Self-reflecting and mindfulness: Cultivating curiosity and decentering situated in everyday life

Abstract

Research on the use of mobile to promote mindfulness states is still relatively nascent, especially when exploring how such states can be cultivated in everyday life, outside of meditation-based approaches. In this study we investigate the design of a mobile app that seeks to cultivate mindfulness states situated in everyday life. Using reminders to prompt self-reflection and breathing exercises to prompt body awareness, we sought to address the overarching question – how can we design towards mindfulness situated in everyday living and how might it change what we mean by mindfulness? Our findings suggest that mobile-based approaches can promote curiosity and decentering through self-reflection, and that the valence and likelihood of experiencing certain mental events may influence how self-reflection is experienced, which in turn influences curiosity and decentering factors of mindfulness states.