Reducing Separateness with Presence : How mindfulness catalyzes intergroup prosociality

Intergroup prosociality begins with receptive attention. Marked by apparent simplicity, it is easy to overlook the role in attentiveness to others in considering intergroup sensitivity and inclusiveness. This chapter will show how attentive presence can have manifold positive consequences in intergroup contexts. Drawing upon the centuries-old practice and recent science of mindfulness, we describe the inherent kindness of mindful presence and highlight psychological research showing how mindfulness can reduce defensive attitudes toward those of other races and nationalities. We then show how even brief mindfulness training can increase prosocial responses toward members of social out-groups. These studies speak to the potential for mindful attention to catalyze prosocial attitudes and actions across social group lines. MINDFULNESS PROMOTES INTERGROUP PROSOCIALITY 3 Reducing Separateness with Presence How Mindfulness Catalyzes Intergroup Prosociality Ultimately, peace is. about attitudes, about a sense of empathy, about breaking down the divisions that we create for ourselves in our own minds and our hearts that don’t exist in any objective reality, but that we carry with us generation after generation. (Obama, 2013) Throughout history intergroup conflict has had a devastating impact on societies and cultures, contributing to more than 200 million deaths in the 20 century alone (Cohen & Insko, 2008). At the heart of this issue, perceiving psychological separateness between “us” and “them” is psychological kindling for intergroup neglect, prejudice, discrimination, and full-blown aggressive conflict (Cikara, 2015; Zaki & Cikara, 2016). Social and political movements have inspired popular, scholarly, and scientific interest in ameliorating intergroup tension, and as a means to this end, social psychological approaches converge on identifying and cultivating psychological factors that bolster prosocial attitudes across social and cultural lines (see Batson & Ahmad, 2009 for review). Implicit to the promotion of prosocial attitudes and actions is the quality of attention paid to the person with whom one is interacting. Barrett-Lenard (1981) pointed out that an “empathic attentional set” is necessary for successful intergroup interactions, in which one “opens himor herself in a deeply responsive way to another person’s feelings” (p. 92). How does one attend deeply to the other? Despite theoretical perspectives asserting the importance of attention in prosocial attitudes and action (e.g., Darley & Latané, 1970), little social psychological research has examined the role of attentional quality in these domains. Mindfulness offers particular promise in the study of intergroup prosociality, for several reasons. MINDFULNESS PROMOTES INTERGROUP PROSOCIALITY 4 First, mindfulness entails a heightened capacity for careful – one could even say, unconditional – attention to internal and external stimuli from moment to moment. A growing body of research from the cognitive sciences indicates that gains in sustained attention, executive attention and other indicators of well-functioning attention capacities accrue with mindfulness training (MT; Jha, Krompinger, & Baime, 2007; Slagter et al., 2007; Tang et al., 2007; van den Hurk, Giommi, Gielen, Speckens, & Barendregt, 2010). Second, there is initial indication that such training has positive social, including prosocial consequences (Condon, Desbordes, Miller, & DeSteno 2013). Finally, training in mindful attention may be more transferable to social contexts than other attention training methods (Tang & Posner, 2009). Therefore, mindfulness provides a fitting lens through which to examine the role of attentional variation in intergroup prosociality. The interpersonal benefits of mindfulness have been highlighted by the religious and philosophical traditions from which the concept and experience is derived, which emphasize the importance of disengaging from the often automatic, self-centered concerns that help to preserve the perceived psychological distance that separates “us” from “them” and thereby inhibit interpersonal sensitivity and meaningful connection with others (e.g., Brown, Berry, & Quaglia, 2016; Leary & Terry, 2012; Trautwien, Schmidt, & Naranjo, 2014). Consistent with this, a recent meta-analysis found a moderate effect size of MT on salutary interpersonal outcomes (? ̅? = 0.44; Sedlmeier et al., 2012). Drawing upon the centuries-old practice and more recent science of mindfulness, we propose in this chapter that the inherent receptivity of mindful attention helps to set the stage for prosociality across social and cultural lines. In this chapter we discuss two consequences of group membership, namely defensive attitudes and reduced prosocial emotion and action toward out-group members, and then turn to ways in which our and others’ research indicates that mindfulness can attenuate these MINDFULNESS PROMOTES INTERGROUP PROSOCIALITY 5 psychological states and behaviors. We will close by offer two potential mechanisms by which mindfulness may catalyze intergroup prosociality, namely de-automatization and disidentification. Mindfulness and Defensive Intergroup Attitudes Belonging to a cohesive social group has its benefits, not the least of which that group membership is necessary to one’s survival (Brewer & Caporael, 2006). Membership in cooperative groups allows for reciprocal exchange of food and other tangible resources, provides potential mates and protection from threat, and promotes the dissemination of cultural values and knowledge (De Dreu, Balliet, & Halevy, 2014). Furthermore, group membership fosters psychological and social well-being (e.g., Baumiester & Leary, 1995). Although the benefits of group membership are legion, feeling that one belongs to a group is typically accompanied by less willingness to cooperate with and help those who do not belong (Cikara, Bruneau, & Saxe, 2011) and can even foster neglect of, and/or aggression toward social outgroup members (Tooby & Cosmides, 2010). As social beings, individuals are embedded within the broader worldviews of their social and cultural groups, these worldviews reflecting values, ideals, and beliefs about the world and the role of the individual and social groups within it. Common group identity valorizes in-group members, encourages reciprocal exchange and trust, and provides a source of shared meaning among members of the in-group (Pyszczynski, Greenberg, Solomon, Arndt, & Schimel, 2004). But conflict and tension arise when this shared meaning is threatened or attacked. Contemporary and historical examples abound of individuals and groups aggressing against, neglecting, or derogating rival groups when they threaten in-group worldviews and social identity. MINDFULNESS PROMOTES INTERGROUP PROSOCIALITY 6 Contemplative theorists have long emphasized the potential for mindfulness and other meditation practices to bridge perceived gaps between self and other, us and them (e.g., Leary & Terry, 2012; Trautwien, Schmidt, & Naranjo, 2014). In this section we present nascent evidence that mindfulness fosters non-defensive attitudes toward social out-group members in three domains: worldview threat, linguistic intergroup bias, and automatic implicit bias.