Do Meditation, Mindfulness, and Self-Compassion Impact Utilitarian Moral Judgment?

Abstract Objectives Meditation practices, mindfulness, and self-compassion have been found to affect our physical and mental well-being in many ways. However, can they also affect our moral judgment, for example, what we think about right and wrong? This study aims to explore the potential influence of meditation, mindfulness and self-compassion on utilitarian moral judgments.

Method: In Study 1 (n = 316), we measured participants’ frequency of meditation, their level of mindfulness, self-compassion, and their utilitarian moral judgment through two well-known moral dilemmas (switch and bridge) and using a two-dimensional model of moral psychology (the Oxford Utilitarianism Scale with negative, i.e., instrumental harm, and positive, i.e., impartial beneficence dimensions). In Study 2 (n = 41), we conducted a psychological 8-week mindfulness course and measured the same variables as in Study 1 before and after the course.

Results: In Study 1, we observed that participants who meditated more often exhibited lower levels of instrumental harm. In Study 2, we found that participants had a lower level of impartial beneficence after the 8-week mindfulness course.

Conclusions: Practices such as meditation may be related to moral judgment, specifically to lower acceptance of harming others (instrumental harm), but they may also reduce the concern for the welfare of as many people as possible (impartial beneficence). Further research is needed to understand better if and how moral judgments may change when people meditate and develop their mindfulness and self-compassion. Preregistration The studies were not pre-registered.