Meditative practices - correlates and consequences for political attitudes

Thesis

While meditative practices have become increasingly common in both science and society, many questions remain about their correlates and consequences for political attitudes. This is what will be examined in this thesis.

Part One of this thesis uses survey data from the United States and Britain to investigate awareness and experience of mindfulness, both overall and across groups. The results from the first empirical chapter suggest that five per cent of adults in the United States in 2017 had used mindfulness during the 12 months prior to the survey interview and mindfulness use was less likely among married adults and more likely among women, sexual minorities, young and middle-aged adults, white adults, employed adults, adults without minor children in the family, adults from the West of the United States, adults with access barriers to healthcare, adults with cost barriers to healthcare, adults with mental illness, and adults with physical pain. The results from the second empirical chapter suggest that fifteen per cent of adults in Britain in 2018 had learnt to practise mindfulness and awareness of mindfulness was more likely among women, unmarried adults, adults from middle and high-income households, and adults who voted Remain in the 2016 Brexit Referendum; and higher levels of engagement with mindfulness was more likely among young and middle-aged adults, but otherwise not concentrated in any particular groups.

Part Two of this thesis uses data from randomized controlled trials conducted in the United States and Britain to investigate the causal effects of mindfulness-based and kindness-based interventions on political attitudes. The results show that: (1) participation in an eight-week compassion-based program increased liberal political attitudes; and (2) a brief befriending meditation reduced affective polarization between Democrats and Republicans. Taken together, the findings suggest that kindness-based practices and programs increase tolerant and other-regarding attitudes more generally.

Authors: Simonsson, O

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-noy75oxqq
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: compassion; meditation; mindfulness; political; polarization
• Subjects: Political science; Sociology; Intergroup relations; Political psychology