McGovern Institute Special Seminar with ZiYoung Kang

About this event

Seminar with ZiYoung Kang

• Date: Friday, December 4, 2026

• Time: 12:00pm

• Location: Seminar Room 3189, Building 46

• This is an in-person event

Talk Title : Mindfulness in Action: Bridging traditional and contemporary definitions of mindfulness

Abstract : Divergent definitions of mindfulness complicate the interpretation of research on mindfulness-based interventions. A growing number of scholars suggest that incorporating insights from historical models of mindfulness in Buddhism may further enhance the benefits of mindfulness practice. Drawing on training in both psychological research and Buddhist studies, and on more than 17 years of mindfulness practice, I approach contemporary and Buddhist conceptualizations as complementary rather than incompatible. I will first present our scoping review of 120 articles comparing the two. I will then introduce a process model that incorporates the identified differences as four components within a unified account: sound (non-judgmental) awareness, discerning awareness and wise judgment, choice and action guided by wise judgment, and heedfulness. Finally, I will describe ongoing work to test the model, including the Mindfulness in Action Inventory and a randomized controlled trial. Because its components map onto well-studied cognitive processes, such as response inhibition, working memory under emotional load, and prosocial decision-making, the model generates testable predictions for neuroimaging and offers a framework for third-wave meditation research on advanced contemplative development.

Bio : ZiYoung Kang, Ph.D., NCC, is a mindfulness researcher and Won -Buddhist minister ( Kyomu ) whose work bridges contemporary psychological science and Buddhist conceptualizations of mindfulness. She is an Assistant Professor in the Counselor Education Program at Duquesne University. She received her Ph.D. in Counselor Education from Pennsylvania State University in 2014, then completed additional degrees in Won -Buddhist Studies and was ordained in 2020. A practitioner of mindfulness and meditation for over 17 years, she has taught mindfulness to children and adults from diverse religious backgrounds and has more than a decade of experience developing and implementing mindfulness-based mentoring programs for K-12 and college students. Her research examines how mindfulness is conceptualized, measured, and cultivated; her recent scoping review in Mindfulness (2026) proposes an integrative process model of mindfulness.