The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being Kirk Warren Brown and Richard M. Ryan University of Rochester Mindfulness is an attribute of consciousness long believed to promote well-being. This research provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the role of mindfulness in psychological well-being. The development and psychometric properties of the dispositional Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) are described. Correlational, quasi-experimental, and laboratory studies then show that the MAAS measures a unique quality of consciousness that is related to a variety of well-being constructs, that differentiates mindfulness practitioners from others, and that is associated with enhanced self- awareness. An experience-sampling study shows that both dispositional and state mindfulness predict self-regulated behavior and positive emotional states. Finally, a clinical intervention study with cancer patients demonstrates that increases in mindfulness over time relate to declines in mood disturbance and stress. Many philosophical, spiritual, and psychological traditions em- phasize the importance of the quality of consciousness for the maintenance and enhancement of well-being (Wilber, 2000). De- spite this, it is easy to overlook the importance of consciousness in human well-being because almost everyone exercises its primary capacities, that is, attention and awareness. Indeed, the relation between qualities of consciousness and well-being has received little empirical attention. One attribute of consciousness that has been much-discussed in relation to well-being is mindfulness. The concept of mindfulness has roots in Buddhist and other contem- plative traditions where conscious attention and awareness are actively cultivated. It is most commonly defined as the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present. For example, Nyanaponika Thera (1972) called mindfulness “the clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us at the successive moments of perception” (p. 5). Hanh (1976) similarly defined mindfulness as “keeping one’s conscious- ness alive to the present reality” (p. 11). Recent research has shown that the enhancement of mindfulness through training facilitates a variety of well-being outcomes (e.g., Kabat-Zinn, 1990). To date, however, there has been little work examining this attribute as a naturally occurring characteristic. Recognizing that most everyone has the capacity to attend and to be aware, we nonetheless 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. The intent of the present research is to reliably identify these inter- and intrapersonal variations in mindfulness, establish their relations to other relevant psychological constructs, and demonstrate their importance to a variety of forms of psycho- logical well-being. THE NATURE OF MINDFULNESS AND MINDLESSNESS Several authors (e.g., Averill, 1992; Mayer, Chabot, & Carl- smith, 1997) have distinguished consciousness from other modes of mental processing—namely, cognition, motives, and emo- tions—that allow humans to operate effectively. Thus, one can be conscious of thoughts, motives, and emotions as well as sensory and perceptual stimuli. Consciousness encompasses both aware- ness and attention. Awareness is the background “radar” of con- sciousness, continually monitoring the inner and outer environ- ment. One may be aware of stimuli without them being at the center of attention. Attention is a process of focusing conscious awareness, providing heightened sensitivity to a limited range of experience (Westen, 1999). In actuality, awareness and attention are intertwined, such that attention continually pulls “figures” out of the “ground” of awareness, holding them focally for varying lengths of time. Although attention and awareness are relatively constant fea- tures of normal functioning, mindfulness can be considered an enhanced attention to and awareness of current experience or present reality. Specifically, a core characteristic of mindfulness has been described as open or receptive awareness and attention (Deikman, 1982; Martin, 1997), which may be reflected in a more Kirk Warren Brown and Richard M. Ryan, Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester. This research was supported in part by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, by grants from the Russell Sage Foundation and the Society of the Psychological Study of Social Issues to Kirk Warren Brown, and by National Institute of Mental Health Grant 59594 to Richard M. Ryan. We are grateful to Linda Carlson, Ed Deci, Jennifer LaGuardia, Martin Lynch, and Todd Thrash for their helpful comments on previous versions of this article. We also thank D.S. Moskowitz, Joseph Schwartz, Joshua Smyth, and Harry Reis for statistical programming help; Chris Stevens and Bodhin Kjolhede for participant recruitment assistance; and Linda Carlson for collecting the data presented in Study 5. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kirk Warren Brown, Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Meliora Hall, Rochester, New York 14627-0266. E-mail: kirk@psych.rochester.edu Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 2003 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 2003, Vol. 84, No. 4, 822– 848 0022-3514/03/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822 822