Mindfulness Increases Prosocial Responses Toward Ostracized Strangers Through Empathic Concern

Four studies tested the proposition that mindfulness and its training fostered prosociality toward ostracized strangers. In discovery Study 1, dispositional mindfulness predicted greater empathic concern for, and more helping behavior toward, an ostracized stranger. Using an experimental design, Stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. General 2018-01, Vol.147 (1), p.93-112
Main Authors: Berry, Daniel R, Cairo, Athena H, Goodman, Robert J, Quaglia, Jordan T, Green, Jeffrey D, Brown, Kirk Warren
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Anger
Assistance (Social Behavior)
Behavior
Control
Empathy
Experiments
Female
Helping Behavior
Human
Humans
Male
Meditation
Mindfulness
Prosocial Behavior
Social Isolation
Young Adult
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Summary:Four studies tested the proposition that mindfulness and its training fostered prosociality toward ostracized strangers. In discovery Study 1, dispositional mindfulness predicted greater empathic concern for, and more helping behavior toward, an ostracized stranger. Using an experimental design, Study 2 revealed that very briefly instructed mindfulness, relative to active control instructions, also promoted prosocial responsiveness to an ostracized stranger. Study 3 ruled out alternative explanations for this effect of mindfulness, showing that it did not promote empathic anger or perpetrator punishment, nor that the control training reduced prosocial responsiveness toward an ostracized stranger rather than mindfulness increasing it. Study 4 further ruled out the alternative explanation of relaxation in the experimental effects of mindfulness. In all studies, empathic concern mediated the relation between mindfulness and one or both of the helping behavior outcomes. Meta-analyses of the four studies revealed stable, medium sized effects of mindfulness instruction on prosocial emotions and prosocial behavior. Together these findings inform about circumstances in which mindfulness may increase prosocial responsiveness, and deepen our understanding of the motivational bases of prosociality.
ISSN:0096-3445
1939-2222
DOI:10.1037/xge0000392