Relationship between Mindfulness and Decision Making Styles: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation

Introduction: Decision-making processes are primarily influenced by three groups of factors: decision characteristics, situational factors, and individual differences. The term "individual differences" encompasses a wide range of variables (Appelt et al., 2011). In recent decades, research has increasingly focused on understanding these individual differences (Berry et al., 2018). Mindfulness, defined as purposeful and non-judgmental awareness in the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2019), has emerged as a significant area of study. Conceptualizations of mindfulness posit that it is a metacognitive variable capable of influencing various cognitive processes. Research has identified the metacognitive process of mindfulness as a factor in monitoring and regulating destructive and distracting emotions (Isbel & Summers, 2017). Studies indicate that mindfulness can mitigate automatic and habitual cognitive and emotional responses by fostering unconditional attention and non-judgmental awareness. Decision-making style, a cognitive approach through which individuals process external information to make decisions, raises an important question: How does mindfulness, as a metacognitive monitoring process, influence decision-making styles? It is hypothesized that mindfulness affects not only cognitive aspects but also emotional components crucial for advanced decision-making. The impact of mindfulness on decision-making is such that increased awareness and observation of decision-making processes may enhance decision quality. Mindfulness is characterized as a tool that augments metacognitive insight, enabling individuals to transcend internal and external pressures and gain deeper understanding of their personal desires, needs, and values, thus expanding their range of choices (Sampson et al., 2004). Research suggests that teaching appropriate emotional regulation strategies can improve decision-making styles (Abbariki et al., 2020), and mindfulness techniques have been shown to be effective in enhancing problem-solving skills (Galles et al., 2019).This study aims to explore the relationship between mindfulness and decision-making styles, contributing to the growing body of literature on metacognitive processes and their impact on cognitive and emotional aspects of decision-making.
Research hypotheses: The present study investigated the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation in the relationship between mindfulness and decision-making styles. To address this objective, three hypotheses were formulated:

Mindfulness directly predicts decision-making styles.
Mindfulness directly predicts various cognitive emotion regulation strategies.
Cognitive emotion regulation strategies mediate the relationship between mindfulness and decision-making styles.

Method: This correlational study investigated relationships among variables using structural equation modeling (SEM). The study population comprised students enrolled at Shiraz University during the 2020-2021 academic year. Following Kline's (2016) recommendation of 10-20 participants per model parameter, 302 students (230 females, 72 males) were selected via convenience sampling due to pandemic-related constraints. Descriptive statistics and correlation matrices were analyzed using SPSS-26, while SEM was conducted using AMOS-24 to test the research model and hypotheses..
Results: Structural equation modeling using AMOS software revealed several significant relationships. Mindfulness positively predicted rational decision-making while negatively predicting dependent, avoidant, and immediate decision-making styles. Furthermore, mindfulness positively predicted adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and negatively predicted maladaptive strategies. The analysis of mediating effects showed that adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies positively mediated the relationship between mindfulness and rational decision-making style. Conversely, these strategies negatively mediated the relationship between mindfulness and dependent, avoidant, and immediate decision-making styles. Overall, increased use of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies was associated with enhanced rational decision-making and decreased reliance on dependent, avoidant, and immediate decision-making styles.
Discussion: The findings suggest that training in adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies may be an effective approach to promote efficient decision-making styles. This has implications for developing interventions aimed at enhancing decision-making processes. Future research could explore the long-term effects of such training programs and their applicability across different populations and contexts.styles.