Parks, Stefania, Birtel, Michèle D. ORCID: 0000-0002-2383-9197 and Crisp, Richard J. (2014) Evidence that a brief meditation exercise can reduce prejudice toward homeless people. Social Psychology, 45 (6). pp. 458-465. ISSN 1864-9335 (Print), 2151-2590 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000212)

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Abstract

Recent research has shown that integrating social and clinical psychological perspectives can be effective when designing prejudice-interventions, with psychotherapeutic techniques successful at tackling anxiety in intergroup contexts. This research tests whether a single, brief loving-kindness meditation intervention, without containing any reference to the intergroup context, could reduce prejudice. This exercise was selected for its proven positive effects on mental and physical health. We observed that participants who took part in two variations of this meditation exercise (one involving a stranger, the other a homeless person) reported reduced intergroup anxiety, as well as more positive explicit attitudes, and enhanced future contact intentions. We conclude that combining approaches in intergroup relations and psychotherapy could be beneficial to design new interventions to combat prejudice and discrimination.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Mindfulness meditation, Prejudice, Intergroup anxiety, Intergroup contact
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Last Modified:	29 Nov 2018 16:09
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/17925

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