From Self to Others? Testing Whether Brief Mindfulness Reduces Intergroup Bias through Decentering or Self-Compassion
Gabriela Górska, Paweł Holas
PsyArXiv September 28, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/ra6xp_v2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preregistered experiment |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 91 |
| Population | Participants in a preregistered experiment (adults; further details not stated) |
| Intervention | Brief mindfulness |
| Measures | Socio-affective Video Task, empathic Dictator Game |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Brief mindfulness was significantly linked to increased decentering and compassionate self-responding, but contrary to preregistered hypotheses it did not reduce intergroup bias in compassion, personal distress, or prosocial giving on an empathic Dictator Game. The authors suggest brief mindfulness primarily influences proximal intrapersonal processes, with limited effects on intergroup socio-affective responding. |
Abstract
AbstractBrief mindfulness reliably changes how individuals relate to their own internal experiences, but whether these intrapersonal changes generalize to intergroup responding remains unclear. This preregistered experiment (N = 91) examined whether mindfulness-related processes—decentering and compassionate self-responding—were associated with socio-affective responses toward in-group and out-group members. Participants completed an adapted Socio-affective Video Task using AI-generated images to assess compassion, personal distress, and prosocial giving. Brief mindfulness was significantly linked to increased decentering and compassionate self-responding. Contrary to preregistered hypotheses, the intervention did not reduce intergroup bias in compassion, personal distress, or the empathic Dictator Game. Findings suggest that brief mindfulness primarily influences proximal intrapersonal processes, whereas changes in intergroup socio-affective responding may be limited.
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 |