Mindfulness and social, emotional and cognitive development

What mindfulness is

Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment, intentionally and without judgement. In schools it is usually taught as short daily practices: focused breathing, mindful listening or tasting, noticing thoughts and feelings without reacting, and gentle movement.

The idea is that noticing thoughts and emotions before acting improves self-regulation: calming stress, controlling impulses and focusing attention.

How it could enhance development

• Emotional: better recognition and regulation of feelings; less stress.
• Social: noticing others' feelings, more empathy and kindness, fewer conflicts.
• Cognitive: improved attention and working memory, which support learning.

Evidence: Schonert-Reichl et al. (2015): a randomised controlled trial in four elementary schools in British Columbia, Canada, with fourth and fifth graders. One group took MindUP, a social and emotional learning programme built on mindfulness practice; the comparison group took a social responsibility programme without mindfulness. Of 99 children analysed, those in MindUP showed better stress regulation (salivary cortisol), better cognitive control, more empathy and optimism, fewer depressive symptoms, more peer-rated helpfulness and greater peer acceptance. Their year-end maths grades were higher, but only as a non-significant trend.

Evaluation

• Strengths: randomised designs with biological measures (cortisol) add objectivity; low cost and easy for teachers to deliver, so strong practical application.
• Weaknesses: effects depend on how well teachers deliver the programme; children and teachers know which group they are in, so expectations and demand characteristics may affect self-reports; many studies are short, so long-term effects are less clear; samples are often from particular schools and countries, limiting generalisability.
• Link to theory: mindfulness can be seen as scaffolding self-regulation (Vygotsky) and as supporting the industry stage in school (Erikson).

Worked example

A school wants to test whether a mindfulness programme improves attention. Outline a suitable design.

1. Randomly allocate classes to mindfulness or to an active comparison programme of the same length.
2. Measure attention (for example, a computer attention task) before and after in both groups.
3. Use testers who do not know which group a child is in, to reduce bias.

Answer: Randomised controlled trial with an active control, pre and post measures, blind testers.

Check yourself

1. Which best defines mindfulness?
   • Paying attention to the present moment intentionally and without judgement
   • Thinking hard about future goals
   • Suppressing all emotions
   • Learning by reinforcement
   Show answer

   Paying attention to the present moment intentionally and without judgement. Present, intentional, non-judging.

2. What design did Schonert-Reichl et al. (2015) use?
   • A single case study
   • A cross-cultural meta-analysis
   • A randomised controlled trial with a comparison programme
   • A correlational survey with no intervention
   Show answer

   A randomised controlled trial with a comparison programme. Classes were randomly given MindUP or a social responsibility programme.

3. Why did Schonert-Reichl et al. measure salivary cortisol?
   • As a biological indicator of stress
   • To measure maths ability
   • To check attendance
   • To test memory
   Show answer

   As a biological indicator of stress. Cortisol is a stress hormone.

4. Which was a finding of the MindUP study?
   • MindUP made children's maths worse
   • MindUP had no effect on stress regulation
   • Children in the comparison group were more optimistic
   • Children in MindUP were better liked by peers than children in the comparison programme
   Show answer

   Children in MindUP were better liked by peers than children in the comparison programme. Better peer acceptance, stress regulation, empathy, optimism and helping.

5. Why might self-report results in school mindfulness studies be biased?
   • Cortisol is unreliable
   • Children know they are in the mindfulness group and may report what they think is expected
   • Random allocation was used
   • Classes were the same size
   Show answer

   Children know they are in the mindfulness group and may report what they think is expected. Demand characteristics.

6. Explain how mindfulness could improve a child's social development.
   Show answer

   By learning to notice their own feelings before reacting, children become calmer and better at self-control and empathy, so they have fewer conflicts and get on better with peers.. Mechanism plus a social outcome.

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Sources

• Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced Level in Psychology specification, Issue 6 (November 2024, first assessment January 2026)
• Schonert-Reichl, Oberle, Lawlor and others (2015), Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional development through a simple-to-administer mindfulness-based school program, Developmental Psychology 51(1)

Last updated 8 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.