Be aware to be on the square: Mindfulness and counterproductive academic behavior

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of dispositional mindfulness – the capacity to be nonjudgmentally aware of the present moment (Brown & Ryan, 2003) – in counterproductive academic behavior. Apart from investigating the direct relationship between mindfulness and counterproductive behavior, we tested the moderating role of established personality dimensions (conscientiousness and honesty–humility) in the relationship between mindfulness and counterproductive academic behavior. Two hundred eighty-one graduate students completed a trait mindfulness measure and a personality inventory based on the HEXACO model, followed by self-ratings of counterproductive academic behavior after a three-month time lag. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that mindfulness, conscientiousness, and honesty–humility were negatively related to counterproductive academic behavior. As hypothesized, conscientiousness and honesty–humility moderated the relationship between mindfulness and counterproductive behavior, such that the mindfulness-counterproductive behavior relationship was stronger for students low on conscientiousness and on honesty–humility. These findings add to previous findings on the positive effects of mindfulness for students by demonstrating that it also benefits professional academic behavior.