Potential negative consequences of mindfulness in the moral domain
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Authors
Mindfulness is a state of paying conscious and nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experiences. Previous research relates this state to more effective emotion regulation and less emotion reactivity. We therefore hypothesized an attenuating effect of a mindfulness exercise on moral reactions that usually results from a bad conscience when having caused harm. Across five studies, we experimentally induced mindfulness via a short breathing exercise and then assessed harm-based moral reactions. As hypothesized, participants in the mindfulness (vs. control) exercise condition showed (i) attenuated repair intentions after having read a scenario in which participants caused harm to a friend (Study 3) and (ii) attenuated intentions to change harm-causing eating habits (Study 4). Results of Studies 1, 2 and 5 did not provide evidence for our hypothesis. A following meta-analysis across all five studies yielded an overall significant effect of mindfulness in the harm-condition, providing preliminary evidence for a potential downside to mindfulness.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | European Journal of Social Psychology |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1055-1069 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| ISSN | 0046-2772 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 08.2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
- emotion regulation, meditation, mindfulness, moral reactions
- Psychology
Research areas
- Social Psychology