Debiasing the Mind Through Meditation
Andrew Hafenbrack, Zoe Kinias, Sigal G. Barsade
Psychological Science December 6, 2013 DOI: 10.1177/0956797613503853 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Correlational and experimental Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Debiasing Mind-wandering Cognitive psychology Psychoanalysis Cognitive science Cognition |
| Citations | 351 |
| Post-publication review | 1 comment on PubPeer (opens in new tab) · last active September 2016 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness meditation reduces the sunk-cost bias by drawing temporal focus away from the future and past and by reducing negative affect. |
Abstract
In the research reported here, we investigated the debiasing effect of mindfulness meditation on the sunk-cost bias. We conducted four studies (one correlational and three experimental); the results suggest that increased mindfulness reduces the tendency to allow unrecoverable prior costs to influence current decisions. Study 1 served as an initial correlational demonstration of the positive relationship between trait mindfulness and resistance to the sunk-cost bias. Studies 2a and 2b were laboratory experiments examining the effect of a mindfulness-meditation induction on increased resistance to the sunk-cost bias. In Study 3, we examined the mediating mechanisms of temporal focus and negative affect, and we found that the sunk-cost bias was attenuated by drawing one's temporal focus away from the future and past and by reducing state negative affect, both of which were accomplished through mindfulness meditation.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 47
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- Contemplating Mindfulness at Work Journal of Management November 19, 2015
- Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Implicit Age and Race Bias Social Psychological and Personality Science November 24, 2014
- Self-Compassion When Coping With Venture Obstacles: Loving-Kindness Meditation and Entrepreneurial Fear of Failure Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice December 16, 2019
- Awareness of the passage of time and self-consciousness: What do meditators report? PsyCh Journal March 1, 2019
and 42 more in the library
Cites 5
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders American Journal of Psychiatry July 1, 1992
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. Emotion February 6, 2012