Who Is Less Likely to Ostracize? Higher Trait Mindfulness Predicts More Inclusionary Behavior.
Eric E Jones, James H Wirth, Alex T Ramsey, Rebecca L Wynsma
Personality & social psychology bulletin June 25, 2018 DOI: 10.1177/0146167218780698 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Series of three studies (survey and experimental) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Employed adults (Study 1) and group participants (Studies 2 and 3) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Social isolation Personality Empathy Interpersonal relations Social perception Attention Adolescent Middle aged Female Young adult Psychological distance Inclusion Exclusion Sources of ostracism |
| Key findings | Higher trait mindfulness was associated with less ostracizing of coworkers and with greater inclusion of an ostracized group member. The authors attribute the greater inclusion to attention rather than empathy, and report that instructions to pay attention and ensure equal inclusion produced responses similar to those of highly mindful participants. |
Abstract
Despite the pain ostracism (being excluded and ignored) causes, researchers have minimally investigated factors related to reducing its occurrence. We investigated the association between higher trait mindfulness (the tendency to be attentive to the present moment) and lower engagement in ostracism. In Study 1, employed adults scoring higher on trait mindfulness reported ostracizing coworkers less. In Study 2, participants possessing higher levels of trait mindfulness demonstrated greater inclusion of a fellow group member being ostracized by others in the group. Results suggested that attention, rather than empathy, was the psychological process responsible for greater inclusion of an ostracized group member by mindful individuals. Study 3 supported this conclusion because participants responded similarly to those high in trait mindfulness when they were instructed to pay attention and ensure all players were included equally. Overall, we found that people with higher levels of trait mindfulness are more attentive to targets of ostracism.