The construct "behaviors of the mind," unique to Conjunctive Psychology (Mikulas, 2002), is helpful in clarifying the nature of and differences between concentration and mindfulness. A critical distinction is between contents of the mind and behaviors of the mind. Contents of the mind include the various objects that arise in a person’s consciousness, such as perceptual experiences, verbal and visual thoughts, reconstructed memories, attributions and beliefs, and cognitive aspects of emotions and attitudes. Behaviors of the mind are those processes of the mind (or brain if one prefers) that select and construct the contents and that provide awareness of the contents. Behaviors of the mind occur prior to, during, and in response to any particular contents. Western psychologists and philosophers often confuse and confound contents of the mind with behaviors of the mind. Behaviors of the mind can be defined operationally, studied directly and through interactions with other behaviors, operantly and respondently conditioned, and shown to differ neurophysiologically (Dunn, Hartigan, & Mikulas, 1999; Mikulas, 2000, 2002).
There are three fundamental behaviors of the mind: clinging, concentration, and mindfulness. Clinging, discussed above, refers to the tendency of the mind to grasp for and cling to certain contents of the mind. Concentration refers to the focus of the mind; and mindfulness involves the awareness of the mind, including properties of breadth and clarity.
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