Mindfulness meditation reduces guilt and prosocial reparation.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology December 23, 2021 Andrew Hafenbrack, Matthew L. Lapalme, Isabelle Solal 69 citations
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.