Does meditation training promote pro-environmental behavior? A cross-sectional comparison and a randomized controlled trial

Riordan, Kevin M.; MacCoon, Donal G.; Barrett, Bruce; Rosenkranz, Melissa A.; Chungyalpa, Dekila; Lam, Sin U; Davidson, Richard J.; Goldberg, Simon B.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101900

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…There are several possible explanations for this discrepancy: First, the negative results on sustainable and social behavior could in theory be attributed to the duration of the training, which assumes that a training length of thirty-one days (and only 15 mins a day) might be too short for the acquisition of relevant mindfulness skills. However, previous studies provide no evidence for an u-shaped relationship between training length and training effects on pro-environmental or prosocial preferences 10,13 . Second, previous mindfulness studies on prosociality mainly relied on self-report measures 13 or hypothetical scenarios 35 , contrary to our task where sharing involved real monetary consequences for the participants and the bene tted others.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Another study reported cross-sectional evidence for stronger pro-environmental attitudes in long-term meditators compared to a meditation-naïve control group, but there was no difference in proenvironmental behavior. Furthermore, the same study used a mindfulness intervention in meditationnaïve individuals, which again showed no effects on both attitudes and behavior 10 . Taken together, despite ndings showing that individual differences in mindfulness are associated with self-reported pro-environmental attitudes, evidence for a direct in uence of mindfulness practice on pro-environmental behavior is lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mindfulness training reduces the preference for sustainable outcomes

Corbi,

Koch,

Hölzel

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Theoretical accounts posit that mindfulness promotes pro-environmental behavior. While this claim is supported by correlational findings, past intervention studies provided no evidence that enhancing mindfulness increases self-report measures of pro-environmental attitudes or behavior. Here, we tested whether a 31-day mindfulness intervention strengthens preferences for pro-environmental outcomes with decision tasks involving real conflict between participants’ selfish interests and beneficial consequences for the environment. To unravel the psychological mechanisms underlying the impact of mindfulness on sustainability, we assessed the impact of mindfulness training on prosociality and future orientation. Contrary to our hypotheses, the mindfulness intervention reduced instead of increased preferences for pro-environmental and prosocial outcomes, whereas no effects were observed on future orientation. Baseline preferences for pro-environmental and prosocial outcomes (and the intervention effects on them) were correlated, providing empirical evidence for a link between sustainability and prosociality. Together, the current data suggest that the relationship between mindfulness and sustainability as well as prosociality may be more complicated than assumed in the literature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mindfulness training reduces the preference for sustainable outcomes

Corbi,

Koch,

Hölzel

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, non-meditating control groups are important, as an effect of the 10-week EU Climate Leadership Program on pro-environmental behavior did not hold up when compared with a control group (Ramstetter et al, 2023). Moreover, in a randomized controlled trial, Riordan et al (2022) found that only when considering both the effects of an MBSR training and an active control group together, an increase of pro-environmental behavior as compared to a passive control group emerged.…”

Section: Fostering Societal Change Through Mbismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overall, mindfulness practice without ethics-based considerations may promote some forms of ethical behavior that can be beneficial to society, such as compassionate prosocial action. Yet, to unambiguously detect changes due to MBIs in other behaviors, including proenvironmental behaviors, ethical considerations may need to be part of the explicit curriculum (Riordan et al, 2022). Furthermore, participants likely need to be motivated to take part in an intervention that also needs to have the appropriate dosage to elicit behavior change (Geiger et al, 2020;Stanszus et al, 2019).…”

Section: Fostering Societal Change Through Mbismentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Individual Stress Reduction - The Mindful Students Program Benefits University Students and Their Environment

Blanke,

Krämer,

Loy

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Objectives: While mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for university students usually aim at stress prevention and reduction, MBIs have the potential to also have societal benefits. In the present study, we introduce an MBI, the Mindful Students Program (MSP), which aims at developing an ethical perspective of interdependence between the individual and its social and ecological environment. We hypothesized that the MSP fosters not only mindfulness and individual stress reduction, but also prosociality and pro-environmental behavior as primary outcomes.Methods: The MSP was delivered to university students as an elective course within their curriculum. Across three semesters, university students (N = 203) were surveyed in a pre-post design, in comparison to two control groups (N = 302), one with an interest in mindfulness, waiting for an online intervention (referred to as waitlist) and a passive control group without any specific interest in mindfulness (referred to as passive). Acceptance and adverse effects were also monitored.Results: In comparison to the control groups, students receiving the MSP experienced decreases in stress, and increases in mindfulness and pro-environmental behavior. Contrary to expectations, levels of prosociality, which were already high at the beginning of the intervention in the MSP group, did not change. Students were highly satisfied with the MSP, even when adverse events occurred, which were, however, mostly mild in nature.Conclusions: The MSP appears to be an effective and safe means of helping individuals to improve their own well-being within the university context, whilst also fostering pro-environmental action which may benefit society at large.

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“… 43 In a 125-person RCT designed to test the effects of mindfulness training on general well-being, Riordan et al reported that randomization to either MBSR or a structurally matched “health enhancement program” active control led to substantive increases in self-reported PEB and sustainable well-being relative to waitlist, but with no differences between the active intervention groups. 44 …”

Section: Mindfulness and Pro-environmental Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Mindful Eco-Wellness: Steps Toward Personal and Planetary Health

Barrett,

Walters,

Checovich

et al. 2024

Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health

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Rising greenhouse gas levels heat the earth’s surface and alter climate patterns, posing unprecedented threats to planetary ecology and human health. At the same time, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease have reached epidemic proportions across the globe, caused in part by decreases in physical activity and by over-consumption of carbon-intensive foods. Thus, interventions that support active transportation (walking or cycling rather than driving) and healthier food choices (eating plant-based rather than meat-based diets) would yield health and sustainability “co-benefits.” Emerging research suggests that mindfulness-based practices might be effective means toward these ends. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, we have developed a mindfulness-based group program, Mindful Eco-Wellness: Steps Toward Healthier Living. Loosely based on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course, our curriculum teaches mindfulness practices in tandem with sustainability principles, following weekly themes of Air, Water, Food, Energy, Transportation, Consumption, Nature Experience, and Ethics. For example, the “Air” class offers participants practice in guided breath meditations while they learn about the benefits of clean air. The theme of “Food” is presented through mindful eating, accompanied by educational videos highlighting the consequences of food production and consumption. “Transportation” includes walking/movement meditations and highlights the health benefits of physical activity and detriments of fossil-fueled transportation. Pedagogical lessons on energy, ecological sustainability, and the ethics of planetary health are intertwined with mindful nature experience and metta (loving-kindness) meditation. Curricular materials, including teaching videos, are freely available online. Pilot testing in community settings (n = 30) and in group medical visits (n = 34) has demonstrated feasibility; pilot data suggests potential effectiveness. Rigorous evaluation and testing are needed.

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Does meditation training promote pro-environmental behavior? A cross-sectional comparison and a randomized controlled trial

Cited by 9 publications

References 88 publications

Mindfulness training reduces the preference for sustainable outcomes

Mindfulness training reduces the preference for sustainable outcomes

Beyond Individual Stress Reduction - The Mindful Students Program Benefits University Students and Their Environment

Mindful Eco-Wellness: Steps Toward Personal and Planetary Health

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