In a time of heightened division and distrust across social groups, “Three Ways Mindfulness Can Make You Less Biased” from the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at University of California, Berkeley explores how cultivating mindfulness — defined as increased awareness of our thoughts, emotions and surroundings in a nonjudgmental way — can help reduce bias and improve how we relate to others. (Greater Good).
Research suggests mindful practices don’t necessarily directly target prejudice, but rather act on underlying cognitive biases that shape how we think about and treat people unlike ourselves. (Greater Good)
Here are the three key ways mindfulness helps:
1. Seeing fuller context instead of attributing behaviour to fixed traits
One common error, the correspondence bias, causes us to assume that people’s actions reflect their character rather than their situation. For example, we might assume someone failed a test because they’re lazy rather than considering external factors. In a study where participants practiced a brief mindfulness activity, they were less likely to assume that an essay writer’s assigned position reflected their true belief — demonstrating reduced correspondence bias. (Greater Good)
By becoming more aware of context and our automatic assumptions, mindfulness may help us form fairer judgments of others, especially across social groups.
2. Reducing our “negativity bias”
Humans tend to pay more attention to negative experiences than positive ones — a survival-oriented mechanism. (Greater Good)
That bias can make us wary of new social situations, especially with people different from us. But studies show that people more practiced in mindfulness or given brief mindfulness instruction show reduced brain-reactivity to negative stimuli (like distressing photos) and less fear of rejection in social interactions. (Greater Good)
This means mindfulness might help us open up to more diverse interactions, rather than shutting down or avoiding them out of fear or caution.
3. Seeing others as equals — reducing “self-positivity bias”
We often maintain positive views of ourselves by comparing ourselves favourably to others — the self-positivity bias. (Greater Good)
In one experiment, participants who practiced mindfulness (or loving-kindness meditation) were less likely to quickly associate themselves with positive words and strangers with negative ones. In other words, they showed less of that “better-than-others” mindset. (Greater Good). Such changes may foster empathy and connection rather than competition or disregard.
Takeaway for your own life:
By practising even simple mindful actions — like paying attention to your thoughts when you meet someone new, noticing your automatic judgments, or bringing non-judgmental awareness to a social interaction — you may start to slow down your cognitive shortcuts, feel less reactive to social anxiety, and open up to seeing people as whole, context-rich individuals rather than stereotypes.
If enough of us did that, we might bridge some of the divides that feel so large now.