Mindfulness in the context of intractable intergroup conflicts: Can mindfulness practice help overcome barriers to conflict resolution?

Negative intergroup emotions and political perceptions play a crucial role in fueling intergroup conflicts. Recent studies demonstrate the benefits of using clinical research on emotion regulation to inform intergroup relations research. By employing effective ways to temper extreme negative group-based emotions, researchers are able to strengthen attitudes and views that promote reconciliation. We suggest that mindfulness-practices can be highly relevant to this end, due to their demonstrated effectiveness over regulatory processes. Further to a recent pilot study from our lab showing that mindfulness practice can increase support for intergroup compromises, we venture now to extend these findings using physiological, behavioral and self-report measures. We propose to study the long-term, real-world effects of mindfulness practice on emotions and emotion regulation choice in response to conflict-related events. We will also study effects of mindfulness practice on reactions towards depictions of the ingroup’s and outgroup’s experiences. We believe our findings will help illuminate how contemplative practices can affect personal well-being as well as that of societies seeking to overcome barriers to conflict resolution.