Mindfulness reduces the correspondence bias. Issue 3 (4th March 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hopthrow, Tim; Hooper, Nic; Mahmood, Lynsey; Meier, Brian P.; Weger, Ulrich
• Is Part Of: Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. Volume 70:Issue 3(2017)
• Page Start: 351
• Page End: 360
• Publication Date: 2017-03-04
• Subjects: Correspondence bias -- Mindfulness -- Fundamental attribution error; Psychology, Experimental -- Periodicals; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Psychology, Comparative -- Periodicals; 150.72405
• DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2016.1149498
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1747-0218

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The correspondence bias (CB) refers to the idea that people sometimes give undue weight to dispositional rather than situational factors when explaining behaviours and attitudes. Three experiments examined whether mindfulness, a non-judgmental focus on the present moment, could reduce the CB. Participants engaged in a brief mindfulness exercise (the raisin task), a control task, or an attention to detail task before completing a typical CB measure involving an attitude-attribution paradigm. The results indicated that participants in the mindfulness condition experienced a significant reduction in the CB compared to participants in the control or attention to detail conditions. These results suggest that mindfulness training can play a unique role in reducing social biases related to person perception.