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

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.