Effects of loving-kindness meditation on prosocial behavior: empirical and meta-analytic evidence
ISSN: 2042-6763
Article publication date: 22 April 2024
Issue publication date: 7 May 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Brief loving-kindness meditation (LKM) is introduced here as a valid social marketing intervention. LKM positively influences prosocial cognitions and affects. However, it remains unclear whether brief meditation interventions can influence prosocial behavior. This study aims to provide evidence of the effects of short LKM on prosocial behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reports the results of three experiments examining the effects of brief LKM on donations to unknown others. The results are then integrated with the results of seven other studies testing the effects of brief LKM on prosocial behavior using a meta-analysis (n = 683).
Findings
LKM increased love more than the control group (focused breathing) in the three experiments; however, its effects on donations were mixed. The meta-analysis shows that LKM has a small-to-medium significant effect compared to active control groups (d = 0.303); moreover, age and type of prosocial measure used moderate the effects.
Originality/value
Results suggest that LKM can nurture prosocial emotions such as love and lead young individuals to donate. However, these emotions may not be sufficient to lead adult meditators to share their resources with unknown others. This study presents the first meta-analysis of brief LKM and provides insights into the use of meditation in social marketing programs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Ana Gómez-Olmedo for her recording of the audios and the E-SOST group for their help with the set-up of the experiments.
Funding statement: This project was part of the European Research Night funded by the European Union, Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme, research grant no. 818.528.
Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical standards: All participants gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the studies. The present study was carried out in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.
Data availability statement: The data sets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available at https://osf.io/f9pd7/. Data are password protected but will be rendered available upon request.
Citation
Valor, C., Martínez-de-Ibarreta, C., Carrero, I. and Merino, A. (2024), "Effects of loving-kindness meditation on prosocial behavior: empirical and meta-analytic evidence", Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 280-300. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-05-2023-0110
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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