Brief Online Socio-Cognitive Mindfulness Interventions Neither Improve Socio-Cognitive Mindfulness nor Cognitive Biases: A Two-Study Conceptual Replication and Reanalysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Phillip Thiedmann, Florence Dejardin, Leonhard Reiter, Ulrich S. Tran
Mindfulness June 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-025-02575-y (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,035 |
| Population | Online adult participants in two randomized controlled trials (n=591 and n=335) plus reanalysis of open data from the original study (n=109) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Across two preregistered randomized controlled trials and a reanalysis of the original study's open data, brief socio-cognitive mindfulness interventions did not improve performance on cognitive-bias tasks or increase socio-cognitive mindfulness compared with passive controls. The authors conclude that such brief interventions may neither induce relevant mindful states nor reduce cognitive biases, and recommend longer interventions and further measure development. |
Abstract
Abstract Objectives Evidence on the link between socio-cognitive (Langerian) mindfulness and cognitive biases is scarce. A recent study reported that a brief online socio-cognitive mindfulness intervention substantially improved performance in a variety of cognitive-bias tasks. The current report attempted to replicate this finding with considerably larger samples, using two preregistered studies, and reanalyzed open data of the original study.
Method: Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs; n = 591, n = 335) were conducted online. Both RCTs measured performance in various cognitive-bias tasks (11 in Study 1, 13 in Study 2) after receiving the purported main component (Study 1) or the full intervention (Study 2) from the original study, compared to a passive control condition. Study 2 also examined differences in socio-cognitive mindfulness between the intervention and control groups. Exploratory analyses investigated the associations between cognitive biases and age, gender, education, trait meditative mindfulness, rationality, and cognitive reflection, and reanalyzed open data from the original study (n = 109).
Results: Intervention and control groups did not differ in cognitive-bias task performance or socio-cognitive mindfulness in either the two replication studies or the original RCT, according to both standard parametric and nonparametric tests. Performance in the cognitive-bias tasks was associated with participant characteristics (gender, age), meditation practice, trait meditative mindfulness, rationality, and cognitive reflection.
Conclusions: Brief socio-cognitive mindfulness interventions may neither induce relevant socio-cognitive mindful states nor reduce cognitive biases. Measures of cognitive bias and socio-cognitive mindfulness need more research. Future studies should investigate longer interventions. Preregistration Study 1 was preregistered at aspredicted.org (#93190) on April 5, 2022. Study 2 was preregistered at aspredicted.org (#127897) on April 6, 2023.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cites 14
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Debiasing the Mind Through Meditation Psychological Science December 6, 2013
- Interoception Drives Increased Rational Decision-Making in Meditators Playing the Ultimatum Game Frontiers in Neuroscience 2011
- Mind wandering “Ahas” versus mindful reasoning: alternative routes to creative solutions Frontiers in Psychology June 17, 2015
and 9 more in the library