A failure in mind: Dispositional mindfulness and positive reappraisal as predictors of academic self-efficacy following failure

•We examined mindfulness, positive reappraisal (PR), and academic self-efficacy (ASE).•Results suggest a positive association between mindfulness and positive reappraisal.•Mindfulness and PR were positively correlated with academic self-efficacy.•PR was found to be a significant mediator linking mindfulness with more positive ASE.

How mindfulness relates to beliefs about the self is largely unknown despite a growing mindfulness literature base. This study sought to investigate mindfulness and self-beliefs in the academic domain. Specifically examined were the relationships between college students’ (N = 243) dispositional mindfulness, positive reappraisal, and academic self-efficacy beliefs following a perceived testing failure were examined. Results support prior findings demonstrating an association between mindfulness and positive reappraisal, and indicate that mindfulness as well as positive reappraisal are positively associated with academic self-efficacy after a perceived failure. Furthermore, positive reappraisal was found to be a significant mediator linking mindfulness with more positive academic self-efficacy. Summarily, individuals reporting greater mindful awareness and behavior were more likely to engage in positive reappraisal, which partly accounted for their higher academic self-efficacy following the perceived academic failure.