
several findings. Reflective observation scores on the LSI were significantly negatively
correlated with novelty production, total mindfulness scores on the LMS, and combined
mindfulness scores on the LMS and MAAS. People who score high on reflective
observation on the LSI tend to carefully reflect before making judgments, view issues
from different perspectives, and look for the meanings of things. They tend to hold
thoughts in longer than someone who scores high on active experimentation which is
dialectically opposed to reflective observation on the LSI. A potential explanation of
why learners who are high on reflective observation scored lower on the LMS is that
reflection observation, the second stage in the learning cycle, can draw one away from
concrete experience prematurely.
Gestalt theory refers to a process in which action is substituted with reflection, called
“retroflection”, which happens when an individual holds back a response intended for the
environment and instead substitutes it with a response for him/herself (Perls, 1976).
Interestingly retroflection, as Perls writes about it, is often in the service of health and is only
detrimental to healthy functioning without awareness. Perhaps lack of awareness of one’s
tendency to reflectively observe contributes to hindering the necessary sensory/contextual
processes required for mindful experiential learning to occur.
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Mindfulness and Concrete Experience
In contrast to our potentially false myth of mindful sages lost in reflective observation,
our myths of mindful sages living in the present moment, here and now, may be more accurate.
In experiential learning theory, concrete experience is defined as accepting new knowledge
through sensory perception and direct experience with the world (Kayes, 2002). In this study it
was found that concrete experience experiential learning style scores were positively correlated
with novelty production LMS scores, novelty seeking LMS scores, as well as with total LMS
scores and total LMS/MAAS mindfulness scores. Alternatively, there were no significant
relationships between mindfulness scores and abstract conceptualization. This suggests that
mindfulness as described by social psychologists may be practiced in learning environments by
engaging in the concrete experience phase of the learning cycle. It would seem that renewing
schemas through the pursuit and production of novelty, at least in part, requires acquiring
information through direct experience of the senses.
Concrete Experience and the Process of Mindful Experiential Learning
Both mindfulness and experiential learning describe people in terms of their means of
interacting with the environment. There is a range of propensities by which learners practice
mindful experiential learning processes. We can learn more about the process of mindful
experiential learning by seeking to better understand the connections between high mindful
scorers and their learning style tendencies. The fact that people who score higher on the Langer
Mindfulness Scale have a propensity toward concrete experience as a way of acquiring
knowledge serves as a starting point.
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We begin with literature on concrete experience and the brain. As the reader will recall,
Zull (2002) focuses on brain functioning and experiential learning. Consider the diagram that
was presented earlier:
Figure 5: Brain Functioning and ELT Revisited (Zull, 2002)
The sensory cortex receives input from the world in the form of vision, hearing, touch, positions,
smells, and taste (Zull, 2002). Zull explains what he calls the “back cortex” because of its
location in the back of the brain:
“During concrete experience, physical information from the world and from our
bodies enters the brain through the sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, skin, mouth,
internal organs, joints, and muscles). It is then sent in parallel to the emotion
monitor (amygdala) and the specific parts of the cortex for each of the senses
(visual cortex, auditory cortex, somatosensory cortex, etc.). If the amygdala
recognizes the experience as dangerous, it will trigger an instinctive body action,
such as jumping back or freezing…” (Zull, 2002, p.137).
The amygdala is a part of the limbic system, “which governs feelings, impulses, and drives”
(Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002, p.102). Just as the sensory and postsensory cortex sends
information to the limbic system (emotional system), the limbic system sends concrete
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information in the form of feelings to the sensory and postsensory cortex (Kolb, personal
communication).
Human interest may be the connection between novelty producing, novelty seeking, and
emotions that can begin to explain the positive relationship between concrete experience and
mindfulness. Of note, Fredrickson (1998) mentions interest as one of four positive emotions that
have been marginalized in emotion research. “Importantly, the openness to new ideas,
experiences, and actions is what characterizes the mindset of interest as broadened, rather than
narrowed” (Fredrickson, 1998, p.305). Positive emotions like interest build resources and
broaden an individual’s momentary thought-action repertoire, promoting discovery of novel and
creative ideas and actions, which in turn expand the individual’s personal resources, intellectual
resources, or social resources (Fredrickson, 1998). Because fear is regulated by the limbic
system, and research suggests that fear limits cognitive capacity, perhaps being attentive to
concrete experience (i.e., momentary awareness through the senses and/or concretely
experiencing interest) without becoming fixated on a particular idea for longer than is productive
(i.e., anxiety that may lead to counterproductive rumination), discourages fear responses and
encourages less restriction on cognitive routines. In addition, this may increase cognitive
capacity, leaving room to seek and produce novelty in learning environments. If the reader
recalls, novelty seeking describes an aspect of the degree and manner of engagement with the
environment . People who approach the environment seeking novelty search out learning
opportunities. Novelty producing on the other hand describes how information about the
environment is processed . A novelty-producing person creates new and useful information.
This can be done by making associations where previously none existed and it differs from
flexibility in that it does not necessarily require adding new information to make novel
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associations. It would be logical to deduce that increasing cognitive capacity by reducing
ruminative fear, which can be done by engaging in concrete experience via awareness of the
senses, could provide opportunities to seek out and produce novelty.
This can then help mindful (context-sensitive) learning to occur. It is one pathway by
which concrete experience can lead to mindful experiential learning. It also illustrates the nature
of momentary engagement of the senses as a means of absolving mindless or automatic fear
patterns. Alan Watts (1951) writes:
It must be obvious, from the start, that there is a contradiction in wanting to be
perfectly secure in a universe whose nature is momentariness and fluidity. But
the contradiction lies a little deeper than the mere conflict between the desire for
security and the fact of change. If I want to be secure, that is, protected from the
flux of life, I am wanting to be separate from life. Yet it is this very sense of
separateness which makes me feel insecure. To be secure means to isolate and
fortify the ‘I’, but it is just the feeling of being an isolated ‘I’ which makes me
feel lonely and afraid. In other words, the more security I can get, the more I shall
want” (p. 76).
The nature of mindless experiential learning may include a lack of awareness of one’s
tendencies to shut oneself away from the physical world and into the world of thought.
Watts refers to the paradoxical nature of the separation and its counter productive cycle.
Examples of this in action include anxiety, rumination, and the other forms of
mindlessness that have been described throughout this discussion. These manifestations
of mindlessness may contribute to the neglect of contextual/sensory processes and could
hinder mindful experiential learning.
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Furthermore, neglecting concrete experience and acting automatically tend to go hand in
hand. While acting automatically it is easy to assume that our senses are more accurate than they
are and as a result the rich environment around us is often neglected. For example, it is human
error to assume that as the same stimuli reappear in our lives and that they are received with
identical sensations. In fact our ideas of the sensation associated with stimuli are more likely to
remain constant than environmental stimuli. Thus, we forget that our descriptions of stimuli are
always relative, and that the backdrop from which we evaluate stimuli is just as much a part of
the actual sensation as the stimuli itself. The concepts of light and dark, sweet and sour, rough
and smooth, are all relative based on our access to stimuli. As we are mindless, we lose
precision of sensation. James (1890) writes:
The realities, concrete and abstract, physical and ideal, whose permanent
existence we believe in, seem to be constantly coming up again before our
thought, and lead us, in our carelessness, to suppose that our “ideas” of them are
the same ideas. [Later], we shall see how inveterate is our habit of not attending to
sensations as subjective facts, but simply using them as stepping-stones to pass
over to the recognition of the realities whose presence they reveal. The grass out
of the window now looks to me of the same green in the sun as in the shade, and
yet a painter would have to paint one part of it dark brown, another part bright
yellow, to give its real sensational effect. We take no heed, as a rule, of the
different way in which the same things look and sound and smell at different
distances and under different circumstances.” (p. 156)
In addition, from a neurobiological standpoint, James (1890) asserts, it is impossible for an
identical sensation to recur because this would require an unmodified brain. Since “every
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sensation corresponds to some cerebral action” (James, 1890, p. 157), this is an impossibility.
This means that the mind does quite a bit of work so that we remain under the impression that we
do not need to use our senses to consciously reassess the environment.
Zull (2002) also explains that paying attention may be trickier than we assume. Firstly,
we may misunderstand what it means to attend to something. For example, while attention is
about focus, it is a myth that focusing should involve sitting still and looking hard at one thing.
This is because it only makes the brain work hard to focus on focusing rather than really helping
us focus. The reality is that, “our brain evolved to notice details by shifting its focus from one
area to another, by repeatedly scanning the surroundings” (Zull, 2002, p.142). Not only does the
brain notice details by shifting attention, but it also scans visual stimuli according to how it has
coded similar stimuli in the past. For example, during visual scanning, saccadic eye movements
of both humans and monkeys follow the detail of visual images to a striking degree (Yarbus,
1967). This suggests that visual cortical mechanisms responsible for coding stimulus form are
also actively involved in guiding eye movements to salient features of objects. Eye movements
automatically return to areas of greatest interest most often. This supports a sensory/contextual
conceptualization of mindful experiential learning. We tend to assume that complex categories
and schemas are removed from direct perception i.e. a racist person does not physically see
someone differently than a non-racist does, rather the difference between the two lies in the
prejudiced labels that the racist may apply that the non-racist does not apply. However, Yarbus’
(1967) research suggests this is not the case. Our thoughts influence how we physically see
things, and how we physically see things in turn reinforces our thoughts. It would seem that
encouraging learners to see from multiple angles can leverage the natural way the brain focuses
on details by scanning. Concrete experience then, is a dynamic process of attending and
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scanning the environment for stimuli. High mindful experiential learners may be attending to the
environment by scanning for details while seeking and producing novelty in order to be context-
sensitive.
Learning Flexibility, Mindfulness, and ASI
Regarding learning flexibility, small negative relationships were found with novelty
seeking on the LMS, LMS total scores, and LMS/MAAS Total scores. This is interesting
because not only did flexibility as it was measured by the Langer Mindfulness Scale not load
cleanly in an exploratory factor analysis, but when we measured flexibility with straightforward
items, it negatively related to mindfulness on one LMS factor out of the three, as well as total
LMS and LMS/MAAS total scores. There are several potential explanations for this. One is that
flexibility is difficult to measure by self report measures. If this is the case, perhaps measuring
flexibility in an outcome-oriented laboratory activity would provide an alternative method.
Another explanation may be that items measuring flexibility are socially biased. Alternatively,
perhaps the degree to which one is flexible is an outcome of mindfulness rather than a direct
expression of the propensity to be mindful. A fourth explanation could be that flexibility is
neither a part of mindfulness nor an outcome of it. Yet another could be that people who seek
novelty do so in a consistent way and if they were flexible they would be less consistent in that
tendency. Clearly a need exists for scholars to explore and clarify the relationship between
mindfulness and flexibility.
Gender Differences
Finally there were slight differences in significant correlations among genders.
Interestingly the tendency to seek novelty is related to concrete experience for males but not
females. Novelty production and total LMS scores are more highly related to concrete
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experience among males as compared to females as well. Furthermore while reflective
observation negatively correlates with novelty production among both genders, only in the
female group does RO also negatively correlate with LMS and LMS/MAAS total scores. Some
of this may be due to the fact that the sample size is twice as large within the female sample.
This same fact is what makes the noticeably strong relationship between novelty and concrete
experience among males so interesting. Perhaps males use concrete experience to seek novelty
while females use some other means for novelty seeking as well. Future research into gender
differences in mindful experiential learning is worth pursuing.
Mindful Experiential Learning in Practice
The prevalence of concrete experience in mindful experiential learning does not suggest
that the full cycle of learning is no longer important. Rather, it may suggest that concrete
experience is the opening by which learners can engage in experiential learning in a mindful
way. Acquiring information through concrete experience may disrupt predisposed learning
patterns that would otherwise be enacted automatically, for example, really listening to someone
speak without prematurely judging and planning a response. Once this is accomplished it is
easier to choose how we wish to learn, and to make sure that our style of learning fits the
learning scenario.
In practice, being aware of feelings through concrete experience can help us understand
the biases we have toward cognitive categories, routines, schemas, and the like. For example,
whether I am feeling comfortable or uncomfortable, my awareness of comfort level can stimulate
thought in a way that helps me better learn about myself and others. Only after being aware can I
begin thinking of changing my approach to learning. If I feel discomfort during a meeting, it
serves as a cue for me to change my mindset. What was a “terrible” meeting becomes a learning
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opportunity, a precious chance to practice patience, understanding, and kindness. Or perhaps it
becomes a great exercise in self restraint. Awareness of my heart rate, thoughts, and how active
my sweat glands are, enable me to recognize when it is appropriate to re-conceptualize the
learning situation. It also allows me to notice that I am in a learning situation in the first place.
My learning mode shifts when I become aware of my body’s reaction to stress and I choose to
shift my focus away from an automatic rehearsal of why I do not like the meeting. At this point I
can choose active experimentation by asking a generative question that could shift the
conversation for example, rather than enacting an automatic routine of disengagement. This one
example of how concrete experience can help engage mindful experiential learning which can
lead to a more context sensitive experiential learning process.
Another way concrete experience can help engage us in a learning opportunity is by
focusing intently on the senses to engage more mindfully. Something as simple as listening to a
speaker with awareness and intent by seeking to hear a voice in a new way can be a tool for
seeking and creating novelty. Such experiments with the senses can create new bridges between
the mind and the learning opportunity. Try listening to someone as if it were the first time you
were hearing them speak, or the first time you were hearing a human speak at all, and the
resulting experience will be different than a conversation anchored in automaticity. While
creating ways to utilize concrete experience to engage in mindful experiential learning, it helps
to keep in mind that the purpose is to disrupt automaticity. This guideline can help us
experiment with engaging the senses in new ways. If it is difficult to remember to disrupt
automaticity, something as simple as marking one’s hand with a pen or tying a string around a
finger can provide the visual cues that serve as a reminder. This type of “reminder” is an
example of engaging novelty through the sense of sight.
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Furthermore, organizational settings are rich with routines that may limit mindful
experiential learning. Mindfulness can be stimulated “when familiar situations require more
effortful processing, when situational factors disrupt the initiation or completion of automatic
routines, and when consequences differ substantially from expectations” (Bodner & Langer,
2001, p.2). Perhaps organization members would benefit from disrupting routines by asking
carefully crafted questions that lie outside of the norm. This begins with our own internal
novelty seeking and can extend to others through novel questioning.
7. 2 Study Limitations and Future Research Implications
Prior to discussing research implications, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of
the current study. This study was conducted via internet so although the external validity may
have increased due to generalizability of these findings to people in various geographical
locations, the internal validity of demographic data cannot be verified or controlled. As was
previously mentioned the phrasing distinctions between the MAAS and LSI should be taken into
consideration and future research should analyze data from the directly worded MAAS and the
LSI. Furthermore, this study was generally inclusive of participants of a variety of work
backgrounds. Future studies should examine specific types of work experiences within specific
types of work organizations in order to understand the effects that these variables might have on
mindfulness and learning styles. Long term controlled meditation studies among a variety of LSI
learners may demonstrate interesting findings regarding the relationship between meditative
mindfulness and experiential learning. As such, it would be worthwhile to administer the LSI to
participants of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programs in order to further understand how
learning styles and mindfulness interact in working adults.
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Developing and integrating flexibility and metacognitive measures that can be integrated
into mindfulness measures is critical to better understanding the nature of mindfulness as well as
differences in people’s propensity to be mindful. The findings on reflective observation and
novelty production suggest that future research should focus on clarifying the relationship
between learning styles and the novelty production aspect of mindfulness. In addition, research
should aim at further understanding how learning through concrete experience relates to
mindfulness, and understanding the relationship between situational learning (or context specific
learning) and concrete experience as a means of knowledge acquisition in the learner. Future
studies should seek to legitimize the flexibility component of the LMS. Furthermore, it is
important that researchers use both the MAAS and LMS measurements on experimental and
control groups (i.e. trials with groups that participate in MBSR or other meditative interventions)
in order to better understand the impact of such programs and the various definitions of
mindfulness. Moreover, this study suggests that future research should seek validation of a
mindfulness scale using engagement, novelty producing, and novelty seeking LMS factors and a
selection of the strongest MAAS items to create an integrated mindfulness scale that measures
the revised integrated mindfulness definition proposed below. Finally, there is a clear need for
elaboration on the role of emotions in mindfulness. Emotions play such a paramount role in our
functioning, awareness, and ability to act mindfully. Future research should integrate and test
theories of emotion as they relate to mindfulness in order to better grasp mindfulness theories.
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7.3 A Revised Mindfulness Definition
The integrated definition of mindfulness proposed earlier combines aspects of meditative
and social psychological mindfulness in an attempt to learn how to leverage the benefits of both
definitions of mindfulness. To revisit, the definition originally proposed in this thesis is:
Mindfulness is a state in which an individual is:
1) Aware and accepting of changes in momentary experiences based on present centered
awareness
2) Flexible with cognitive patterns/categories
3) Purposefully attentive to scan for new information;
resulting in more available resources for a wider variety of cognitions and behaviors.
The following revised definition is being proposed based on the correlations between the MAAS
and LMS mindfulness scales and with the consideration that flexibility items did not cleanly load
as a measurable factor on the LMS:
Mindfulness is a state in which an individual is:
1) Aware and accepting of changes in momentary experiences based on present centered
awareness
2) Engaged in seeking and producing novel cognitive patterns/categories3) Purposefully attentive to scan for new information;
resulting in more available resources for a wider variety of cognitions and behaviors.
This revised definition is measurable by a four factor construct of mindfulness when Engaging,
Novelty Seeking, and Novelty Producing LMS subscales are combined with select MAAS items.
Subsequent work to develop this mindfulness construct is worth pursuing.
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7.4 A Revised Mindful Experiential Learning Definition
This thesis originally proposed the following definition of mindful experiential learning:
• Mindful experiential learning is a process of being aware of, flexible with, and purposeful
with one’s dominant modes of experiential learning when in a learning situation.
Given the findings the following revisions have been made:
• Mindful experiential learning is an engaged process of seeking and producing novel
opportunities to learn by being attentive to and aware of momentary concrete experience.
This new definition emphasizes concrete experience through processes of engagement, novelty
seeking, novelty producing, and present centered awareness. Finally, given this revised
definition a question to address in future research is: which learning scenarios are best addressed
using mindful experiential learning, versus some other dialectic-specific mode of learning? This
is beyond the scope of this study but it may be the key to optimizing the use of mindful
experiential learning.
The world is in need of context sensitive learning now more than ever. Being mindful
experiential learners, we can turn regular scenarios into novel learning opportunities. Perhaps in
this state we can create educational innovations. Conceivably through mindful experiential
learning we can create music from social resources that are so abundant yet neglected.
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Appendix
A. Consent Form
Background Information on the Study
The purpose of this study is to learn more about the relationship between experiential learningstyles and mindfulness. Should you choose to participate, the information you provide will beused to inform research that will result in the researcher’s dissertation, which exploresmindfulness and experiential learning.
Confidentiality You are being asked to participate in this study because you work are an employed adultprofessional. You may have been asked by a supervisor, colleague, or stranger to complete thissurvey via email or other means. Any report published as a result of this research will not includeany information that will make it possible to identify you. Only the researchers will have access
to the data collected and all results will be anonymous. Case Western Reserve University’sInstitutional Review Board (IRB) may review the research to ensure that the rights of humansubjects are adequately protected.
Should you agree to participating you will complete short surveys from two different websites.To maintain anonymity, you are being asked not use your own name. In order to identify theinformation for comparison purposes between the two different surveys being distributed, youare being asked to create an identification code which will be any word followed by any twodigits from 1-10, ex. “dog42” or “wheel94”. You are being asked to write this code on a piece
of paper so that you have it to reference because you will need to enter it into anotherwebsite half way through the survey. If this code is lost, the data is no longer useful for the
research. Writing the identification code on a piece of paper will help ensure that it is enteredinto both websites accurately.
Procedures
The first part of this online survey includes several subsections. After these are completed, therewill be a website link that needs to be clicked to bring up a final survey on another webpage.The total time required to participate is 18-30 minutes max, but depends on how pace of theparticipant. The first part of the survey process will ask questions about mindfulness, awareness,and flexibility. The second part entails completing a learning style inventory (LSI). The LSI is aself-report instrument designed as a self-diagnostic tool to assess learning along the four
dimensions of experiential learning. The benefit of participation is an opportunity to reflect onyour learning style and you have an option of receiving a full Learning Styles Inventory profileinstantly upon completion of the surveys, which is educational, developmental and retails at$15.00, provided to you free of charge. Participation in this study contains no risks. Becauseyour participation is voluntary, you may choose to end this survey at any time. If you choose notto participate, there will not be any negative consequences. If you end the survey prematurely,you will not receive an LSI profile, because the full set of information required to generate theprofile online will not have been submitted.
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If you are a student, neither participation nor lack of participation, nor the type of data enteredcan affect your grade in any way.
Contact and Questions
The researchers conducting this study are Dr. David Kolb and Bauback Yeganeh. You may ask any questions you have by contacting Bauback Yeganeh at (216) 533-8026/ [email protected] Professor David Kolb at (216) 368-2050.
If the researchers cannot be reached, or if you would like to talk to someone other than theresearchers about: (1) questions regarding this study, (2) research participation rights, (3)research-related inquiries, or (4) other human subjects issues, please contact Case WesternReserve University’s Institutional Review Board at (216) 368-69-25 or write: Case WesternReserve University; Institutional Review Board; 10900 Euclid Ave.; Cleveland, OH 44106-7230.
Statement of Consent
I have read the above information and understand that agreeing to participate in this studyinvolves completing survey items.
I understand that findings from this study may be used as part of a dissertation paper andresearch publications. I understand that my name will remain anonymous.
I understand that if I have further questions or concerns, I may contact Bauback Yeganeh at(216) 533-8026 or Professor David Kolb at (216) 368-2050.
Based upon this information:______ Yes, I agree to participate in this research study.
______ No, I do not agree to participate in this research study.
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B. Questionnaire Protocol
Case Western Reserve University Questionnaire Protocol
To maintain your anonymity, please to create a participant identification code which will be anyword followed by any two digits from 1-10. Examples include “bliss23” or “train49”. PLEASE
WRITE THIS IDENTIFICATION CODE DOWN ON A PIECE OF PAPER, AS YOU
WILL BE ASKED TO ENTER IT AGAIN LATER IN THIS PROCESS. ONCE YOU
FILL IN THIS PAGE, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETURN TO IT TO VIEWYOUR PARTICIPANT IDENTIFICATION CODE. Furthermore, this survey is designed tobe completed entirely at one time. There will be no data-saving options, nor an option to return ata later time to complete unfinished surveys. Therefore, if you choose to participate, you arebeing asked to complete the entire survey in one sitting.
Please enter your identification code below:Participant Identification Code _______________________________
Introduction
Thank you for agreeing to participate in the mindfulness and experiential learning study. Thepurpose of these surveys is to learn about your learning style and how it might relate to yourtendency to be mindful. The information you provide me will be used to inform research onmindfulness and experiential learning. In addition, it will also form the basis of my Dissertation.In exchange for your time and willingness to help, I hope to provide you with an opportunity toreflect on your learning style and a copy of your Learning Style Profile, free of charge.
Before we begin I would like to reiterate that what you share will be held anonymous. You willnever be identified by the information you provide.
As a participant in this survey process, which should take approximately 18-30 minutes, you arefree to decline answering any questions. You may also end this process at any time should youfeel the need to do so. If at any point to stop participating, please feel free to close your webpagebrowser. Again, in order for the data to be useful to the study, and for you to receive acustomized learning style inventory report, you need to complete the entire survey process in onesitting, as there are no data saving mechanisms that would enable you to complete part of thesurvey and return to complete the rest at a later time. Thank you very much for contributingyour time and reflection to this research study!
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Section I.
Demographic Information
1. Gender: ___Male ___Female
2. Age: ___20-30 ___ 30-40, ___40-50, ___60-70, __80-90, __90+3. Type of work: __Administrative, __Project Leader, __Manager, __Executive, __ Other4. Sector: ___Private, ____Non-Profit, ___Self Employed, ___Other5. Race: ____Caucasian (descendants of Europe, North Africa, and Middle East),
____African American, ____Latino, ____Asian, ____Native American/Pacific Islander
Mindfulness Scales
Langer Mindfulness Scale
Instructions: Below are a number of statements that refer to your personal outlook. Please rate
the extent to which you agree with each of these statements. If you are confused by the wordingof an item, have no opinion, or neither agree nor disagree, use the “4” or “NEUTRAL” rating.Thank you for your assistance.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7StronglyDisagree
DisagreeSlightlyDisagree
NeutralSlightlyAgree
AgreeStrongly
Agree
1. I like to investigate things. 1 2 3 4 5 6 72. I generate few novel ideas. 1 2 3 4 5 6 73. I am always open to new ways of doing things.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. I “get involved” in almost everythingI do.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. I do not actively seek to learn newthings.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. I make many novel contributions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 77. I stay with the old tried and true waysof doing things.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. I seldom notice what other people areup to. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. I avoid thought provokingconversations.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. I am very creative. 1 2 3 4 5 6 711. I can behave in many different waysfor a given situation.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. I attend to the “big picture.” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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13. I am very curious. 1 2 3 4 5 6 714. I try to think of new ways of doingthings.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
15. I am rarely aware of changes. 1 2 3 4 5 6 716. I have an open-mind about
everything, even things that challengemy core beliefs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
17. I like to be challenged intellectually. 1 2 3 4 5 6 718. I find it easy to create new andeffective ideas.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19. I am rarely alert to newdevelopments.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
20. I like to figure out how things work. 1 2 3 4 5 6 721. I am not an original thinker 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale
Day-to-Day Experiences
Instructions: Below is a collection of statements about your everyday experience. Using the1-6 scale below, please indicate how frequently or infrequently you currently have eachexperience. Please answer according to what really reflects your experience rather than
what you think your experience should be. Please treat each item separately from every
other item.
1 2 3 4 5 6AlmostAlways
VeryFrequently
SomewhatFrequently
SomewhatInfrequently
VeryInfrequently
AlmostNever
I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of it until some time later. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I break or spill things because of carelessness, not payingattention, or thinking of something else. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in thepresent. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I tend to walk quickly to get where I’m going without paying
attention to what I experience along the way. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfortuntil they really grab my attention. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve been told itfor the first time. 1 2 3 4 5 6
It seems I am “running on automatic,” without much awarenessof what I’m doing. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I rush through activities without being really attentive to them. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lose touchwith what I’m doing right now to get there. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of whatI'm doing. 1 2 3 4 5 6
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I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doingsomething else at the same time. 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6Almost
Always
Very
Frequently
Somewhat
Frequently
Somewhat
Infrequently
Very
Infrequently
Almost
Never
I drive places on ‘automatic pilot’ and then wonder why I wentthere. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I find myself doing things without paying attention. 1 2 3 4 5 6
I snack without being aware that I’m eating. 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6AlmostAlways
VeryFrequently
SomewhatFrequently
SomewhatInfrequently
VeryInfrequently
AlmostNever
When I learn I modify my style based on what I am learning
1 2 3 4 5 6
When I learn I am very consistent in my style of learning
1 2 3 4 5 6
I am generally flexible as to how I go about learning something.
1 2 3 4 5 6
I consistently learn things a particular way
1 2 3 4 5 6
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Adaptive Style Inventory
Form S
Instructions
Below you will be asked to complete 8 sentences that describe different learning situations. Each has endings. To respond to these sentences, consider recent learning situations in your life described
each item description. Rank the endings for each sentence according to how you learn in each situatUsing the spaces provided, type 4 next to the sentence ending that best describes how you learned, an1 for the sentence ending that seems least like the way you learned. Be sure to rank all the endings foreach sentence unit.
Some people find it easiest to decide first which phrase best describes them (eg. 4 ) and then to
decide which phrase is least like them (1 ). Then they give a 3 to that word in the remaining pair thatis most like them and 2 to the word that is left over.
1. When I start to
do something new,
______I rely on my feelingsto guide me.
______I set priorities.
______I try out differentways of doing it.
_____I observe thesituation.
2. When I decide
between two
alternatives,
______I carefully considerthe implications of each.
______I rely on what feelsRight to me.
______I establish criteriaFor evaluating them
______I try one out and seewhat happens.
3. When I develop
an idea,
______I study the
basic concepts.
______I need concrete
examples.
______I consider its
practical application
______I imagine different
possibilities.4. When I consider
my feelings,
______I trust my instinctsabout them.
______I analyze why I feelthe way I do.
______I decide what to doabout them.
______I reflect about them.
5. When I try to
complete a task
on time,
______I plan
systematically.
______I take things asthey come.
______I reflect oneach step.
______I work hard andget it done.
6. When I evaluate
an opportunity,
______I am willingto take risks.
______I consider itcarefully.
______I trust my sense of what is best.
______I weigh the costsagainst the benefits.
7. When I analyze
somethingsystematically,
______
Intuition is often mybest guide.
______
I think about howthe basic principlesrelate to each other.
______
I focus on the resultI need to achieve.
______
I take time toconsider differentperspectives.
8. When I try to
see the world as
another person
sees it,
______I do thingswith them.
______I observe them.
______I focus on
their feelings.
______I consider how theyare similar to otherpeople
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Thank you! You have completed the first section of this survey. All there is left is a12 item shortsurvey. Please proceed and have your Participant ID Code available.
Learning Style Inventory
Please click on the following website link. If it does not open automatically, simply highlight itwith your mouse, copy it by clicking “Ctrl” and “c” at the same time, and paste it into the webaddress bar at the top of your webpage browser by clicking “Ctrl” and “v” at the same time.
Thank you for participating!
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Mindful Experiential Learning104
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