Individuals differ in the degree to which they organize self-knowledge according to its evaluative meaning. Evaluative self-organization can range from complete compartmentalization of positive and negative self-beliefs to complete integration of these self-beliefs. While much research has focused on how evaluative self-organization is related to well-being, relatively little is known about how it is related to individual difference variables. Compartmentalization has been suggested to reflect defensive avoidance of negative self-beliefs. Based on findings showing that mindfulness reduces defensiveness, the current research examined whether greater mindfulness is related to lower levels of compartmentalization. Participants of two studies (Noverall = 164; 129 female) completed measures of trait mindfulness and a self-description task assessing evaluative self-organization. To test causality, participants of study 2 further completed either a mindfulness exercise or a control exercise before completing the self-description task. Results of both studies showed that trait mindfulness was negatively associated with the tendency to compartmentalize self-knowledge. Both studies also found that trait mindfulness was inversely associated with self-concept negativity; specifically, greater mindfulness was associated with fewer negative self-beliefs, but it was unrelated to the number of positive self-beliefs. Going beyond trait mindfulness, study 2 further found that participants who completed the mindfulness exercise demonstrated less compartmentalization than participants who completed the control exercise. Mindfulness meditation had no effect on the relative amount of participants’ negative self-beliefs. Results are consistent with the assumption that compartmentalization may reflect a form of defensive avoidance and that mindfulness has the potential to reduce compartmentalization.
