Mindfulness, whether naturally occurring or briefly instructed, increases helping behavior toward strangers who are being excluded by others. Four studies showed that people higher in dispositional mindfulness felt more empathic concern for an ostracized stranger and were more likely to help them. Brief mindfulness instructions, compared to active control instructions, also promoted prosocial responses. These effects were not explained by empathic anger, a desire to punish the perpetrator, or relaxation. Empathic concern consistently mediated the link between mindfulness and helping. Meta-analyses across the studies found stable, medium-sized effects of mindfulness instruction on prosocial emotions and behavior.
Mindfulness-based trainings like Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teach two meditation forms: focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM). A dismantling trial compared structurally equivalent 8-week trainings in MBCT, FA, and OM among 89 community adults with varying depressive symptoms. Electroencephalographic (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry and self-reported emotional responses to images were measured before and after training. FA and MBCT produced leftward shifts in frontal alpha asymmetry, indicating a shift toward approach-based positive affect, and improved self-reported emotional reactivity and regulation for negative images. OM showed limited benefits, restricted to subjective outcomes. The findings suggest MBCT's benefits may come mainly from FA training.
A randomized controlled trial tested whether a 4-day mindfulness training, compared to a sham meditation training, increased helping behaviors toward racial outgroup members. People with higher baseline trait mindfulness showed more helping behavior before the intervention. Mindfulness training increased interracial helping in a lab simulation. Among participants with lower baseline trait mindfulness, mindfulness training predicted more real-world helping behavior reported via ecological momentary assessment. However, neither training condition reduced the tendency to preferentially help racial ingroup members. The findings suggest mindfulness fosters helping toward strangers regardless of race, but does not eliminate ingroup bias.
Brief mindfulness instruction did not improve intergroup attitudes, empathy, or compassion in power-asymmetric dyads overall. In a virtual setting, Latinx and White non-Latinx participants were randomly assigned to listen to a mindfulness, relaxation, or attention-based audio instruction before a perspective-sharing task. Mindfulness benefits emerged only when perspective-takers were low in social dominance orientation, predicting greater empathic concern and less personal distress in perspective-givers. Additionally, perspective-givers who received mindfulness instruction reported greater social connection if they held more positive pre-interaction attitudes toward Latinx individuals. The authors argue that mindfulness effects on social well-being depend on interactants' distal and proximal social goals.