The Impact of an Online Mindfulness Program on Self-Compassion, Prosocial Behavior, and Trait Mindfulness

Online mindfulness programs have gained traction in recent years due to their increased accessibility and feasibility compared to face-to-face programs. Although much research has demonstrated that face-to-face mindfulness programs can increase trait mindfulness, self-compassion and prosocial attitudes, fewer studies have explored these outcomes in online mindfulness programs. Additionally, the relative importance of formal and informal facets of mindfulness practice (i.e., practicing formal sitting meditation or practicing informally by bringing more awareness to daily activities) has not been extensively examined in either face-to-face or online contexts. This study aimed to test whether participating in a free 4-week online mindfulness program improved trait mindfulness, self-compassion and prosocial behavior, and whether improvements were related to self-reported quality and quantity of mindfulness practice. Using a longitudinal design, a total of 209 matched pre- and post-program survey responses were analysed. Results suggested that participation in the mindfulness program improved participants’ levels of trait mindfulness, self-compassion and prosociality (all p < 0.01). Exploratory analysis indicated the mindfulness program had a significantly greater impact upon prosociality scores for males (p < 0.05). Results also suggested that there was an association between the quality of formal mindfulness practice in the last week of the program and improvements in self-compassion and trait mindfulness (p < 0.01), but this relationship was not present for prosociality, nor for the quality of informal practice or quantity of formal practice. Lastly, exploratory mediation analysis suggested the association between quality of formal practice and self-compassion was mediated by changes in trait mindfulness (p < 0.05). These results suggest participating in an online mindfulness program can lead to improved trait mindfulness, self-compassion, and prosociality. Our results also indicate that practice quality is related to improved trait mindfulness, and that the changes to trait mindfulness mediate improved self-compassion.

Lost in the crowd: Imagining walking in synchrony with a crowd increases affiliation and deindividuation

Moving in time with others—interpersonal coordination—increases affiliation, helping behaviours and gives rise to a host of other prosocial outcomes. Recent research suggests that merely imagining coordination may lead to similar social effects. In the present study, participants were asked to imagine walking with a crowd in a coordinated (versus uncoordinated) way to explore the effects of imagined coordination on individuals’ perceptions of themselves and the crowd. Imagined coordination led to greater levels of deindividuation and affiliation. That is, participants were less likely to report seeing themselves as unique individuals, instead viewing themselves as a part of a group (deindividuation) and more likely to report a sense of emotional closeness (affiliation) with the imagined group. Deindividuation partially mediated the effect of imagined coordination on affiliation. This work establishes that imagined synchrony can be employed online to foster prosocial attitudes towards groups of people, and that a process of deindividuation might mediate this effect.

The effect of the Sport Education Model on basic needs, intrinsic motivation and prosocial attitudes: A systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis

This study aimed to provide a quantitative synthesis on the effect of the Sport Education Model (SEM) on basic need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, and prosocial attitudes in physical education (PE). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on experimental studies conducted before August 2020. The initial search yielded 6061 articles, with 25 articles ( n = 2937) meeting the inclusion criteria. The articles were analyzed using five separate analyses using two- and three-level random-effects models and Hedges’ g effect size. The study showed the SEM to have a positive heterogeneous medium effect on autonomy ( g = 0.43; CI 95% [0.12, 0.74]), competence ( g = 0.42; CI 95% [0.17, 0.67]) and relatedness ( g = 0.57; CI 95% [0.28, 0.85]) need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation ( g = 0.63; CI 95% [0.37, 0.89]), and prosocial attitudes ( g = 0.46; CI 95% [0.09, 0.83]). All a priori categorical moderators were statistically insignificant. The analyses indicate that the SEM is more need-supportive and promotes intrinsic motivation and prosocial attitudes more compared to the skill-drill, direct, and traditional instructional styles used in PE. However, high-quality experimental and comparative trials testing the efficacy of the SEM on broad outcomes are needed. Specifically, the concept of novelty, potential negative outcomes, and essential behavioral outcomes, such as physical activity, should be included in the future. Further, the fidelity of the interventions should be measured and reported with more transparency and detail.

Media attention, dependency, self-efficacy, and prosocial behaviours during the outbreak of COVID-19: A constructive journalism perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption not only in the global health and economic sectors, but also in the field of journalism. As media has played and continues to play a pivotal role in disseminating information during the pandemic crisis, it is critical to examine how media influences the behaviour of their target audience. Subsequently, this study aimed to examine the relationship between media attention, dependency, self-efficacy, and prosocial behaviours amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 905 participants from China responded to the survey questionnaire, the data from which was analysed via SPSS-AMOS v.23. The results indicated a significant correlation between media attention and self-efficacy. Likewise, media dependency is correlated with self-efficacy. Media attention, dependency, and self-efficacy demonstrated significant effects on prosocial attitudes and behaviours. Subsequently, this study showed that self-efficacy mediates the effects of media attention and dependency on prosocial behaviour. At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings of this study could serve as a guide to media practitioners in shaping the behaviour of their audience through meaningful and responsible information dissemination.

PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF INFODEMIC AND PERSONAL ATTITUDES TO DISINFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19 IN SOCIAL MEDIA

В статье рассматривается проблема психологических механизмов, влияющих на распространение «фейковых» новостей и дезинформирование в цифровой среде в период пандемии COVID-19. На основании результатов отечественных и зарубежных исследований анализируются манипулятивные технологии, связанные с использованием дезинформационных стратегий. Обращается внимание на эффекты рамки и гемофильности, методы дискредитации, создание конспирологических теорий, троллинг, поляризацию интернет-сообществ, подражание, а также повышение эмоциональности сообщений. Обсуждаются личностные характеристики пользователей, связанные со склонностью к распространению ложной информации в социальных сетях, в том числе фейковых данных конспирологической и политической направленности. Приводятся результаты эмпирического исследования (N=287), в котором выявлена связь отношения личности к дезинформации о COVID-19 в социальных сетях с просоциальными установками, самоэффективностью и уровнем социального доверия. Показано, что уровень стресса и фаталистические установки в отношении исхода пандемии снижают способность пользователей социальных сетей распознавать ложные сообщения о COVID-19. Установлено, что игнорирование дезинформации в социальных сетях как социальной проблемы связано с низкими социальным доверием и выраженностью тревоги по поводу пандемии и ее последствий. Предпосылками готовности личности к действиям для защиты себя и общества от дезинформации являются доверие к другим социальным группам, а также интерес к новостям о пандемии и готовность оказывать помощь заболевшим. Признание необходимости государственных мер по защите общества от дезинформации, а также готовность к отказу от свободы общения в социальных сетях связаны не только с просоциальными установками, но и с конспирологической ориентацией личности и низким доверием к людям. Misinformation in the digital environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the results of domestic and foreign studies, manipulative technologies associated with the use of disinformation strategies are analyzed. Attention is drawn to the effects of the frame and hemophilicity, methods of discrediting, creating conspiracy theories, trolling, polarizing Internet communities, imitation, as well as increasing the emotionality of messages. The personal characteristics of users associated with the propensity to spread false information in social networks, including fake information of a conspiracy and political orientation, are indicated. The results of an empirical study of predictors of the individual's attitude to misinformation about COVID-19 (N=287) are presented. The relationship of the individual's attitude to disinformation in social networks with prosocial attitudes, self-efficacy and the level of social trust is revealed. Stress levels and fatalistic attitudes about the outcome of the pandemic have been shown to reduce the ability of social media users to recognize false reports about COVID-19. It was found that ignoring disinformation in social networks as a social problem is associated with low social trust and the severity of anxiety about the pandemic and its consequences. Trust in other social groups, as well as an interest in news about the pandemic and a willingness to help the sick, are prerequisites for the individual's readiness to act for protection themselves and society from misinformation. The recognition of the need for state measures to protect society from disinformation, as well as the willingness to abandon the freedom of communication in social networks, are associated not only with prosocial attitudes, but also with the conspiracy orientation of the individual and low trust in people.

The role of prosocial attitudes and academic achievement in peer networks in higher education

After the transition to university, students need to build a new peer network, which helps them to adapt to university life. This study investigated to what extent students’ prosocial attitudes and academic achievement facilitate the embeddedness in friendship and help-seeking networks, while taking structural network characteristics into account. Participants were 95 first-year bachelor’s degree students and were part of learning communities consisting of 12 students at a university in the Netherlands. Measures included student-reports of prosocial attitudes, peer nominations of friendship and help-seeking networks, and officially registered grades (GPA). Longitudinal social network analysis, stochastic actor-based modeling with the package RSiena, revealed that both students’ own prosocial attitudes and achievement played a role in their friendship formation, whereas only students’ own achievement made the formation of their help-seeking relationships more likely. When students were friends, it was more likely that they approached each other for help and vice versa. Similarity in achievement level contributed to relationship formation in friendship and help-seeking networks. Overall, the results underscore the importance of both student’ prosocial attitudes and achievement for their social adjustment (i.e., making friends) and only achievement for their academic adjustment (i.e., seeking help) during the first year of university within the context of small-scale teaching.

Predictive modeling of religiosity, prosociality, and moralizing in 295,000 individuals from European and non-European populations

Why do moral religions exist? An influential psychological explanation is that religious beliefs in supernatural punishment is cultural group adaptation enhancing prosocial attitudes and thereby large-scale cooperation. An alternative explanation is that religiosity is an individual strategy that results from high level of mistrust and the need for individuals to control others’ behaviors through moralizing. Existing evidence is mixed but most works are limited by sample size and generalizability issues. The present study overcomes these limitations by applying k-fold cross-validation on multivariate modeling of data from >295,000 individuals in 108 countries of the World Values Surveys and the European Value Study. First, this methodology reveals no evidence that European and non-European religious people invest more in collective actions and are more trustful of unrelated conspecifics. Instead, the individuals’ level of religiosity is found to be weakly but positively associated with social mistrust and negatively associated with the production of behaviors, which benefit unrelated members of the large-scale community. Second, our models show that individual variation in religiosity is well explained by the interaction of increased levels of social mistrust and increased needs to moralize other people’s sexual behaviors. Finally, stratified k-fold cross-validation demonstrates that the structures of these association patterns are robust to sampling variability and reliable enough to generalize to out-of-sample data.

Evaluating the Debate Thus Far over Moral Bioenhancement

To avoid “ultimate harm,” or human extinction, Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu maintain that a species-wide, biological upgrade of human morality is required. To support their claim that we already possess biological kernels of their featured, prosocial attitudes, they rely implausibly on evolutionary psychology. Further, they support “neuroessentialism” and misconceive what genetic manipulation could deliver regarding complex phenotypic traits. Alongside their talk of augmenting prosocial attitudes, Persson and Savulescu stress that, to forestall ultimate harm, what we ultimately require is the elimination of antisocial acts. Though presented as two interpretive lenses on one endeavor, their prosocial and antisocial focuses represent different agendas for our moral alteration. Further, from their utilitarian standpoint, if making antisocial acts impossible to perform were a streamlined route to avoiding extinction, then this is what we should do. Persson and Savulescu’s antisocial focus, in particular, reflects a willingness to forgo what makes human existence worth conducting.