Mindfulness meditation reduces guilt and prosocial reparation.

Across five experiments with over 1,400 participants, focused-breathing meditation that cultivates state mindfulness reduces the desire to make amends after a transgression. Induced mindfulness lowered feelings of guilt and weakened the link between wrongdoing and reparative actions. In contrast, loving-kindness meditation increased prosocial reparation by boosting other-focus and feelings of love. The findings suggest that different meditation practices have distinct effects on prosocial behavior.

Study at a glance

Abstract

> 1,400), we demonstrate that state mindfulness cultivated via focused-breathing meditation can dampen the relationship between transgressions and the desire to engage in reparative prosocial behaviors. Experiment 1 showed that induced state mindfulness reduced state guilt. Experiments 2a-2c found that induced state mindfulness reduced the willingness to engage in reparative behaviors in normally guilt-inducing situations. Experiments 3a and 3b found that guilt mediated the negative effect of mindfulness meditation on prosocial reparation. Experiment 4 demonstrated that induced state mindfulness weakened the link between a transgression and reparative behavior, as well as documented the mediating role of guilt over and above other emotions. Finally, in Experiment 5, we found that loving kindness meditation led to significantly more prosocial reparation than focused-breathing meditation, mediated by increased other-focus and feelings of love. We discuss theoretical and practical implications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).