Mindful understanding of the interconnected world: The synergistic effects of mindfulness and interconnectedness in driving collective action and autonomous motivation

Abstract

The present study examined the roles of interconnectedness and mindfulness in collective action participation and the motivations underlying the participation. Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, 377 participants completed measures of mindfulness, interconnectedness, collective action intention and participation at baseline, with 308 and 279 participants completing follow-up assessments 1 and 2 months later, respectively. Results showed that after accounting for baseline mindfulness, baseline interconnectedness has an indirect effect on collective action participation at 2-month follow-up through collective action intention at 1-month follow-up. Mindfulness showed no significant interaction effect with interconnectedness in predicting collective action intention or participation. In Study 2, 308 participants completed measures of mindfulness, interconnectedness, autonomous motivations and collective action at baseline, with 268 participants completing the 2-month follow-up assessment. Results showed that the effect of baseline interconnectedness on subsequent levels of autonomous motivations was contingent on baseline mindfulness, with mindfulness amplifying the beneficial effects of interconnectedness on autonomous motivations at 2-month follow-up. In addition, identified motivation was significantly associated with collective action at 2-month follow-up. These findings suggest that interconnectedness may serve as the primary intentional driver of collective action, whereas mindfulness may help translate interconnectedness into more autonomous motivation for participation.