Effects of Brief Mindfulness Meditation and Compassion Meditation on Parochial Empathy and Prosocial Behavior Toward Ethnic Out-Group Members.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Relative to the tendency to empathize with and help sociocultural in-group members, there are often social and psychological barriers to responding prosocially toward out-group members. This experiment examined the roles of mindfulness instruction and compassion instruction in fostering prosocial behavior toward an ethnic out-group (non-U.S. Arabs) relative to an ethnic in-group (U.S. residents). The study also examined whether contemplative practices would predict less parochial empathy and whether parochial empathy would mediate the relations between mindfulness/compassion and prosocial behavior toward the out-group.

Method

A national sample of n = 450 U.S. residents was recruited online via the Prolific platform using the standard sample function, which

SUBMITTER: Zheng D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10040311 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature