A kind mind: effects of compassion-based meditation on prosocial intergroup outcomes in a South African pilot sample.
Adala M Prevost, Michal George, Melike M Fourie
Frontiers in Psychology 2025 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1450549 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Mixed methods pilot study Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | White South African adults |
| Intervention | Compassion-based meditation |
| Duration | 8-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Compassion Intergroup Prejudice Prosocial Self-transcendence |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Compassion-based meditation was associated with reduced racial prejudice, increased intergroup contact, and greater prosocial outcomes toward outgroups in a White South African sample. |
Abstract
Three decades into democracy, the corollaries of apartheid continue to pattern South African society, with complicated race feelings and resistance to reparative government policies still driving separation. Sharing a grounding with African knowledge systems in the interconnectedness of all people, compassion-based meditation has proven to be a powerful promoter of prosocial action toward strangers and stigmatized groups abroad. It is, however, unclear whether such findings would translate to South Africa with its history of racialised conflict. Here, we piloted a mixed methods study to examine whether 8 weeks of compassion-based meditation would foster positive intergroup attitudes and prosocial outcomes, beyond personal wellbeing, in a White South African sample. We found greater compassion self-practice to be associated not only with significantly increased life satisfaction and reduced stress, but also with heightened outgroup compassion and reduced desire for social distance. Furthermore, post intervention, we observed significantly reduced racial prejudice, increased intergroup contact, and greater prosocial outcomes expressed in support toward collective action and restitutive government policies. Qualitatively, participants reported broadened compassion and affiliation with strangers, suggesting enhanced self-transcendence. These findings offer early support for the potential of compassion-based meditation to improve intergroup relations locally. Future directions include a randomized controlled trial in an appropriately powered sample, and expansion of the methodology to include other social groups.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cites 12
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. Emotion October 1, 2008
- Effect of kindness-based meditation on health and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology June 30, 2014
- A Review on Research and Evaluation Methods for Investigating Self-Transcendence. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
and 7 more in the library