Mindfulness as a Cognitive-Emotional Resource for Decision Quality: A Mindful Decision Resilience Model

Abstract

Decision-making in contemporary academic and organizational environments increasingly occurs under uncertainty, information overload, time pressure, and psychological pressure. While existing research has established relationships between mindfulness and stress reduction, relatively limited theoretical attention has been given to the mechanisms through which mindfulness may influence the quality of decisions under uncertain conditions. This paper develops the Mindful Decision Resilience Model (MDRM), a theoretically grounded framework that conceptualizes mindfulness as a cognitive-emotional resource rather than merely a stress-management technique. Drawing upon mindfulness theory, transactional stress theory, conservation of resources theory, dual-process theory, cognitive reappraisal, and self-regulation theory, the model proposes that mindfulness influences decision quality through four interrelated psychological mechanisms: adaptive stress appraisal, attentional control, emotional non-reactivity, and cognitive reappraisal. These mechanisms are proposed to enhance cognitive flexibility, which subsequently strengthens appropriate decision confidence and decision quality. Decision uncertainty is introduced as a contextual boundary condition that may strengthen the importance of mindful decision resources. The paper contributes to behavioral and management research by shifting the research question from whether mindfulness reduces stress to how mindfulness transforms psychological processing during uncertain and high-pressure decisions.