The Relationship Between Mindfulness and Inhibitory Control in a Neutral and Reward Associated Context with a Focus on Individual Differences

Background: Empirical links between trait mindfulness and inhibitory control (IC) remain inconsistent, particularly in motivationally salient contexts. This study investigated how specific mindfulness facets relate to IC under varying reward structures and whether other dispositional traits modulate these associations. Methods: One hundred adults completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and validated measures of affective distress, self-regulation, emotion regulation, and broader dispositional traits. IC was assessed using a modified stop-signal task. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four between-subject conditions varying in reward structure to minimise carryover effects. Stop-signal reaction time was the primary outcome measure. Results: No significant main effects of total mindfulness or reward condition on stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) were observed. However, a significant interaction emerged between the FFMQ Describing facet and task condition ( p = .026), indicating that the relationship between the labelling of experience and IC is context dependent. Follow-up analyses revealed that this interaction was primarily driven by a significant positive association between Describing and SSRT in the fully reward-associated condition ( p = .046). In this 'saturated' reward environment, higher Describing capacity was linked to slower stopping performance. No other mindfulness facets or dispositional characteristics yielded significant moderating effects, although anxiety was independently associated with slower stopping across conditions. Conclusions: The findings indicate that mindfulness–IC relationships are facet-specific and context dependent. The Describing facet appears to differentially relate to inhibitory performance depending on reward structure, underscoring the importance of motivational context when examining mindfulness and executive control.