Research has demonstrated the many benefits of mindfulness training programmes for individual health and well-being. This study, however, explored whether mindfulness training might have effects on intergroup interaction. We tested the effects of a self-observation-based mindfulness course on several dimensions of acceptance of the other (i.e., non-judgement, non-reaction and observation). An initial study test a mindfulness course training (N = 197). A second study then tested its effect on intergroup relationships (N = 120). A control group was used in both studies, and the subjects were tested before and after the course. Results indicate that participation in the course favoured intergroup acceptance of the other and suggest that mindfulness training represents a useful educational method for reducing social discrimination.

The effects of a self-observation-based meditation intervention on acceptance or rejection of the other.

A preliminary investigation of the relationships among social support, hope and perceived health status in persons with Parkinsonism

Conflictive social interactions are associated with the attribution of responsibility for our negative experiences to the other, and with a distant social perception of the other. When we meditate we acquire skills related to thought that allow us to observe how we perceive and signify interaction with the other, which distances us from the response to the meaning of this perception. This way of attending to events can have a negative effect on the tendency to make dispositional attributions, which are generally more conflictive, since the person making the attribution blames the other for the unpleasant situation he or she is experiencing. For this reason, the associated practice of meditation may affect social interactions by reducing conflict. The relationship between infrequent meditation, associated to the development of self-observation, with the locus of attribution for an unpleasant event, the perception of anger with oneself, and the social distance from the outgroup was analysed using a sample o...

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Daniel Pinazo

Papers

The effect of meditation based on self-observation on cognitive responses in conflictive social interaction