Refining the Observed Mindfulness Measure to Create and Validate the Observed Mindful Behaviours Scale

A new 9-item scale, the Observed Mindful Behaviours (OMB), measures how attentive, aware, and accepting a person appears to someone who knows them. Based on data from 190 pairs of raters and targets, the scale shows good reliability and validity. Observed mindful behavior aligns moderately with self-reported trait mindfulness and interpersonal mindfulness, and correlates positively with empathy and psychological capital, and negatively with psychological inflexibility, distress, and anger reactivity. It does not relate to prosocial intentions. The OMB can complement self-report measures in mindfulness research.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To offer another lens to study how mindfulness influences behaviours and social relationships, this paper reports the creation of the Observed Mindful Behaviours (OMB) scale. The OMB responds to limitations in current evidence in mindfulness research, including the reliance on self-report data. Method Refinements to an existing 9-item scale were tested in two samples ( n = 99, n = 101) using item response theory and confirmatory factor analysis. Survey data from 190 dyads ( N = 380) were used to test construct validity of the refined scale using correlations and regression models within a proposed nomological network for observed mindful behaviours. Results A three-dimensional hierarchical model was confirmed for the 9-item OMB (SRMSR = 0.044, RMSEA = 0.070, CFI = 0.97, w h = 0.90). Good alignment with trait mindfulness ( β = 0.42, R 2 = 0.15) and interpersonal mindfulness ( β = 0.17, R 2 = 0.12) supported criterion validity. The construct assessed by the OMB significantly converged with empathy ( r = 0.19) and psychological capital ( r = 0.22) and significantly diverged from psychological inflexibility ( r = −0.31), distress ( r = −0.29), and anger reactivity ( r = −0.26), but not with prosocial intentions. Conclusions The OMB scale supersedes the Observed Mindfulness Measure. The scale detects the extent to which a person known to the rater (family, friend, or colleague) behaves in a way that is noticeably attentive, aware, and accepting (or mindful). Differential alignments with behavioural drivers (empathy, acceptance, psychological capital) and with behavioural states (distress, anger) help clarify what the OMB assesses. The OMB can be used to triangulate and strengthen self-reported findings, and the subscale scores can advance study into how mindfulness comes across to others.