Short-Term Training in Mindfulness Predicts Helping Behavior Toward Racial Ingroup and Outgroup Members

Abstract

A randomized controlled trial tested whether mindfulness training would increase lab-based and in vivo spontaneous helping behaviors toward racial outgroup members. First, across conditions, those scoring higher in baseline trait mindfulness showed higher levels of preintervention lab-based and ecological momentary assessment (EMA)-based helping behavior. Next, short-term (4-day) training in mindfulness, relative to a well-matched sham meditation training, increased interracial helping behavior in a lab-based simulation. Finally, among people scoring lower in a basic form of trait mindfulness at baseline—that is, with greater room for improvement—mindfulness training predicted higher postintervention in vivo helping behavior reported via EMA. However, neither training condition alone attenuated preferential helping toward racial ingroup members. These findings indicate, for the first time, that mindfulness and its training fosters helping behavior toward strangers and acquaintances regardless of their racial ingroup or outgroup status, but preferential helping of racial ingroup members remains.

Mindful Attention as a Skillful Means toward Intergroup Prosociality

“…These rationalizations exacerbate the gap in preferentially helping ingroup members over outgroup members (Saucier et al, 2005). In a recent experiment by Berry, Wall, Tubbs, et al (2021), female graduate students and community adults were randomized to receive four days of focused (mindful) attention training or a structurally equivalent sham meditation training (cf., Zeidan et., 2015). Interestingly, mindfulness trainees were more helpful to racial outgroup members in the crutches simulation used by Condon et al (2013) and Lim et al (2015).…”

“…As a receptive, psychological state that can be trained (e.g., and situationally manipulated (Heppner & Shirk, 2018), mindfulness appears to dampen intrapsychic boundaries to intergroup prosociality, including social categorization (Pinazo & Brezo, 2017), biased causal attributions (Tincher et al, 2016), and implicit intergroup attitudes (Lueke & Gibson, 2016). What is more, even short-term training in focused attention forms of mindfulness promote higher empathic concern (Berry, Wall, Cairo et al, 2021), intentions for intergroup contact (Berger et al, 2018;Parks et al, 2014), and prosocial behaviors toward social outgroup members (Berry, Wall, Cairo et al, 2021;Berry, Wall, Tubbs, et al, 2021;Frost, 2017;Lueke & Gibson, 2016).…”

“…Various mindfulness trainings have been found to close this empathy gap in prosocial behaviors elicited by laboratory-based tasks and simulations (Berry, Wall, Tubbs et al, 2021;Frost, 2017;Lueke & Gibson, 2016). Yet in a study with real-world measures captured by daily diary methods, both four-day mindfulness trainees and sham mindfulness trainees showed parochial helping behaviors toward racial ingroup members (Berry, Wall, Tubbs et al, 2021). Social groups are often socially and physically insulated from each other, limiting opportunities for meaningful intergroup contact (see Piff et al, 2018 for review).…”

Old Southern Codes in New Legal Bottles? Sexual Harassment, Race, and Masculinity

“…In addition, perspective-taking could increase the cognitive demands and stress on the individual when they take on another individual's perspective, particularly when that individual is suffering negative consequences (Buffone et al, 2017). A more recent intervention that has shown some success in reducing racial bias combines perspective-taking with mindfulness (Berry et al, 2021;Edwards et al, 2017;Lueke & Gibson, 2015, 2016. This method might help reduce the racial bias that occurs when individuals evaluate situations that might be considered harassment.…”

Brief Mindfulness Instruction Predicts Anonymous Prosocial Helping of an Ostracized Racial Outgroup Member

“…To date, few studies have examined whether any form of mindfulness training promotes prosocial responsiveness toward racial outgroup members (Berry et al, 2021;Lueke & Gibson, 2016). Several design characteristics were included to enhance the rigor of this test.…”