Compassion meditation increases optimism towards a transgressor.
Cognition & Emotion August 1, 2020 Birgit Koopmann-Holm, Jocelyn A. Sze, Thupten Jinpa et al.
An 8-week compassion meditation class led participants to write more optimistic letters to a convicted murderer compared to mindfulness meditation, an active control, or no class. This effect was partly explained by participants valuing positivity more. No significant differences were found for empathy, sympathy, or forgiveness expressed in the letters. The study suggests that compassion meditation may specifically boost optimism toward unrelatable targets.