Inconclusive Prospective Effect of Dispositional Mindfulness on Looming: A Simulated Reanalysis and Comment on Prieto-Fidalgo and Calvete (2024)

Abstract Based on results from analyses with cross-lagged panel models, Prieto-Fidalgo and Calvete (2024) proposed that non-judging and non-reactivity, two facets of dispositional mindfulness, protect against looming. For the present commentary, we simulated data that resembled the data analyzed by Prieto-Fidalgo and Calvete. Triangulation was employed by fitting complementary models to the simulated data. The results indicated contradicting negative, positive, and null associations between prior dispositional mindfulness and subsequent change in looming. These discrepant results indicate that it is premature to postulate a protective effect of dispositional mindfulness on looming and the conclusions by Prieto-Fidalgo and Calvete in this regard can be questioned. It is vital for researchers to be mindful of the fact that adjusted cross-lagged effects, as well as other correlations, do not prove causality. Otherwise, researchers risk overinterpreting results, something that seems to have happened to Prieto-Fidalgo and Calvete. More broadly, the present commentary underscores the importance of methodological rigor and carefulness when interpreting findings from observational (i.e., non-experimental) studies on mindfulness as well as in other research areas. Researchers are encouraged to use triangulation and to fit complementary models to their data. This allows evaluation if observed associations might suggest true causal effects or if the associations seem to be spurious.