Does Mindfulness Training Without Explicit Ethics-Based Instruction Promote Prosocial Behaviors? A Meta-Analysis.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Contemplative Science

Background:

• Secular mindfulness training is increasingly popular.
• Concerns exist regarding its effectiveness in fostering prosocial behavior due to the absence of ethics-based concepts.
• Contemplative traditions often integrate ethical frameworks with mindfulness practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether mindfulness training, without explicit ethics-based instructions, promotes prosocial action.
• To quantify the effect size of secular mindfulness on prosocial behavior through meta-analysis.

Main Methods:

• Conducted random-effects meta-analyses on 29 studies with 3,100 participants.
• Compared mindfulness training interventions against active and inactive controls.
• Analyzed effect sizes for overt prosociality, compassionate helping, instrumental helping, generosity, prejudice reduction, and retaliation reduction.

Main Results:

• A small to medium effect size (g = .426) was found for mindfulness training on prosociality.
• Reliable effects were observed for single-session interventions measuring immediate post-training prosocial behavior.
• Mindfulness training reliably promoted compassionate helping and reduced prejudice and retaliation, but not instrumental or generous helping.

Conclusions:

• Secular mindfulness training, even without explicit ethical components, can promote prosocial actions.
• The findings support the utility of mindfulness interventions for enhancing positive social behaviors and mitigating negative ones.
• Further research can explore the mechanisms and long-term effects of secular mindfulness on prosociality.